Bahamas 6/15 - 6/17Jun 15, 2009
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Bahamas Celebration
Horse Racing,
Nassau, Bahamas
Monday, June 15
While we were in Las Vegas, we listened to a time share spiel and accepted a free meal and show, and a mini cruise to the Bahamas. Knowing we would be in Fort Lauderdale we thought it would be a good deal and we would make arrangements to go. First of all, we also had told ourselves after the last time we got into a free anything for listening to a pitch of some sort; we swore we would never do it again. When we were in Vegas we had nothing but time and it seemed harmless to see what they had to offer, being up front with them that we already have a timeshare with WorldMark and we are happy with it. No problem, they just wanted to show us what they had. Of course three hours later they are still trying to sell us their product. After saying no to several layers of people and we thought we were at the end of it, when they pass us along to the guy that just wants to see if everyone did their job and offer us a bottom line price, no pressure of course, and we said no once again, and then we finally thought we were getting our wonderful gifts for our time and effort and yet again another sales pitch. We finally walked away with our dinner and show and a two day cruise to the Bahamas. The dinner was ok and the show was ok, but probably could have purchased it reasonably. But we had time so we spent the time, and told ourselves never again. That was it.
Trying to make arrangements for this cruise was not easy. First of all, nothing is free, and neither was this. The ship I thought it was going to be on was an older ship with a lot of history, so I was sort of excited about cruising on it. The Regal Empress, what history, built around 1953 pre super cruisers. Old style. After days of being on the phone, the cruise line trying to sell us up grades in rooms, and flight hotel, Disney packages, and telling us how terrible our room would be, twin beds and all, if we didn’t upgrade, we finally got reservations for our cruise, the 15th through the 17th. We said no, no, and no. We were just going to enjoy the two days and that’s all. Well, first of all you need to pay the port charges per person of $59, making it $118.00. Then there is the gratuity of $10.00 a day per person, then there is the fuel surcharge of $20.00 per person, and then there is the parking fee of $15.00 per day for your car. So as you see, nothing is free. We stopped by the Ramada Hotel to pick up our confirmation/boarding pass and as you guess, we got yet another sells pitch. This one was that we were expected at a luncheon the next day to view more timeshare property and in turn we would receive many FREE gifts, lunch, passes to other tourist events. We both looked at each other and said firmly no, we were not interested. Up to this point the lady giving us our boarding pass was friendly and sweet, but when we firmly said no she abruptly got up and moved on to the next couple. We were just left sitting there. Weird. So we took our passes and left. The whole experience was just weird. We decided no matter what we were going to have a great time and be positive about it all. After all, we were blessed to go on a cruise with a upscale line the Princess Cruises, to Alaska. Yes, we paid XXXX.XX for the trip and had the most wonderful time, and were treated with such kindness and everything was first class, with a balcony and all the room service we could handle. Yes, this was not a Princess line, and the old cruiser I was looking forward to sailing on was retired just a month ago, and we were now on Celebrations Bahamas, an older car ferry plus. Not a bad ship, but not what I had expected. So I decided that I should be positive and have no more expectations. The reviews we read on this cruise were not very good. So as I said, no expectations and a positive attitude.
First of all, we would probably never take a two day cruise again. There is just not enough time on the boat to enjoy. It takes several hrs just getting through the lines of all the things you need to take care of, rooms, checking passports, baggage, dinner seating, boarding pictures, credit cards, ships cards, etc. And that’s ok, but also the time it takes getting off the ship is about the same. So your two day cruise turns into a day and a half. We were there at noon on Monday and off the ship by 11:00 on Wednesday, and it took about two hours each for embankment and dismemberment. That part went fairly smoothly, but for two days, it hardly seems worth it. I would recommend a 4 day plus cruise for the time spent.
We were shown to our cabin, and as we expected it would be small and near the bottom of the ship, deck 3 to be exact, But we live in a motorhome, so we are use to small. To our surprise, no twin beds. And the bathroom was just a wee bit larger than our motorhome bath. Our air conditioner seemed to work, where others complained theirs was not working well. The people assigned to take care of us were very kind and treated us very well. Our beds were turned down every night and made up each day and fresh towels were always there. No complaints. The food was always good. Bar drinks and soft drinks are on your credit card, and or any other purchases from the gift shop and any pictures that you might purchase. They did have a pool, but it wasn’t filled until the second day and that was the day we were in the Bahamas, so I don’t know what that was about. There were a lot of people on the top deck sleeping at night, it was too warm in their rooms, we also enjoyed a short nap topside. On the second day we were in the Bahamas, docked in Nassau. There were several other ships there. We didn’t sign up for any of the cruise line excursions, they all seemed very pricy and John just loves to explore on his own. So instead of a $75 to $150.00 each person for a tour of the city, or a tour of Paradise Island, or a snorkel trip, we spent $3.00 each on a water Taxi to Paradise Island, and took our own tour. They have the biggest aquarium we have seen. And tunnels you can walk in and view the sea life, and also if you stay there you can enjoy a water slide or river ride down through the aquarium. It is a beautiful place and there was many pools and a wonderful beach. Staying there would only cost you from $300 to $750 a night. And we were told that the Michael Jackson Suite was only $25000 a night. We took a taxi back to Nassau and spent the rest of our time shopping in the Straw Markets. They are overwhelming. It is like a huge flea market with some hand made items. I think the Straw Market got its name from when they use to make all the straw hats etc. Now there are very few of those items and more of tourist items, t-shirts, ball caps etc. When it rains in the Bahamas it rains sheets of water and we got caught in it in the afternoon. We were ankle deep in water and soaked to the bone. But we needed to get back to the ship, so we just went for it, got back and showered, we had early dinner seating and it was dress up evening. We met a lot of really nice people and actually had a nice time. The entertainment was not first rate, but it is a small ship and you can’t expect it. There was a juggler on the first evening who was really good. And the second night there was a guy who did impersonations and he was pretty good. The rest of it was not so entertaining. Except the people who got drunk and like to put on a show. All and all I was with John and together we had a good time. Our bill came in at around $300 for our drinks and purchases. Drinks are a bit pricy so we remained sober. And the topper to the last evening was the Captain said John looked so much like Patrick Stewart. John gets that a lot lately, especially since he shaved his head.
