I really look forward to reading your trip report each night! It's reports like yours that get me so excited for our cruise. Thank you for answering my question about the "Welcome Aboard" photo. I can't wait to pass through those Mickey ears and be on that line!! And, once again, fabulous photo's!
3-day Wonder (3/13-16) - more info than you can possibly stand!
- Thread starter Dreamfinder2
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Dreamfinder2
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Hey, all. And happy Easter!
Nassau is routinely dissed as a port, and it doesn't necessarily compare too well against, say, the Virgin Islands or Grand Cayman. Still, it has a veneer of old British civility, and I've always enjoyed my stops there. We didn't go to Atlantis this time - we'd been before, and it's spectacular in its own right, but there are plenty of nice resorts elsewhere.
After we'd stomped around sightseeing for a while, the girls were ready to shop. We headed back down to Bay Street, and they poked around in some of the jewelry stores. With some prior planning, there were some decent deals to be had. Of course, while they were commando shopping, I walked down the street a bit and stepped into a hole in the pavement where a planter had once been and went down like a sack of bricks. I twisted my right ankle, hit on my left knee, and took the skin off the palm of my left hand. Just loved the whole experience, and lived to tell about it.
But Amy found a nice knockoff purse, and we'd "practiced" negotiating with vendors, so they had some success in the straw market - not the place for claustrophobes, for sure.
I've always liked this old masonic hall on Bay Street:
And I went in the British Colonial Hilton to their little beach, and caught a glimpse of the Wonder:
The Episcopal Christ Church Cathedral was stately in its simplicity.
I ducked in there for just a moment, and was struck with all the memorial and commemorative tablets on the walls. Seafaring was a much more dangerous affair a century ago that it is for us on our cushy cruise ships:
After shopping, we headed back to the ship and lunch at Triton's. After our walk, sitting down and being waited on sure did seem appealing. Even at lunch, Triton's service was formal and attentive, even though Teresa had a hamburger and I had a Reuben sandwich. We got ketchup Mickeys for our fries, too. They had a "pasta station" set up in the dining room ... pick your pasta, choose your sauce, and it was whipped up right there in front of you. Amy, the carb queen, had a penne with marinara, and gave it a thumbs up. I sure did want some key lime pie, but we didn't have time, because we were to meet for our snorkeling excursion.
Nassau is routinely dissed as a port, and it doesn't necessarily compare too well against, say, the Virgin Islands or Grand Cayman. Still, it has a veneer of old British civility, and I've always enjoyed my stops there. We didn't go to Atlantis this time - we'd been before, and it's spectacular in its own right, but there are plenty of nice resorts elsewhere.
After we'd stomped around sightseeing for a while, the girls were ready to shop. We headed back down to Bay Street, and they poked around in some of the jewelry stores. With some prior planning, there were some decent deals to be had. Of course, while they were commando shopping, I walked down the street a bit and stepped into a hole in the pavement where a planter had once been and went down like a sack of bricks. I twisted my right ankle, hit on my left knee, and took the skin off the palm of my left hand. Just loved the whole experience, and lived to tell about it.
But Amy found a nice knockoff purse, and we'd "practiced" negotiating with vendors, so they had some success in the straw market - not the place for claustrophobes, for sure.
I've always liked this old masonic hall on Bay Street:
And I went in the British Colonial Hilton to their little beach, and caught a glimpse of the Wonder:
The Episcopal Christ Church Cathedral was stately in its simplicity.
I ducked in there for just a moment, and was struck with all the memorial and commemorative tablets on the walls. Seafaring was a much more dangerous affair a century ago that it is for us on our cushy cruise ships:
After shopping, we headed back to the ship and lunch at Triton's. After our walk, sitting down and being waited on sure did seem appealing. Even at lunch, Triton's service was formal and attentive, even though Teresa had a hamburger and I had a Reuben sandwich. We got ketchup Mickeys for our fries, too. They had a "pasta station" set up in the dining room ... pick your pasta, choose your sauce, and it was whipped up right there in front of you. Amy, the carb queen, had a penne with marinara, and gave it a thumbs up. I sure did want some key lime pie, but we didn't have time, because we were to meet for our snorkeling excursion.
Backstage_Gal
<font color=darkorchid>Let me rephrase the dog ste
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- Apr 8, 2005
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Love the pictures. Ouch on falling into a hole!
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter!
) in just 11 days! 
FIREFIGHTERMICKEY
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2007
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- 193
Keep Up the great work! In just 12 days We sail on the magic!!! Its driving me crazy! I want to it to begin,yet I dont want it to end either!
Dreamfinder2
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 4, 2000
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Seena209, if you want to see some of Nassau from ground level at your own pace, here's the route I took, with a helpful map:
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/newprovidence/0251010008.html
The new Passporter has a walking tour, too.
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/newprovidence/0251010008.html
The new Passporter has a walking tour, too.
nzdisneymom
DIS Veteran
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- Sep 27, 2003
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- 6,089
Dreamfinder2, thanks for posting the Frommers link -- I had it on my list of things to do today to go get it and print it out 
You saved me a search! Can't wait to read more.
You saved me a search! Can't wait to read more.
gppnj
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It was touching to read this. I appreciate that you shared it with us. This is one nice perk about being a Disney fan: There are probably a few exceptions, but the vast majority of my fellow Disney people are good people.
gppnj
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I knew exactly what notes you meant, and I haven't even been on a Disney cruise yet. I took a Norwegian cruise a few years ago. When the ship got to the Bahamas, A Disney ship was also in port. I heard the Disney ship play those notes, and I flipped. I asked myself: What the heck am I doing on this Norwegian ship when I know where I really need to be.
Dreamfinder2
DIS Veteran
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- 1,794
More accurately, on the surface of the sea, I suppose.
Our one shore excursion in Nassau was a snorkeling trip. I really, really liked this. I've snorkeled several places in the Bahamas, mostly around the Berry Islands and Bimini, so on our last cruise when our snorkeling was limited to Castaway Cay, it just didn't quite fill the bill. (I understand the fish population at CC has grown the last few years.)
We met our party at the Cadillac Lounge right after lunch. That lounge is worth a peek - that whole retro/fins/tucked-and-rolled seating is a nostalgic hoot. I didn't visit during the evening; the carcinogen level is a bit much. So we all mustered, and presented tickets and releases (along the lines of, "if you die in a shark attack, too bad - it's not our fault"). We trekked down to the wharf, all festooned in swimwear, and boarded our little boat.
Our home away from home:
We had a guide of sorts, pointing out homes in the harbor ("Hey, look, that's Nicholas Cage's house!") We reached our dive spot in a few minutes. In the meantime, we were briefed on the use of our equipment, the dive vest, etc. Simple.
The water was dang cold at first, but I adjusted quickly. The sea floor was a combination of sand and coral. There were a decent number of fish - angels, sergeant major, some damsels, triggerfish. And some "Dory." I enjoyed the fan corals, waving languidly in the currents.
Single use undewater cameras are just adequate - I have a bunch of photos that look like this (as in "just so-so"):
Amy had never snorkeled, but she got over her initial wariness of swimming with varmits and had a great time:
We were in the water about an hour. I saw just as many two-footed fish as I did the finned variety. There was a lot of bumping and jostling that went on, but it wasn't bad. And the snorkeling guides were right on top of things, and you could tell safety was a high priority for them.
A fun outing, for sure, highly recommended, and at $37/pp a decent-enough value.
Back on board soon thereafter, and it sure did feel good to get out of those salty swimsuits.
Next: Great dinner and The Golden Mickeys!
Our one shore excursion in Nassau was a snorkeling trip. I really, really liked this. I've snorkeled several places in the Bahamas, mostly around the Berry Islands and Bimini, so on our last cruise when our snorkeling was limited to Castaway Cay, it just didn't quite fill the bill. (I understand the fish population at CC has grown the last few years.)
We met our party at the Cadillac Lounge right after lunch. That lounge is worth a peek - that whole retro/fins/tucked-and-rolled seating is a nostalgic hoot. I didn't visit during the evening; the carcinogen level is a bit much. So we all mustered, and presented tickets and releases (along the lines of, "if you die in a shark attack, too bad - it's not our fault"). We trekked down to the wharf, all festooned in swimwear, and boarded our little boat.
Our home away from home:
We had a guide of sorts, pointing out homes in the harbor ("Hey, look, that's Nicholas Cage's house!") We reached our dive spot in a few minutes. In the meantime, we were briefed on the use of our equipment, the dive vest, etc. Simple.
The water was dang cold at first, but I adjusted quickly. The sea floor was a combination of sand and coral. There were a decent number of fish - angels, sergeant major, some damsels, triggerfish. And some "Dory." I enjoyed the fan corals, waving languidly in the currents.
Single use undewater cameras are just adequate - I have a bunch of photos that look like this (as in "just so-so"):
Amy had never snorkeled, but she got over her initial wariness of swimming with varmits and had a great time:
We were in the water about an hour. I saw just as many two-footed fish as I did the finned variety. There was a lot of bumping and jostling that went on, but it wasn't bad. And the snorkeling guides were right on top of things, and you could tell safety was a high priority for them.
A fun outing, for sure, highly recommended, and at $37/pp a decent-enough value.
Back on board soon thereafter, and it sure did feel good to get out of those salty swimsuits.
Next: Great dinner and The Golden Mickeys!
Dreamfinder2
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2000
- Messages
- 1,794
The sun, moon, and stars just all lined up for this one.
After getting cleaned up from snorkeling, and getting that crusted salt out of our pores, we didn't have a whole lot of time to make the Golden Mickeys.
Y'know, if Disney can't do a show, no one can. We went by the Deck 9 beverage station and got some drinks, and to Goofy's Galley for some snacks. Here's a hint - their wraps make great snacks to tide you over between meals (I was partial to the chicken caesar and oriental wraps) - it's not like packing in a burger and fries and feeling gorged. I made that mistake once with a bratwurst mid afternoon, and felt just, well, gross after dinner. Amy loaded up on fresh pineapple - that child ate her weight in fruit this trip, and it was always, always fresh and plentiful.
Showtime! We hadn't seen this one before, and it lived up to its reputation. It was one of those Disney's Greatest Hits compilations, and it was full of historical detail, with the cutaways to Roy Disney and others. Glamorous, glitzy, and satisfying. Before the "THE-atahh" - note the requisite red carpet:
And a scene from the finale:
We were a handful of folks who checked out "The Wheel," a variation of Wheel of Fortune that was in Diversions between the show and dinner. My team won, of course.
Dinner was at Parrot Cay. By this time folks were prowling around in their pirate regailia. Some folks went all out in spectacular fashion with dress, other folks just went tropical (me). There were little red pirate bandanas at each table, and they were way too small to fit around my big ol' Irish head.
I recall not being overly impressed with Parrot Cay on the Magic years ago. Tonight was quite good. I had baked crab Martinique for an app, and I really appreciated that there was enough crab to know I was eating crab. Teresa went with the quinoa and grilled veggies. I wasn't familiar with quinoa, which is a grain, a wheat cousin, that was a little like couscous. She said it was "pretty good." Amy got chicken wings, which were in a pomegranate bbq sauce - a nifty mix of "sweet and heat."
The Wonder chefs know what to do with soups. I had cream of sweet onion soup, and it was RICH - the name says it all. Teresa ventured out on the ledge and had a cold cream of mango and papaya soup, and just went into holy raptures. I tried it, but cold soups aren't my favorite ... although, like anything else, I could eat a tubfull. Amy had a salad; I don't recall which one, but she cleaned her plate.
Entrees were better than Animator's Palate for us. I opted for the mixed grill - beef tenderloin, lamb chop, bacon-wrapped sausage, and jumbo shrimp all in a cabernet mushroom sauce. I'm an unrepentant carnivore, so this suited me fine. These were all appetizer-sized portions, and other than the tenderloin being more on the medium side than rare side, I was plesed. Amy had grouper - some folks don't like grouper, but I've found it to be a nice mild white meat, and hers was pan-seared with shrimp lemon butter. It was the best entree of the night. Teresa went with Caribbean roast chicken, her traditinonal safe bet, and it packed some heat. She was really appreciative of the side of mashed sweet potatoes. Nice presentations, too.
And behold the best desserts of the trip - Amy and Teresa both opted for creme brulee cheesecake, two favorites combined, and good enough to make you slap yo' mamma. My choice was French toast banana bread pudding, which was dressed with coconut ice cream (unacceptable to me, but Egi substituted vanilla with a flourish) and caramel sauce. I tend to be a bread pudding purist - don't get too cute with a Southern classic - but this one was deelish, and made me want to take back all the criticism I've tended to spout over Disney desserts.
The servers did sort of a conga line/limbo deal at the end of dinner, which cracked me up ... I loved watching this father take off and hop in line while his teenage daughter was thoroughly humiliated ("Dad!!!" she hollered.)
Thoroughly sated, we waddled up and staked out a claim on Deck 10 for the Pirates in the Caribbean party.
The crew sure does know how to whip a crowd up into a wholesome frenzy! High octane singing and dancing,and they really get normally shy and withdrawn folks up and moving. On the Ariel view screen above the pool were fun cutaway shots of kids and adults having a great time. Once in a while they'd cut to a scene with the Pirates logo - the skull and crossbones - and that skull would come alive, zoom to the foreground of the screen and boom out something unintelligible, and a couple of the little kids near me would scream in terror. I guess that big ol' skull looming over the pool was too much for 'em. I just thought it was funny.
So you had Hook, Mr. Smee, and other unsavory types taking over the ship, but Mickey and company came to the rescue - nothing like having heroes on board.
Here's Mickey, right above our heads, ready to zipline into the thick of things:
And fireworks at sea! I can't imagine what kind of hoops the Disney Powers that Be had to jump through to get permission to do this.
We strolled around the Deck 4 promenade a bit before bedtime. Amy got her chamomile tea, and we turned in. Long day, but a good 'un!
After getting cleaned up from snorkeling, and getting that crusted salt out of our pores, we didn't have a whole lot of time to make the Golden Mickeys.
Y'know, if Disney can't do a show, no one can. We went by the Deck 9 beverage station and got some drinks, and to Goofy's Galley for some snacks. Here's a hint - their wraps make great snacks to tide you over between meals (I was partial to the chicken caesar and oriental wraps) - it's not like packing in a burger and fries and feeling gorged. I made that mistake once with a bratwurst mid afternoon, and felt just, well, gross after dinner. Amy loaded up on fresh pineapple - that child ate her weight in fruit this trip, and it was always, always fresh and plentiful.
Showtime! We hadn't seen this one before, and it lived up to its reputation. It was one of those Disney's Greatest Hits compilations, and it was full of historical detail, with the cutaways to Roy Disney and others. Glamorous, glitzy, and satisfying. Before the "THE-atahh" - note the requisite red carpet:
And a scene from the finale:
We were a handful of folks who checked out "The Wheel," a variation of Wheel of Fortune that was in Diversions between the show and dinner. My team won, of course.
Dinner was at Parrot Cay. By this time folks were prowling around in their pirate regailia. Some folks went all out in spectacular fashion with dress, other folks just went tropical (me). There were little red pirate bandanas at each table, and they were way too small to fit around my big ol' Irish head.
I recall not being overly impressed with Parrot Cay on the Magic years ago. Tonight was quite good. I had baked crab Martinique for an app, and I really appreciated that there was enough crab to know I was eating crab. Teresa went with the quinoa and grilled veggies. I wasn't familiar with quinoa, which is a grain, a wheat cousin, that was a little like couscous. She said it was "pretty good." Amy got chicken wings, which were in a pomegranate bbq sauce - a nifty mix of "sweet and heat."
The Wonder chefs know what to do with soups. I had cream of sweet onion soup, and it was RICH - the name says it all. Teresa ventured out on the ledge and had a cold cream of mango and papaya soup, and just went into holy raptures. I tried it, but cold soups aren't my favorite ... although, like anything else, I could eat a tubfull. Amy had a salad; I don't recall which one, but she cleaned her plate.
Entrees were better than Animator's Palate for us. I opted for the mixed grill - beef tenderloin, lamb chop, bacon-wrapped sausage, and jumbo shrimp all in a cabernet mushroom sauce. I'm an unrepentant carnivore, so this suited me fine. These were all appetizer-sized portions, and other than the tenderloin being more on the medium side than rare side, I was plesed. Amy had grouper - some folks don't like grouper, but I've found it to be a nice mild white meat, and hers was pan-seared with shrimp lemon butter. It was the best entree of the night. Teresa went with Caribbean roast chicken, her traditinonal safe bet, and it packed some heat. She was really appreciative of the side of mashed sweet potatoes. Nice presentations, too.
And behold the best desserts of the trip - Amy and Teresa both opted for creme brulee cheesecake, two favorites combined, and good enough to make you slap yo' mamma. My choice was French toast banana bread pudding, which was dressed with coconut ice cream (unacceptable to me, but Egi substituted vanilla with a flourish) and caramel sauce. I tend to be a bread pudding purist - don't get too cute with a Southern classic - but this one was deelish, and made me want to take back all the criticism I've tended to spout over Disney desserts.
The servers did sort of a conga line/limbo deal at the end of dinner, which cracked me up ... I loved watching this father take off and hop in line while his teenage daughter was thoroughly humiliated ("Dad!!!" she hollered.)
Thoroughly sated, we waddled up and staked out a claim on Deck 10 for the Pirates in the Caribbean party.
The crew sure does know how to whip a crowd up into a wholesome frenzy! High octane singing and dancing,and they really get normally shy and withdrawn folks up and moving. On the Ariel view screen above the pool were fun cutaway shots of kids and adults having a great time. Once in a while they'd cut to a scene with the Pirates logo - the skull and crossbones - and that skull would come alive, zoom to the foreground of the screen and boom out something unintelligible, and a couple of the little kids near me would scream in terror. I guess that big ol' skull looming over the pool was too much for 'em. I just thought it was funny.
So you had Hook, Mr. Smee, and other unsavory types taking over the ship, but Mickey and company came to the rescue - nothing like having heroes on board.
Here's Mickey, right above our heads, ready to zipline into the thick of things:
And fireworks at sea! I can't imagine what kind of hoops the Disney Powers that Be had to jump through to get permission to do this.
We strolled around the Deck 4 promenade a bit before bedtime. Amy got her chamomile tea, and we turned in. Long day, but a good 'un!
pjstevens
Had our DFTW Vow Renewal on the Wonder
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- Feb 22, 2005
- Messages
- 4,053
Another great update. I am so looking forward to our trip, each step of yours and I am planning and planning (granted I have more than five months, but I'm living through your trip report). Also, thanks for posting that link to the Nassau walking tour, I printed that out to add to my many 'I have to take' things.
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