May 20th--It was a "Wonderful" Cruise-Nassau

[donmil723]

Woke up as the Wonder was sailing into Nassau. Saw Atlantis from our verandah. Ate breakfast at BBB before disembarking about 9:45 a.m. As we walked through Festival Place I picked up a map and got my bearings and off we headed toward the Queen's Staircase, Fort Fincastle and the Water Tower. As we were docking at the port, I could see the water tower and Fort Fincastle and had to laugh. It is the highest point in Nassau but looked more like a huge mound of dirt. Of course, I'm used to the rolling hills of Missouri. Anyway, we started walking. It really wasn't far for adults, probably less than 1/2 mile. The worst thing is the traffic. If you cross a street, look both ways and hurry across. Some areas we walked through were very beautiful and others were old and unkempt. I never felt unsafe though. The Queen's Staircase was really neat as slaves cut the stones out of the bluff in the late 1700s. At the top is Fort Fincastle, which is shaped like a steamboat. The view of the port and the ships as well as Atlantis is great from here. We headed back to the shopping area and walked through the straw market. We weren't really bothered by anyone but we weren't really looking. After the first stall, the others were all the same. However, the aisles are very narrow so I can see how some people would be bothered by it. We went to Hard Rock Cafe and bought some shirts and then to Senor Frogs, so the girls could buy a mixed drink. They were upset they weren't carded! LOL! It would be my guess that 16 year olds get served alchohol often in Nassau. Did a little more shopping and then headed back to the ship for lunch at BBB. The tacos were really good! And DD and I couldn't get enough of the delicious fresh pineapple. After lunch, we got a taxi to Atlantis. The girls wanted to go to the casino. Each of us girls took $15 for the slots while DH had a beer and walked around. DD's friend and I soon lost our money but DD almost doubled her money. It was so funny to watch them play the slot machines. At first, they would pull down the arm to spin but soon they were just hitting the button to spin. We then found the pay phones in the lobby of Atlantis and called home using our Sprint Calling Card. Haven't got the bill yet so don't know what the charges will be. It was very easy to call home with these phones. We were back on the ship by 3 p.m. just in time for the pool games at the adult pool. Don't know if they were cancelled or not but they didn't have them and we were there until 4:30 or 5:00 with the exception of DH who crashed in the room as soon as we got back from Atlantis. While at the pool, I had a chicken wrap and the girls got french fries. DH got a hamburger and fries as soon as he woke up from his nap and found out we all had snacks. Tonight was the Golden Mickeys and this was our favorite show of all! After the show, we decided to play Bingo. We got 2 sets of 6 cards for $70 instead of paying $80 for 4 sets of 3 cards. DH and I shared one set and DD and her friend shared the other set. As long as you sit by each other and don't tear the cards apart you can share. Well, DD was the only lucky one again. She won $25 in the seond game. Two other people also had Bingo or she would have won $75. We were a few minutes late for dinner in Animator's Palate. I was glad we were at a table for just us 4 so no one had to wait on us. For appetizers, DH and I had the baked stuffed tomato which we really liked. The girls had the duck and goat cheese flat bread which was pretty good too and the smoked salmon which I didn't like. In case I haven't mentioned it, we raise Angus beef and do not really like seafood. We all played it safe and order the Caesar Salad. The Garlic and Herb Focaccia was very good, too. For the main course, we had grilled sirloin, roasted chicken breast, and the cheese canneloni. We were disappointed in the steak but found out later it was Australian beef which we felt was a little more tough and stringy than the beef we are used to eating. Since the ship is registered in the Bahamas, they can't purchase beef from the US since the import/export market hasn't reopened since the BSE scare last December. For dessert, DH had the strawberry shortcake which was ok but not as good as the New York style cheesecake, DD and I had. DD's friend had the Boston Cream Pie but thought it was pretty bland. Last year, when we originally had planned to go on this cruise but had to cancel due to the death of my father, we had told them we were celebrating our 25th anniversary and DD's high school graduation. They still had that in their notes so they brought out 2 strawberry cream tortes for us. They were delicious and they let us take them back to our rooms to eat later. After dinner we went to watch the dueling pianos with Chris and Larry but were disappointed as it was almost the same show as the night before. We caught the end of the sail away party and DH and I decided to sample the tropical buffet even though we were still very full from dinner. The quesidillas and mango chicken wings were good. They also had several desserts but none of them really stand out in my mind as being really delicious. Girls had already headed to bed to watch a movie. DH and I enjoyed a quiet moment on our verandah before turning in. It was a great ending to a great day. The best is yet to come . . .