Time for a few warm thoughts.
Many neighbors have fled the confines of Del Webb to the warmer clines of Florida, Texas, Arizona, or other locations while we are shivering, shoveling, and wrapping ourselves up to stay warm. Even with warm(er) weather approaching, getting some sunshine is always a good thing. Okay, so where would be a convenient tropical location with blue skies, warm waters, and oh, somewhere reasonably close? How about the Bahamas? We have a neighbor that just returned, our daughter recently spent some time there, our son and his wife just returned, and we spent our anniversary there several years ago.
View of Atlantis. (Photos provided)
The warm water, tropical, island chain beckons those that want to warm up but at a reasonable price. Yes, you could just stop in Florida and say you’re done, but why not add a little adventure to the trip and also a little elegance? All can be accomplished with a short three-day cruise from Port Canaveral. Flights into Orlando versus Fort Lauderdale offered the lowest priced fares to the region and it’s easy to rent a car for the trip to the cruise line. Our son and his wife could have taken a shuttle, but they wanted to add a few extra days exploring the area, which would have meant getting private transportation anyway.
So, Day 1 – fly to Orlando, drive to Cocoa Beach, stay at a Hilton on the beach. Warm breezes, cool drinks at the Tiki bar, and barefoot walks in the sand; it all makes you forget about the cold you just left.
Day 2 – drive to the dock and trade transportation methods – car for a ship; a BIG Royal Caribbean ship with 2,200 other people. They allow you to bring 2 bottles of wine aboard so mention it as you pass through security and then head for your stateroom and pop the cork! If you haven’t taken a cruise before, be prepared to gape like a 5-year-old. The ship is massive with multi-story atriums, bars, and luxury shops. Be sure you arrive during the boarding timeframe as this ship promptly leaves at 4 p.m. and you would prefer to wave goodbye from the ship versus from the dock. Also, the bar is open as soon as boarding starts.
You arrive the next morning at Nassau right in downtown. The port is specifically designed for multiple cruise ships so getting off and on is easy. The whole day is yours for exploring, shopping, spending a day at the beach, a day trip to Atlantis, relaxing at Senor Frogs!, tours of city or any number of independent excursions. If you book them with the cruise line, excursions are automatically charged against your credit card; otherwise you pay separately. Curfew is a little later this time around – 10:30 as the ship lifts anchor at midnight and you’re on your way again. Our daughter chose the beach, and our son and his wife chose to do a bird watching excursion.
Don’t want to hit the island? No problem. There are plenty of activities on board: pools, spa, food, food and more food, and movies. Evening hours bring dance parties, big band music, and as you would expect, the casino. There is also more food and more drink. You may actually gain weight during the cruise! Depending upon your overall plans, you may want to consider purchasing a drink package. Be aware that with Royal Caribbean it automatically covers every day you are on the cruise. You can also purchase ala cart and may save money.
Roseate Spoonbill in flight.
Possibly an Ibis crane perched.
You wake the next day at the cruise line’s private island for a day of fun in the sun on Coco Cay. All the typical beach activities are there plus scuba diving or hiking nature trails; least we forget there’s more shopping for local trinkets, t-shirts, and more. Most everything except the shopping takes your ship pass, but shopping takes cash or credit.
The evening cruise back was set aside by our son for dining by reservations. Typical of a higher end restaurant, various menu selections were available and overall the food was excellent. Add a little dancing, a moonlight stroll on the deck and before you know it, your back on land and heading into reality once again; warmed and possibly a little sun-tanned, but with memories that may prompt you to spend subsequent time on the island chain.
If you are into birding or observing nature in general, there are several spots near the cruise ship terminus in Cocoa Beach. Black Point Wildlife Drive is famous for its many bird species, storks, ducks, and geese but proceed with caution as there are also alligators (big ones!), and sometimes their little reptile brain sees you as food!
On our own trip, we stayed at an all-inclusive hotel just outside Atlantis. This proved to be very convenient as we spent several nights enjoying the features of Atlantis (free). We listened to an excellent Jazz singer one night while having drinks in the lounge, a rock band the next. We passed on getting tickets to the Justin Bieber’s concert. Transportation on the island is plentiful so getting around is easy. A great place to visit and we’ll definitely be back.
