Daniel & Annabel's Adventures

Cruise Day 3: Nassau, Bahamas

Wednesday, July 31

We decided this time, for our stop in Nassau, Bahamas, we would actually get off and do a little shopping there by the dock. (We didn't get off last time we cruised here in October 2017 when the kids were younger.) It was very different to when Ben and I were there years and years ago (as in before kids years ago). It's all been redone and feels less like a Bahamian market than I remember, but it was still fun. I was looking for gifts to bring home, Annabel wanted some kind of trinket, too. We found a couple things, but not much. It did the trick of getting us off the boat and giving us something different to do.

Back on board, we did lunch, explored on our own, played card games, and so on. And then things kinda went downhill for Ben and I, as neither of us felt 100%. First, I took a nap, while Ben went out with the kids. Then later, the kids came back to the room at one point, saying Daddy was cold and sleeping on a lounger on one of the decks. Uh-oh. Cold? In this heat? Not good. We made sure to keep him away from the rest of our large group as much as possible the rest of the day. He didn't come to the pre-dinner show that night. I felt much better after my nap and some medicine. (Spoiler alert- the next day, we both felt far better, truly. But, that wouldn't last... it was a very weird progression of symptoms.)

Anyway, the rest of us spent the rest of the day enjoying ship activities and shows. Dinner was pirate themed that night, which is always a fun night. The deck party with characters and fireworks is fun, too.

Overall, the stop at Nassau isn't my favorite and I'm kinda done doing that, since I've now done it at least 3 or 4 times- I'd love a different Caribbean stop next time, haha!

Cruise Day 4: Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point

Thursday, August 1

Time for a new island!!! This island is very new to Disney (like still under much development)- it's the reason we picked this particular cruise trip and we were thrilled to have something new to do! So this island isn't Disney's private island like Castaway Cay is- Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point is part of an island by the name of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. One of its key features is pink sand and that really is SO cool. The cruise docks pretty far from the actual island and you have a loooooong bridge to walk across and then a long tram ride to the actual Disney beach property, too. It's quite a little trip. Mary Kay, Larry, and Wendy went on an excursion that toured a little of the actual island- their pictures were cool. The rest of us just wanted a day to take it easy, unplanned, and explore Disney's new beach area. We did a few character photo ops, got lunch, waded in the water, soaked up the sun, read books, played in the sand (it really is pink!), and so on. It was a lovely relaxing day.

Mid-afternoon, after Grandma and Grandpa were back, they took my kids back to the ship since Daniel and Annabel were done in the sun. Ben and I really wanted to walk along the nature trail and hike to the lighthouse. Nobody else was up to that, so it was nice to have a little time just the two of us and do some more exploring. It really was SO hot, but the hike was really so nice and it was much shorter than the map led us to believe, so it wasn't too bad after all. The trail was SO pretty- the greenery was refreshing, the limestone cliffs were very cool, and the views from the trail to the amazing VERY BLUE water were breathtaking! This was a nice little highlight of the trip for the two of us. And we lucked out with grabbing not only the tram back to port, but a golf cart ride back across the bridge to the boat, too. Phew. Because we'd done enough walking by then!

More shows and more photo ops rounded out that night!

Cruise Day 5: Day at Sea- our last day cruising

Friday, August 2

I always love a good day at sea when we're on cruises. It's just so nice to have the free time, unplanned, nowhere you need to be, and we can just take a breather and relaxxxxx. I found a lounger and read. The kids played a little foosball. We ate all the ice cream we could. We watched a silly little baby crawling race. We met characters. We played card games. It was a really nice day.

That night after dinner, my family had a good long wander up top of the boat, which is tradition for us, just saying goodbye to the boat, watching the waves go by, watching the sun set. This trip really had been wonderful in a million ways and we took some quiet time to reflect back on it, to count our blessings, to be thankful for this family time, to soak up the peace and the break from real life. Vacations are wonderful resets. I sure needed this one, though I never realize it until I'm on vacation. Funny how that works.

Cruise Day 6: Off the Boat and Headed Home

Saturday, August 3rd (and home on the 4th...finally!)

Saturday was the end of the cruise and it was time to disembark and drive back to Orlando. My family headed straight to Downtown Disney first to get a little shopping in (Annabel wanted to check out the Ron Jon shop) and have some lunch (always at Earl of Sandwich- so good!). Then we headed to Wendy's to load up the car with the rest of our stuff. We were sad vacation was over but definitely ready to be home. We still had two full days of driving ahead of us. (And with a hurricane behind us, we hightailed it out of Orlando!! In the nick of time.)

It was at this point that I started to really feel ill. Ben had had a slight cough the past two days (remember that day he felt cold? that was just the first warning but we brushed it off because he was literally fine the next day, minus minor coughs by nighttime), but really, that was it for him, he was otherwise mostly fine and was able to push through the days seemingly well. I wasn't so lucky...the drive home was horrible for me, I'll never forget it. I was SO sick. I mean, I was lucky in that this didn't happen on the cruise, but unlucky because I clearly was way worse than Ben ever was. We actually made our hotel reservation for that first night home-bound with a bigger room so we could spread out and the kids wouldn't be near me- they each had their own beds this way. I'm so thankful for this. And then the second day driving home was pure torture for me, I was soooo sick. We gave some thought to stopping at a hotel so I could just sleeeeep, but I really didn't want to do that, I just wanted to be home by this point. We pulled in our driveway that evening and I got out of the car and got into bed. My family unloaded everything. I crashed. For a good few days, too. Oh well. Home at last. My own bed never felt so good!

So yeah, we're now 2 for 2 on getting COVID on cruises. (We came home from Alaska with COVID, too.) So fun.

But even that still couldn't take away from our AMAZING double vacation!! We're so lucky to have gotten to "do it all" like that this summer. The beach vacation AND the cruise vacation. The timing was perfect for these trips! It was a fun way to end summer, and yet school was still a couple weeks away and we quite liked that. Who knows when our next vacation will be, but this one will be hard to top!

And that, my friends, is the end. You made it through this novel, too.

Here are more pictures! :)

Cruise Day 3: Nassau, Bahamas

Wednesday, July 31

Annabel and Ben enjoyed a quiet moment on our balcony before we headed into Nassau.

So colorful!

Quiet time on a lounger on deck. This is when Ben felt cold, though. Yikes.

Pirate night! Fun to dress up!

Cruise Day 4: Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point

Thursday, August 1

Breakfast before getting off the ship to explore the new island.

Loooooong bridge to the island from the dock. You can see the ship way back there behind us and the curve of the long bridge we had just walked across.

Such BLUE water!!

Fun family time on the beach and in the water!

The sand really did have a pink cast to it- very cool!

Ben and I enjoyed our hike on the nature trail. The limestone cliffs and the quiet beach were so pretty!

We found the old lighthouse. Pretty neat.

Back on board and pulling away from the dock. You can see how long it is and how far from the actual island we were.

Pretty sunset. I love the moody dark water, too.

Cruise Day 5: Day at Sea

Friday, August 2

A day to relax!

Baby crawling race! It was hysterical!

A story about this picture:

When we went on our Alaska cruise, we ordered matching shirts to wear for a group picture getting on board, but the shirts didn't arrive in time, sadly. Now fast forward two years later and we thought it would be funny to wear them for a photo op on this trip! I'll print them off and tack them into the Alaska photo book just for fun!

I had a lovely evening "goodbye ship" stroll with my sweet family.

Off the Boat and Headed Home: Saturday, August 3rd (and home on the 4th...finally!)

First, a quick stop in Downtown Disney to shop Ron Jon Surf Shop for Annabel! A fun stop for us, a good break between our drive from Ft. Lauderdale and home, because we still had a loooong drive ahead of us.