DAY 7 NASSAU

Sigh 

So...we were SUPPOSED to go to the private island: Great Stirrup Cay. I will tell you this is one of the main reasons I booked this cruise (other than Sakari). I have been here once in the 80's (hehe)

Oh my gosh my handwriting was so funky back in the 80's. I actually wrote in cursive back then. LOL

The next time I would make it back to GSC would be 2012 on the Pearl with Kendra's first cruise since she was younger.

Man what a difference there was

We tried to make it back in 2014 on the Sky and the port was cancelled due to high winds and it would be unsafe to go. We were so disappointed and we spent the day at sea.

So once again, we got the itching to go back and looked for a cruise that went there. We were in luck. The Epic was goin there and that's the ship that Sakari had been begging to go on since she was little and first seen it.

Well...they decided to continue with some renovations and the island was shut down to receive ships until it was completed. They invested $25 million in renovations and it was due to be completed right before our cruise. I was super excited.

They had added some new things since we were there last: 

Zipline, Underwater Sculpture (Snorkeling), New Dining facility, and then the renovations continue into 2017 with additional things as well. The kids were wanting to do one of the swims with stingrays or dolphins or something (Courtney and Kolin have never done any before and neither has Brayden).

BUT.....NO.....once again, we would not make it there. THANKS MATTHEW you jerk of a hurricane. You just had to screw things up. This lovely hurricane category 5 decided it would create havoc on the Bahamas and word had it that this would now delay the renovations and they would not be open in time. Ugh

So we got word that we would be going to Nassau instead. Oh just lovely. Although we have managed to have a good time when we go there (Blue Lagoon, Melia, Sail & Snorkel excursion) it's still not one of the ports I really care for.

I had REALLY hoped that for this inconvenience, they would decide to allow us to stay a little longer in St Thomas 2 days prior. But, that didn't happen either.

I had to suck it up and make plans for Nassau instead.

We had thought about going to Blue Lagoon again (Kolin absolutely loved that place), but I really wanted to go somewhere new. I had thought about trying Balmoral Island, and there were a lot of mixed reviews for the place, but I thought I would like it and it's some place new for me and a new place to review.

So since this was almost a last minute change for NCL, they decided NOT to make any of the excursions available to us to book (which you needed in order to get to Balmoral or Blue Lagoon). I even called NCL a few times and got the response that we would need to book once we are on the ship when they could see what might be available for us, since we weren't due at this port to begin with. We were to have 4 other ships with us there (I believe), or maybe it was 5 ships but one had stayed all night and would be leaving at 8am when we were coming in (or so they said).

Wee...lucky us. All the excursions could potentially be booked up and we get the left-overs IF there are any left-overs. I guess that's the name of the game. Then someone on our roll call said they opened up reservations, a few days ahead of time, but they must have immediately closed them back down because they were all gone by the time I looked that night.

In the end, since we were unable to book prior to cruising and know for sure 1) where we were going and 2) the price, the kids just decided that they didn't really want to spend that kind of money for this day. I think the Baths and Scuba broke the bank for them.

I immediately tried searching every place that I could for a day pass that was close by the port (walking distance). Every place I found and we would all agree that it would be a good place to go and spend the day, for a decent price...they ended up being completely booked up.

I finally just gave up and said..."We are going to walk to Junkanoo and that's final. It's free transportation (our feet) and the beach is free and that's that!"

So...Junkanoo it was. 

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I set the alarm for 6:30am that morning (even though we weren't "required" to be anywhere at any specific time, we still make the most of a port day).

My alarm goes off at 6:30am and immediately I panic. My left leg is bent in a position and I CAN'T MOVE IT! Like at all. It was like it was paralyzed. Did I sleep on it some weird way last night? Did I pull something and not know it? Was I dreaming? I had no idea but it was the weirdest thing. I had to use my hands to lift my leg and throw it over the side of the bed where I would sit for quite some time trying to straighten it. It wasn't numb, it didn't tingle, it didn't hurt. It just wouldn't bend. So weird! I've never had a contracture before, but I can tell you I never want one again.

It took awhile, but I finally got it straightened up and then I was like a baby taking their first steps as I got up and attempted to walk. I went very slowly to the bathroom and then everything was all better...like it never happened. I still don't know what caused it and it has never happened before or after that, and hopefully never will again.

I headed out to the balcony and it was looking pretty cloudy out. I know the last time I checked the weather, prior to leaving home, it did say rain all day in Nassau, but we all know how that changes in an instant.

When you see the lighthouse, you know you are almost there and just need to park.

We headed up to breakfast a little after 7am and I decided since we are really not on a time schedule today, it would be a good idea to get in the omelet line. 

Do you notice the brown eggs? That's what they had for everything the entire cruise. This is the first time I have ever seen them before. When did this switch happen?

After eating, we headed back to the room where we decided to put our balcony to use while we waited on punctual Kendra and fam to eat.

We noticed another ship coming in. (There was a something of the Seas already there when we arrived, and we were second to arrive, even though the cruise tables said the next ship wasn't due to arrive until 10am and MSC was coming in directly after us).

They ended up having to wait on us to parallel park this big old girl.

Almost there...a few more inches...

I don't know if everyone kept up with Matthew, but it did hit Nassau pretty hard too. I remember looking at the webcams and seeing the weather and also watching the reports after he was booted from the island. There were places that it was pretty tour up. I'm not really sure if the port got hit or not, but it was quite obvious there was some destruction there.

Take a look at this house. Garage roof is gone, partial areas of the main home roof is gone, dock fell into the water, roofs caved in, blocks down and thrown around, and walls fallen. There's no telling what else. But it was the one house that really caught my eye.

Here comes the MSC ship

I honestly had no idea what time we finally made it off the ship after waiting for the Kendra clan, but the MSC had already managed to drift into her parking spot, all wheel drive style, by the time we got off. 

We were greeted by a dolphin. A dolphin that could do tricks, like stand on his tail fin and smile for a picture. I THINK THIS IS SOME TYPE OF SIGN!

Since NCL were jerks this cruise and decided the passengers that didn't make it on the ship at a "normal" time during embarkation and took down the embarkation photo and ROBBED us of our picture that I always buy...I guess this would have to do.

We would start the very long journey down the pier. I guess when you are not on the VIP list for Nassau and aren't supposed to be there, you get treated as 3rd class and get to park the furthest away.

You can find our journey to Junkanoo and visiting the beach for the day at the following link:

Continuing from my review (above), we stopped at Senor Frogs to grab a bite to eat. Kendra popped in and out and would randomly disappear while she tried to find wifi to check in for her flight home.

I continued to relax, knowing we were going to be checked in by Southwest, and continued taking pictures. We all knew in advance that this issue would arise...(that we would actually be IN port the day that we needed to check in for flights)...but she chose not to buy the early bird check-in.

We waited and waited. She did not return. Billy was getting worried and took off to try to find her. He didn't like the idea of her being out there by herself.

It seemed like quite some time had went by and now we had 2 people missing. I was starting to get worried myself, but my worries were about being able to actually sit down and be served, eat, and have enough time to get back to the ship in time. I remember the last time we went to a Senor Frogs the wait was forever. If that happened again, it would make us late.

People are coming and going and the main street was busy. I really didn't feel like having to sprint to the ship that day. The thought of being a pier runner just does not appeal to me.

The waitress at the check-in counter outside ask if we were going to be seated. I told her we were waiting on the rest of our party. She let me know that Kendra had already checked in with her and got a table for 8 and the table was ready.

I made the executive decision to go ahead and go inside and sit down, hoping our 2 lost people returned. Kendra likes to work my nerves, that's for sure.

When you go inside, you actually walk along the water on a deck that hangs out above the water. I kept thinking "This is cool with a nice view", then we made a left and turned inside and I thought my ears were going to explode. Darnit. We ended up all the way in the back of the place and it was dark and VERY LOUD! I seriously hate going to places to eat where the music is blaring and you can't talk to one another or even hear your brain talking to you. It just annoys me.

Brayden was getting worried that his mom and Billy hadn't came back yet. I could tell.

There was a a lot going on there. Music playing, people on the dance floor dancing, announcements, free shots....ugh.

Still no Kendra. They took our drink order and then returned to take our food order. Well, we are here and this is going to happen, so we might as well order our food and if Kendra and Billy show up, then they can make their own decision if they'll have enough time to order and eat. So order we did.

The ceiling was full of funny sayings. I liked this one because I find it so true for a lot....lol (Dream big or go home right?)

"I hope your life someday is as awesome as you pretend it to be on facebook" lol

FINALLY...Kendra rolls in...with Billy. She tells us that she had just found Billy wondering the streets. She had only went around the corner for the wifi and Billy somehow didn't see her and had actually walked all the way back to the beach. Oh my. So they were both lost from each other. But she managed to find him and they were now here and ready to order.

I did ask the waitress how long would it take to get our food once we ordered. She said "no longer than 20 minutes" and I looked at my clock and told the clan that once our food arrived, we were to eat like someone was trying to take our food from us and this was the last bit of food on earth. They agreed and we ordered....

.....and our food arrived within 10 minutes. That was CRAZY. I have never been served that quickly before. It almost felt quicker than a lot of drive-thru's I go to here at home. Hey, I have a great idea, why don't they hire some of these people to work on the cruise ship in the MDR or O'Sheehans. I totally should have gave them NCL's information to apply.

I finally got my cheeseburger and it was loaded with crunchy pig.

The hubby ordered probably the most difficult food ever. Fajita's and he had to put them together. Didn't you know you can get that on the ship? It may take 2 hours, but you'll get it.

It was steaming hot.

We scarfed down our meals (hubby was still working on his) and we were waiting for the bill. I hear a "mom, look at Sakari" and I find her not only on the dance floor, but participating in a game...musical chairs. That girl will do anything I tell ya. Then I hear "Hi, what's your name and where are you from?" and I hear a little voice say "Sakari from Ohio" oh geesh.

Once our bill arrived, I had to pull Sakari away from the game. I'm sure that messed them up somehow and ended up with an extra chair and everyone was winners that round.

We headed out of the building and the girls felt it was shopping time. Both Kendra and Courtney wanted to get their daughters back home something and I just wanted to get back to the ship.

Not a far walk at all, but I didn't know how long it was going to take to get through customs and how many people were going to be standing in line.

Sakari did want to stop and get "something"...she just had to have "something". We ended up walking down to the straw market and she would weave in and out of it looking for that special "something" and she was on a mission. I picked up things that I thought she might like and she shook her head no and continued to scan everything very quickly. Then she found a fan that she wanted. We ask the lady how much and Sakari nodded that was her choice. However, when I pulled out my "stash", I was a few dollars short and told her take it or leave it. She was smart with her decision and out we went to continue on our journey to the ship.

They only had one horse and carriage here when we walked by. I'm not sure if they are all dead or all out working. I know how everyone says these horses are so thin and unhealthy looking and this company works these animals to death and they are so abused. I also remember the story of one of them dropping dead in the middle of the street there while working and I have never gotten it out of my head.

Can you tell me what makes you a "certified" hair braider? Like for real? Do you go to college for that? Are you trained by your neighbor? Do you make this up? And what exactly is the purpose of this deck that's a walkway that is built right over the top of the street? That creates LESS room to walk and would have been much smarter to not have that there.

We went through customs and onto the pier. I started to breathe a sigh of relief and had hoped that the kids would make it back in time.

There's the girls...

I wonder if they are rivals now that Epic can no longer claim to be the biggest ship in the fleet. 

Sakari and I absolutely loved the design on the Escape. It has all the animals she (we) love. She would name them all as we passed it.

NCL was having their typical coming-back-to-the-last-port party

They gave Sakari a balloon sword and she was happy.

We made it back to the room and I was happy.

I would decide to just sit up on the balcony and take pictures until after the sail away.

There were 2 NCL employees out on the pier and they were taking all kinds of pictures of themselves and both of the ships. They would run up and down, in different spots, and take pictures. I just knew they had to be "newbie" employees of one of the ships and they were so excited about it. At one point, they had to tell them to get back because they were removing the ropes to the Epic to leave.

I looked down toward the end of the pier and spotted what looked like Kendra and Kolin. I didn't see the rest of them, but I was almost positive that it was them. All aboard time was 3:30pm and it was now 3:45pm.

I snapped a picture, but missed them as they walked underneath one of the boats hanging on the side of the ship. I would later confirm that indeed it was them.

So it has been 2 days and I hadn't received my clothes back from Platinum. I decided to make a call to housekeeping and didn't get an answer. I called guest services and told them what was going on and that I really needed my clothes. When I sent the 2 bags away, I had pretty much sent out everything we had at that point and I really needed some fresh clothes. They said they would track them down and find out what was going on.

I headed for a quick shower and when I got out...this had arrived.

Clean and fresh clothes. Although they never have any type of "fresh smell" to them, I love the way they press them. I once took a behind the scenes tour and the laundry room and the way they press clothes was...impressive.

Sailaway was about to occur. The Epic blew her mighty horn and then she had a response from the Escape. They went back and forth for awhile and it was music to my ears.

Then we were off. I decided I was going to experiment a little more with my time lapse feature on my camera. I would take several of them as we were pulling out of port. But remember, it only takes a selected few and then stops. So I would have to restart it several times. This is what I ended up with:

And another:

I can confirm that I really don't know what I'm doing with the time lapse pictures at this point. I will need to definitely read up on them and how my camera works. I'm not sure if you can go into the settings and determine how often it takes a picture or how many pictures.

After the shower, and being able to put on some fresh clean clothes, I really didn't feel like starting to pack yet. I really wanted to do a head count of my family to make sure everything and everyone was ok and accounted for.

I came up to the pool deck and found the kids in the pool. AND they had the water fountains on at the pool. Amazing! They had only turned them on one other time (for about 10 minutes) that I had noticed during the entire cruise (of course they could have turned them on when I wasn't up there, but we did spend a lot of time at the pool bar hanging out).

Ok... one, two, three, four, five...yep, they are all here. Whew

They looked like they were all having a good time, but honestly, it was starting to get a little windy (being back out to sea) and a little more chillier. I decided I would pass on the swimming and just hang out and drink and take pictures.

Then a splash fight broke out...leave it to my kids and I can almost guarantee that Kolin started it, but I think they were getting the best of him.

Yep, they were definitely getting the best of him.

You might all be wondering where Sakari is? Well, she had decided that she had enough of this adulting thing and she wanted some kid time and headed to the kids club.

Notice how they have already turned off the fountains? They sure don't stay on long. You will also see the guy still standing up at the steps and keeping an eye out on everyone.

There was a beautiful sunset that night.

At this point, I honestly don't remember what happened. I think the kids got out of the pool, showered, and then we headed to the casino for a little bit to try our luck for the last time and then cash in our winnings if we had any.

I think I would walk away cashing in a little over $200, but this time around, those winnings would not actually be winnings, but merely money that I had won earlier in the cruise and cashed out and held on to the tickets so that if I lost money, I would still have money left. So, basically it was money that I had brought with me to play and then ended up winning back and kept it until the end.

The kids informed me that they had thrown all of their things in the luggage when they went back to shower and was done packing. SAY WUT! Why does it take me so long to pack then? Did they actually live out of their suitcase and not put all their things away? I don't get it. It takes me forever to pack.

So, I decided I should probably head back and get a majority of it done now, before it got too late.

While I was packing, I noticed the beautiful moon shining outside by window and I went to the balcony. I would see another ship out there sailing and also a bunch of lights. I don't know what island we were passing.

Once I got a majority of the packing done, we headed to go pick up the munchkin so that she could get a bite to eat before heading back to the kids club because tonight was their farewell pajama party. Sakari doesn't wear pj's, she's lucky to wear anything. She hates clothes and always has. The minute she comes into the house, she's stripping down to the undies. I have been working diligently to try to break her of this habit and telling her that no one is supposed to see her tata's and so on. She's gotten a little better, unless it's just us at home. So...point of the story is that I have to go out and buy her ONE pj outfit solely for CRUISING and the pj party. Isn't that crazy? Every time she outgrows it, I have to buy another...only for cruising and only for that 1 night and party. Sigh

Us girls would head to the photo place and buy our pictures and get our "free" goodies for purchasing 10 pictures for $149, only since I'm Platinum, I get them for (I think it was) for $119.

USB they give you:

And I also got a photo frame as well (sorry, no picture and I believe it's packed away with all my cruise junk now).

I feel like NCL doesn't give you half the stuff that Carnival does but oh well.

 Also something else I wanted to mention is that there has been a huge debate on whether or not NCL is still giving out Latitude ship pins. A lot of people have stated that they were discontinued. We went to the Cruise Next Desk to inquire and yes, I did get one. (I think I might have mentioned this earlier in my review, but if I didn't...I'm mentioning it now). They ask me how many and I received three. Later in the week, my kids would go to get theirs and they were out. So, if you want a pin, my suggestion is to go early in the cruise.

We all ran around the ship doing last minute things with packing, getting luggage tags and customs forms (our room steward never did bring our forms and we had to go get them at guest services), making our last minute purchases we wanted to take home and then headed to the MDR for our last dinner.

The kids couldn't decide what luggage tags to get and I tried to figure up the time that they would need by calculating getting off the ship, customs, 1 hour to the airport, check-in at the airport and security and getting on the plane. We figured 9am was a good and safe time and they picked up the tags and we all headed back to the room to get our luggage weighed and out the door for pick up by our room stewards. We said our good nights, see you in the morning, and headed to bed.