I am going to start with something you should know that is general sailing knowledge…when you get off the ship make sure you have your photo ID and on board sail card. J
All I can say is if you go hungry on this ship – it’s your own fault!
I just took a minute to look over the whole dining schedule and you can eat 24 hours a day if you wanted to.
Day two was a blast. I opted to eat a late lunch so right when I got up and motivated I met the friends and headed over to the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island. You disembark the ship on deck 1. When we got off the ship all the folks that were waiting to take their different excursions were lined up in groups. Usually we do the “Yellow Bird” party boat or the beach escape, today I was feeling more laid back….or maybe I am getting older J. There was a couple of other cruise lines in port, Norwegians’ ship the” Norwegians Sky” and the “Carnival Imagination.” There was also a cruise line there that looked like it may have been a smaller outfit. It was called “celebration.” We made our way off the wharf and went through the little market of knick knacks. Be prepared to get asked a thousand times if you need a taxi. Tourism is The Bahamas number one stream of income. We didn’t need a taxi because we were doing the water taxi – much more peaceful. The water taxi is six dollars per person round trip. We waited about twenty minutes for the boat to load with people. Once underway, there was a tour guide type person named “Slim,” on board. He claimed he wasn’t employed by the water taxi company, rather just works off gratuities. He did give a lot of very cool information about the islands, the people, famous houses, and the famous Michael Jackson suite at the Atlantis resort. This is very interesting, the Jackson suite at the Atlantis is 25k a night with a minimum stay of 4 nights, its booked for the next five years (9.1 million a year it brings in). I gave Slim a couple bucks because I actually took a lot away from it. Ten minutes later we arrived at the Atlantis ferry terminal. The walk from the terminal to the actual resort is maybe five to ten minutes. This is the cheapest way to experience Atlantis.
Along the walk to the resort we passed a marina with yachts, big yachts. We were talking to the port master and some of the first mates in the marina; the yachts had a price tag of about 30 million dollars each. Once inside the resort we hit the casinos (where I lost 40 bucks). The under water aquarium was pretty cool and part of it was free. We also took some goofy pictures around the resort. I will post them when I get back into port. We tried to get out to the beach from the resort but they make you have a room card to get out there. So that was a fail on our part. We hung out at the Atlantis for about two hours then made our way back to the ship via the water taxi again, with another tour guide. I was thinking to myself that it must suck being the tour guy who has to do the return trip when you already tipped the dude on the way over there. Ten more minutes we were back at the pier.
It was easy to go through security at the terminal to get back into the ship with showing a picture ID and sail card.
When we got back on board, we were starved so we went to the pizzeria on deck 12. I helped myself to six slices of pizza (hey I’m on vacation!) After absolutely stuffing ourselves full of pizza we went up to the Viking Lounge (deck 14) for Martini Madness. This lounge is the highest point of the ship with a unrestricted 360 degree view. Breath taking. It also doubles as a cigar bar. It’s about 140 feet above sea level.
After we enjoyed a drink, we all went to get ready for the captains cocktail party (7:45) and formal dinner (8:30). The captain’s cocktail party is made up to be a black tie event. If you don’t have a blazer it’s not like they won’t let you in. We were served a couple of cocktails and finger foods during the ceremony which was preceded by introductions of all the staff.
The captains’ cocktail party wrapped up about 8:25 pm, just in time to make our dinner. This is a extremely camera heavy night. Our table mates didn’t make it to dinner so it was just the three of us. Once again Royal Caribbean out did their selves on the formal night. The wait staff was very attentive and on spot. I can’t get over the fact on how awesome it is that they call you by your name. Something I am not used to on other cruise lines.
After dinner we all went to the Viking Lounge again for about an hour to let our food settle and then to the piano bar where Phil Anderson was rocking away on the keyboard. We missed the juggling act that took place at 10:45 pm. There is literally so much to do on the ship you cannot pack it into one night.
The ship pulled out of port about 11:30 pm, we were officially underway to Coco Cay, Bahamas.
The midnight buffet was amazing and the dancing, ice carving demonstration, and wait staff were just as great. Shortly after dancing and meeting a ton of new people I made my way down to the room.
I do want to say that earlier in the day when I got back to the room there was a fruit basket and a cheese tray in there and it was from Royal Caribbean basically saying we are hoping you are enjoying your trip. It was a surprise to see that but a great touch.
My only really compliant was the room temp in my cabin. It has been the same temp all trip, lukewarm. There is no shortage of entertainment though!