review of Blackbeard's Cay

[sixgun8]

ok, we decided to do the treasure hunt on Blackbeard's Cay through carnival. There was also just a beach day, or a stingray experience or a booze beach thing.

 

Lemme start by saying when they tell ya to be outside the ship at 9 AM please be on time the rest of us get ticked when YOU are late. We then took the half hour walk around the pier to the double decker transport we took to the cay. The ride was nice and smooth and it offered some nice views of the ship for pictures. The pilot of the boat was polite and did an excellent job from what I can tell. He was also a brother in the dark as well as the light.... some will understand. The transport took about 20 minutes to get to the cay. It was very visually appealing and we anticipated a great day.

 

Now, they gave you different colored wristbands to wear depending on your excursion. We went to our designated spot for our treasure hunt and were quickly offered a lifevest type thing, snorkel and masks. Disappointed that no flippers were offered as we had ourt own masks and snorkels but didn't bring flippers. After finding a spot to store our things, a practical beach chair, we quickly donned our equipement and stepped to the beach for our instructions. Swim until you find a little bag of treasure in the water...simple enough. Now the concern about my lack of snorkling skills. When I had tried this in graqnd Cayman, I found the mustache I sport causes a horrible leak and made it impossible to snorkel. After discussing that problem with an accomplished snorkler I learned the secret of vaseline on the mustache.

 

Into the water we go. There's something to be said about the ability to make yourself breath with your face underwater. It's not a simple task. make yourself relax, and take deep breaths. In no time I realized that I was snorkling and having a great time. with the waterproof camera attached to my wrist I lethargically made my way around the roped off area and searched for little golden colored treasure. To be honest, I expected to see more fish, but there weren't many. I did first spot a teeeny lil blue fish swimming in and out of a hole in a rock. It was being stalked by another fish that was a little bit longer and very bland in color. I have NO IDEA what kind of fish these were. Quickly snapping pictures hoping to get one of these things in my image. How exactly do you look through a viewfinder with a swim mask on? before I knew it my search for treasure was long forgotten and replaced by my search for fish.

 

Finally I decided that I better come up for air so to speak and raised my head out of the water to see where I was. To my surprise I was about 100 yards down the beach and no longer in front of "our area". Remembering what i was there for I started swimming back to our location and keeping my eyes open for the booty! After seeing a couple more of these small, colorless fish I almost forgot my goal again, then I saw the little white ribbons of the bag that my treasure was held in. Now a problem....the treasure is down about 6-7 foot deep in water. Diving down I snagged my booty from the floor and returned to the surface, my snorkel now filled with water. I tried my best to blow the water from my snorkel, but the half breath I had was not enough. Trying to take another breath led to disaster. my mouth filled with water and I then gasped and sputtered. Surely I was shallow enough to touch ground and right myself? This is the point where I determined the depth of the water. Now, attempting to get myself to shallower ground and not draw the attention of a life guard wannabe(none were to be found anywhere) I flailed and finally found footing. Readjusting my equipment and regaining my composure, I again set out to find more treasure or underwater life.

 

Finally tracking down my wife after a good hour in the water, I find her holding onto a piece of booty herself. How she got it I'll never know as she hates going underwater. Swimming with her now we explored the beach area together. One small complaint is the jet ski rental right next to the beach tended to stir up the sand and make it a little bit cloudy to snorkel. The stories from shark week about swimming in murky waters didn't help my mindset any. but I am assuming that the beach was netted and that's why we saw so few fish swimming with us. We did finally come across two fish, both about a foot in length and 6 inches near the dorsal. Good sized fish, again bland in color and we have NO IDEA what they were. Finally deciding we had been in the water long enough, we headed to the lunch shack for a bite.......

 

more to come later.

[SheriNtexas]

Great so far, Six!!:):)

[stitchnfool]

Good job, Six!!! :)

[tootsiebit]

I like it Six...and I am now picking myself up off the floor from laughing at the image of you during your ummm..."struggle"...I am not laughing at you I am laughing with you, because you just described me on my first snorkel at Chakanaab in Cozumel....but unlike you I can be a bit of a drama queen when I am paniced soooooooo, practically everyone on the beach was out of their chairs when my BIL got to me and then told me I was only in about 5 1/2 feet of water.....whatever...I couldn't touch and I was flooded and and and you know!!!!LOL:D

Bring on the rest of it...I am entertained for sure!!!!:D

[sixgun8]

This would be the only real complaint I would have of Blackbeard's Cay. the lunch shack looked well equipped to deal with the 100 or so folks that were captive on the island, but yet they were poorly planned. As we made our way into the lunch line we were about 35 people back. On the ship this wouldn't seem too bad, but as there was only one cook, I could see this was going to be the trail of tears. We luckily were under the shade of the ample building and were not waiting in the sun. Many of my line compatriots were shuffling back and forth on what was still hot pavement, but my water shoes kept me insulated from the hot temperatures that I was concerned would not be reflected in the food. Lunch menu said we would have a choice between a cheesburger, a hot dog or a chicken sandwich, with chips and a drink. menu on the shack also listed a pizza. As you got closer you could see the only choices were a hamburger or a cheeseburger. Foo, But I could deal. The drinks were canned sodas or bottled water. I immediately chose a icy cold Coca cola. There is something to be said of the Cokes you can get in the caribbean and Mexico. They are drastically different than the US versions and are SO MUCH BETTER. I hear it is real sugar and not syrup, but I don't care what it is. They taste darn good. After a 30 minute line wait we got to see the grill area. Our cook was shuffling precooked hamburgers from a tray of water to the grill. Now I know of this trick so it didn't bother me, but others seemed surprised. I did see the cook go into a back room at one point and ask for help. She was supplemented with a very rude and obviously upset lady who came out and opened a few bags of buns, dumped a box of chips on the counter and then walked away again.

 

Cheeseburger in hand we dressed them up with all the possible sides and condiments and went to eat. we were joined by a couple from the ship and had a pleasant conversation. it seems as though my accomplishments on the ship were somewhat known as all I had to do was mention we were with the crazies and I was the guy with the funnel hat. Immediate smiles and chuckles saying they saw me either in person or on the TV would follow.

 

After our lunch break it was time to make our way back to the ship. we looked for a place to wash our feet of the powdery sand from the beach and found one....next to a building....in the middle of the sand??? We washed off our feet and tip toed back to the pathway. We stopped to buy a conch shell from a stand. Same prices as we were quoted in freeport and figured why not. Pick your own shell though, we let him pick one for us and got one that was damaged and fixed with a pink putty. Live and learn, and we still enjoy the souvenier. As we walked back on the ship one of the crew was spraying off people's feet to get the sand off.....OK, shoulda expected that one.

 

Right next to the dock was the stingray area. We took a few pictures of the rays we could see from the dock. They were pretty darn small. Talking with friends that booked the stingray event, they said theyhad ample food to feed the rays but the interactions were not anywhere near the calibre of stingray city. They stood in two rows and the guy blew a whistle and the rays came down through their guantlet feeding from their hands. Cool nonetheless, but I would have been disappointed in the price and what not.

 

Back on the transport, we comfortably made our way back to the pier. I slept a bit as the rocking was gentle and relaxing. When we got back we noticed the Carnival Pride had slipped in beside us and provided some great photo opportunities for the passengers of our shuttle.

 

 

Overall we were happy with the excursion. It provided a great beginners chance to snorkle with much less concerns of being too deep or have too much motion in the water. I would recommend this for any newbie trying to learn, but if you are an avid snorkler looking for a challenge or an amazing experience, this isn't for you. However, being my first successfull snorkeling experience, I will always remember it and smile as i think about it.

[RickyandLucy]

Thanks for the review and the laugh Six. We are booked for the same excursion and now really looking forward to it. My questions: so what was the booty? and did you have to bring a towel from the ship or was one provided?

[sixgun8]

Thanks for the review and the laugh Six. We are booked for the same excursion and now really looking forward to it. My questions: so what was the booty? and did you have to bring a towel from the ship or was one provided?

 

 

Ah the booty, looks like I still do need one more installment. Long story short, just go to Senor Frogs with your "coin" Everyplace else was just a discount on buying something bigger.

 

we found ourselves to be relatively dry after waiting for our lunch, but they do not provide towels.

[sixgun8]

Booty in hand we took off through the streets of Nassau looking for what we could get. Now they gave us a map of shops that will redeem the lil coin and the ship gave us a map of shops they recommended and then gave flyers for freebies at specific places, so we overlayed the maps...ok, we compared the maps. Off to Diamonds international to see what they will give us and to get the charm bracelet charms....easier said than done. To say crossing streets in nassau is difficult is like saying nuclear physics is slightly tougher than high school science class!!! Yeah, there are lights and they do sometimes say walk, but that's usually at the same time the BIG BUSSES are plowing through intersections. It's more of a run when it's clear scenario. Also, there are only a FEW Diamonds international that we found and it was the furthest away that we needed to be. Of course. I will say if you want to buy liquor buy it a couple blocks off the beach front. It was cheaper there by at least 10%.

 

Those that want a tattoo and aren't scared of being led into a back alley, well here's your place. We saw a sign for tattoos at the corner and stopped. The Crazies have always joked about us getting a tattoo of yosemite Sam on our right elbow kinda like the mudflaps, well I asked the lady at the sign if they could do that and how much. We are talking a two inch tall tattoo. In Oklahoma City and Wichita, they wanted $120 and above to do it. She told me $40 but she is sure they would do it for $30. She led me down the street, my street smarts started pinging that trouble was abound. She then went through a metal gate on a ddorway, Now this is not a normal gate. This gate was halfway solid so that there was about 24 inches of usable entryway. This lady, who was not small slithered right through like it was nothing. My street radar was now pinging non stop. Still i went on,"just turn sideways," she says to me. Those who know me know that I am BIGGER sideways than I am straight on! I told her so. add the fact I was wearing a backpack and I was barely getting through this doorway. I half expected it to be shut and locked when i tried to flee moments later. Now up a staircase and around a hallway we came to a counter where several young men were crowded around a computer. She told them what I wanted as I started feeling for my billfold and passport and sail and sign card, anything I would need to get back on the ship. One of the men led me through a beaded curtain, which I didn't even know were around anymore, and into a room laden with neon Purple drapes on every surface you can imagine. Tables, windows, counters all adorned with neon purple. how Strange. Add to this the other 5-6 men standing on ladders and chairs drawing M-16s on the wall in pencil and I almost looked for the hidden cameras. If there hadn't have been 2-3 actual customers getting tattooed i may have started laughing. So, now to the computer. Yosemite Sam, we all know him. Simple, right? WRONG. The guy begins searching through his database of files. Looks through cartoons, NOPE. then he clicks on file "Gangsta", he looks at me seriously and says,"Yosimite Sam? He's a gangsta right?" I looked my wife in the eye with a look that said," I don't wanna tattoo no more!!!" The guy ended up pulling every file up on the computer in a search mode and wanted me to scan through every image in the computer. he told me if it didn't come up he would free hand it. NOT A CHANCE!! We quickly and discreetly headed back the way we came, hoping and praying that dang gate would still be open. i am happy to report it was.

 

We trudged on with our booty and headed for Del Sol. finding that the lil booty coins we found got us less of a deal than being associated with a cruise ship we quickly exited and kept going. The road that goes right beside the Britich colonial Hilton is a curvy road(if I am thinking the right spot). It also goes right beside the straw market. This is NOT a place to try to cross as you are basically taking your own life into THEIR hands and simpy hoping those that look over you didn't BLINK. Good lord, I think driver's licenses of bus drivers in Nassau come in cracker jack boxes. add to the fact that half the cars have steering wheels on the right half on the left and you get a whole plethera of opportunities for death!

 

walking through the straw market was a dreadfull experience. Not because of the people, they were fabulous. Slightly pushy, but no where near the pushy of Jamaica and cozumel. we made a few purchases and saw Senor Frogs!! Beer sounded good. Beer I didn't get. The wife wanted yard drinks. Cool! The waitress asked her what she wanted in hers, she decided on THE Senor Frog?? For the Lady the waitress asked? Sure my wife replied. I took a margarita on mine, We also asked about our coins and they would redeem them for shots! BINGO!!! Two shots of Sex on the Beach!!! When our yards arrived, mine was as to be expected, a chain margarita, with nothing special, nothing lacking. my wife's yard, the FROG, was a deep green color and should have had pineapple juice somewhere in it. Where it went we aren't sure, but the amount of alcohol in the drink may have scared the juice off. It was STRONG!

 

We visited another liquor store, bought our liquor at a premium because we weren't crossing those streets again!!! And then hit the tortuga shop for rum cakes. Now my wife had suddenly burst out into a fit of sweating. not sure what was going on, but she was sweating like a fat man. I would know this. The ladies in the tortuga place thought she was about to die. They were fanning her and giving her paper towels. We bought cakes. LOL we also bought fudge at the wife's urging and paying....when we got home, she wondered when and where we got the fudge...thank you senor Frogs.

 

Time to head back to the ship. I now know why our tour guide led us on a 30 minute jaunt across the pier, it was to take us through the building of shops at the pier, so we would know it was familiar and we would blindly go back through it again!!! Uh DUH! Back into it we went. Now I was thirsty and didn't care what I was gonna get, but when we saw the cute little palm tree cups we had to get one....when we actually saw the cute not so little and oh so obscene shape of the base of the cup we had to get two!!! The base of the cup is well.....you just gotta see it and you'll understand. I wont post it here. it's hilarious and I had just the thought for one of hte cups. You are welcome Teri!!

 

Overall we did enjoy our time in Nassau and we liked the island and the excursion will always be rememberable to us as my first success in snorkling.

[silverfoxcruiser]

The ladies in the tortuga place thought she was about to die. They were fanning her and giving her paper towels. We bought cakes. LOL we also bought fudge at the wife's urging and paying....when we got home, she wondered when and where we got the fudge...thank you senor Frogs.

This whole segment had me laughing out loud, but when she wondered when and where.........I lost it. Laughed so hard, if I still wore contacts, I would have had them wandering down my cheeks!! I am still "hard giggling".:D:p

 

You're a good writer!! Silver

[sixgun8]

The ladies in the tortuga place thought she was about to die. They were fanning her and giving her paper towels. We bought cakes. LOL we also bought fudge at the wife's urging and paying....when we got home, she wondered when and where we got the fudge...thank you senor Frogs.

This whole segment had me laughing out loud, but when she wondered when and where.........I lost it. Laughed so hard, if I still wore contacts, I would have had them wandering down my cheeks!! I am still "hard giggling".:D:p

 

You're a good writer!! Silver

 

I am no where near as good as Mach, but I do enjoy trying. He is right on, when he says that writing about it gives you a chance to relive it. Of course, My comedic style is different than his artistic style.

[klwigg59]

great reveiw, we did just the beach break at Blackbeards & enjoyed it too!