The Tale of the Grow Walk ….Hunh? DCL Magic and WDW Review

[wilfros]

Thank you so much for your thread. The time you take to post the photos is really appreciated. Every day I wake up and there are no new posts from you I am disappointed. Can't wait for your next installment.

[jenseib]

Thank you so much for your thread. The time you take to post the photos is really appreciated. Every day I wake up and there are no new posts from you I am disappointed. Can't wait for your next installment.

 

So sorry. I had one hectic week!

I am actually working on an update right now so I should get it up soon.

[wilfros]

So sorry. I had one hectic week!

I am actually working on an update right now so I should get it up soon.

 

PLEASE take your time, I just wanted to let you know how much your efforts are appreciated and anticipated.

[jenseib]

PLEASE take your time, I just wanted to let you know how much your efforts are appreciated and anticipated.

 

 

I do feel bad when I can't get updates up regularly but unfortunately real life doesn't always cooperate. :rolleyes:

[jenseib]

I headed back to the room and got the family going. Sadly, Claire was pretty tired and it took a lot of coaxing to get her moving today. Once we were ready for the day we went and got some breakfast.

 

All the important essentials.

 

 

 

I believe we were eating out back so we could watch us pull into Nassau.

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

I thought that this ship looked like a lego.

 

 

 

A carnival ship already docked.

 

[jenseib]

It was warm out but still extremely windy and the seas had still been rocky out there, but calm as we pulled into the harbor.

 

 

 

 

 

Another Carnival ship coming in.

 

 

I think this is the one that was already docked.

 

[jenseib]

We had plans today! When we sailed the Dream in 2012, Claire tried snorkeling for the first time with the sting ray feeding adventure at Castaway Cay. She took to it easily and she has asked since then to do a real snorkeling excursion. So I looked at options and we booked one for this day. It was a morning excursion and the plan was to do it, come back to the ship for lunch and then take a taxi over to Atlantis to check out the Aquarium.

 

At the designated time we met up with the group.

 

 

Most of Disney’s excursions meet on the ship and then you head out together. I really like that. Most other lines don’t do it that way.

 

After everyone was there and accounted for and we all showed our room keys and ID’s we were escorted off the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

We were led just outside a gate and told that our boat would soon be there for us.

 

[jenseib]

 

They let us in the gated area and our boat arrived.

 

 

And we boarded her.

 

 

I like to people watch and check out the people on excursions with us. There was one family that was all blonde and beautiful…the perfect family. LOL. It was like a family out of a magazine.

Then there was the family with a mom (I don’t remember if a dad was with them or not, but I think so), and she was the loud talker that explained things to her preteen to young teen kids. It was obvious she wanted everyone to hear what a perfect parent she was explaining it all to her kids and you could see her look around to see if anyone else was listening. I swear I attract those kinds everywhere I go and it’s fine to explain to the kids what is going on etc, but I don’t need to hear it. In fact I did do some explaining to Claire….and Skip, but I said it in low tones…..of course Skip said Hunh?

 

Once we all were settled in we took off towards the snorkeling location.

 

 

I thought that boat looked kind of neat.

 

 

The buildings look so pretty and colorful.

 

[jenseib]

We went right around the Mail Boat.

 

 

Some of the boats docked there made me wonder how they were still staying afloat.

 

 

And out to the open seas.

 

 

It was still pretty wavy and for a little boat like this we did do quite a bit of bouncing around. We also received directions as we headed out. Finally we made it to our destination and we came to a stop.

 

There were other people snorkeling in the area as well. I think we had a flag or something to identify which boat was ours and also were told to stay in a certain distance.

 

 

Claire is ready and excited!

 

 

We all used the stairs to jump in. …..remember that family where the Mom explained it all to basically all of us….her kids were blocking the steps because they didn’t want to get in and I think they ended up going back up and waiting till the rest of us went.

 

The water was cold, but we got used to it fast…but it was wavy. It took us a bit to adjust our things so we weren’t swallowing water or getting it in our masks. I will admit, it was kind of hard to snorkel with it being so wavy. Claire was having the most trouble.

I took some underwater pictures and tried to play with them in photoshop, but unless you have a really good camera with a flash, I just don’t think underwater pictures come out all that fabulous.

 

[jenseib]

 

My favorite fish…The Claire.

 

 

And here comes a shark….oh wait, that’s Skip.

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

I am not sure who this guy was…probably one of the instructors.

 

 

Skip kept telling us he saw a bracelet or necklace on the bottom….I never could see it, but he insisted it was there. I think he thought he found treasure because he would tell everyone about it. LOL.

 

 

Claire was struggling and I tried to help her a bit, but I think the waves were just a bit too bumpy for her as a beginner to go with the flow so much.

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

Here is a look at the waves. Now I know they don’t look huge but for a snorkeling day for us who are not super experienced it moved us around more than we would like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

Claire really was struggling. Every time we pointed something out she said she couldn’t see. I really should’ve taken more time to see if her mask was right, because I think she was taking in water more than I thought, which made it hard on her. She also told me later she just had a really hard time looking down and keeping her air thing (that’s the technical term. LOL) out of the water as waves kept going over her.

 

 

But she wasn’t having as hard of a time as those 2 kids with the loud mom. The mom would take each one out separately and the other would cling to the steps at the boat. They did a lot of complaining and I think one was crying. They clearly did not like this at all. At least Claire was giving it a shot….but this was something she wanted to do. I will say Claire was not overly impressed with it when we were done but I think it was the conditions more than anything and she is willing to try it again in the future and hopefully we’ll have calmer seas.

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

I noticed more fish seemed to be in the area all of a sudden.

 

 

And then I realized why. This guy was feeding the fish bread.

 

 

 

At least I assumed it was bread.

 

[jenseib]

 

 

I took a little video of the fishies too.

 

 

 

 

By this time Claire had had it. She was taking in too much water and was feeling cold. I too was getting pretty tired as it was harder swimming with it being wavy and I too was getting a bit cold so I told her I would take her back on the boat. Skip wanted to stay out a bit more, which was fine with us.

 

We headed to the ladder and had to tell the child clinging for life that we wanted up. I think in the end that family just gave up and went back on the boat too. Claire went up and then me. Let’s say I am not graceful using these stairs. I think the ladder is actually easier. I took off my flippers and then threw them on the steps and tried to hoist my body out of the water….It took a few tries…If someone was videoing it, it probably would make America’s Funniest home Videos.

 

We dried off and got situated in our place on the boat.

 

[jenseib]

I believe that is Skip out there in the red trunks….probably still looking at that bracelet!

 

 

They started to call everyone in and Skip made a slight more graceful transfer to the steps than I did.

 

 

But not but much!

 

 

Time to head back.

 

 

I just love how blue the water is.

 

 

[jenseib]

 

This boat appeared to be sinking, but no one seemed to care…I am not sure if it had been there a few days or what. I just found it creepy.

 

 

 

They did hand out snacks and drinks for us as we went back. Just basic small stuff and I think it was koolaid and very watered down.

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

There are always these junky boats here in Nassau. Not sure why, but they look like they will sink…or they are loaded up with garbage too.

 

 

I always love to take pictures of Atlantis…and the plan was to head over there later yet today.

 

 

All the cruise ships docked ahead of us.

 

 

I think this is the most I have seen in port at one time on a visit to Nassau.

 

[jenseib]

Ours is the prettiest though.

 

 

Holy cow! ANOTHER one is coming in too.

 

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

We were dropped off at a different location than where we boarded but still not far from the ship.

 

 

 

We then stood around and decided what to do next.

 

 

We were hungry so we decided to head back to the ship for lunch. The plan had been that after lunch we would head over to Atlantis but Claire only wanted to swim. She complained about how it wasn’t enjoyable while snorkeling because she kept taking in water and that she saw next to nothing. I am pretty sure she was exaggerating but I also knew she was at her max. She had not had enough sleep over the past week and this girl needs a lot of sleep. Skip agreed that we could just spend the afternoon on the ship and forget about Atlantis. I have to admit I was disappointed, but it wasn’t worth an argument. I told them after lunch I may come back on shore though to do a little shopping around.

We headed back towards the ship.

 

[jenseib]

I did take pictures as we walked though.

 

 

I laughed at that sign on the right…..thank goodness they have a large selection of Booty Shorts!

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

I got a shot…sort of…of the new duck tale the ship was sporting.

 

 

[wilfros]

Thanks, really enjoyed your post