The Symphony, The Key, Two Teens, And Me!

[Coralc]

41 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

I think it'd be cheaper for me to get contacts, which I was thinking about.  I don't wear them due to problems they were causing me years ago, but having them to use for a week just for snorkeling (or swimming)?  Seems like the way to go.  I wasn't kidding about being very blind, not legally, but so bad that I doubt it'd be feasible to get lens with the right correction in a mask (large glasses definitely start to look like coke bottles, even with high index lenses).

 

 

If you are looking at contacts, look at Acuvue Oasys lenses. They are very smooth and comfortable to wear. A great improvement over lenses of years ago.  Snorkeling is really fun, when you can see everything clearly. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Coralc

[Grenouille21]

10 hours ago, Judyrem said:

I plan to avoid the buffet too, I eat way too much.🙄  I want to go Johnny Rockets as much as possible for breakfast,.  My granddaughter loves pancakes and bacon, so it is all good for me, and I love poached eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNN8LVX/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=     Best mask ever, no CO2 build up and I used to dive all the time, I am picky about my snorkel masks.

 

 

Oh yeah, eating too much is definitely a problem with buffets.  Lunch is provided for us at the school where I teach, and it is served buffet style, with a salad bar and 4 dishes (main, vegetarian main, vegetables, side) and dessert.  And there is something about the setup that makes me eat more than I would if it were served to me on a plate, or in portions.  

 

That mask looks good!  I might upgrade us now that I know about the CO2 thing, though ours have been fine and we do slide them up now and then to talk to each other or look fo each other.  

 

10 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

So true!  Though I will say when we did an 8 night on Carnival having that 8th night really made me feel like I had truly gotten a week's worth - I think it was having a full Saturday on board at the 2nd end (it was a Sat-Sun cruise).

 

This is good to hear, as our next cruise is an 8 night Saturday to Sunday, with 2 sea days, 3 port days, then 2 sea days.  I am hopeful this feels like a very luxurious vacation!

 

46 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

I think it'd be cheaper for me to get contacts, which I was thinking about.  I don't wear them due to problems they were causing me years ago, but having them to use for a week just for snorkeling (or swimming)?  Seems like the way to go.  I wasn't kidding about being very blind, not legally, but so bad that I doubt it'd be feasible to get lens with the right correction in a mask (large glasses definitely start to look like coke bottles, even with high index lenses).

 

I've sent hubby the information about full face masks and we're for sure buying him one.  I think we might buy me one, too.  I figure my daughter can always use it, too.

 

Thanks for all of your help!

 

I wear contacts, and they work well with the mask for snorkeling.  Give it a try!  The disposable ones are great, as mentioned below.  I use the same brand and change them every 2 weeks, and it works out great!  I also take mine out as soon as I get home from work (if we aren't going back out) and any time we are at home for a while I do not wear them.  I also do not sleep with them in, which is what causes problems for a lot of people.  Maybe get a trial pair and see how it goes!  That could literally open up a whole new world to you!

 

36 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

Thanks for the information.  I've not done snorkeling on a tour so wasn't sure how strict they'd be.  If I go, I definitely wouldn't free dive!  (Doubt my ears could take it.)

 

It's definitely best if you're compatible.  One of my daughter's BFF's grandmother is my cruise companion.  We have a blast, quite honestly.  But that's rare, I know.  I hope you can work something out!

 

And thanks again for a marvelous review!

 

I would totally get along with her BFF's mom, but not sure she would travel without her husband and other daughter.  It would 100% solve the DD problem.  

 

Speaking of which, she shared more about why she hated it.  She said it was because for a lot of activities 12-17 year olds were all together, and she wished there had been separate rooms.  That is what she meant by too many people.  Well that isn't going to change, but I know for sure there will be fewer teens on our next cruise (smaller ship = fewer people = probably fewer teens) so hopefully it will work out next time.

 

5 minutes ago, Coralc said:

 

If you are looking at contacts, look at Acuvue Oasys lenses. They are very smooth and comfortable to wear. A great improvement over lenses of years ago.  Snorkeling is really fun, when you can see everything clearly. 

 

These are the ones I wear, and I agree they are comfortable and much better than contacts of the past.  Very low maintenance, and easy to wear even just for a few hours.  

[mayleeman]

@2long2nxtcrz   Contacts might be the way to go. I never wore them. I had Lasik years ago when I started swimming for exercise so I could see my stuff across the pool. So I sympathize about the thick glasses thing. You might be able to get goggles with a prescription, but they are not as comfortable for snorkeling as a mask. I would start with a regular mask, though, because the water magnifies everything and things will look sharper than you might think. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by mayleeman
changed person addressed

[Grenouille21]

Day 7 continued

 

We left Johnny Rockets and headed off the ship.  It was nice not being on a tight schedule, since we had docked early and got up early.  

 

 

It was weird.  When we headed down, as we got to the gangway we were diverted and told to go to the next exit... through here...

 

 

Which was odd, Because it was clearly a crew area, and depressing because those are the luggage cages that would be taking everyone's belongings off the ship the next day.  

 

So, on to our plans for the day.  

 

DD is in 9th grade.  Part of her 9th grade graduation requirement is that she has to do at least 10 hours of community service by the end of May.  She has taken zero initiative on this and before our vacation she had done 2 hours, because her BFF's mom organized something for their group of friends.  I went back and forth.  Do I butt in and schedule it (she would probably need me to transport her to most service places)?  Do I leave it up to her and let her learn the consequences?  Tough parenting call.  She tends to ignore her responsibilities and hope they will go away, and that doesn't happen, so then she gets overwhelmed and has no idea what to do.  If she would ask for help in the first place this wouldn't happen, but that's a story for later.  

 

So I remembered that sometimes cruise lines have volunteer excursions available.  Unfortunately ours had no opportunities (one later popped up but we had plans already).  So I did some digging.  And I found Hope Floats.  I am not affiliated in any way with Hope Floats.  I do not get any compensation or benefits for mentioning them.  They do not know I am reviewing this cruise, or any of this.  This is a genuine recommendation (as was my recommendation for Royston in St. Kitts- which was also unsolicited).  Both Hope Floats and Royston are excellent and I want to give back by giving them the credit they deserve.

 

I contacted Cathy at Hope Floats because all of their Nassau excursions seemed to begin at 9:30am, and we were supposed to dock at 10 and debark at 10:30.  I didn't know if it would be OK for us to be "late".  She replied that it was no problem, and she thought the Bahamas Humane Society excursion would be a good fit for us.  We talked on the phone and agreed to set this up.  She called them and made sure we could volunteer for the day, and gave us the go ahead to book this.  Yes, you pay to volunteer.  No, you are not "getting" anything for your money.  No free lunch, no air conditioned bus, not even a murder van.  Though I am certain you could find a murder van if you wanted to.  Do I know where the money went?  No.  Do I care?  No.  Why not?  Because they are connecting people with people in need, and that is a good thing, and in one way or another the money is going toward a good thing.  And that's what matters, right?  Right.  

 

So we left the ship, and went into the port that some describe as "scary" or whatever because there are people "harassing" you (no they are competing for business not harassing you, harassment looks very different and if you don't know that consider yourself lucky).  I found a guy who was looking for people to put in a taxi, told him where we were going, and he led us to a taxi van (very different from a murder van as it had actual glass windows).  We were with a few other groups who were going to resorts.  It felt a little weird going to the Humane Society when everyone else has their bathing suits, beach bags, and towels.  I was almost embarrassed, like the others in the van would think we were looking down on them for indulging in an AI resort instead of doing community service like we were.  We weren't looking down on anyone, I just hoped it didn't seem like we were.  

 

So off we went through Nassau, on the most perfect day ever.  The colors of the Bahamas never cease to amaze me.  

 

 

 

 

BTW those were all taken from the van, with my phone, as we were driving.  I have no idea how they turned out so amazing.

 

After a short drive, we arrived at the Bahamas Humane Society.  

 

I swear I had planned on writing this part up tonight but it suddenly is almost midnight and I have been exhausted at work all week.  More tomorrow, I hope!

Edited April 4, 2019 by Grenouille21

[perfect match]

16 hours ago, Judyrem said:

I plan to avoid the buffet too, I eat way too much.🙄  I want to go Johnny Rockets as much as possible for breakfast,.  My granddaughter loves pancakes and bacon, so it is all good for me, and I love poached eggs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DNN8LVX/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=     Best mask ever, no CO2 build up and I used to dive all the time, I am picky about my snorkel masks.

 

 

That’s an interesting looking snorkel mask. I like that it allows you to clear your ears. I am also pleased to see that the mask manufacturers have taken steps to prevent CO2 build up in these masks. 

17 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Sometimes with the app, I found I had to sign out and back in to have it updated.  Other items might have been updated as well closer to the date.

 

For our Symphony cruise, the first night (Day 4) iSkate was showing at 7:15pm and 9pm.  Second night (Day 6), it was on at 7pm.

 

Thanks for the tip about refreshing the app to be sure we know the correct times for asows and activities. I will be sure to do that if I’m not logging out anyway to use a different device.

[Cel_cruise]

Do you know where the street is with the umbrellas above?? I would love to stroll thru there on our Nassau day!! I tried to make out the store names for an address but my sleuthing skills are just not working..


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[suesnake2002]

Bahama barrels by greycliff, the address given us west hill street. Google maps says 11 min walk from pier entrance. 

[mayleeman]

34 minutes ago, suesnake2002 said:

Bahama barrels by greycliff, the address given us west hill street. Google maps says 11 min walk from pier entrance. 

@Cel_cruise It is one (long) block south straight up Cumberland from the intersection where Bay St ends at the British Colonial Hilton, and two (short) blocks east of the US Embassy which is at West St and Hill. It is the first winery in the Bahamas.

 

Incidentally, just across Hill St is the Heritage Museum of the Bahamas, and around the corner straight south of the US Embassy on West St is the Nat'l Museum of the Bahamas. The John Watling rum distillery is in that area, too, two blocks south and one block west of the Embassy. Lots to do in that area, but the uphill trek from Bay St can get pretty hot, especially when there is no breeze.

 

 

[SuiteLady]

3 hours ago, Cel_cruise said:

Do you know where the street is with the umbrellas above?? I would love to stroll thru there on our Nassau day!! I tried to make out the store names for an address but my sleuthing skills are just not working..


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I know of an umbrella street in San Juan, but not the Bahamas.....didn't know they had one too??

[ShillyShally]

20 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

This is good to hear, as our next cruise is an 8 night Saturday to Sunday, with 2 sea days, 3 port days, then 2 sea days.  I am hopeful this feels like a very luxurious vacation!

Sounds perfect!  Which ship/line?

[Grenouille21]

3 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

Sounds perfect!  Which ship/line?

 

Adventure of the Seas.  Trying out a smaller ship to see if DD likes the club better.  Ok that is only a small part of the reason, really it is because of the itinerary and wanting to try a smaller ship in general.  I booked it before we sailed on Symphony, because I got a GREAT price.  

 

Also I keep meaning to tell you that I was vegan for 5 years, and gluten free for 4 of those same years.  Travel is one of the reasons I stopped being vegan, also because it was just too much to manage, and also because I was pretty much living on the vegan junk food (chips are vegan, and we have a vegan gluten free bakery down the street...).  Anyway, every time I see your signature I think "I should acknowledge the vegan connection" and then 5 seconds later I see something shiny and forget.  

Edited April 4, 2019 by Grenouille21

[lcpagejr]

38 minutes ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

Adventure of the Seas.  Trying out a smaller ship to see if DD likes the club better.  Ok that is only a small part of the reason, really it is because of the itinerary and wanting to try a smaller ship in general.  I booked it before we sailed on Symphony, because I got a GREAT price.  

 

Also I keep meaning to tell you that I was vegan for 5 years, and gluten free for 4 of those same years.  Travel is one of the reasons I stopped being vegan, also because it was just too much to manage, and also because I was pretty much living on the vegan junk food (chips are vegan, and we have a vegan gluten free bakery down the street...).  Anyway, every time I see your signature I think "I should acknowledge the vegan connection" and then 5 seconds later I see something shiny and forget.  

We are cruising on the 8 day itinerary April 13th.... I plan on writing a review however it will be no where near as detailed , humorous, and well put together as your review of Symphony was!!!  LOL  BUt hopefully I can give you some information for you to look forward to

Edited April 4, 2019 by lcpagejr

[Grenouille21]

16 minutes ago, lcpagejr said:

We are cruising on the 8 day itinerary April 13th.... I plan on writing a review however it will be no where near as detailed , humorous, and well put together as your review of Symphony was!!!  LOL  BUt hopefully I can give you some information for you to look forward to

 

Thank you for your kind words.  Oooh, yes!  Are you on the Adventure?  I would really appreciate hearing about it so I can start planning.  I am certain that your review will be awesome and informative!

[lcpagejr]

1 minute ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

Thank you for your kind words.  Oooh, yes!  Are you on the Adventure?  I would really appreciate hearing about it so I can start planning.  I am certain that your review will be awesome and informative!

Yes...we will be on Adventure of the Seas in 9 days.... Review to follow!!

[Cel_cruise]

 
Thank you for your kind words.  Oooh, yes!  Are you on the Adventure?  I would really appreciate hearing about it so I can start planning.  I am certain that your review will be awesome and informative!

We were on Navigator out of Galveston a few years ago and I love that ship class! Adventure and it’s awesome itinerary would have been high on the list of my preference for our upcoming April vacation! We also cruised Liberty out of Galveston...I suspect that I will prefer the size of those ships to Symphony especially with a port intensive cruise..Just a little more relaxing...


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[Grenouille21]

37 minutes ago, lcpagejr said:

Yes...we will be on Adventure of the Seas in 9 days.... Review to follow!!

 

Awesome!!!  Will be watching for this, for sure!

 

32 minutes ago, Cel_cruise said:

We were on Navigator out of Galveston a few years ago and I love that ship class! Adventure and it’s awesome itinerary would have been high on the list of my preference for our upcoming April vacation! We also cruised Liberty out of Galveston...I suspect that I will prefer the size of those ships to Symphony especially with a port intensive cruise..Just a little more relaxing...
 

 

 

I really want to try a Freedom Class but can't find an itinerary that will work.  Freedom is in San Juan forever, it seems, and while their Southern visits some ports I REALLY want to see, it is SO port intensive I am not sure it will be a good choice for us.  Indy's Caribbean itineraries are too short, and the European itineraries I want are not on dates we can travel.  Liberty is in TX and doesn't seem to go beyond the Western locations we have already been to (Cozumel, Jamaica, etc.).  I am sure I will try one soon enough, just need to figure out which one.  

 

Gosh, life is so challenging.  

[Grenouille21]

Day 7 continued

 

The taxi pulled up to the Humane Society, I paid our fare, and we climbed out of the (not murder) van.  

 

Now, when I had planned this, we had 3 options: Humane Society, Soup Kitchen, and Salvation Army.  I know myself fairly well, and I do not do well with homeless animals.  Meaning, I want to take them all home. It breaks my heart to think of all of the animals that do not have homes, or live in tiny spaces, with little to no human interaction.  Breaks my heart.  So I told DD in no way would we be going to the Humane Society.  No no no no.  When I spoke with the head of Hope Floats, I told her we would like to work in the soup kitchen.  Yes, homeless humans are sad as well, and I understand that people may not understand why I seem to care more about the animals.  I guess it is because the animals don't understand their circumstances.  Ugh I can't even talk about it.  It all makes me sad but I really did not want to go to the Humane Society.  But Cathy talked me into it.  How could I say no?  

 

I wasn't really sure what to expect, since we hadn't been in contact with anyone actually in the Humane Society.  And I hadn't really thought about that until the moment we got out of the taxi.  What are we supposed to do here?  Who are we supposed to talk to?  What are we even going to do for 2-3 hours?  I started to feel nervous.  

 

I am going to sidestep here to say there was some information that I did not find out until later, which affected our experience on this day.  I hesitated to share any of our experience here because I didn't want to make the Humane Society sound bad, but I wanted to be honest about our experience.  Let me be clear: this is not about the animals or their conditions or their treatment.  That is not where this is going.  The things that made this an odd experience had nothing to do with the animals, and nothing bad happened, and despite how things went I would still recommend this experience to anyone looking to volunteer or adopt an animal in Nassau.  So as you read this, keep in mind that there is an explanation at the end, and that at no time did anything bad happen to anyone or any animal and that is not where this story is going.  So exhale and read on. 

 

We walked in to what was obviously a veterinarian waiting room. There were 4 or 5 people waiting, all with dogs.  There were 2 young men in an enclosed reception cubicle, and one was on the phone.  We walked up to the counter and said we were here to volunteer, and he said to have a seat.  We admired the dogs in the waiting area.  One was a little brown puppy named Chocolate, who was sleeping in a basket.  One was a little dog wrapped in a blanket.  One was a big dog that barked at any dog who came in to the room.  There were a few others who came and went.  All of the women with the dogs were very nice.  

 

We waited, and waited.  30 minutes passed, dogs had gone in and out of the waiting room and vet's office, new dogs and owners had come in, and we were still waiting.  I was hoping someone would come along soon so we could get started, so DD could get as many hours in as possible.  

 

Finally one of the guys in the cubicle waved us back through a door.  He didn't say much, just that this other guy would show us what to do.  The other guy walked us through the building, through a smaller building where there were a few animals in smaller cages (this was where the animals who would be having surgery were; the cages weren't their regular homes, but we didn't know that until we walked through later and took a little more time).  We went outside, walked past some large outdoor enclosures with dogs, past some other buildings (the whole place is a compound, with several small buildings, shelters, and outdoor enclosures), and over to a cinder block building that had a big dog in a fenced area next to it, and a bathtub on cinderblocks with a tap in the middle.  

 

"You're going to wash some puppies" he said.

 

"What?" I said.  "Um, well, part of that sounds OK, but part of that is a little bit of a concern because we have never washed animals before."

 

"No problem," he said.  "Its just like you wash yourself."

 

No.  It is NOT just like you wash yourself.  It is nothing like how I wash myself.  I do not try to claw my way out of the tub, screaming, only to be picked up and put back by a giant.  

 

But we were up for helping in any way possible, so he handed me a jug of soap, fished 3 puppies out of a small enclosure, and went about his work cleaning out their little area.  

 

Have you ever bathed a puppy?  How about three of them at the same time, with people (including yourself) who have never bathed animals before?  

 

Hilarity ensued.  

 

I have no idea how to bathe puppies.  But this is what we did.  

 

I sort of wet the puppies first, cupping water in my hand and rubbing it on the puppies' backs, thinking that was probably a good way to begin. The puppies did not think this was a good way to begin. 

 

I had no idea how to hold down a puppy and get soap out of a big heavy jug, so I put the jug in the bathtub (we didn't fill the bathtub, just let the water run with the drain open), opened the jug, tipped it to the side, stuck my fingers in there and smeared soap on DD and DS's hands.  As I was doing this the puppies tried to climb out, we picked them up and put them back, they tried to get out, etc.  And they were yelping and whining.

 

Meanwhile the big dog in the fenced in area next to us decided this would be a great time to escape.  The fence was about 4 feet high on one part and very tall in other parts.  The dog basically climbed the short part and just scooted itself up... up... up... and over the fence.  The guys in the building didn't see it happening because they were very busy and they were inside so I started calling to them "Hey, HEY!  HEY the dog is getting out, the dog over here, its climbing out of the fence... hey... um, its over the fence....!" and finally one guy came out.  

 

"I knew the dog was crazy but I didn't know he was that crazy."  And he calmly took the dog and actually I have no idea what he did because I was trying to keep 3 puppies in the tub.  

 

So we managed to soap them up and then we cupped water in one hand while holding the puppy with the other hand and rinsed them off.  I have no idea if that is how you do it but that is how we did it.  DS and DD had no idea what they were doing, and were constantly just laughing and going "Aaaah, AAAAAH! MOM!  Its trying to get out, help... HELP!!" and I had to try to help them but also keep my puppy in the tub and in case you can't tell it was like some sitcom moment but we were actually living it.  

 

This makes it look so calm and peaceful and in all honesty I have no idea how I managed to get a photo of this.

 

 

But then how do you dry off 3 puppies?  I don't know how I actually managed to do this and not have it end in disaster but I think I had DS hold my puppy down and his puppy, and I grabbed a towel, then gave it to one of the kids and lifted the puppy into the towel and they wrapped it around the puppy.  Maybe, or maybe I did it myself and handed them the toweled puppy bundle.  I don't know.  It was chaos. 

 

We gave the guy back the clean puppies (I wish we had snuggled them a bit more but we weren't really thinking clearly) and he handed us another round.  These puppies were smaller, and younger, than the first set.  

 

I felt so so so bad for these puppies.  They were screaming.  Screaming.  They hated the bath so so so much.  They were trying to get out even more than the first round of puppies.  We were talking gently and calmly to them but that did nothing.  We managed to get them soaped and rinsed and toweled, but as I was drying mine off I noticed fleas.  I pulled back the towel and there were fleas everywhere.  I looked at DS's puppies and there were also fleas everywhere.  DD had given her clean and dry puppy back already but it likely had fleas, too.  

 

 

 

I tried to wash the 2 puppies we still had again.  I looked at the directions on the soap and it said "For best results leave on for 5-10 minutes."  No, that's not happening, but I tried my best to keep the soap on for a while.  But they were soooooooo unhappy with this idea.  I tried my previous method of rinsing which was cupping water and rubbing the puppy with the water but that wasn't getting the fleas off.  I held the puppy's back in the water stream to try to wash off any dead fleas and that puppy did not appreciate my efforts.  We tried to wash DS's puppy again at the same time and it was the same thing.  

 

I couldn't get the fleas off.  There were just so many of them.  

 

I suddenly had visions of us bringing fleas back and infesting the ship, and infesting the airplane, and infesting our home... I have no idea how fleas work but I was not interested in finding out.

 

I wrapped up my puppy and snuggled and did more calm quiet talking and got her calmed down, but I was still so freaked out about the fleas I wanted to give her back to the guy.  I told him they were covered in fleas and we couldn't get them off and all he said was "Oh, they're supposed to have had their shots."  And that's it.  He put them back in the cage.  We picked fleas off ourselves and I asked the kids if they wanted to try something else and they said yes.

 

I asked if we could do something else, and he walked us back to one of the main buildings.  

 

We waited in the hallway for a while as he disappeared into some room.  A woman walked by, and she was wearing a name tag with her name on it (of course).  Her name rang a bell, and I realized it was the name the woman from Hope Floats had told me would be a contact for verifying DD's community service hours at school.  I stopped her and said we were here from Hope Floats, and that we had been washing puppies but they had fleas so we were hoping to do something else, and I thought maybe she would take over for the guys who didn't seem to know what they were doing.  She did not, however.  She said that perhaps the guy who was helping us (whose name I did not know) would have us walk some dogs.  Sure enough, as though she had summoned him, a new guy came out of a room with leashes and said we were going to walk some dogs.  Ok, we don't really have much experience with that either, but at least we won't get fleas.  

 

So he rounded up 3 dogs.  DS got a dog who had free reign over the whole complex.  DD got a mama dog.  I got a dog that had a LOT of energy.  A LOT.  The guy took us out through a parking area that had cars and trucks of people who worked there, on a dirt and gravel area.  As we walked through, we noticed that under every single car and truck, hiding in the shade, was a cat.  We had noticed a few cats roaming the property, and here were a bunch more.  I have no idea if they belonged to the Humane Society or not.  Maybe they just know this is a place that animals hang out?  Maybe they belong to people but come here to get extra food sometimes?  I still don't know.  It was really funny to see, though.  

 

The guy told us to go down the sidewalk, around the bend, and to the big open area.  

 

"[This dog] knows where to go.  He will show you the way."  

 

Ok.  

 

So off we went.  DS immediately fell in love with his dog and nicknamed him Burger.  Burger was pulling at the leash to go faster, so DS ran with him a bit.  My dog was pulling at me to go faster, and I wanted to run, but DD's dog seemed more timid.  You can see how far behind she was.

 

 

DD tried to encourage her, but she kept stopping and trying to turn back.  I took my dog back and tried to get the mama dog to go along with "the pack" but she was having none of it.  We really tried, but we are super inexperienced so DD just walked her back.  

 

DS and I ran our dogs around the bend to the open area, where they walked around and did their business.  The neighborhood was beautiful, and if you have ever driven through Nassau we were near the Ardastra gardens/zoo that is one of the excursion options on many ships.  In fact, unbeknownst to me, a friend had just been in Nassau a day earlier, on the Dream, and had gone to Ardastra, and had passed the humane society and heard about it from her tour guide.   

 

Our dogs were done, so we went back to the Humane Society.  

 

The dogs were returned to their places and we were told we would be going to the thrift store.  As we were walking thorough the complex, we said we really didn't have experience with dogs, but were very comfortable with cats.  He showed us the "teenage cats" house, and then the kitten house and I guess we must have had a big reaction because he ditched the thrift store idea and said we could just hang out and play with the kittens to help socialize them.  Fine by me!!!

 

I don't know how many kittens were in there, maybe 10-15, and to be fair most were probably closer to a year old, so not really what you think of when you hear the word "kittens" but they were still very playful and curious.  This was very familiar territory for us as we have 2 cats at home, so we just dove right in.  Within a few minutes DD had a kitten in her lap and DS was playing with a few kittens.  

 

 

They had named all of the ones that were interacting with us.  

 

We named this one Mittens, for obvious reasons.

 

 

We have nicknamed one of our cats at home "Mittens" for similar reasons, though she is polydactyl so she really does have "mittens".  

 

We probably stayed there for an hour, just playing and petting them.  I tried to get some of the shy ones to open up, and a few of them did.  There were a bunch of cats in one corner, sleeping and just being lazy, so I went over there to see them.  There was a table there, that had a shelf down under it, maybe a foot off the ground.  A few cats were on the table and a few cats were on the shelf.  

 

While I was petting one of the cats who was on the floor over there, a cat emerged from under the table and startled me for 2 reasons.  1) I had no idea it had been under the shelf, and 2) it looked like a watered down version of one of our cats!

 

 

Our cat:

 

She is the polydactyl, who has mittens:

 

 

And for good measure, our other cat, who looks like a kitten but will be 17 years old next month:

 

 

Back to the Humane Society...

 

These two were soooooo cute, but when I got close the one that is staring at me ran away.

 

 

We played for a while, and then it was about 1:15.  We hadn't had lunch, and the ship was leaving at 3:30, I think.  I collect magnets from everywhere we visit, and I wanted a t-shirt, so I decided we should leave.  I was getting anxious about having enough time to get to the ship.  

 

We walked back through the buildings, this time we took our time and looked around a bit, and that's when we figured out that the one building was the surgery waiting room, or whatever.  There were some TINY kittens in there that were SO SO SO cute!!!!!  

 

We found the guy at the front desk, and said we had to leave, and said thank you, and asked how to get back to the port.  He said he would call a taxi.  

 

Now, what I found out later was, the people who were supposed to be "in charge" of us were on vacation, and no one had stepped up to be our volunteer guide.  

 

When we got home, I emailed the founder of Hope Floats, who I had talked to on the phone and via email, who had set this up, and asked about our experience.  She told me, and I shared our experience (very, very politely and pretty much the way I did here, which hopefully does not make anyone there look bad).   They were supposed to give us a tour of the place, tell us about it, ask us what we wanted to do, and be nearby while we were volunteering.  Pretty much none of those things happened.  I only knew the names of 2 people there, and one was only because she was wearing a name tag.  

 

I hadn't expected a big welcome party or anything, but in my experience with volunteering there is usually someone there who greets you and is in charge of the volunteers for the day.  But those people were on vacation.  That's why we waited for 30 minutes.  That's why we were thrown into bathing puppies.  That's why we didn't know anyone's names, or anything about the facility.  That's why the technicalities of volunteering felt disorganized, even though everything else there seemed very organized and well-run.  There was no one in charge that day.  It happens.  The place was obviously still running smoothly.  Everyone was busy, animals were taken care of, no one was running around frantically trying to keep it together, it felt like business as usual, which is good because they were doing a great job with all of that!  They just didn't know what to do with us, and if that is the worst thing I can say about them, then I consider that no big deal.  If anyone feels differently, I could further explain my position. 

 

 

 

We rode back to the port.  On the way, I saw this sign, and had DD take a photo.  Right as we passed this group of people moved in front of it and just stood there, like they were trying to hide it.

 

 

 

It must really be a secret.  

 

Do any of you know why I thought this sign was funny?  Think way back to the 1980's... or maybe 1970's.  I'll leave you to ponder that mystery.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Grenouille21

[crewsweeper]

Noticed the windows/doors next to the sign are boarded up.  Must be an "ancient" sign.

[ShillyShally]

14 hours ago, Grenouille21 said:

 

Adventure of the Seas.  Trying out a smaller ship to see if DD likes the club better.  Ok that is only a small part of the reason, really it is because of the itinerary and wanting to try a smaller ship in general.  I booked it before we sailed on Symphony, because I got a GREAT price.  

 

Also I keep meaning to tell you that I was vegan for 5 years, and gluten free for 4 of those same years.  Travel is one of the reasons I stopped being vegan, also because it was just too much to manage, and also because I was pretty much living on the vegan junk food (chips are vegan, and we have a vegan gluten free bakery down the street...).  Anyway, every time I see your signature I think "I should acknowledge the vegan connection" and then 5 seconds later I see something shiny and forget.  

Oh cool, I didn't realize Royal had many 8 days - that should be a blast!!

 

And I get that - for me it's been over a decade and all about the animal connection so I don't even think of it as hard - it makes some travel more adventurous but we've found some amazing food in cities we never expected and it often takes us off the beaten path!  Travel can get tough though - and I fully admit some evenings it's about the more convenient and less healthy vegan options but I love to cook and love veggies so at home we rarely eat out.  On Indy we got amazing veggie sushi at Isumzi, the chef just went crazy making us stuff, we were so stuffed!  We've found sushi is an easy go to at island resorts since chefs are usually happy to get creative with what they have on hand at the fresh sushi bars.  Quite a few Royal ships even have vegan menus now for dinner in the MDR BUT we never made it to the MDR and Indy is one that has it - usually for cruising it helps ensure we never overindulge on food lol!

[ShillyShally]

13 hours ago, lcpagejr said:

Yes...we will be on Adventure of the Seas in 9 days.... Review to follow!!

Awesome, I can't wait for this review too, have so much fun!

[ShillyShally]

Kudos for braving and doing the humane society volunteering - sorry it was calamity!  Thanks for the pics, so happy to hear it's run well!

[TanaQ]

Fantastic review.  My son wants to go on Symphony next.  Your review makes me want to go ASAP!

[Marbel69]

Great review of the Humane Society - I personally would have been a little leary not knowing if the animals had been vaccinated or not.  And once I saw all the fleas, I probably would have called it a day.

[Grenouille21]

15 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

Oh cool, I didn't realize Royal had many 8 days - that should be a blast!!

 

And I get that - for me it's been over a decade and all about the animal connection so I don't even think of it as hard - it makes some travel more adventurous but we've found some amazing food in cities we never expected and it often takes us off the beaten path!  Travel can get tough though - and I fully admit some evenings it's about the more convenient and less healthy vegan options but I love to cook and love veggies so at home we rarely eat out.  On Indy we got amazing veggie sushi at Isumzi, the chef just went crazy making us stuff, we were so stuffed!  We've found sushi is an easy go to at island resorts since chefs are usually happy to get creative with what they have on hand at the fresh sushi bars.  Quite a few Royal ships even have vegan menus now for dinner in the MDR BUT we never made it to the MDR and Indy is one that has it - usually for cruising it helps ensure we never overindulge on food lol!

 

I had such good food on DCL as a vegan.  We had a fantastic Head Server/Dining Room Manager who we schmoozed (I was sailing with a friend and her kids, and she is GREAT at schmoozing people) so he had his friend the chef make special off-the-menu food for me that was fantastic.  

 

I am still conflicted about animals, but there are a lot more reasons why this is best for now, anyway.  

 

15 hours ago, ShillyShally said:

Kudos for braving and doing the humane society volunteering - sorry it was calamity!  Thanks for the pics, so happy to hear it's run well!

 

I am sad it went this way.  I really didn't make it clear that all of the guys who were helping us were no more than 18 years old.  So again, these guys are not "in charge" and it just wasn't a good day.  We helped the animals and had fun doing it, and I never had a concern about the animals' treatment.  

 

13 hours ago, TanaQ said:

Fantastic review.  My son wants to go on Symphony next.  Your review makes me want to go ASAP!

 

Do it!  Book early and just do it.  You won't regret it!  

 

13 hours ago, Marbel69 said:

Great review of the Humane Society - I personally would have been a little leary not knowing if the animals had been vaccinated or not.  And once I saw all the fleas, I probably would have called it a day.

 

I know shelters won't put animals in the adoption pool unless they are vaccinated.  These guys/gals had missed their flu shots and were so little and completely isolated, I wasn't too worried about disease, just fleas.  I am a teacher and every year some classroom in our school has an issue with lice so bugs are a trigger for me.  

 

None of the kittens had fleas, as far as I could tell, and if there were an issue with it they would have had it.  So I am sure the fleas were a one off, and that it was taken care of.  Of course I wasn't sure of that at the time, which is why I asked to try something else.  The guy took us to the thrift shop but we got sidetracked by the cats and, well, the rest is history.  If the cats had been unhealthy I would have left. 

[Grenouille21]

Day 7 continued

 

You guys, I have been burning the candle at both ends and the middle, and it has taken a toll on me, and my writing has sucked as a result.  I apologize that you had to read such boring drivel and I promise to bring this back to the standard you have come to expect. 

 

We got stuck in traffic going back to the cruise port, and it was stressing me out.  On the one hand I knew we had plenty of time, but we were sitting in a taxi, going nowhere.  There is nothing that feels good about that, regardless of how much time you have on your side.  There were tons of people walking around, and I wanted to get out and walk, but I wasn't sure how far we were from the port.  We eventually started moving and we were dropped off near the entrance to the port.

 

I could see that a few more ships were in port, which explained all of the people.  When I say there were a lot of people, I mean there were a LOT of people.  It was very obvious they had all come from cruise ships.  I was kind of glad we hadn't done anything else at that point.

 

I had wanted to do some shopping so we looked at a few of the stands in the port.  They mostly only took cash, though, and the one that said she would take credit cards didn't have anything we wanted.  So we had to find an ATM, which meant leaving the port.  Sigh.

 

So we went back out of the port and walked over to one of the streets nearby.  Just FYI because I know this is often a hot topic on cruise boards: it felt completely safe in the shopping area, and even in the neighborhood where we had walked the dogs, no different from other port areas or neighborhoods.  There were shops and restaurants and banks, or homes and sidewalks and grass.  There were tourists and locals.  Maybe it is because I have lived in the 3rd largest city in the USA all of my life so I do not live in a bubble, but it felt completely safe. I had no qualms walking around a place that had Cartier and Burger King down the block from each other (not that I was shopping at Cartier or eating at Burger King, not that there's anything wrong with that). 

 

I got some cash and we went looking for sweatshirts for DS, because that was what he wanted.  Take note: this is the ONE thing you apparently cannot find in Nassau: sweatshirts for men.  We did not know this until we looked in at least 7 stores.  Hats?  Of course, can I interest you in a baseball cap or a fedora?  T-shirts?  SO MANY T-SHIRTS.  Candles?  Sure, who doesn't go to the Bahamas to stock up on candles?  Seeeeeeeeeexxxxxxy shirts?  Most definitely!  But sweatshirts for men?  Nope. 

 

I was getting antsy about getting back to the ship on time, and I was getting frustrated with DS who would not budge on wanting a sweatshirt even though there were none to be found.  "How about a t-shirt?"  "No, I won't wear any of these t-shirts."  "Perhaps a hat, then?"  "No, none of these hats are anything I would wear."  We found a mega souvenir shop and I said this was it; find SOMETHING or get nothing.  I found a t-shirt, DD found a shirt (not seeeeeeeeeexxxxxxxxy), I found a magnet, and DS decided on a bracelet (which I have not seen since I gave it to him after paying for it). Whatever.  We were done. 

 

And then we headed back to the ship.  I was still super anxious about boarding on time.  It was maybe 2:30 and I think we were scheduled to leave at 3:30 so we had plenty of time, I was just freaking out.  The panic had taken over and I was under it's spell.  It was an echo from my childhood when my mother would go into a Stage 10 panic both before and at the end of vacations.  I don't normally panic on either side of a vacation, unless we are genuinely running late, but there I was less than 10 minutes away from the gangway with more than 60 minutes on the clock feeling like...

 

 

I am going to repeat this again.  If you are feeling nervous walking around Nassau's port area because you heard they have a Level 2 warning from the US security or whatever, and you forgot that every other port in the Caribbean has the same warning, and the US itself has a Level 2 warning, and all of Europe has a Level 2 warning, but you heard that Nassau JUST got a Level 2 warning and now you have decided it is completely unsafe even though you never knew there were warning levels before, and now you are not sure you should go beyond that tall gate in the port because there are guys in camp with guns there and why would they be there if it were totally safe here is what you should do: just work yourself into a panic about getting back to the ship on time and not only will people leave you alone, you won't even care that other people are occupying the same space as you. 

 

So in a totally and completely unrelated note because of course I was not panicking or worrying about getting back to the ship on time, I made DD and DS half run back to the port with me. Of course we made it with plenty of time.  Just like I knew we would, because what kind of lunatic would panic about getting on the ship on time when they are less than 10 minutes from the actual gangway?  Certainly not me! 

 

I have no idea what came over me that day.  I should probably apologize to DD and DS. Or maybe just write this off as one of those "Character Building" things I am supposed to do as an investment in their future therapy sessions.

 

As I mentioned earlier, we had some new neighbors.  NCL Bliss had parked next to us, so I took some photos.

 

 

"Mine is bigger than yours"

 

 

We got back on board and grabbed some pizza and bought some Symphony of the Seas souvenirs in the Royal shop (BTW they DO have men's sweatshirts here, so save yourself the trouble and shop local), then went up to the room to shower and change.  While DD and DS were getting ready I took some more photos from the balcony.  I had so many questions about the one random sunbather on the helipad:

 

 

I wonder how many dads made the "Oh I see they parked my boat here for me, how nice!" joke. 

 

 

 

 

I also sat out on the balcony to read and get some sun, rather than trying to find a chair up on the pool deck.  I also sat there to watch people return to the ship.  We were supposed to depart Nassau at 3:30, but it was 4:00 and people were still lallygagging and taking their sweet time getting to the ship.  What is wrong with these people???  Every time I thought the last people had boarded I saw more people with blue towels approaching at a leisurely pace.  I would have been sprinting and crying!  We didn't leave until 4:30!  What is wrong with people????

 

So anyway, with it being our last night, I wanted some Solarium time.  I changed into my bathing suit, grabbed my Kindle, and headed over there.  I don't know what the kids did.  Who cares about them, it was the last night of MY cruise. 

 

In the elevator I heard some people talking about the Aqua Nation show that was happening tonight.  They were saying that it was really lame, not nearly as good as Hiro, "just" a water show, and totally not worth it.  This sounded surprising, but I told DD later that we wouldn't go since it sounded pretty bad.

 

Got a few last photos in the Solarium, and of the hot tub just outside.

 

 

 

It looks so different in different lighting

 

 

I know I shared this already but I miss this pool!  My happy place on the ship!  I am sorry I did not fully appreciate you last time.  I will spend so much more time with you next time.  Love you!  Miss you!

 

 

Another fabulous sunset at sea in the golden hour.

 

 

 

And slowly walking back to my room to get ready for dinner.

 

 

We packed most of our things at some point, so we wouldn't have to do it later.  I have apparently blocked that from my memory.

 

This was the last time we would dine with Vinko and Shadeik and I Putu.  I wasn't ready to go back to planning meals, buying ingredients for meals, forgetting one ingredient and having to run back to the store, cooking meals, watching no one eat the meals, throwing the meals away, and washing all of the dishes.  So sad!!!

 

DD and I ordered Steak Diane with fries, because we could.  I am so so so hungry right now and this looks so good.  I really need to go get something to eat.  Also I highly recommend you just disregard whatever side is offered with your meal and ask for fries.  Just do it.  Don't wait until Day 7 like I did.  Just get the fries.  You're welcome.

 

 

For dessert, DS got the apple pie, which was shocking.  He doesn't really do fruit desserts, though he really loves these frozen chocolate covered raspberry things I found at the grocery store.  But apple pie?  Unheard of.

 

 

DD got the Cherries Jubilee, which was also shocking.  I have no idea what part of this dessert sounded good to her, but she ordered it and ate all of it. 

 

 

I got the beignets, and they were not great.  If you've had beignets in Disneyland, you have pretty high standards for beignets, and these did not meet those standards.  Get the apple pie or the cherries, I guess.  Or at least ask for real whipped cream, because you can. 

 

 

We gave our serving team extra gratuities and thanked them multiple times because they were so awesome. 

 

While I was researching RCI sailings, I had read all kinds of stories about how "they" will:

 

1) Harass you about specialty dining all the time from the moment you board.

 

2) Turn the Main Dining Room into a circus with announcements, songs, yelling, dancing, parades, etc.

 

3) Try to upsell everything all the time.

 

None of those things happened.  None. 

 

Ok there were 2 parades.  They lasted 5 minutes each.  The one on the last night is something that happens on every cruise ship I have been on, and it is a celebration of the servers and I see nothing wrong with celebrating them.  They work so hard, away from their families, for months at a time, making very little money.  I asked Shadeik something about internet, and he said he doesn't get internet on the ship because it costs him $5 a day, or something.  He sometimes goes into port and gets free wifi, but that is rare, because he is working breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the Main Dining Room.  These guys work so, so hard.  They deserve a parade and a dance party once a week, and if you disagree then you should try working a month in their shoes and see how you feel. 

 

[MEDIA=vimeo]328092715[/MEDIA]

 

We then headed back to the room, full of end-of-vacation misery and unsure of what we would do for the rest of the night.

 

The saddest sight on the last night.

 

 

We were doing self-disembarkation so we didn't have to set our bags out.  That was nice, as we could finish packing in the morning with our last minute things. but packing at the end of vacation... yuck.  I wish I could just throw everything away at the end of a vacation so I don't have to deal with it.  Except the souvenirs.  Especially the sweatshirts that no one sells in Nassau. 

 

DS went off to the club, and I went out on the balcony to see if we could see any stars.  Usually we couldn't, because of the ship lights and/or cloud cover.  But we could see quite a few this night.  We could also hear the Aqua show, and the crowd was cheering SO loud!  I told DD maybe we should go, since it sounded like people were enjoying it, and maybe it wasn't so "lame" after all.  So we ran down there and found a spot right in the middle, standing behind the last row of chairs.

 

I wouldn't call this "lame" at all.  Not even close.

 

 

 

We only saw maybe 10 minutes, but I wish we had seen the full show.  Next time!!  We stopped in Sugar Beach and took photos, which I already shared, and this photo of the carousel that is worth sharing again.

 

 

Then we headed down to the Promenade for one last night of fun.  We stopped in at karaoke and watched for a bit (I still think they have karaoke ringers on staff because how can everyone be SO good!), then headed to the Bionic Bar.  So, here's how it works. 

 

1) Find an iPad at one of the tables, and scan your Sea Pass or WOW Band. 

 

 

2) Scroll through the options.  You can choose classic drinks, Bionic specialties, or create your own drink.  This is not what DD ordered, this is just an example of what happens when you touch one of the options.  You can see the ingredients, the proportions, reviews, and comments.

 

 

3). Head over to the big screen and the robots, and check out the status of your drink.  I don't have a photo of the screen but you can kind of see it here.  It shows your spot in the queue, how long until your drink is made, and where it will come out. 

 

 

4). When it is ready, you scan your WOW band or Sea Pass card and it slides to you. 

 

 

[MEDIA=vimeo]326485611[/MEDIA]

 

DD was not a fan of her drink, unfortunately.  Lucky for her it was included in the beverage package, so it wasn't a waste of money. 

 

After that we headed back to the room and got ready for bed.  We had to be up and off the ship early tomorrow.  Our flight was at 10:30am and I had lots of people freaking me out, telling me there was no way we would make the flight, including Rodolfo.  He asked me when my flight was, and when I told him his face did one of these   "No!" he said.  "That is so early!" 

 

"Rodolfo, its fine.  We will walk off the ship with our bags.  It will be fine."

 

"No, that is so early.  That will be really early, I don't know if you can make that." 

 

K, thanks bye. 

 

But of course, that got me going again, and I started worrying.  We had sailed 3 times, and all 3 times (in 2 different parts of the country) we had arrived at the airport by 8:30am at the latest.  In Vancouver we were so early they wouldn't let us through security, and by the time we did get to go through EVERYONE had arrived at the airport and the line was insane.  Try killing 2 hours in an airport before going through security, then 2 more hours before your flight.  Not fun.

 

But yeah, now I was worried.  We had The Key breakfast, which was a sit down meal, which takes time, which pushes back the time we can leave.... You know how it goes. 

 

So I was worried.