A Spring Break on the Mardi Gras Review 3/12-3/19 with a few pics and far too many words....

[rolloman]

Concerning the mask issue in Nassau. When I was there this past August, mask wearing was required at all times upon debarkation and was strictly enforced by the locals. In addition, each store you had to hand sanitize. Fast forward to now (8 months later), when I left the ship around 9AM I noticed hardly anyone was wearing a mask and the few that did wore it incorrectly (covering only the mouth or dangling around one ear). Around 1pm things changed abruptly.  Several Covid task force police began walking the streets and going into the shops reprimanding shoppers and suddenly it was back to masks on if you ventured inside any establishment. Side Note: I also walked to the new Margaritaville Hotel and they would not let me enter unless I showed them my vaccination papers. 

[Knights on the Beach]

We went to dinner early Thursday (Pig & Anchor) so we could get to Center Stage early enough to get good seats on deck 6.  We had great seats but felt like we were there forever.  LOL  From your pictures it looks like we were more to the left of the stage.  Voodoo Moon is definitely my favorite show but I liked it better in December and I think the performers had something to do with that.  Here are a few of my pictures of the Mardi Gras celebration and Voodoo Moon.

 

 

[HolySpearit]

Wow had the primo seats for sure!!! Love those pics!!!!! 

[bmc alabama]

I'll say this... that girl could sing!

[Knights on the Beach]

5 hours ago, HolySpearit said:

Wow had the primo seats for sure!!! Love those pics!!!!! 

 

We sure did!  We (and everyone in the immediate area) were asked not to get up at all once the show started - for the performers' safety and ours.

 

To the left of us and closer to the state was a reserved section for the family and friends of the Mardi Gras King and Queen.  During Voodoo Moon, we saw a man in that area get up and start walking out holding a cell phone.  One of the crew members ran after him and I think tried to get him to sit back down.  We couldn't hear all of the exchange but it sounded like he said someone had thrown the cell phone down from a higher deck and it hit him in the head.  Crazy.  😳

[ChinaShrek]

On 3/29/2022 at 11:51 PM, Joe817 said:

  'Under pressure.....pressing down on me...."  

 

I don't think so Tim. Are there really cruisers out there that would wait in a stand by line, in hopes go get a seat for a show??? More power to them...bless their hearts. 

 

Actually, that sounds like showing up at the TKTS booth in Times Square. You never know what deal you are going to get! Kind of fun if you ask me.

[HolySpearit]

NASSAU CONT’D

And we’re back, I am going to finish this off so we can be done! Thank you to anyone still reading this novel!!

 

So we left off and we’re at our Jeeps in the parking lot. We load up in the Jeeps and are handed some walkie talkies. I have zero desire to drive and one of the guys we were with is not old enough (you have to be 25). Other guy we were with is happy to let D take driving duties for the day so guess he’s our driver! We’re given a bottle of water and off we go.

 

Tour guide Victor is in the head of the line and uses the walkie talkies to tell us when to change lanes and point out interesting sites. We drive around and look at some stuff while Victor tells us about the history of Nassau. First stop is the Bahama Grill restaurant for lunch. We are given mac and cheese, chicken, ribs, and some rice and beans. They do ask if anyone is a vegetarian ahead of time but I decide to live dangerously and just get some chicken. It was……eh. Chicken was ok. I gave my ribs to D, he said they were tough. Rice did not have a lot of flavor, mac and cheese was mostly like mac and cheese casserole and not that great. I did not eat much. We also get some more water and lemonade. The location is nice, we’re on a second-floor covered patio so it’s shaded and warm but not hot. There are some steep steps to go up/down to get there so be aware of that.  After a stop in the bathroom, we’re off.

 

Drive around some more, look at some historical and government buildings and then we stop at the caves. We learn a little history about the caves and that they were previously used for food storage and hurricane shelter. Also potentially pirates but that is questionable. You can down into the caves a little bit but I started to, saw like 80 million bats and decided that was none of my business. We spend about 20 minutes here getting pics and just looking around.

 

Drive around some more. We drive by Baha Mar which if there’s any fellow Bravo fans on here, is the legendary location where the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills went on a trip and Dorit got chased around the pool by someone she owed money too. I am very impressed by to see such an iconic Real Housewives location up close and personal.

 

 By this time it’s about 2pm. We are going to the beach. We hit traffic. Victor comes on and tells us we have 8 minutes to spend at the beach. Ummmmm…..ok then. So to the beach we arrive for our 8 minute adventure. A couple people get in the water, I am not going to try and walk down there and swim and then get back up in 8 minutes. I go down and stick a toe in since I have not set a single foot in the ocean. D stays up in the parking lot talking to our new Florida friends and Victor. Victor says he attended law school but made more money being a tour guide so he’s doing that instead of lawyering. Must be quite the business down there!

 

After a blink and you missed it 8 minutes at the beach. We get back in to head back. It’s 2:20. I know they’ll wait but I am internally panicking.

 

The iconic as seen on Bravo Baha Mar

 

Our beach we got to spend 8 minutes on. There was a lot of seaweed. 

 

The Jeep and the beach! 

 

At the caves 

Edited April 4, 2022 by HolySpearit

[HolySpearit]

NASSAU AND “running” THE PIER

 

We hit more traffic and are then back at the parking lot where we originally picked up the Jeeps around 2:45. We say adios to our Jeep and are put back on a shuttle bus to the port. Overall our Jeep was far less janky than our Grand Turk Jeep. It was 2 door though so if you’re gonna sit in the back you’re gonna have to climb.

 

A short ride over to the pier and we’re already very late. There is a looooonnnggg line to get into the port as we get off the shuttle. Victor goes up and talks to the women at the front, and we’re ushered to the front of the line. Victor must have them connections! A quick passport check, masks up, and we begin the looonnnggg walk back to the ship. Pretty sure everyone is back on already at this point. We finally make it there a little after 3pm. Lots of people thinking we’re pier runners. One, I ain’t running. Two, not my fault the people were late that morning! My beach time already reduced from 45 minutes to 8 to be back at the time we were, don’t get feisty at me fellow passengers! Anyways we’re back on the ship and we pull away REAL quick after that. We watch sail away from our balcony. Overall it was not a bad tour but I don’t think it was worth the $150 or whatever it was Carnival charged. Especially with 8 minutes of beach time.  

 

I am starvin marvin by now since I didn’t eat much at the provided lunch. D goes to track down some luggage tags for us and I order a pizza from room service. It is $5 and you can order via the app. There’s also a QR menu code you can scan in the room if you want the free stuff, but you have to call. I am so lazy that for $5 I will press some buttons on an app vs pick up the phone. It has a fancy tracker thing like Domino’s where you can see when it’s “out for delivery”. You can also tip via the app once it’s been delivered. It took about 20 minutes. Overall not bad and worth the $5 to me 

 

D comes back and has luggage tags for zone 20. This is fine as our flight out isn’t until Sunday (today’s Friday for those keeping track). We spend the rest of the afternoon packing up the room and being depressed that vacation is almost over. Accurately remember to leave out pajamas and clothes for tomorrow. A hair brush, not so much. Ah well, fun bun it is.  After we’re all packed up we decide to go to the main dining room for dinner seeing 1) we’d only been there once 2) I had not had any melting cake which is a cruise requirement. We head check in around 6 and our table is ready in about 15 minutes…..so we wave goodbye to our luggage and off we go for our final night onboard.

 

Rolling out late, my bad, sorry.

 

Everyone hates on Nassau and it's not my favorite either but man that water is pretty. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by HolySpearit

[Knights on the Beach]

12 minutes ago, HolySpearit said:

Everyone hates on Nassau and it's not my favorite either but man that water is pretty. 

 

I said the exact same thing to my husband while we were docked there.  We're going back there on Freedom next month.  Not sure if we'll get off the ship this time or not (we've stopped there 3 times since August), but will sure enjoy the view.

 

Thanks so much for sharing "our" cruise with us - I enjoyed reliving it!  🙂 

[HolySpearit]

FINAL NIGHT

We hit up the dining room and are once again seated in Melody’s section. We are once again given a quiet table next to a window. However, there is a dude behind us complaining that he’d like the executive chef to personally cook his steak because he did not like the one he got and he knows the executive chef has the time to do that for him. It was good dinner entertainment for about 15 minutes before they left. Anyways, Melody comes over and is super sweet and nice and attentive per usual. I order the chicken tenders, enchiladas, and melting cake. D goes for shrimp in both cocktail and fried forms (deciding to really live it up on his last night), steak, and melting cake. Melody remembers how D wants his steak. I am impressed.

 

 I try and order a glass of sangria but they are out. I ask if they can do a spicy margarita? Melody says yes and returns shortly after with a bright yellow margarita. It was not spicy. And I am a borderline middle aged white woman from Minnesota so you know it REALLY wasn’t spicy. Ah well. Chicken tenders come and they’re not what I think of when I think of a chicken tender—they’re grilled and have a chilli sauce on them. They are not bad though. D’s shrimp is also fine. Mains come out-D’s steak is like every other steak he’s eaten this week which I think totals “far too much”. My enchiladas are….bad. Real bad. Doesn’t an enchilada come with sauce on top? Mine had no sauce, just cheese. Did they forget the sauce or is there just sauce-less enchiladas in Mardi Gras land? I am not sure but blehhhh. Melody asks if she can get me something else but I decline. Melting cake comes out, it’s an appropriate consistency this time where I’m not scared of salmonella and it’s good. I also have a chocolate martini which is tasty. Overall dinner took about an hour which isn’t bad at all. There was singing about leaving the fun ship as well and I am sad. We say bye to Melody and give her some cash, by far the best server we had on the ship and we mentioned her by name on the survey so hope she gets recognized!

 

Quick stop at the casino bar for a shot of tequila and some Miami Vice’s for tonight’s showing of “Rock Revolution-Summer of 69”. Casino cashier line is looooooonnnggggggg so glad we cashed out the night before.

 

Theater is DEAD. Not even half full. Guess everyone is packing or cashing out at the casino! D deciedes we need to sit right up front. I’m 4 drinks in by now so this will be an adventure. Guy comes on and tells us to clap loudly so we oblige. I was a little uncertain if this was going to be songs from the 60s or some sweet Bryan Adams jams. Turns out it was the 60’s. It’s fine-they sing some popular songs and have costumes that glow under blacklights. I only borderline lose it when the guys starts singing “hello darkness my old friend” in a very cruise ship voice while in a glowing costume. Man, how is anyone missing this, seriously? Anyways it’s a fine show. Better than the homeless cosplay of Broadway Beats IMO.

 

After the show we decide to stop by the pizza place for one last round of food. Line again looks long but they sling pizza FAST here and have a lot of ovens. Under a 10 minute wait, seems like you really only have to wait if you want a special pizza. Basic pepperoni? We were in and out quick. D goes to get some ice cream from the machine on deck 8. They are out of everything except vanilla frozen yogurt. There is also an employee guarding the ice cream machine I assume to prevent obnoxious kids from being obnoxious. Sad.

 

Anyways, we eat our ice cream and pizza out on deck 8 and decide to call it a night around 11. We head to bed, sad the cruise is now officially over.

 

Adios cruise wake 😞

Edited April 4, 2022 by HolySpearit

[Drazil65]

Thank you for sharing your cruise journey especially for those of us that are not on MG until later this year.  I enjoyed all of your antics and eventful doings (yeah, the 80 million bats would be a cave deal breaker for me too!!!). 

 

Great tips and hints on MG for what to do, see and where to be kind of things.  We have a couple of other "been there done those ship" cruises scheduled before we sail MG in December but your review (and all others that have written/pix)  is a great leadup to that journey!  Appreciated!

[HolySpearit]

POST CRUISE

“Be out of your room” time was 8:15. We set our alarms for 7. I’m up about 6:30, we’re already docked by then, no idea what time we got in I slept right through it. We sadly get dressed and head out of our room about 7:45. Say goodbye to G who is out in the hall (and have an awkward moment where he tries to fist bump me, I try to shake his hand, we then each switch to the other and he’s left awkwardly palming my fist and honestly this just really sums me up as a person). I had not been to Big Chicken for breakfast yet and they are allegedly open until 8:30 so we go up there. Sadly it’s not the full breakfast menu, all you can get is the chicken and biscuit (normally they have bacon/sausage ones too). I am not a big chicken for breakfast person but I go for it and it’s ok. Still weird to eat chicken for breakfast to me.

 

New cruise director Lee is announcing zones. Chris must have flown back to Scottland or Nebraska already.  Self-debark goes by muster station. We sit around on deck 16 aft and wait for our high #20 to be called—which it does around 9:15. Easiest debark ever. Masks are required. We walk right off. Zero line. We walk right into the terminal. Two lines are formed, one for people with passports, one for those with birth certificates. We stand in the passport line for maybe 3 minutes. The woman working asks me to look at the camera. I look, I half smile, I get a green check mark. And I’m free. THAT’S IT. No checking of passports, no talking to a customs person, nothing. This facial recognition stuff is kinda creepy but super convenient. Literally easiest time I’ve ever had getting off any mode of transportation.

 

Pick up a rental at Enterprise after a short shuttle ride. We had reserved a one night stay at the Hilton Home2Suites in Orlando. We had an early flight Sunday so wanted to be close to the airport. I do mobile check in but my room is not ready which is unsurprising. We stop at Starbucks and then decide since we have some time to kill (it’s only about 10:30am) we are going to take a short road trip to Daytona to see a Buc-ee’s!!! We have never been and I am very excited.

 

It's about an hour and 10 minute drive from Cocoa Beach. WOW this is an experience. Im sure most people have been to a Buc-ee’s but if you have not, 100/10 recommend. It’s like a WalMart but it’s a gas station. It is also PACKED. Like PACKED. We pick up some jerky, some beaver nuggets, some hot sauce, a cup, and some ranch saltines. D also gets a stuffed Buc-ee Beaver for our cat. You can also meet Buc-ee the beaver in person if you want. Overall fantastic place, worth the hour driver, and would do it again.

 

We then head down to Titusville for lunch at Dixie Crossroads. This is somewhat of a tradition for us, having done it after our last 3 cruises as well. When we were last there, it was DEAD. This was early rona days of Feb 2020 and it made me nervous. I am happy to say it is back to absolutely packed. I do not eat seafood so I get chicken tenders. D gets some shrimp. They are both good. Not greatest seafood ever by any means but 1) it is tradition 2) they have statues of shrimps in top hats. Accordingly, we must go every time we come back from a cruise. It’s just a law. Also just FYI they have a bathroom that is straight out of Dynasty in the 80’s. It’s black toilets and white marble and gold. It is the most gaudily tacky and opulent thing I have ever seen and I am very much here for it. I use the bathroom twice just to see it.

 

By then our hotel is ready so we head there. It is cute, looks new, and is quiet. It is also literally 8 minutes from the airport. We would def stay here again post cruise esp if we have an early flight.  We take a short nap, get some boring old McDonald’s for dinner, gas up the rental and call it a night. Wake up at 4am to head to the airport.  Lines are long but we make our 6am flight. We’re back in MN by 11:30am and it’s a downright balmy 40 degrees. Vacation is officially 100% over.

Edited April 4, 2022 by HolySpearit

[HolySpearit]

FINAL THOUGHTS:

 

Overall Positive Vibes: 

+ We did enjoy the Mardi Gras and would do it again. We want to do it again.

+ It’s an absolutely beautiful ship. There’s always something going on. You will not be bored unless you’re trying to be.

+ While lines looked long, I never really stood in a line for more than 10 minutes or so

+ There’s ways to avoid the crowds. It never felt INSANELY crowded to me, even with 5800 passengers and some awful weather the first few days. Maybe certain areas and there was a wait for elevators sometimes, but I never really felt the “this ship feels ridiculously crowded and I hate it” vibes I have read in some other reviews. Yeah you have to get some places early to get a seat (shows, popular bars) but I am personally ok with that and expected it. I had to do that with Alchemy on the Magic too so….

+ Showers are a total upgrade

+ Non smoking situation in the casino a huge improvement

 

Overall Negative Nellie: 

-        Bathrooms are way too tiny and public bathrooms are way too complicated. They should not need an instruction manual

-        It does seem understaffed. Not sure if covid or staffing or what but dining service was slow quite a few times and dining room staff often seemed very stressed.

-        It’s almost TOO big. There were a lot of things we really wanted to do and just never got around to it (Fortune Teller Bar, Alchemy, Brass Magnolia Bar). There’s also schedule conflicts sometimes if you love shows like we (er….I….”we” might be a stretch) do (it took a lot of planning to hit that many, and I missed the festival of nations thing-y the last night). I almost feel like we HAVE to do it again to see everything. 

-        I will never, ever, EVER in my life cruise during spring break again.

 

Overall we enjoyed our time on the Mardi Gras. Worst day on a cruise ship is always better than the best day at work, and I try to remind myself no matter how bad it is, I am on a trip that a large portion of the world will only ever dream of. And that’s pretty freaking sweet.

 

We’ll be back on a cruise in Oct/Nov when D’s short stick to 40 runs out and he celebrates surviving a decade of being married to me….going back and forth between the Horizon out of Miami, Vista out of Galveston (D wants some real Texas BBQ), or a west cost trip on the Panorama. I told D he has to pick since it’s his birthday so we’ll see where we end up! Thanks everyone for reading I am #blessed any of you took time out of your busy lives to read my rambling vacation memories.

Edited April 4, 2022 by HolySpearit

[Joe817]

I really, really enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for taking the time to do it. Good job! 👍

P.S. Texas has some great BBQ, and great enchiladas! I've had both of those for breakfast....more than once! 

[jerseygirlinAZ]

Thanks for the great review!  We'll be cruising on Mardi Gras in July!

[LothCat]

LOVED your review, especially the shout out to Buc-ees!  And, Texas also has Buc-ees in addition to bbq and enchiladas.  We're from the midwest originally so we always drove to Galveston to cruise and never failed to take advantage of a Buc-ees stop.  We moved to Florida a couple of years ago and were so excited to have one about 15 minutes from home.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who loves it.

 

Thanks for the great review - we're on Mardi Gras at the end of the month and can't wait.  Your experiences make the anticipation even better!

[pc_load_letter]

2 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

 

I said the exact same thing to my husband while we were docked there.  We're going back there on Freedom next month.  Not sure if we'll get off the ship this time or not (we've stopped there 3 times since August), but will sure enjoy the view.

 

Thanks so much for sharing "our" cruise with us - I enjoyed reliving it!  🙂 

 

I was watching the cruise bloggers Ben and David the other day and they were at the new Margaritaville resort not far from the pier. Looked like a great time and I would surely pay the $60 for a day there. Much better than the $200 for Atlantis.

[Momma1980]

What an entertaining read… and an informative review.  Thank you for taking the time to post.  I would read any of your reviews going forward. 100/10!!!😀

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks for such a fun read. I laughed out loud many times as I read of your adventures on MG. This ship is in my future for sure. 🥰

[SNJCruisers]

4 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

We're going back there on Freedom next month.  Not sure if we'll get off the ship this time or not 

🙂

Another option is to get a day pass at the new Margaritaville Resort.  YouTubers Parodeejay were there and the place looks nice, especially the lazy river.

[we b cruzin]

Great review!!! I really enjoy your humor and your outlook. I couldn't agree more when you said,

"Worst day on a cruise ship is always better than the best day at work, and I try to remind myself no matter how bad it is, I am on a trip that a large portion of the world will only ever dream of." A lot of people seem to forget that when they are on vacation, especially a cruise.

[Knights on the Beach]

5 hours ago, HolySpearit said:

POST CRUISE

“Be out of your room” time was 8:15. We set our alarms for 7. I’m up about 6:30, we’re already docked by then, no idea what time we got in I slept right through it. We sadly get dressed and head out of our room about 7:45. Say goodbye to G who is out in the hall (and have an awkward moment where he tries to fist bump me, I try to shake his hand, we then each switch to the other and he’s left awkwardly palming my fist and honestly this just really sums me up as a person). I had not been to Big Chicken for breakfast yet and they are allegedly open until 8:30 so we go up there. Sadly it’s not the full breakfast menu, all you can get is the chicken and biscuit (normally they have bacon/sausage ones too). I am not a big chicken for breakfast person but I go for it and it’s ok. Still weird to eat chicken for breakfast to me.

 

New cruise director Lee is announcing zones. Chris must have flown back to Scottland or Nebraska already.  Self-debark goes by muster station. We sit around on deck 16 aft and wait for our high #20 to be called—which it does around 9:15. Easiest debark ever. Masks are required. We walk right off. Zero line. We walk right into the terminal. Two lines are formed, one for people with passports, one for those with birth certificates. We stand in the passport line for maybe 3 minutes. The woman working asks me to look at the camera. I look, I half smile, I get a green check mark. And I’m free. THAT’S IT. No checking of passports, no talking to a customs person, nothing. This facial recognition stuff is kinda creepy but super convenient. Literally easiest time I’ve ever had getting off any mode of transportation.

 

Pick up a rental at Enterprise after a short shuttle ride. We had reserved a one night stay at the Hilton Home2Suites in Orlando. We had an early flight Sunday so wanted to be close to the airport. I do mobile check in but my room is not ready which is unsurprising. We stop at Starbucks and then decide since we have some time to kill (it’s only about 10:30am) we are going to take a short road trip to Daytona to see a Buc-ee’s!!! We have never been and I am very excited.

 

It's about an hour and 10 minute drive from Cocoa Beach. WOW this is an experience. Im sure most people have been to a Buc-ee’s but if you have not, 100/10 recommend. It’s like a WalMart but it’s a gas station. It is also PACKED. Like PACKED. We pick up some jerky, some beaver nuggets, some hot sauce, a cup, and some ranch saltines. D also gets a stuffed Buc-ee Beaver for our cat. You can also meet Buc-ee the beaver in person if you want. Overall fantastic place, worth the hour driver, and would do it again.

 

We then head down to Titusville for lunch at Dixie Crossroads. This is somewhat of a tradition for us, having done it after our last 3 cruises as well. When we were last there, it was DEAD. This was early rona days of Feb 2020 and it made me nervous. I am happy to say it is back to absolutely packed. I do not eat seafood so I get chicken tenders. D gets some shrimp. They are both good. Not greatest seafood ever by any means but 1) it is tradition 2) they have statues of shrimps in top hats. Accordingly, we must go every time we come back from a cruise. It’s just a law. Also just FYI they have a bathroom that is straight out of Dynasty in the 80’s. It’s black toilets and white marble and gold. It is the most gaudily tacky and opulent thing I have ever seen and I am very much here for it. I use the bathroom twice just to see it.

 

By then our hotel is ready so we head there. It is cute, looks new, and is quiet. It is also literally 8 minutes from the airport. We would def stay here again post cruise esp if we have an early flight.  We take a short nap, get some boring old McDonald’s for dinner, gas up the rental and call it a night. Wake up at 4am to head to the airport.  Lines are long but we make our 6am flight. We’re back in MN by 11:30am and it’s a downright balmy 40 degrees. Vacation is officially 100% over.

I'll take that chicken (no biscuit) for breakfast any day of the week.  😂

 

We still have not been to Buc-ees - we need to make it there sometime this year.  It's not that far.  LOL  

 

If we had to stay overnight in Orlando, I would have made a beeline to Chuy's.  I miss it so much.  (It's only 45 minutes from here to there but I hate leaving beachside.)

 

LOVED your review and can't wait to hear about your next cruise!

 

 

[Rudyard]

6 hours ago, HolySpearit said:

It's about an hour and 10 minute drive from Cocoa Beach. WOW this is an experience. Im sure most people have been to a Buc-ee’s but if you have not, 100/10 recommend. It’s like a WalMart but it’s a gas station. It is also PACKED. Like PACKED. We pick up some jerky, some beaver nuggets, some hot sauce, a cup, and some ranch saltines. D also gets a stuffed Buc-ee Beaver for our cat. You can also meet Buc-ee the beaver in person if you want. Overall fantastic place, worth the hour driver, and would do it again.

 

We cruise out of Galveston and one of the larger Buc-ee's is in Texas City, about 15 minutes north of the island. We don't consider it to officially be a cruise until we've stopped at Buc-ee's on our way to the port. 

[LatinaInTexas]

20 hours ago, HolySpearit said:

NASSAU CONT’D

And we’re back, I am going to finish this off so we can be done! Thank you to anyone still reading this novel!!

 

So we left off and we’re at our Jeeps in the parking lot. We load up in the Jeeps and are handed some walkie talkies. I have zero desire to drive and one of the guys we were with is not old enough (you have to be 25). Other guy we were with is happy to let D take driving duties for the day so guess he’s our driver! We’re given a bottle of water and off we go.

 

Tour guide Victor is in the head of the line and uses the walkie talkies to tell us when to change lanes and point out interesting sites. We drive around and look at some stuff while Victor tells us about the history of Nassau. First stop is the Bahama Grill restaurant for lunch. We are given mac and cheese, chicken, ribs, and some rice and beans. They do ask if anyone is a vegetarian ahead of time but I decide to live dangerously and just get some chicken. It was……eh. Chicken was ok. I gave my ribs to D, he said they were tough. Rice did not have a lot of flavor, mac and cheese was mostly like mac and cheese casserole and not that great. I did not eat much. We also get some more water and lemonade. The location is nice, we’re on a second-floor covered patio so it’s shaded and warm but not hot. There are some steep steps to go up/down to get there so be aware of that.  After a stop in the bathroom, we’re off.

 

Drive around some more, look at some historical and government buildings and then we stop at the caves. We learn a little history about the caves and that they were previously used for food storage and hurricane shelter. Also potentially pirates but that is questionable. You can down into the caves a little bit but I started to, saw like 80 million bats and decided that was none of my business. We spend about 20 minutes here getting pics and just looking around.

 

Drive around some more. We drive by Baha Mar which if there’s any fellow Bravo fans on here, is the legendary location where the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills went on a trip and Dorit got chased around the pool by someone she owed money too. I am very impressed by to see such an iconic Real Housewives location up close and personal.

 

 By this time it’s about 2pm. We are going to the beach. We hit traffic. Victor comes on and tells us we have 8 minutes to spend at the beach. Ummmmm…..ok then. So to the beach we arrive for our 8 minute adventure. A couple people get in the water, I am not going to try and walk down there and swim and then get back up in 8 minutes. I go down and stick a toe in since I have not set a single foot in the ocean. D stays up in the parking lot talking to our new Florida friends and Victor. Victor says he attended law school but made more money being a tour guide so he’s doing that instead of lawyering. Must be quite the business down there!

 

After a blink and you missed it 8 minutes at the beach. We get back in to head back. It’s 2:20. I know they’ll wait but I am internally panicking.

 

The iconic as seen on Bravo Baha Mar

 

Our beach we got to spend 8 minutes on. There was a lot of seaweed. 

 

The Jeep and the beach! 

 

At the caves 

We did this tour last Oct. We had minor and major issues. Bottom line I decided I had to say something and tour services took off half the cost of the tour which I considered was fair. 

[Jelly_Toast]

14 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

If we had to stay overnight in Orlando, I would have made a beeline to Chuy's. 

 

 

The closest location to us closed at the beginning of the pandemic and the menu at other locations changed. I still love going there but it isn't the same anymore.  Sad.