My View: From Mazda to Meraviglia

[APDMOM]

Look at that!  I am only 1 day behind!  We had a fun-filled day at Ocean Cay - lots of pictures to process. Fortunately, we have a sea day/balcony day tomorrow, so I will catch up soon.

 

Thank you for all the likes, comments, and for traveling along! 🙂

[APDMOM]

@coscab Since we were in a quiet island port today, we could hear some noise on the balcony from the aft area of the buffet - mostly people talking. We could also hear some music from a higher deck.  It was not too bad though.  Usually, this is all we hear out there while we are cruising:

 

 

[APDMOM]

Wifi is very temperamental this morning. Hopefully, it will not interfere with my posts about beautiful Ocean Cay! 🙂

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 3 - Ocean Cay

 

[APDMOM]

I went on an early morning walk to catch the sunrise.  It was busier than normal this early on the pool deck, as they have the world cup soccer from time to time on the big screen by the pool:

 

 

 

First glimpse of Ocean Cay:

[APDMOM]

The ship started turning when I realized I can run back to the balcony to catch the sunrise from “our home”:

 

[APDMOM]

We finally had beautiful weather for the outside aft breakfast spot:

 

I opted for a ‘healthy’ breakfast 😉

[coscab]

1 hour ago, APDMOM said:

The ship started turning when I realized I can run back to the balcony to catch the sunrise from “our home”:

 

Perfect shot! 

[APDMOM]

Lighthouse Climb:

This is the only excursion I booked for this cruise.  When we were here in December 2019, I said that we would do this ‘next time’.  Boy, were we surprised that ‘next time’ would be almost 3 years later.

 

TIP:  The lighthouse climb excursion is staggered and scheduled at different times of the day.  I had assumed I could go whenever I wanted to.  My excursion ticket had a meeting time of 8:45, so I was glad to have the early time - which I prefer.  If you don’t like your assigned time, be sure to check with the shore excursion desk in advance - they are not open the morning of Ocean Cay.

 

The climb was fun - all 165 steps.  There are 3 stopping points, so you can ‘catch your breath’ and get different views.  There is also an informative tour about the history of Ocean Cay and the lighthouse.  To me, was worth doing one time.   However, the lighthouse is not near as tall as the ship so you get better views from the ship.

 

 

View from one of the stopping points:

 

 

Not for the faint of heart… “don’t look down”, they say.  Does anyone ever listen to that?  🤣

 

Made it to the top! (With only a little bit of huffing and puffing)

 

[APDMOM]

A Few More Views from the Lighthouse:

 

Spotted a barracuda (At least according to our tour guide - in my book it is ‘some kind of a fish’ 😁)

 

 

Staff Quarters - Interesting fact:  When there is a hurricane, they evacuate to a neighboring private island for celebrities and stay in a fancy hotel:

 

 

You can get married in this spot of paradise:

 

Bridge to North Island and the Yacht Club area:

 

Spotted DH from the top of the lighthouse:

Beautiful waves:

[HipHipOnAShip]

So looking forward to being on the Mera in a few weeks.  I'm even more excited to note that the specialty dining restaurants were open for LUNCH when you were in Nassau. That's a huge plus since I don't bother getting off in Nassau anymore! Wahoo!!!

[APDMOM]

Sorry for the delays with posting!  Internet is definitely overwhelmed today with everyone on the ship…🙃

 

[APDMOM]

More Views of the island:  

 

Lighthouse Bar from Above:

 

TIP:  If you want a free umbrella, go to this beach closest to the ship. It is called Lighthouse Bay.  We saw many people snorkel in that area too.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by APDMOM
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[APDMOM]

Walking the Island:

 

I love how much more lush the island is after 3 years.  We were one of the first ships to stop in Ocean Cay in Dec 2019.  Now, it is truly a paradise.

 

 

Crew Beach - Nicely done, MSC!

 

We made our walk to North Beach, as it was much less crowded in 2019.  It was still the same this time around.  I will post some pictures to show the difference.

 

TIP:  If you want a quiet spot, head to North Beach.  It is much more quiet and you get the bonus choice of swimming on the sea side or the lagoon side with a very short walk.

 

 

After you cross this bridge, you will see the path split off to the right for Yacht Club guests, with us taking the path to the left for our Bimini Beach & North Beach stop.

 

 

[APDMOM]

Well, internet is now not uploading pictures, so taking a break again.  Balcony time!  😆

 

Thank you for patiently following along!

[APDMOM]

DH with me in the beautiful waters of Bimini Beach:

 

Look how quiet the beach is behind me.  This was around 10 AM:

 

I loved swimming at Bimini beach.  The seas were so calm I was able to swim ‘laps’.   Don’t judge the style 🤣 I had 3 ear surgeries, so I am not allowed to get my ear wet. (That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.)

 

 

[APDMOM]

North Beach:

 

After the fun swim at Bimini Beach, we walked the few steps over to North Beach.  We saw so many fish here.  It was also VERY empty. Just looking over at the South Beach, we could not understand why people would go there… it may be because it is close to the island buffet.  There are plenty of food trucks right by North Beach though!

 

Lots of empty loungers - space for rental umbrellas too!

 

View of the ship from North Beach with beautiful clear water:

 

Plenty of fish.  This may be a good spot to try snorkeling - not too many people to scare the sea life away.

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by APDMOM

[coscab]

You guys are adorable, great pics.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving, hope they spoil you with a Thanksgiving bounty.

[APDMOM]

Had to share a mixed drink on the island with DH - We don’t do the drinks package, so we just stay in budget by sharing a drink or two a day.

 

TIP: There are rinsing stations all around the island, including right before boarding the ship.  This is helpful for the crew too, so please rinse before getting that sand all over the carpets 🙂

 

This one is right at North beach by the restrooms:

 

 

View of the ship from that spot:

 

TIP: North Island and Bimini Beach have plenty of ‘free shade’.  No need to rent and umbrella if you can find a spot in the shade of a palm tree.

 

[APDMOM]

2 minutes ago, coscab said:

You guys are adorable, great pics.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving, hope they spoil you with a Thanksgiving bounty.

Thank you!  We are so thankful to be on the ship!   We already looked at the menu for tomorrow night and we cannot decide what to have…

[APDMOM]

It may be hard to tell from this picture, but looking across the water is South Beach.  Look at all the people in the water and all those umbrellas…. 

[APDMOM]

Island Map - Just so you can reference where North Beach and Bimini Beach are.  

 

TIP:  It is not too far from the ship, but there are shuttles if you have difficulty with a bit of distance - especially in the heat.

 

 

[APDMOM]

More info about Ocean Cay:

 

[APDMOM]

We returned to the ship for lunch, since we had enjoyed our fill of sunshine.

 

A couple of views from our balcony, including ‘some kind of a fish’:

 

 

Several Jet Ski excursions were scheduled throughout the day:

 

 

DS, enjoying the Aft Balcony Life:

[APDMOM]

Afternoon stop for iced white chocolate latte at Jean Philippe, which was very good:

 

One of my favorite chocolate creations in Jean Philippe: