notes from the sea

Excursions in the Bahamas
We had two days in the Bahamas, I could have easily stayed 20. I love the colors of the Bahamas. The buildings are beautiful coral, turquoise, yellow, pink, blue and lavender shades of bright, sunny, happiness. The water was clear and blue at the same time.

The first day we went to Atlantis. It took our breath away, really it was a marvel. The hotel was extraordinary and the water park and aquarium were amazing. There were many fish to look at, the décor was like the fabled Atlantis of mythology and the water was warm and tropical. We had a great time meeting our dolphin friend, Hercules. He was a joy and I was surprised to find that his belly was soft while his grey upper body was the rubbery slickness that I expected. We got to interact with him and Big B even got a dance. After that we went to the beach and wiled away many an hour. We ended with a self guided tour of the resort and the aquarium. They have a giant water slide that shoots straight down and then into a clear tube that actually goes under the predator tank, which I thought was pretty amazing and the “ruins“ were an Atlantis inspired group of chambers with large aquariums in them. Loved it. We got back on the ship and thought surely that would be the highlight of the trip.

The next day we went to Freeport, we had a day pass to the Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach resort. I loved this even more than Atlantis (although Big B feels opposite). It had a very Bahamas beach vacation feel to me, with colorful two story buildings, a beautiful white sand beach and all the water sports and virgin strawberry daiquiris you could possibly drink. The best part was the snorkeling. Big B spent more time in the water and he also tried out a canoe, when I finally got in though I was surprised how fab-U-lous it was. The water was perfect, you could see everything and there were tons of fish. It was so fun to swim around and see all the colorful fish, the silvery fish, the sea anemones, sea cucumbers and other fish. I could have stayed out there all day. LOVED it! If I ever get a job I am saving my money and taking the whole family there.

Evaluation of experience:
I would give it a two thumbs up. It was really a peaceful fun vacation and there were things I loved about it. There were also some things I didn’t like.
Pros:
Loved the Broadway style shows, loved the friendly friendly staff, loved waking up to see the ocean rolling by outside my window, enjoyed the always available food, the excursions were awesome, the towel creatures were fun to see each day, met some fun and interesting people, enjoyed people watching and imagining what they were like, fun and laughs were aplenty. I had plenty of time to read, to sleep in, to nap. It was warm and sunny.
Cons:
It was sort of a floating “great and spacious building” with many people spending their time and money on drinking and gambling and naked revelry. I was surprised by the décor which intended to be sophisticated but came off as crass. I wouldn’t bring my kids here (although I would take them on a Disney cruise). A lot of the entertainment was “adult only” and we didn’t go to that. I did talk to some moms who said there wasn’t a lot for the kids to do so a more family focused cruise would be better if we ever went again. And while I liked the whole experience and am glad I got to go I think an all inclusive resort might be better suited for us. We also had to pay extra for a lot of stuff that I thought should have been included. I also missed the kids and would have liked it to be one day at sea shorter.
So while I really want to drag the whole gang down to the Bahamas for some family fun I am not sure if another cruise or an all inclusive resort is in our future :)