Land and Sea - Yippee! September 2013 -TR updated 02/11/2014 - Page 14 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
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If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Sounds like a good first day to the cruise! Minus the little "child issue" at dinner. My kids will do the same thing so I know what it's like when they hit a wall and do things like cough on purpose. At least Disney was on top of it and didn't send you to quarantine.
Sounds like a great evening aboard the ship! Gus looked so cute doing his interview. Great pictures of the ship!
It was so nice!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Your dinner looked delicious!
It was delicious!
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Originally Posted by mcc0313
What a wonderful first day, you meal looked delcious. Glad the boys (all of them ) were having a great time.
We were walking around on cloud 9!
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Originally Posted by chezp
What a wonderful first evening! The interview on the way into the Golden Mickeys looks like a lot of fun!
It would have been neat to see it on the screen
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Originally Posted by disneydreamer33
What a great first day! Sounded like so much fun!
Quote:
Originally Posted by stardust190
Sounds like a good first day to the cruise! Minus the little "child issue" at dinner. My kids will do the same thing so I know what it's like when they hit a wall and do things like cough on purpose. At least Disney was on top of it and didn't send you to quarantine.
I was so afraid of that! I sent out mental vibes, "we aren't sick, we aren't sick"
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
So did you take advantage on that onboard booking deal?!
That first day is a whirlwind isn't it?! We ate at Enchanted Garden out first night too!
"Whirlwind" is a perfect way to describe it!
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Originally Posted by JKnott17
What a fantastic first day!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Dinner looked wonderful!
Tasted good too!
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Originally Posted by mommapants
sounds like a heavenly first day on board
I couldn't have asked for a better first day...
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
What a great first day (well, except for the protein spill at dinner)! Looking forward to more!
coming up!
***************
Day 2 of cruise - The Bahamas, Nassau
6:57am...
We managed to get up early today, even before our 7:10 wake up call. It would be the first time that Dh and the boys would step foot on foreign soil. It was so special for us to be able to sit be on the veranda and watch the sun come up. It was so quiet out there and we spoke in hushed tones while looking out into the horizon...
I didn't mess with the color - this is exactly what the water looked like!
sig pic
After a while, we rounded ourselves up and headed to Cabana's for a hearty breakfast. Everything was great! There is so much to choose from, but I think we all liked the corned beef hash, the eggs, and the waffles. We would basically get these things every morning and try some different things around this "base" lol. There were some European-type breakfast items, like Muesli, and even miso soup for an Asian kind of breakfast. If you can't find something you like on this gigantic buffet, you just aren't hungry! It was a little crowded, of course, but after keeping a sharp eye out for a table, we scored a nice one by the window.
Pulling into port
Our fish extender says "Here be the J's".
Ready for the Caribbean!
We grabbed a few things from the room, then met up with Erika and Gus and found the place to disembark. We remembered to bring a little cash for souvenirs. We had no excursions planned since Erika had been to Nassau before. We planned to go a local beach and do a little shopping. We wore our swim suits under our clothes as there was no guarantee of a place to change. It was after we got off the boat that we realized just how big the Dream is. I know there are much larger ships out there, but wow, she's huge to me! And just gorgeous...
We walked through the Welcome Center, intent on doing the self-walking tour of Nassau in the PassPorter. We were going to walk around using the map, then head to the beach. Which beach? Who knows. We were following my sister on an adventure. Boy, we would end up having a few laughs later...
We reached the Straw Market, and stopped in to look around. If you just want to look around, this is the wrong place. In case you've never been, the Straw Market is a covered market filled with individual stalls with women selling things made out of, well, straw. Pretty much all the stalls sell the same thing: hats, bags, jewelry, knick-knacks, tee shirts, souvenirs, etc. You can't just walk through and browse. Like the PassPorter says, the ladies are aggressive with trying to get you to buy from them - they are very nice, never rude, but it can be intimidating. I know this is how they make their living, but they can come on kind of strong. We snaked our way through some of the market before Dh was soon ready to go - he had had enough. Of course the kids were disappointed because their few dollars were burning a hole in their velcro wallets. We breathed a sigh of relief as we left out and headed toward the beaches, empty handed.
The plan to walk around Nassau was kicked to the curb after being in the market. We basically just followed the signs to the nearest beach which was "Junkanoo Beach". Cool! I know what a junkanoo is - I've seen it on the travel channels! (Like carnivale, right?) So we walked along the sidewalks until we found the beach. (If you look on Google maps, it is labled, "Western Esplanade Beach".) When we got there we had a good laugh - it was not at all like we imagined. (I guess we thought it would be something like a beach in Florida - nope!) There were small, colorful, shack-like structures which were closed at the time. They probably sold food and the like later on in the day. There was even one for "private" massages - boy we had some good jokes for that one. There was only one other family there and it felt safe, so we just shrugged and headed for the water. Dh stayed behind, further up on the sand to watch our things. The water was almost clear, had lots of seaweed, and LOTS OF ROCKS . I wore my comfy shoes, and forgot my swim shoes (of course!), but I was glad the boys wore theirs. Gus wore his birthday suit, because Erika forgot his suit. The water was cool and the temp in the 80s. We enjoyed ourselves, especially the boys, who got to try out their snorkel gear for the first time. Dh wasn't enjoying himself as we found out later. He was accosted by a guy begging for money and got cussed out when he told the guy all he had was on "that boat over there."
When we came out of the water (just a little to cool), the kids played in the sand for a bit and I got a chance to really look around. Despite the man who had come around to rake up the dried seaweed, I did not want to sit down. In the sand were a few band-aids, cigarette butts, empty bags of chips, and various rusty bottle caps. I was ready to go (yuck ) and Dh was more than happy to quickly round up the kids. When we left, we had been there for exactly 58 minutes (according to time stamps from the first photo we took there to the last). The Dream was calling us back.
The police station across the street from the beach.
I wanted to stop back in the Straw Market to pick up a few things, this time more the wiser. Everyone else stayed outside to wait. I found what I was looking for and quickly left - a straw fan and a small coin purse (no where to be found at Disney World or on the ship!). We walked along until got back to "Sharkees" souvenir shop and spent a good amount of time in there browsing without being smothered by merchants. I wanted to find a shop that sold Caribbean rum cake to take home for my other sister. We visited one of the Tortuga shops to buy one. I'm so glad they had free samples to try. We left without cake - my sister's rum cake is world's better than theirs! I don't mean to sound snobby, but it's like they took yellow cake mix and mixed in a little rum flavor. Very disappointing because I'd heard of this place for a long time. She makes her's from scratch and uses Jamaican rum. It's not even very "rummy", it just tastes good!
As we headed back to the ship, we went back through the Welcome Center. There are shops in there too, of course, and I bought my TA a small Christmas ornament. We went through customs (they just looked at our stateroom cards) and headed back. By this time, dark clouds had started forming in the distance and we were glad we were on our way. Bye Nassau!
Pretty fish at the port
Atlantis - where the nice beaches are?
Titus does a photo bomb
We happily boarded the ship (raining pretty good now!) and since we already had our swim suits on, hit the AquaDuck (about a 10 min wait and it had stopped raining). I screamed like a little girl all the way down... Ok, let's just say I'm Pooh sized, so I get paranoid when I go on rides because I'm always wondering if they calculated my size and center of gravity when designing them. Of course they do , but I'm always scared I'll break it or something and go crashing to my tragic vacation death. Totally irrational, but still... Then to top it off, I had a hard time getting out of the little raft so I started laughing and it made it even harder to get up, lol. I ended up flopping out of it, just like I flopped into it. After the excitement, we went to take showers then I met Erika and Gus at Royal Palace for lunch, while everyone else split up. Titus and Max went to their clubs and Dh went to roam around and take pictures.
This was good, I don't know the name though...
Erika's. Good.
You can't go wrong with key lime pie. I loved the sauce that was on the plate. Can I have a bowl of that?
Lunch was good, not spectacular, but just what I expected from a turkey and cheese sandwich. Satisfied, we walked around for a bit and actually ran into Titus who was finding clues for the Midship Detective Agency. He said nothing was really going on in Oceaneer Lab at the time, so he had gone to V8 Cafe, got some pizza, he went back to the room and watched a movie while eating lunch. My baby! It was time for a nap for Gus, so I hung out with Titus doing the game, after walking them back to their room. We had a good time just being together. Then suddenly we were tired too, and we headed back to the room to catch a quick nap . We woke in time to say goodbye to the port
So cool!
The view from Erika's room on deck 2, 2558, the last stateroom closest to Enchanted Garden.
Time to go
Bye bye!
Out to sea again
I think this night was the Villains show which I wanted to see, but decided to do some fish extender deliveries. Erika said they left the show within minutes - it was a little to "dark" for Gus . Everyone but Dh and Max met up at Royal Palace for dinner. They ended up at Cabana's for dinner, which they said was very good and had service just like in the main dining rooms. We enjoyed a very nice meal too.
Iced Lobster and Jumbo Shrimp - white and green asparagus, micro greens, and lemon-dill dressing with horseradish cream
Belle's French Onion Soup with gruyere cheese crouton
Roasted Wild Boar Tenderloin - sweet carrot and onion potato cake with a red currant reduction
Grand Marnier Souffle infused with fresh orange zest and served with creme Anglaise
Did Titus have a Mickey bar every night for dessert? Yes. Yes he did.
I think this may have been my favorite meal of the cruise...
Erika dropped off Gus at the kid's club and went to catch some Monday night football and tennis in the 687 Lounge. Max and Titus were also doing their thing and I went to deliver some more fish extender gifts, then met Erika in the lounge for some drinks . Dh was watching the game on the pool deck. We all made it back to the room pretty late. I had to get over Max "coming home" late (midnight ?!), but it took some time. Dh assured me that he had been keeping in contact with him with the wave phone. Nevertheless, I did not go to bed until he was back in the room. We had another early morning the next day - Castaway Cay day!
What a great time - I'm glad you managed to do what you wanted in Nassau. I've never been to the Straw Market because of the description in the PassPorter, and from your description, I don't think it's for me.
Like Cheryl, I was deterred from visiting Nassau by the descriptions I've heard, but can see wanting to step onto foreign soil if you've never done so. For me, Nassau is an extra sea-day on board! I love the roaming around shots and dinner looks wonderful. Good job, Titus, for setting off on your own and managing to get yourself fed and entertained!
Sounded like a great day.
I can't handle shopping with pushy people. I remember when we went to Cancun for our honeymoon and trying to shop and getting things shoved in our faces and them trying to negotiate a price. It was too much for me to handle.
Sorry the beach was gross.
The rest of the day on the ship sounded relaxing and everyone did their own thing.
Can't wait to hear about Castaway Cay!
Great times on the ship. On land? Well... Sounds interesting. I will say your pictures from the morning out on the veranda have me sold on getting one. We'll be cruising in 2016 and I've been debating on if the cost is worth it. Me thinks it just might be. Morning coffee and a view like that? Where do I sign up?
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Sorry Junkanoo Beach was a disappointment. At least you got to enjoy the water, though! I took a tour in Nassau because I wanted to see the sights, and I didn't have to experience too much of the hard sell anywhere. Glad it was a good chance to take advantage of the stuff on board!
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Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Great update! I truly don't understand the behavior at the Straw Market. I know it's how they make their living, but don't they understand that the hard sell is pushing people away instead of the opposite? When I went there, I probably would have bought stuff if I had time to browse, but the pushiness made me hate it there, and I didn't buy anything.
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Holly: 
) were having a great time.
The interview on the way into the Golden Mickeys looks like a lot of fun! 
. I wore my comfy shoes, and forgot my swim shoes (of course!), but I was glad the boys wore theirs. Gus wore his birthday suit, because Erika forgot his suit. The water was cool and the temp in the 80s. We enjoyed ourselves, especially the boys, who got to try out their snorkel gear for the first time. Dh wasn't enjoying himself as we found out later. He was accosted by a guy begging for money and got cussed out when he told the guy all he had was on "that boat over there."
) and Dh was more than happy to quickly round up the kids. When we left, we had been there for exactly 58 minutes (according to time stamps from the first photo we took there to the last). The Dream was calling us back. 
It was time for a nap for Gus, so I hung out with Titus doing the game, after walking them back to their room. We had a good time just being together. Then suddenly we were tired too, and we headed back to the room to catch a quick nap 
. We woke in time to say goodbye to the port 
. Everyone but Dh and Max met up at Royal Palace for dinner. They ended up at Cabana's for dinner, which they said was very good and had service just like in the main dining rooms. We enjoyed a very nice meal too.
. Dh was watching the game on the pool deck. We all made it back to the room pretty late. I had to get over Max "coming home" late (midnight 
?!), but it took some time. Dh assured me that he had been keeping in contact with him with the wave phone. Nevertheless, I did not go to bed until he was back in the room. We had another early morning the next day - Castaway Cay day!
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