Honeymoon: Bahama Cruise

For our honeymoon Zach and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas. I didn’t know beforehand that’s where we were going. He planned the whole thing (with some help from Matt). I was total okay with it being a surprise. I enjoy surprises. I knew it was a cruise because we had discussed before he’d never been on one and I am a total fan. I told him now is the time to go. We went the week after our wedding: Sunday March 25th to Sunday April 1st, 2018. :)

  

Bahamas! 

I was trying to figure out how I wanted to write this blog post. There are two ways I’ve done it in the past, once as travel log where I go over each day (like when I went to the Caribbean) and also a highlight count down type list (like when I went to Disneyland). I decided I’d do the Highlight version this time around since my recent post about our Wedding Day was timeline based. And same disclaimer as last time I made this kind of list, not all highlights are positive. Vacations are great, but sometimes things don’t go as plan, however they still make great memories. :) I hope you enjoy!

Number 5: The Flights

WOW

We flew with American Airlines. I realize now I forgot to take a picture of the plane, so here’s a view from the window. Zach was nice and let me have the window seat. :)

So, as many of you know, I am not a fan of flying. However it is a necessary evil a part of travelling. Most places you can’t get to any other way.. quickly anyways. The main reason I don’t enjoying flying is because my ears have trouble popping, which causes physical pain at landing. Thankfully this time around wasn’t too bad. The first flight was probably the worst. I tried out this new method of sucking on a sucker. It didn’t work out so well. I think from now on I’ll stick to gum chewing, it seems to works the best so far. Though I am up for any suggestions/ recommendations for future travel.  

We flew out Saturday night, on March 24th. Our first flight was from Salt Lake to Philadelphia and our second flight from Philadelphia to New York. That flight I would rate the best out of all four of our flights. Because it was the shortest my ears had very little problems. Our flights back home were on Sunday April 1st, from New York to Fort Worth, then Fort Worth to Salt Lake. 

On the way home the most stressful part was the layover. Our flight landed in Fort Worth later than planned and we had to race to our last plane. Literally! I felt like I was on the Amazing Race!! Haha. Thankfully Zach and I didn’t have any carryon bags to worry about, just our personal item bags which we had on us already. The hard part was getting off the plane. As we were waiting for our turn to move we looked over the terminal map of the airport available online. We worked as a team in making a plan so we both knew where we were going. However, because we were in such a hurry we accidently got on the wrong Skylink transportation unit. Oops. :/ We quickly got off at the first stop and found the one going in the correct direction. Thankfully they are constantly in working order so wait time was nothing. We made it to our last flight as it was being boarded. Whew. That was quite the adventure! 

We landed in Salt Lake at Midnight and had to wait for about 45 minutes for baggage claim. I was slightly worried our bags might not have made the transition in Fort Worth due to the slight delay. Thankfully they were just tarty on getting on the baggage carousel. My parents were understanding and super great to wait for us. Because they don’t live very far they were willing to drive us to and from the airport. :)  

Number 4: The Norwegian Breakaway

The Norwegian Breakaway

Our cruise ship was the Norwegian Breakaway. It was the biggest cruise ship I ever been on. It was impressive!! There was a lot to do on the Breakaway, which was really good since we had three full days at sea (one to our destinations, and two back). A few of the big things we did on the ship were the rope course, the waterslides, the rock wall, and a couple’s massage. :)

On Monday Zach and I participated in the rope course. It was located on the top deck of the ship. It was pretty cool. Zach and I went one at a time. When we were waiting in line we were informed we couldn’t have anything in our pockets. It turned out it worked out better to have us go one at a time so the other could be down below to take pictures. :) It was a little scary to be up so high, but not too much. It helped we were strapped in harnesses that was hooked to the course. The course had a series of obstacles, bunch of different options. It’s hard to explain, let me find a picture to show you what I mean…

Hi Zach!!

Ah yes. That works in giving you a better idea what I am talking about. As I was saying, there were a ton of different options. It was cool how we got to choose our own path, because there were so many cross roads. The only rule was that we had to go one at a time on each segment. However whichever way we choose to go ended with the zip line. At the zip line there was a worker there to check and tighten our harness. I almost went too soon and got in a little trouble. He said “wait, not yet!” Oops. I apologized and said I was just excited. He said that was new, most people were nervous at the zip line. Haha. I’ve been zip lining before, I wasn’t nervous. ;) Over all it was a really fun course.

The waterslides we visited on our second to last day at sea (Friday), which was a nice warm day, perfect weather to enjoy getting wet. They were really fun slides, we went a few times. :) Zach was bummed the big slides, the ones the drop you straight down, were closed. I admit I was relieved. They looked really scary! Haha! Obviously I didn’t have my camera with me because I knew I won’t be able to take pictures while on the waterslides, however on our last day I did get a picture from afar to show you. Because it was the last day there wasn’t anyone in the pools when I took the picture, but trust me it was jammed back the whole time!

equipped with waterslides!

On Saturday we visited the Rock Wall. It was located next to the rope course. It was only open certain time of the day so that’s why we didn’t get to go on it until our last day at sea. That’s when we were heading back up the coast so it was a little cold! Neither Zach nor I were able to make it to the top because our fingers froze. The workers were really funny! They said if we made it to the top we would win ice cream! And when we were up there (again, we went one at a time) they’d yell “Think of the ice cream!” haha. When I gave up and got back to the bottom he asked if I didn't like ice cream. I do, I just couldn't make it. 

In the afternoon on Saturday Zach and I had our couple’s massage. This has been on our bucket wish list for months now. When we first discussed going on a cruise for our honeymoon we both agreed we’d love to get a real professional massage. It was extra, but man was it great! It was so relaxing, I almost fell asleep on the table. Almost. Our masseuses ended our session by placing our hands together in a hand hold. I thought that was so cute and tender. It was a beautiful ending. Awe. :)

Number 3: Entertainment

How you doin'?

So entertainment is hard to take a pictures of. In my experience it never turns out right and also most the time it’s prohibited. I honestly don’t much to show you via pictures, but I’ll explain it best I can. There was a bunch a different kinds of entertainment on the Breakaway, such as different kinds of demonstrations, multiple games, and fun shows.

Demonstrations

Zach and I watched a few demonstrations while one the ship. We saw a sushi demonstration where chiefs showed how to make sushi rolls, and even preformed some tricks, like bouncing ingredients on their spatulas. It was impressive. We also witnessed a fruit carving demonstration that was pretty cool. Our favorite however was the animal towel folding demonstration. We even got a DVD to show us how it’s done. I suggested to Zach he could watch the DVD on his days off and surprise us all with random towel animals on our bed (like the picture above). Haha! 

Games

The ship also had a bunch of games. I’m not just taking about the casino, which yes, we did visit and play a bit. No worries we stuck to our limit and almost doubled the money we put into it. We decided to call it quits while we were ahead and not get too carried away. ;) We also played a few games in the arcade. I’m mostly talking about games in which the guest could participate, which was fun. Zach and I watched “55 to Stay Alive”, which is basically “Minute to Win It”. It was entertaining to watch. We were able to play with a bunch of people the game “Majority Rules”. It’s where we all assembled in groups and answered a set of questions one at a time that were presented to us. The groups that guessed the response that had the most guesses won a point. Zach and I didn’t win, but we didn’t lose either. It was fun. We also watched a few trivia games, or parts of them. Our favorite was guessing cartoon character on the screen. Together we did pretty well. We almost went to “Battle of the Sexes” however there was nowhere to sit and we were not in the mood to stand. We didn’t want to watch it that much. Our favorite game to watch and I had on my wish list was “The Newly Wed Game” which I will go into more details in its own set paragraphs. :)

I’ve watched “The Newly Wed” game on my first cruise and loved it. It was hilarious! So I told Zach I really wanted to go because as Newly Weds I thought it’d be fun. I told him we didn’t have to be contestants, honestly I really didn’t want to do that either. Neither one of us like to be center of attention. It was fun to watch and tell each other what we would have answered and/or guessed afterward. Anyways, the game began when the host requested the longest lasting couple to raise their hands. The longest was 60 years, wow, however like Zach and I they didn’t want to play, just watch. So the second longest married couple of 45 years went up to play. After they were selected the host asked for the shortest married couple. There was a couple who had gotten married the Saturday before, so even if we wanted to play they had been married shorter amount of time than us. The middle couple was selected after a little make out contest/ audition. Whoever wanted to be considered made out in front of everyone for a few minutes. The audience all cheered for who we thought was the best, most passionate couple. Haha. The couple selected had been married for five years. They actually ended up winning the whole game.  

I won’t list all the questions asked, they were actually really personal. They were the kind of questions that would make me blush to be honest. It’s really good Zach and I didn’t play- it would have been so embarrassing! (as I knew it would be). Though I will share my favorite question, to give you an idea of how personal they the questions really were. This question was asked to the husbands: “If your wife text you saying she needed you to go to the store to get her a new bra, but didn’t give you specifics, what size and color would you get?” The hilarious part is that host explained the Bra Lettering System to them as follows: (A) is for Almost Boob, (B) is for Barely There, (C) is for Can Do, (D)- Dang! (E) for Enormous, (F) for Fake, and (G)- Get a reduction. I told you- Hilarious!! There answers were pretty funny too. The newest husband said “33 E” what’s funny about his answer is that bras don’t come in odd numbers, which the host forgot (or didn’t think) to educate the men in. I don’t remember the middle husband answer, I think he was right or pretty close, but I do remember the eldest husband said the color blue. What? Haha. I don’t think he understood how to play the game, and that the objective was to match your wife’s answers. His wife thought it was a crazy guess, too.     

Shows

Zach and I also went to a few shows while on our cruise. The first night we went to the Dueling Pianos. There were two pianos and three pianist who took turns. Two guys and a girl. The audience was encourage to participate by writing down song request and putting them on the piano. One of the pianist explained at the beginning how it worked, that they would try to play everyone’s request, however the ones that came with a little extra something ($$$) would have priority. It was really fun to watch and we were thoroughly impressed that they were able to play whatever song on the spot. Their knowledge and skill was incredible. 

The second show we attended was a dance recital called “Burn the Floor”. I absolutely LOVED it!! We were near the front and were able to see all the beautiful moment perfectly. It was Amazing! The talent, the costumes, Wow! I was in Awe. [Insert multiple heart eye emojis.] Another performer we saw was a comedian magician. He was hilarious!! He had a few audience members helping him out with his tricks. It was silly and super family friendly. The last show we saw was a musical called “Rock of Ages” that was not family friendly. They did give us fair warning beforehand that it wasn’t. It was PG-13 for sure. I was amazed by the talented singing and dancing, but the storyline I honestly wasn’t that impressed with. The narrator was pretty funny, even with his slightly inappropriate jokes. Haha.

Number 2: Ports/Excursions

On Monday, our first full day at Sea, Zach and I went over our options of the different excursion that were offered at each port. Zach had decided before hand it would be better for us to plan the excursions together. That was sweet of him. It was fun making the decision together as we discussed all the options. And there were a lot! It wasn’t easy to choose, but through discussion we came to conclusions we both were happy about. :) We decided at Port Canaveral in Florida we would visit the Kennedy Space Center. Our first stop in the Bahamas at the Great Stirrup Cay we would have a nice relaxing day at the beach, and our second stop in the Bahamas at Nassau we would discover Atlantis. And back in New York, since we had time before our flight, we would Tour the Big Apple. :)

Port Canaveral (Florida): The Kennedy Space Center

The Kennedy Space Center

On Tuesday we docked at Port Canaveral in Florida. On our way to meet our tour group I discovered our sunscreen had exploded in my bag. Yicks! :/ Thankfully we had time to go back to our room to switch bags and clean up the mess a little. We finished when we returned. I told you in the disclaimer sometimes things don’t go as planned, but still make for funny memories. Haha. Next time I need to remember to keep the sunscreen stored in a ziplock bag. :/

On land we travelled by bus to the Kennedy Space Center. We first visited the Apollo and Saturn 5 building. While there we went into a room where the first successful Apollo launch was re-enacted. They even had the walls and ceiling shake as if there was an actual rocket being launched nearby. It was pretty neat. After we went into the museum portion where we saw a bunch of replicates and history post about all the Apollo missions and Saturn 5. It was interesting. 

We then got back on the bus to travel a short distance to the visitor center (picture above). We watched a short presentation video about the Atlantis space shuttle, then after saw a replica of it. It’s huge! There were also a bunch of simulations we could pretend to be astronauts. We also visited the 3D theatre and watched a movie about the history of space travel and also plans of the future to travel to Mars. We visited more exhibits that went into more details from things mention in the movie and had more simulations for us to play with. Near our bus stop was a Rocket Park, filled with a bunch of replicas of rockets.

Rocket Park

The Bahamas: Great Stirrup Cay and Nassau.

On Wednesday morning at breakfast we were informed by the captain over the intercom we were unable to stop at our next port, the Great Stirrup Cay. The waves were too high for the tender boats we needed to take to get to shore. I was totally bummed and was not looking for forward to an extra day at sea. Thankfully the captain was able to make arrangements with our next port, Nassau, to dock a day early. Yay! :) 

Zach and I spent our first day at Nassau at the beach, the same plan we had made for the day, just a different island. The beach was nice and the water was cool. I’m glad we were able to dock. We also did a little shopping. We mostly browsed, but did find a few things we liked. For example the small Randall license plate featured at the beginning of this blog post. :) We plan to make it into a magnet. We found a magnet at each of our stops, as well as on the boat, to display on our fridge at home.

Thursday, our second day at Nassau we woke up late. Oh No!! :( We got dressed so fast. I called the operator to find out what we could do. Did we miss out on our excursion all together, or was there something we could do? We were in a small freak out mode for sure. We did our best to keep calm. The operator directed us to the dock. Thankfully we were able to catch the last bus heading toward Atlantis. Whew!! Aren’t vacations fun? Haha.

Atlantis

Atlantis is a huge hotel resort with multiple underground aquariums, so going off the idea of the lost city of Atlantis. Our tour began in a casino of all places, where we saw four huge statue/sculptures made of glass. They were beautiful. The aquariums were spectacular, full of sharks, stingrays, crabs, jelly fish, eels, and multiple other fishes. The cave like tunneling was pretty cool too. Above land, after the tour, we were able to explore a little. We went across the rope bridge, saw lots of waterfalls, turtles, and beaches. Zach and I spend some of our time on the beach. The waves were a little crazy, too crazy for my taste. Haha. It was still a really beautiful and a nice warm day.

New York: Tour of the Big Apple

Sunday morning we were back in New York. Zach and I had a few hours before our first flight home so we went on a tour of the Big Apple. We saw most of the tour from the window of the bus. Our tour guide was nice to let us get out to get a good view of the Empire State Building. We also saw the Status of Liberty from a distance from where we stopped for a bathroom break. And she let us get real New York pizza and eat it on the bus (her idea). It was delicious! We weren’t able to travel down Time Square due to the parade going on for Easter. It was okay, it gave us more time to spend at the 9-11 Memorial site. We were able to get out of the bus and walk around. Where the Twin Towers used to stand there’s water features, almost like it’s always crying, with names written to remember the ones who had died that dreadful day. It’s a powerful sight. I don't think pictures do it justice, because its mostly the feeling that makes it so powerful. It's hard to explain. 

9-11 Memorial

Number 1: The Food 

The last thing to tell you about, that we rate at number one highlight from our trip, was the FOOD! Oh my goodness!! It was so Good!! 

When we got on the cruise ship lunch was our first order of business. Haha. We headed to the Garden Café, the buffet located on the top deck. The selection was huge! After we made our plates we had the difficult task in finding a table. It took forever! Okay, not really, I’m exaggerating. It took a long time. We were finally able to find a long table and was told by a family it was occupied. We were about to walk away to resume our quest when they noticed it was just the two of us and they let us know there were two extra seats on the end they won’t be using. Hallelujah. Haha. 

There were a ton of options for dining. The Garden Café that I mention above. We had breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight snack there a few times (because we could, haha). That’s also where the soft served ice cream was located. We had a lot of ice cream. There, and at the Gelato stand mid ship, and at the pub, O’Sheehans. When we ordered the ultimate sundae at O’Sheehans the waiter warned us it takes 3 to 4 people to eat. He showed us the bowel and we decided we could handle it. We were right. :)

The Ultimate Sundae

O’Sheehans we visited a few times for both breakfast and lunch. We visited the Noodle Bar one night for dinner, that was fun, though I prefer the main dining rooms myself. There were three main dining rooms called the Manhattan Room, Savor, and Taste. They all served the same three course meals, just with slightly different atmospheres. We went to one of three main dining rooms for most dinners, not all. It’s fun to have a three course meal. Food is Good. :)

Not only did Zach and I enjoy large amounts of ice cream, we also discovered  our favorite dessert, which was the Chocolate Lava Cake with strawberries and (more) ice cream. We repeated the Lava Cake experience on multiple occasions. Mmmmm.

The Lava Cake Experience

The End

Well, that’s the end of my list of highlights from our Honeymoon Bahama Cruise. It was a blast! I am so grateful for my amazing husband who planned the whole thing. He did a great job at surprising me with a worth wild cruise vacation. It was wonderful. I look forward to more vacations with him in the future. :) :)