The weather the night before was making us consider that this might not be a "Perfect Day". Then, all excursions were cancelled, due to weather. I had rented snorkel equipment for us to use on our one and only beach day. Gone.
We got ashore fairly early. It was almost chilly. Yes, in the Bahamas. It was very windy still, cloudy, and not hot. We immediately hopped on the first trolley we saw.
The horizon looks level, but the ship doesn't. Interesting.
We took the trolley all around the island. The map HERE shows the trolley only going around the waterpark portion, but we ended up on the beach by the Snack Shack.
It was so disappointingly cold. The wind on the beach felt like sandblasting on our legs. The water was cold.
The girls had been looking forward to a tropical beach all week, and they had an easier time going into Ontario cottage country lakes than they did here.
We managed, but man! Not fun. We later realized that the other beaches, with their break walls, might have been nicer, but it was miserable walking along the beach. Rob had gone for a walk and discovered we were right next to the big pool, which was what he had been looking forward to, so we packed up and moved.
It's not easy to find 5 chairs; I think we settled for 4. This morning was the ONLY time for skating on the ship's rink, so Rob took the girls while Mom and I relaxed and tried to keep warm. Seriously. We also enjoyed the wildlife around the pool!
Awww
We headed into the pool to warm up, and checked out the islands. There were people looking at something, so we peered closer. Lizards, of several types and sizes!
We enjoyed the food at the Snack Shack, and the Skipper's Grill. Watch out for the washroom signs there, the sink is a common area and depending on which direction you come from, you might go the wrong way in....to the men's....thinking that the whole bathroom was women's and both openings on either side of the sinks went to the toilets....Saved myself in time :)
We had pouring, pouring rain at the pool. The umbrellas helped a little to keep things dry, but really, it wasn't a lot of help.
Someone realized we were near the Lagoon, and that it was calm there. We enjoyed that so much more than the first, though it was a little stagnant feeling. Look at that sky!
We went back to the Snack Shack to get more awesome food, but it started to pour. Crazy Caribbean rain. Look at everyone huddling under that tiki bar hut. There was no where at the Snack Shack to escape the rain, just a tiny sliver under the condiments bar. We were wet, tired, chilled. Totally not the day shown in the commericals and ads, but we enjoyed it in typical Vetzal fashion.
I always wish I took better food and menu pictures. The kids texted me food pictures, but I have no idea what days they were from.
The coconut shrimp. Once Andrew knew we liked them, he kept them coming. I don't know how many we ate, but that would have been enough on it's own.
I believe this is the braised lamb shank. Very good, if you like lamb.
Of course, it was "Have fun with the waiters" night. See the girls in their shorts? The dress code did say "casual" but most things say no shorts in the dining room. I wasn't thrilled, but it was the last night. I wonder just how tall Dobrovoj is!
After dinner, it was time to pack up. Mom and I, and I think Lucy, went to iSkate 2.0. I'm not sure why Megan didn't want to go. It was really good. More like Stars on Ice than the production show earlier in the week.
I don't think I've ever done a port day the last cruise day. I wasn't looking forward to that, and it was compounded by everything being soaking wet. We had collected a few plastic bags, but not really enough. Keep this in mind if you choose this itinerary.
Did we enjoy Perfect Day? Of course. We were extremely disappointed when shortly after we booked, we found out the water park wasn't included (it was just opening around that time, so there wasn't much info online yet). Then we found out how much it was. It's cheaper for us to go to water parks here! I would have liked to check out the wave pool and some small slides, but not nearly enough to justify the cost. Maybe if they had a half day pass. Excursions booked through the ship are always more expensive than booked independently, but unfortunately, there are no alternatives here except booking online before your cruise and watching for a sale.
