After departing Port Orlando on Saturday at 4:00 p.m., we sailed through the night and arrived in Nassau, Bahamas. After we docked, we would take a boat to Salt Cay and enjoy the day at the privately owned beach.
Salt Cay... Susan and Greg had no idea where this place was located. It was not an island that we have been to before. All we knew was that it was a private island owned by Carnival.

When Greg woke up that morning, the ship was just pulling into the pier when Greg realized that this was an island that we had been to before--Nassau. However, the Salt Cay part we still couldn't figure out.

We had breakfast and departed the ship to get onto a small boat which would then take us to Salt Cay. As we approached the island, Greg and Susan were excited to realize they had actually been here before, when it was called Blue Lagoon.

The island had previously been known as Blue Lagoon when Greg and Susan had sailed to Nassau on the Fantasy. However, Carnival had purchased the island and renamed it. It had always been one of our very favorite islands and we were excited the kids would be able to see it with us this time. Greg and Susan both felt that this was the best island they have ever been to. Walking to the back side of the island gave you a feeling that you were secluded on the island.

Sunday, March 10, 2002: Nassau, Bahamas. Spending the day at Salt Cay


Entering the port of Nassau.
Docking next to the Carnival's Fascination.
Arriving into port, Greg immediately knew where we were--Nassau. We were unsure of exactly where Salt Cay was located, but now we knew.

The captain of the Carnival Pride actually started backing the ship into pier about two miles out in the port. Because we had a wall which partially blocked our view towards the rear of the ship, it surprised us when we saw the Carnival's Fascination right next to us. As soon as we got up and ate breakfast, we turned around and it had already left.


Getting off the ship, Royal Caribbean had pulled up next to us to take the place of the Fascination.

We all huddled under a small bus stop and waited to be escorted around the pier to the small boat which would take us to Salt Cay Island.

Along the way, we snapped a couple of pictures to show the size of the Carnival Pride.



The first boat out, "Calypso", heads out towards Salt Cay without us.
In the background, the Carnival Pride.
We thought we timed the line just right as we approached the small boat, but we just missed it. We were the first one on the next boat which gave us a good seat with a table.

While we had quite a wait before we left the pier, the calypso music was great and the weather was perfect just to hang out.

Eventually, we started towards Salt Cay which took about 30 minutes of travel time.



This is the famous resort in Nassau called Pleasure Island. It always appears on television commercials. The kids instantly picked up on this.
Even though we were late, Susan forgave Greg for stopping and taking so many pictures of the ship while we were walking to the boat.



This wonderful, topical island is filled with palm trees and hammocks. Eight years earlier while sailing on the Fantasy we took a picture on one of these hammocks which still appears on one of our very first web sites (don't laugh). Click here to jump over to the picture if you are curious.



After enjoying ourselves on the hammocks, Greg and Susan knew we should walk to the backside of the island. Though the front side of the island offers paddle boats, beach games, and a lagoon, it is also crowded with people and lots of noise including a Bahamas band. Finding our way to the back of the island, we were able to enjoy the entire beach by ourselves as the rest of the crowd stays on the front side of the beach. Although the water was slightly rough, both kids enjoyed snorkeling.
The water of the Bahamas was just slightly cold in March. After snorkeling for a while, both kids were cold. Luckily their fun didn't stop because they both brought their wet suits that Grandpa had given them a year earlier.

Sunday, March 10, 2002: Nassau, Bahamas. Returning to the ship and preparing for Formal Dinner


Our last picture before getting back on the ship.
Getting the sand off from the beach.
We stayed at Salt Cay about three hours before we were ready to come back to the ship. The sun in the Bahamas and the Caribbean is a lot more dangerous than the Arizona sun because the breeze keeps you so cool, you forget you've been in the sun that long.

Once back on board, the kids still hadn't had enough fun in the water, so it was off to the pool.

On past cruises, we always chose the early seating for dinners. Unhappy to miss all of the sunsets and leaving from the various ports, Greg decided to schedule this cruise for the late seating at 8:15 p.m. This gave us time gave us a lot more time after getting back on board so we swam and still had time to watch the ship leave port.

The next job was to get ready for the formal dinner. The dinner is actually only 10% of the night. The other 90% is getting dressed up and going through the gauntlet of photographers trying to get you to pose for a photo which, of course, they will eventually sell to you. Though it is somewhat chaotic, we enjoy formal night as it is one of the only times we get family pictures taken. And, of course, it beats going to the Wal-Mart portrait studio. It's much more fun this way.

Upon leaving our cabin, we always like to have the kids take their picture with our room cabin steward. Glenn was more than glad to have his picture taken.

Visit the Formal Pictures and get an idea of all the formal pictures that were taken. Of course, we probably had over 30 photo sittings during the two formals, but these were the ones we purchased.

When you go and pick up your photos, it's like searching for a needle in a hay stack. There are thousands and thousands of pictures to sort through. It's always a race to see who can find our pictures first.


Susan, Preston and Brooklyn all love going to the formal dinning room. Although Brooklyn only eats jelly sandwiches and dessert, Preston ordered all of his meals off of the adult menu and enjoyed trying a few new things.Although Greg doesn't like the formal dinners, he accommodates the rest of us and puts up with it.

Tonight, however, is a special night. We always celebrate Brooklyn's birthday on the formal night. It's always fun to have our waiters come around and sing happy birthday with their strong accents of all nationalities. Brooklyn turned eight just weeks before this. You can see her birthday on the web site.

After enjoying a fantastic dinner, we move on to the Taj Mahal for a great Broadway Show. Unfortunately, after cruising with Carnival so many times, we had already seen this show on another cruise along with the same singers. One of the draw backs of having the late seating for dinner is that the shows don't start until after ten. Brooklyn made it through the first part of the show and then fell fast asleep resting on Susan's arm. Preston stayed awake with Greg and Susan throughout the show enjoying sodas with is free soda card.


The kids get excited when we return to the room and waiting for them is an animal made out of towels. Each night we have a new and exciting towel design by our room steward.

Tomorrow would be our first Fun Day at Sea. It would mean sleeping in for the first time in three days. Of course, with Greg, he just can't waste a moment of the day and always gets us up early. This time, Susan kept him down till at least 8:00 the next morning.

Short cut to "Fun Day at Sea"