A Chilly Day in CocoCay
Trip Start
Jan 03, 2010
1
2
5
Trip End
Jan 10, 2010
Where I stayed
Freedom of the Seas
CocoCay, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Bahamas
Monday, January 4, 2010
Since Chad and JP closed down the boat's bars the night before, Challi got off to a slow start on a chilly day in CocoCay. CocoCay is a small island in the Bahamas completely owned by Royal Caribbean, and aside from a barbecue on the beach, there really isn’t much to do aside from the beachy excursions like snorkeling, parasailing or swimming. Since it was still pretty chilly, we weren’t planning to partake in the activities.
So while everyone else was either on the island or waiting to board a tender to get to the island (that line was long!), we walked around the ship and explored its many decks. Eventually, we found the hot tubs that stick out from the side of the ship eleven decks above the ocean below where you could actually look out the slanted windows all the way down to the water, the side of the ship, and the tender boats taking people over to CocoCay. As Chad sat in the hot tub, we debated with another frequent cruiser about whether or not to go over to the island.
About an hour later, the ride over on the tender was breezy and very choppy, but once we got to the island, we enjoyed a nice lunch at a picnic table as the sun struggled to break through. After lunch we turned around to discover that Steve and Erik had been sitting right behind us. We enjoyed some family time, and then Challi took a walk to the back side of the island for some photos before it was time to head back to the ship. We found Wanderers Beach and a grave that is purported to be that of the pirate Blackbeard (more to come on him later), and then we got Miranda out of her daytime program before we all headed back to the ship. Challi, Hallie, and Erik went up to the hot tubs as the ship left CocoCay, and we ran into Caro (JP’s wife) and Andrea. We all got drinks, and Erik said that Chad’s description of the current situation would make a great Facebook status report:
We are sitting in a hot tub eleven floors above the ocean, having drinks with family and friends, moving twenty miles an hour across the blue waters below as the sun sets over the islands of the Bahamas.
There was a reason we switched from the hot tub on the port side to the one on the starboard side, and watching that sunset was the reason.
That night was the first formal night of the cruise – the Captain’s Dinner. Read with a Norwegian accent: "Good evening ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Eric speaking from the bridge tonight. I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay at CocoCay. Tonight, complimentary champagne will be served on the Royal Promenade…" There was never really anything exciting from the Captain, but he was fun to impersonate throughout the cruise. We listened over pre-dinner drinks at The Pub, and then we headed to a great dinner including a nice bottle of Cheateuneuf du Pape that even Alli liked. During dinner, Erik had his first taste of his new favorite food – gluten free dessert, and Steve told us about his former days on a fishing boat when he was in charge of baiting all the hooks.
We all hit the craps table later and introduced Hallie and Erik to all the fun.
Day Three was a sea day, and Challi started off by heading upstairs to the Windjammer for breakfast where they ran into the Hurtados. After a few down hours, we met up with the Hurtados again, this time planned, for lunch in the formal dining room. Long lunches with friends and wine are fun!
That afternoon we went to the ice show, and Miranda was picked from the crowd to be in the show. About half-way through, they picked her up and put her in a small, wooden ship and pushed her around the ice. Before dinner we went back to The Pub, this time for some Boddington’s, and them to the Beatlemania show, which was high-energy and a lot of fun. We had another great dinner with the family. And then we ran into the Hurtados for drinks at our usual spot – Boleros. Chad taught the Hurtado family how to properly dance the salsa and meringue, even though they are Columbian and already knew how.
Comments
Man, I was hoping you were going to show us photos of you tossing peanut shells overboard from the hot tub.