Will and I took a trip in December to the Bahamas on Royal Carribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas cruise ship (our first cruise ever!). It was a four day cruise that embarked from Cape Canaveral in Florida, and made two stops: to Coco Kay and to Nassau in the Bahamas. I left all the planning up to Will, so I didn’t know what to expect when we got there. I wanted it to be a new adventure, and boy it was! Here are some of the highlights from our trip!
We took a red-eye Delta flight to Orlando, Florida early on Monday morning. From the airport, Royal Caribbean had a shuttle to take us to the cruise ship. After about an hour trip to Cape Canaveral, we got checked in and got onto the ship, super quick!
After getting settled, and washing off the airport grime, we got out of our cabin to do the mandatory evacuation drill before we hit the high seas. After the short, but somewhat painful, evacuation drill, we wandered around a bit to get our bearings of the ship (and grab our first drink!).
It didn’t take long to get the party started on the boat with all the guests. Out on the deck they had a DJ going, and staff out dancing in Santa hats to get everyone pumped up for the trip. It was quite a sight to see everyone’s excitement… kids running all over the place, people line dancing to all the group-dance party songs that you can think of. Lots of people were out spectating, and everyone was excited to embark on the cruise.
Sun Hat: Nordstrom Rack (similar) | Bikini: Kate Spade (similar print)
When we woke up Tuesday, we were in Coco Cay! We ate breakfast in the My Fair Lady Dining room, and dined with a random group of couples. While we were dining, an older couple that went on cruises just to gamble told us how the previous night, they were sitting at a table playing Texas Hold Em, and the whole table won when the dealer flopped a royal flush! Will definitely had FOMO when he heard that story.
We walked around the island a bit to check things out, but since neither of us get much down time at home, we opted to spend most of the day reading in sun chairs and enjoying some R&R in the sun. We also had a stop at Coconut Willie’s, and hung out on The Floating Bar for a little bit.
If you’re in the mood for more action than we had on Coco Cay, there are plenty of fun activities to partake in like parasailing, kayaking, snorkeling, paddle boarding, and swimming with pigs! There’s also a great set up for games, and some blown up bounce houses and other inflatables on the water to play on. It is a great island to visit if you are traveling with kids.
Earrings: Kendra Scott | Dress: Lilly Pulitzer (similar)
Each night there were several activities that you could attend including watching a movie on the big screen, trivia, karaoke, live show’s in the theatre, comedy shows, and lots live music and dancing.
Wednesday we woke up at the port of Nassau, Bahamas! On Nassau, we decided to do some shopping and check things out on foot. After checking out some shops, and finding some souvenirs for Greta at the Straw Market, we started getting a little thirsty, so we decided to hop around to some of the local watering holes.
We started out at Señor Frogs (had to get those touristy photos in the giant chairs outside of the bar!). We had a drink there, but left before things started getting too crazy with all the patrons.
Dress: Sperry (on sale now) | Shoes: Rainbow | Sunglasses: Diff | Bag: FabFitFun
My favorite spot on Nassau was the PIRATE REPUBLIC BREWING COMPANY. We ended up hanging out there for a while because they had good beer and really good food. Their portobello fries were so yummy, I think I might have to try to recreate them at home!
We were also able to get on their Wi-Fi to check our emails and face time with Greta. I thought I was handling being away from her pretty well, but I ended up crying during our face time with her! The beer tasting I did prior to the call probably didn’t help either ;).
If you ever end up at the Pirate Republic Brewing Company beware, because there are pirates lurking around!
On Nassau there’s so much that you can do if you plan your time accordingly, including going to Atlantis, snorkeling, swimming with dolphins, boat tours, other historic tours around the island, and more.
Wednesday night, we ended up checking out the karaoke after hearing good reviews from the night before. I felt like we were watching an episode of The Voice live, because 95% of the people who sang sounded professional!
Thursday, we had a full day on the ship as we were back en route to Florida. There were a lot of activities going on all day, but we mostly relaxed in the lawn chairs on the quiet side of the boat and read our books. When it started getting too windy and cold, we headed back to our cabin to get ready for dinner, and to get our stuff packed so we could have a swift exit off the ship on Friday morning.
Kaftan : Lilly Pulitzer (SIMILAR) | Sandals: Rainbow
That night, we enjoyed listening to a piano player at the Schooner Bar and watched the last night of karaoke.
Friday we got off the boat as early as possible to make our way back to the airport. The customs line was pretty long getting off the boat, but it moved pretty quickly.
Overall, the trip was very enjoyable. I liked that each day, our attendant would leave a “Cruise Compass” on our door, so we can see all the activities that were happening on the ship. It also gave us tons of suggestions of what we could do at each stop we made.
The food on the ship was good, but wasn’t spectacular from a foodie’s perspective (although I don’t think most people go on cruises just for the food! Also, the chef’s are mass producing all those meals…what hard work!).
Next time, I will probably take charge a little more to plan additional activities, and also remember my tennis shoes, so I can hit up the gym! We are also so thankful to our family, who took such great care of our little girl while we were away. We were so happy to get back home to her!
Do you like cruising? Comment and let me know your favorite cruise line and destination!
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