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Brandy Metzger
Enchanted Garden
The Enchanted Garden dining room is beautifully decorated.
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Brandy Metzger
Palo
An amazing fine dining experience at Palo.
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Brandy Metzger
Pixie Hollow
Pixie Hollow is my daughter's favorite play area in the Oceaneer's Kids Club.
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Brandy Metzger
pirates
Big screens allow everyone to see what's happening on stage at the Pirate Party.
Today we sailed into Nassau, Bahamas. We decided to stay on the ship for the morning and head off to a special excursion mid-day. Here's how the day went.
9:00 Breakfast in the Enchanted Garden
This morning we made our way to one of the three themed dining rooms for breakfast, the Enchanted Garden. There, we found a wide selection of hot and cold breakfast choices on the extensive buffet. The Mickey-shaped Belgian waffles topped with strawberries and whipped cream were my favorite, while my daughter and husband enjoyed doughnuts with their fruit and yogurt.
10:00 Pool Deck
Although the ship docked in Nassau this morning, we decided to spend some time on the boat instead of rushing into town. We headed to the pool deck after breakfast so that my daughter could spend some time in the Mickey and Donald pools. She also found that she really enjoyed the Mickey waterslide. The pool area was very crowded considering that the ship was in port but we were eventually able to find some chairs and sit back and relax a bit. There was even a Disney movie playing on the big screen above the pools.
After about an hour and a half, we got some soft-serve ice cream from the self-service station. By noon, we decided it was time to get ready to head into Nassau.
12:30 Nassau
We got off the ship and quickly realized what a busy port Nassau is. There were many taxi cab drivers and hair braiders jockeying for position amidst the tourists. We found a licensed cab driver and headed for a ferry to Dolphin Encounters. We arrived at a little after 1 and I was able to have a wonderful conversation with one of the owners of Dolphin Encounters before we headed out for our excursion to their private lagoon island.
2:00 Dolphin and Sea Lion Encounter
Upon arrival at Blue Lagoon Island via a large catamaran, we listened to a 30 minute instructional presentation about bottle-nose dolphins. Then, we had a fun time interacting with one of the dolphins on site. We all got to hug, kiss, feed and dance with a dolphin. Then, we were able to visit with a sea lion on sight as well. I will write a more extensive article about this excursion when the pictures are available. Before leaving Blue Lagoon Island, we spent a little time on their private beach which was loaded with fun things to do such as in-water inflatables that reminded my daughter of the game-show Wipeout.
5:00 Back to Disney Dream
We made it back in just enough time to get a shower and get dressed for dinner. Tonight I took my daughter to eat in the Enchanted Garden dining room. However, my husband and I had reservations at Palo which is an adult-exclusive fine-dining restaurant. So, after my little one ate her mac and cheese she was ready to go play in the Oceaneer's Club. This club is a kid's activity area that offers supervised games and play along with creative activities. It is the perfect place to leave children so that parents can have some time to themselves.
7:00 Palo
My husband and I were excited to dine in an adult-exclusive restaurant on-board the cruise. We have had many conversations leading up to this regarding why people would choose to pay extra for a meal ($25 a person for Palo) when the food on a cruise is really great. The restaurant itself is lovely. It is very reminiscent of Venice with beautiful scenes from the city featured in paintings around the room and also a wall of windows which lines one side of the restaurant allowing diners to look out over the water as they would if they were dining in many restaurants in Venice, Italy.
After dining at Palo, we realized why diners pay extra to go to these restaurants. The food was amazing and the service top-notch. However, I think that diners choose these adult-exclusive options to have a little personal attention in a more quaint and quiet dining area. Our four course meal began with bread and traditional antipasto offerings and ended with an amazing chocolate souffle. We decided that it would be an experience worth repeating on future cruises.
9:00 Pick up at Oceaneer's Club
After a lovely 2 hour dining experience, my husband and I went to the Oceaneer's Club to pick up our daughter. When I walked in, she handed me a stack of artwork she had completed and also told me about a fun princess game she played while in the Pixie Hollow-themed play area. We headed back to our stateroom so that she could enjoy some cookies and milk that were waiting in our room after our excursion in Nassau.
10:00 Pirate Party
Even though it was past my daughter's bedtime, we decided to let her stay awake to attend the Pirate Party and fireworks display tonight. We made our way to the pool deck which was very crowded. Then, we watched as there was a brief pirate show featuring Captain Jack Sparrow. At the end of the show, Jack shot something off the ship which turned into an explosion of bright fireworks. I learned that not only are the fireworks beautiful, they are also environmentally friendly. The fireworks shells are biodegradable and they actually become fish food when they fall into the water.
The pirate theme was a bit scary for my 5 year old so after the fireworks we headed back to our room for a much needed good night's rest.
