Day 7 - Nassau means no bacon

Say it ain't so, Cap'n!  

Carnival has been dealing with supply chain issues since their restart of sailing, and a shortage of bacon is one of the results.  These signs greeted diners in the buffet.  But, this wasn't the first bad thing to happen today.

We docked in Nassau early in the morning - before our planned 7:30am arrival.  That's why we got up and got breakfast - we planned to walk ashore for a little shopping before our exciting swim with sea turtle and four island zodiac boat adventure.  But...this little tidbit was left on our door...

Yup - our excursion was canceled with no explanation. But then...

We weren't allowed off the ship - at least not anytime soon after docking.  Clearance from the local authorities is usually quick and easy, but not so today.  We didn't get cleared until sometime between 9:30 AM and 10:00 AM.  So, earlier excursions got pushed back and later ones got canceled.  With a planned 3"00 PM sail time, there was no time for an excursion.

With nothing else on the agenda, given our canceled plans, we decided to walk ashore and stroll through the tourist shopping area.

We did our best to help out the local economy and then returned to the ship.  Along with the Mardi Gras (5,282 passenger capacity), we were joined in port by the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas (5,400 passenger capacity) and the MSC Divina (4,363 passenger capacity).  All told, with about 15,000 passenger capacity, and assuming all are operating at about 60% like we are, that's still around 9,000 tourists in port today.  It is this kind of activity that is really going to help all the island's economies recover from the 12-18 month tourism hiatus.

Dropping off our stuff in the cabin, we found the traditional towel sculpture for the final day of the cruise.

After lunch, and listening to a little reggae by the pool, it was time to do the least pleasant activity of a cruise...pack.

Pre-dinner drinks tonight are at Brass Magnolia, a New Orleans-themed bar. Their signature look is lighting made from trombone bells.

Tonight, they featured a violin trio to provide the ambiance.

For dinner tonight, we returned to Cucina del Capitano for a little farewell Italian. That gave us an outside table and we enjoyed our last Caribbean sunset.

Before calling it a night, we stopped for a final round at the Alchemy Bar, or, with clever posing, My Bar.

It's been a wonderful cruise with wonderful friends. Tomorrow morning will come too early - eat a quick breakfast, grab the bags, catch the shuttle, and then drive home. I'll have one more post to wrap things up tomorrow.

Around Nassau town we did roam...

We spent today in Nassau, Bahamas.

Nassau was pretty locked down and we were only allowed off the ship if we were on a Celebrity-curated excursion. That meant no shopping so that probably saved us some money.

The excursion we booked was Essential Nassau.  In the current world of COVID, that meant a narrated bus tour around the city with nearly no stops.  Oh well.

We rode over the new Sir Sidney Portier bridge to Paradise Island and drove up to, but didn't stop at Atlantis.

There were some nice views of the harbor.

We did stop at Greycliff, a hotel with a winery, cigar shop, and chocolate factory.  But, with the current situation, it was mostly a look-at visit with a really small taste of white chocolate and a tiny taste of wine.

We were not allowed to wander but did take a peek inside the grounds of the national art museum.  It was a shame we couldn't go in.

After that, we paid a visit to John Watling's rum distillery.

We received a really quick tour.  This is a natural well about 70 feet deep where they get the water.

In a building without air conditioning, the rum sits in barrels, aging.

In that same building, workers at this steel table bottle up to 2,000 bottles in a day.  Only three workers produce that impressive output.

We passed by one of the Bahamas treasures - the vessel used to win the first Olympic gold medal in sailing for the island country.

The Bahamas are so enamored with sailing that there is currently a push to change the national sport from cricket to sailing.

Speaking of sailing, we were not the only ship in port today.

That's us on the left, and then the Crystal Serenity and Adventure of the Seas.  Both are based here in Nassau and had just completed different seven-day itineraries.  When we got back to the ship, another had arrived, the Mariner of the Seas on a three-day cruise from Port Canaveral.  By the way, any ship named "...of the Seas" is a Royal Caribbean vessel.

As we returned to the ship, we drove past the main shopping road in Nassau.  While there were a few tourists on the street, not allowing the 1,200 or so passengers on our vessel was certainly a blow to the Bahamian economy.  Strange times.

A little afternoon trivia, pre-dinner martinis, and life are good.

Our view at dinner...

But that is eclipsed by my view at dinner...

As we dined, the water got like glass. The only waves were the ones created by the ship.

We walked around the top deck and watched a couple making a hot glass heart for their 50th anniversary before heading down for a nightcap.

Before bed, we sat on our deck and marveled at the night sky.

The next two days are days at sea.