Nassau

 We were up early enough to watch our ship sail into the Nassau Harbor.  There were 5 ships in today!

The big attraction on this island is the Atlantis Resort, but with so many tourists in town and an outrageous fee to enter the water park, we decided to disembark and find a different excursion.  We were swarmed by different vendors battling for our business, but found a sweet lady who set us up with a day at Blue Island Lagoon.  

 We almost set off a riot when we tried to hire a taxi and didn't follow proper etiquette, but we eventually caught a taxi to the Paradise Island Ferry Terminal for the ferry ride to the Lagoon.

 The 25 minute boat ride was just spectacular.  The water was the clearest/most turquoise we have ever seen and the homes that line the shore were multi-million dollar mansions.

Once to the property, we quickly found seats in the shade and toured the island.  What an amazing place!  

It is the home to Dolphin Encounters, a great buffet lunch, 

 tons of colorful picnic tables and hammocks,

 perfect snorkeling 

and a super cool water park!

 We spent lots of time just wading in the warm water

 and also taking plenty of breaks in the shade. 

 We took the last ferry back to the cruise ship and tried to enjoy every minute.  This water is just stunning!

 On the ferry ride back, we captured some great views of Atlantis and Paradise Island

 and had just enough time to do a little bit of souvenier  shopping before getting back on the boat.

 I caught this pretty sunset from our port hole while getting ready for dinner

 and we enjoyed another great meal at the Palace Restaurant.

Grand Bahama Island

 We were up early, ate a quick breakfast on the ship and then disembarked at 8:00am for a day in Freeport, Bahamas.  We were one of 3 ships in port today.

 We didn't have an excursion booked yet, so we walked around talking to some of the vendors about the  best snorkel spot.  A sweet lady directed us to Paradise Cove, so we waited in line for a taxi.  We met a family from Wilmington, NC and shared a taxi ride for the 30 minute drive.

They drive on the other side of the road here so that was a new experience for the girls!

 Paradise Cove was exactly that…PARADISE!

White sand beaches and pretty turquoise water. We couldn't believe how warm the water was too!

We spent a lot of time snorkeling and found sea grass, brain coral, a sun fish and several smaller species.

 We were able to eat a nice lunch under the patio and get shade, when needed.

 We could get used to this!

 A unique feature of this cove was the installation of about 200 reef balls into the shallow water.  We talked to the owner about them.  He worked with the Reef Ball foundation and they install these balls into the water to help restore the ecosystem.  Over time, sea life grows on them and attracts the fish and other creatures just like real coral would.  They were really cool to swim around!

 We returned back to the ship for our 5:00pm sail and had another good dinner

 and watched the comedy show at Stardust Theater.

We found cute little towel creatures on our beds when we returned to our rooms for the night :)

Cruising on the Norwegian Sky

 We took a taxi to the Port of Miami and were in the 2nd boarding group for our 4-night cruise to the Bahamas aboard the Norwegian Sky!

 Our rooms weren't ready yet so we went right to the pool.  Within minutes, Allison was crying and came running out of the pool because her eyes were stinging so bad.  After two staff members helped me with an eye wash, she was back to normal, but it made for quite a story to start our trip.  She swears she didn't open her eyes under water, but we have Go Pro video proof that she did…Haha!

 Taylor and I toasted with our first of many Pina Coladas (hers was virgin of course!)

 Ready for a fun few days away

 We had several hours on the ship before we set sail so we enjoyed our first buffet snack

 and checked out our rooms.

 We set sail at 5:00pm and we sat along the 6th deck to watch us leave the Port of Miami.

 Just as we left, the storm clouds came rolling in and looked like the were headed for South Beach. What a beautiful sight!

 We showered and checked out our dinner options.  We liked that this cruise had freestyle dining and we could eat at anytime and at several different restaurants.  Tonight we tried Crossings and it was delicious!  I got the roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and broccoli

and loved the warm volcano cake with chocolate chip gelato for dessert.  Yum!  We spent the night sailing and looked forward to arriving in Freeport in the morning...

Downtown Miami

 Yesterday, we drove back to Chicago, took a flight to Ft. Lauderdale and took a taxi to downtown Miami for the night.

We checked in late to our hotel, but were happy to see we were staying right across the street from Bayside Marketplace.  We were hungry and eager to check out the area.

It was after 10:00pm but it was still hotter than heck!

The girls and I got ice cream and Matt got a daiquiri

 while we listened to some very cool Salsa/Latin music from the band along the waterfront.

 This morning, we walked along the water to check out some of the high rises and got a great breakfast at Whole Foods.

This Banyan tree at Bayside Marketplace reminded us of the one in Lahaina.  

It was getting super hot rather quick so we went back to the hotel to pack up for our 10:30am cruise check in...