Carnival Elation Bahamas Trip Report: Day 3
If you would like to start this trip report from the beginning, click here.
Today we were up and at ‘em early and yeah, we did have to set an alarm this morning so we wouldn’t miss the stingrays! We built in a little extra time so we could see the ship arriving in Nassau. Check out this pretty sunrise:
The lido deck wasn’t busy at all, so we got plates and got in line. There were the usual hot breakfast staples like scrambled eggs, french toast, waffles, oatmeal…
… sausage, bacon, ham, waffles, and round hash browns (love these!)
Several varieties of toast, some toasted bagels and whole pieces of fruit in the background
This was our breakfast view. Not bad!
When we got to the Mikado Lounge, the meeting point for shore excursion departures, there were signs for each activity. The stingray and private beach meeting spot was on the second floor. We snagged a seat and waited for a little while, getting a chance to read our books before we even got to the beach. Our shore excursion group was called to leave soon after.
We have arrived in Nassau!
A private charter boat took us to the island, about 20 minutes away. We’re approaching our private beach… look at that beautiful water
Stepping onto Balmoral Island
Pool floats available for rent
When we saw that four ships were scheduled to be in port, we thought it might get crazy busy but it never felt too busy.
Looking out over the beach area. All of the chairs and umbrellas were included.
We had some free time to enjoy the beach, walk in the gift shop, and check out the little market before visiting the stingrays at 11:45am.
Unfortunately cameras weren’t allowed by the stingray and dolphin area of the beach (wah wah), so we have no pictures of that part of the day. There were eight total people on our excursion which gave us a lot of one-on-one time with the rays. Our tour guide had us feed them some small fish while we were standing in shallow water, about knee deep. The key was to hold the fish down close to the sand so the stingrays could suck them up (their mouths are on their undersides). We waded out a little farther into the water and then got to hold a ray and even get a ray kiss. We learned a lot and had a great time with Stacy, Luna, and Ms. Linda, three of the rays! At the end of the excursion, we were offered the option to buy a photo and video package for over $100 which was too rich for our blood.
Next stop: get some beverages!
Lunch was available for purchase at the market
Sodas, juices and bottles of beer
There was also a Starbucks on site
Saying farewell to our new stingray friends as we walked back to board the ferry. A dolphin area is located next to the rays and tours are also offered.
Looking at our ship from the pier
At this point we went back on board to drop off all of our stuff and get out of our wet swimsuits. We grabbed a quick lunch on the lido deck because, hey, it was included, and then we went back out to explore Nassau some more. Back on board time was 4:30pm. We grabbed a few beverages from one of the local bars. Here’s a beer photo shoot:
Once back on board, we watched for stragglers and pier runners from our balcony and were entertained by a couple of them. The last dude to stroll up was slowly staggering all over the place and appeared not to have a care in the world even though he was almost 30 minutes late.
We watched sail away from the back of the ship. So long Bahamas!
On our way to dinner we walked through the art gallery.
We were seated at a table with no one around us in the Imagination Restaurant… it was pretty deserted!
Tonight’s appetizer menu
Caesar Salad
Navy Bean Soup
Tonight’s dinner menu (page 1)
Tonight’s dinner menu (page 2)
Baked Ziti
Junkanoo Pot
Tonight’s dessert menu
Praline Cake
Chocolate Tres Leche
Carnival Chocolate Melting Cake
A towel animal elephant
We made our way to the deck party after dinner. The DJ called out a bunch of different states where people were from on the ship… there was a large group from North Dakota! Awesome!
After the deck party we turned in for the night. Tomorrow is our one and only fun day at sea and we plan to make the most of it!
Up Next: Day 4 Fun Day at Sea
