When we woke up we had already docked in Nassau. Room service was cereal, coffee, hot tea, and smoked salmon with fruit plates. We ate and woke up. We had slept exceptionally well. We are also not morning people. A note had been slipped under our door that said that we were going to leave port early.
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| From Bahamas - 2011 |
Early was midnight instead of seven am. This did not bother us. I’m sure those that planned to party the night away would be frustrated. Considering that there was a category two hurricane forty eight hours away and headed straight for the island, I was not going to complain. Instead, I was going to enjoy the fantastic weather and beautiful scenery and the fact that I was in the Caribbean. I’m a pessimist by nature but I was determined to have a great time and absorb the beauty of my vacation. I didn’t want to be one of those people that complained about everything.
I was a bit frustrated about where to go for the excursion again. This time, we were about twenty minutes early and the little huts were right outside of the ship on the pier. We waited under the Carnival Hut. There were Royal Caribbean huts and Disney Huts as well. As we watched, the Majesty of the Seas came into dock and I got several nice shots of her. A Norwegian Cruise Ship was right beside us. The Fantasy and the Fascination were docked nose to tail. Later, another Royal Caribbean ship came in. In the end, there were six ships in port.
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| From Bahamas - 2011 |
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| From Bahamas - 2011 |
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| From Bahamas - 2011 |
We waited for a bit and a snorkeling trip came and went. I’ve learned that the excursions leave on time and I will try not to be thirty minutes early anymore. However, some people managed to get turned around. A snorkel trip had left about ten minutes before. I was debating how I wished we had plotted in another snorkel trip when a group appeared. I heard them say, “Where is everyone for snorkeling?” and chatting among themselves.
I turned around and said, “One just left for catamaran snorkeling.”
“That is what we had.” The group was six people. The three husbands went to the carnival employee who was kind of organizing everything. The women stayed by all huffy. A moment later one of the men came back and said, “They just left.”
“You can catch them around the other side,” said the Carnival employee. “That is where they leave from and they would not yet be gone.”
“We just came from there!” The men exclaimed. “We got directed over there and when we got there they sent us here. Now you want to send us back?”
“You can catch them.”
“I can’t walk anymore,” said one of the women. “We’ll just go shopping and you three go.”
“We want a refund,” said one of the men.
“We don’t provide refunds for this situation, Sir,” said the employee. “Its in your excursion contract.”
One woman makes a huffy sigh and goes, “Michael, take care of it.”
At that time our guide showed up. The husband and I retreated from that group to pick up our wavers and such. As we headed out, we caught up with the group who was not going to snorkle and were very pissed.
Our guide led us through some buildings, down some streets, and eventually to a cab. She chatted out instructions about paying attention to our Segways, our wheels, and that our driver would be ‘Reggie’ and that ‘Reggie’ would drop us back off so not to ride with anyone else. She was chatting with Reggie the entire time on a walkie talkie. Our group was only four people, total, so we moved fast and found ourselves in a hot taxi driven by Reggie who didn’t believe in opening windows or running the air conditioning.
It was about eight minutes to the Segway place. Reggie was a very aggressive driver and we clung to the vehicle. The Segway place was behind a tattered building with a narrow and full parking lot. We were dropped off and kind of wandered over, puzzled. However, things improved quickly.
The orientation talk was about 5 minutes while we got on helmets, elbow and knee pads. They gave us a bottle of water to put in the bag on the Segway. Since our group was so small, we each got someone to work with us through the first uncertain moments of using a Segway. It took me about two minutes to relax and enjoy it. The husband, about ten. It is easy, it is fun, and it was incredible.
They let us play around their field for about fifteen minutes. They have a little obstacle course they ran us over that mimicked various terrain surfaces we would deal with as well as obstacle avoidance. Obstacles include each other. That was fun. I can envision myself jousting on these.
They took our pictures. Pictures were available after for 15 dollars for one and 20 for two. Cheaper then prices on the ship, that.
The tour was fun. We went through town, pass the free beaches, shops, dining, and headed to some of the inner island areas. We got some history and some of the local vibe. We then played in a field, did some race obstacle courses, and headed back. We had a fantastic time. I want a Segway like nothing else. I will now, always look for Segway tours when I go places. Its a great time, you cover a lot of area and don’t worry about sore feet. Our guide was fantastic. We tipped him.
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| From Bahamas - 2011 |
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| From Bahamas - 2011 |
When we got back, Reggie was in a bit of a panic. He almost dragged us back into the van. We managed to buy our pictures and tip our guide before we were in the hot van and headed back to the ship.
This is where the experience loses a bit of shine for me. Reggie drove like a mad creature, screamed and honked at people, muttered and cursed, and finally dumped us about four blocks away from where we were supposed to be because traffic was to heavy.
Whatever. Screw Reggie. Segways rock.
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| From Bahamas - 2011 |
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