Posted January 25, 201510 yr These are from a cruise aboard the Caribbean Princess to the Bahamas where we took a bus tour, and the next thread is a walking/driving tour of Fort Lauderdale mostly (http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,29857.0.html). This was Dec. 27-30. Since this is an urban forum, I won't bore you with lots of photos from the ship (and I took dozens!). But there are a few I'll share to hopefully warm you up this winter! Here's my photo album from the cruise to see all of the cruise ship pics... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202486616401555.1073741828.1679206713&type=1&l=8488650465 We spent three nights on the ship that sailed for Princess Cays, Bahamas -- a resort built and run by the Princess Cruise Lines at the south end of the 100-mile-long, 3-mile-wide island of Eleuthera, Bahamas. We wanted to see more of the island than Princess' sanitized version thereof. And we're glad we did! While Bahamas is not a wealthy nation, its people are extremely friendly and down-to-earth. Funny how that usually happens like that! Here's the route of our cruise. The red dot is at the south end of Eleuthera, where we anchored after an overnight dash at an average of 16 knots to cover the roughly 250 miles from Port Everglades.... This is Port Everglades, viewed from the Caribbean Princess. Downtown Fort Lauderdale is in the background. The Princess ship at right is a near-twin to ours... Intercoastal waterway at Port Everglades, with high-rise apartments and condos extending northward along A1A and the coast... We boarded the ship early, so we had time to walk around and explore this amazing ship, which is slightly larger than the Titanic and accommodates 3,500 passengers and 1,500 crew. This is the plaza, the center of the ship surrounded by many shops, restaurants and cafes... Our cabin that included a closet, kitchenette and lavatory/shower -- and a window. A balcony would have dramatically raised the cost of the accommodation above the $400 we spent for the three-night cruise, which includes free meals in the cafeteria and dining room... It would be a full ship, but the ship is so large that it never felt crowded... Me, posing above one of the ship's several pools... The cafeteria with buffet-style breakfast, lunch and dinner -- open 24 hours. Food here is free... The Sanctuary, an adults-only pool near the bow of the ship... The pool at the stern of the ship, shortly before embarkation (a nightclub is suspended above this pool). The parking deck has attached to it a "control tower" for busy Port Everglades where a half-dozen cruise ships were berthed along with many cargo ships and smaller private craft... We're heading out through the channel and into the sea. I shot this from the 15th deck on the fantail of our ship, which is roughly the height of the 17th-floor of the nearby apartment building. That's the Coast Guard/Homeland Security following us out of the channel... Our twin is turning to follow us while private craft take advantage of the gap in traffic of the big ships to make a mad dash into port, with HomeSec in hot pursuit... Yeah, it's a tough life watching the sun set in your wake from the fan tail. Almost time for dinner of prime rib and then to the theater to hear a decent comedian... The last we'll see of America for a few days... Crowd gathering the the 1,000-seat theater to hear the comedian. I don't remember his name but he's appeared on Leno and a few other places... The casino was popular but we're just passing through after the show... BREAKFAST! The Caribbean Princess. Isn't that just a lovely and massive ship? We're riding an 85-person lifeboat used as a shuttle to take us to Princess Cays, south end of the island of Eleuthera, Bahamas... Princess Cays... I'm not a beach person, so we took a bus tour of the south half of the island that went north about 30 miles to Tarpum Bay and back. We stopped at many places along the way at restaurants, shops and lookout points... The Bahamas isn't a wealthy nation. So whenever they get hit by a hurricane, many property owners can't afford to rebuild their structures. We saw a lot structures that looked like these... They love their churches in the Bahamas, which was a British colony until 1973. So there's lots of Anglican churches. And since we were there on a Sunday, we could hear some energetic singing coming from within... This way to food on a beach! This is where The Mon works, office of the island administrator.... Street scenes on the island, in Rock Sound and Tarpum Bay.... Tarpum Bay... On an island only 2-3 miles wide (but 100 miles long), you're never very far from the water... Junkanoo! How's this for a place to have lunch?? Back to Princess Cays, which is a sanitized version of the Bahamas. I'm glad we toured the island and met some of their very friendly people... And if you can't get the tourists to spend their money, then it's not a successful shore visit... Not all vendors staffed their tables on a Sunday... Let's go to Bangkok, oriental city... Princess Cays, Bahamas. If this scene doesn't melt your wintertime cabin fever at least a little, nothing will... Heading back to the big ship... And yes, we watched Sunday night football next to one of the pools on a big screen. Lots of Steelers and Bengals fans were cheering from decks all around us... This is where I spent much of mid-day Monday, Dec. 29th... The scene from Melanoma Mezzanine... Monday evening from the Promenade Deck. If you walk around the ship 2.7 times on the Promenade Deck, that equals 1 mile... We took the long way back to Port Everglades by circling out into the Atlantic... And when you stand at the bow with the ship slicing through the wind, it does interesting things to your hair... One last show before we go... The Promenade deck at night... Tuesday morning (Dec. 30), we return to Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale. Count how many modes of transportation are visible here. See the next thread for a tour of Fort Lauderdale at http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,29857.0.html ... "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
January 28, 201510 yr Thanks! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
January 28, 201510 yr Very nice, I went on a cruise a couple years ago. Our ship was the Sapphire Princess, and appears to have been nearly identical to yours. It was an Alaskan cruise, though, so fewer bikinis.
January 28, 201510 yr Thanks! I live about 6 miles south of Port Everglades and have a friend in the tallest building on your way out to sea. Haven't had a desire to go to Bahamas even though we can get day trips for like $50. Maybe I'll take advantage before I come back.
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