Carnival Dream 2014 7-Day Bahamas Cruise Review
Day 5 Part 1 June 19, 2014 Nassau, Bahamas Arrival: 7:00AM Departure: 5:00PM
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Day 5 Part 1 June 19, 2014 Nassau, Bahamas Arrival: 7:00AM Departure: 5:00PM
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Overview: Today was the third and final port of call - Nassau, Bahamas. The weather was nice throughout the day and was great for doing outside excursions & activities. I did a shore excursion in this port of call called "Charm & Beauty of Nassau and Paradise Island". I will be reviewing this shore excursion later in today's review. This is part 1 of Day 5. Part 1 will include breakfast photos, my Nassau shore excursion, and lunch photos. Part 2 will include more Nassau photos, sail-a-way, and dinner photos.
Breakfast in The Gathering:
Breakfast was served in The Gathering starting at 6:30am. Continental breakfast opened at 6:00am. Breakfast was also being served in the Scarlet Dining Room from 7:00am - 9:00am. The buffet was crowded because many people were trying to eat before getting off the ship. Once again, I went to the omelet station to get an omelet. I also visited the regular breakfast buffet lines to get some bacon & sausage.
Breakfast was served in The Gathering starting at 6:30am. Continental breakfast opened at 6:00am. Breakfast was also being served in the Scarlet Dining Room from 7:00am - 9:00am. The buffet was crowded because many people were trying to eat before getting off the ship. Once again, I went to the omelet station to get an omelet. I also visited the regular breakfast buffet lines to get some bacon & sausage.
French Toast, Fruits, and Sausage
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French Toast, Bacon, and Sausage
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Milk, Bacon, and French Toast
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Assorted Fruits, Meat, and Cheese
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Omelet
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Arrival Into Nassau, Bahamas:
Today the ship was scheduled to arrive in Nassau, Bahamas at 7:00am. While I was eating breakfast the ship was in the process of docking. After eating breakfast I went outside to take some pictures and see what I could see. We docked next to the Carnival Fantasy, the oldest Carnival ship in the fleet. I missed most of the ship's arrival in Nassau because I was eating breakfast. However, here are some pictures that I took as the ship prepared to dock:
Today the ship was scheduled to arrive in Nassau, Bahamas at 7:00am. While I was eating breakfast the ship was in the process of docking. After eating breakfast I went outside to take some pictures and see what I could see. We docked next to the Carnival Fantasy, the oldest Carnival ship in the fleet. I missed most of the ship's arrival in Nassau because I was eating breakfast. However, here are some pictures that I took as the ship prepared to dock:
Carnival Fantasy Docked in Nassau
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Carnival Fantasy
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Senior Frogs & Resort in Background
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Nassau
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Lighthouse
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Aft Pool of the Carnival Dream
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Area Behind the Carnival Dream
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Deck Chairs at the AFT Pool
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Carnival Dream AFT Pool
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After the ship was docked, I made my way to the Lanai to go to the front of the ship. I took the aft stairwell/elevator area down from Deck 10 to Deck 5. On my way I passed the Tandoori, which serves Indian food at lunch.
Tandoori Food Station (Indian Food)
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Pier & Front of the Carnival Fantasy
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Carnival Dream Lanai
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On the Lanai - Outside of the Ocean Plaza
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Nassau Pier
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Looking Down at the Pier in Nassau
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Boat in Nassau Harbor
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View of Nassau Bahamas From the Front of the Ship
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Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Dream's Side
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Getting Off The Ship in Nassau, Bahamas:
The line to get off the ship in Nassau was long, but it moved quickly. At the gangway, security scanned each person's sail and sign card. Crew members were handing out flyers and shopping maps for Nassau. The line would have been quicker if the photographers would not use the gangway as a photo prop. The ship's photographers try to stop people on the gangway to get their picture to sell in the photo gallery. There is no way to get around these people that are taking pictures, but once it is your turn you can decline getting your picture taken.
The line to get off the ship in Nassau was long, but it moved quickly. At the gangway, security scanned each person's sail and sign card. Crew members were handing out flyers and shopping maps for Nassau. The line would have been quicker if the photographers would not use the gangway as a photo prop. The ship's photographers try to stop people on the gangway to get their picture to sell in the photo gallery. There is no way to get around these people that are taking pictures, but once it is your turn you can decline getting your picture taken.
Looking Below At the Shops in Nassau
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Other Side of the Ship & Unused Pier of the Day
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Carnival Dream
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Gangway of the Carnival Dream
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Front of the Carnival Dream
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Nassau, Bahamas
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Shore Excursion "Charm & Beauty of Nassau & Paradise Island":
Like Freeport, we decided to do a shore excursion in Nassau. This shore excursion let us see a lot of the island and was an informational tour, but our driver had the most annoying accent. I will be sharing some of the sights and attractions that we got to see as a part of this excursion. The official description of this excursion is too long to post on here, but here is a link to Carnival's website's excursion description. Click Here For The Description.
Our shore excursion time was 9:00am. Our excursion tickets instructed us to meet on the pier by the ship. Before 9:00am a lady held up a sign for our excursion and took our tickets. In return, she gave us a wristband that would allow us to get on the excursion tour bus. At 9:00am we were taken to our tour bus. This tour bus was set up with seats of two on one side of the bus, one seat on the other side of the bus, and four seats across the back. The driver's seat was on the right side of the bus. In the Bahamas vehicles drive on the left side of the road.
The first part of our shore excursion drove us through the streets of downtown Nassau.
Like Freeport, we decided to do a shore excursion in Nassau. This shore excursion let us see a lot of the island and was an informational tour, but our driver had the most annoying accent. I will be sharing some of the sights and attractions that we got to see as a part of this excursion. The official description of this excursion is too long to post on here, but here is a link to Carnival's website's excursion description. Click Here For The Description.
Our shore excursion time was 9:00am. Our excursion tickets instructed us to meet on the pier by the ship. Before 9:00am a lady held up a sign for our excursion and took our tickets. In return, she gave us a wristband that would allow us to get on the excursion tour bus. At 9:00am we were taken to our tour bus. This tour bus was set up with seats of two on one side of the bus, one seat on the other side of the bus, and four seats across the back. The driver's seat was on the right side of the bus. In the Bahamas vehicles drive on the left side of the road.
The first part of our shore excursion drove us through the streets of downtown Nassau.
Welcome to Nassau Sign
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Nassau Renovation Warning Sign
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Tree in Nassau Bahamas
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Streets of Nassau Bahamas
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A Lot of Stairs to Climb to Get To This Building
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National Art Gallery of the Bahamas Building
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Cemetery in Nassau
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The Way Some People Get Water
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Bananas Growing
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Shore Excursion Stop #1 At Fort Charlotte:
Our tour bus stopped for about 10 minutes at Fort Charlotte. The entrance fees to enter the fort were not included, but everyone was allowed to walk around the perimeter of the fort. According to the tour guide, this fort has never been used in combat. Here are some pictures I took at Fort Charlotte:
Our tour bus stopped for about 10 minutes at Fort Charlotte. The entrance fees to enter the fort were not included, but everyone was allowed to walk around the perimeter of the fort. According to the tour guide, this fort has never been used in combat. Here are some pictures I took at Fort Charlotte:
View of Fort Charlotte
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Top of Fort Charlotte
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Looking Over the Walls of Fort Charlotte
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Looking Over The Walls of Fort Charlotte
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Cruise ship passengers can also get a good view of their cruise ship from Fort Charlotte. The first two pictures below are of the Carnival Dream and the Carnival Fantasy.
View of the Carnival Dream From Fort Charlotte
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Carnival Dream & Fantasy in the Distance
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A Sports Field Area
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After leaving Fort Charlotte, our tour guide drove us around the island. Here are some pictures that I took from the tour bus:
Parallel Parking Practice Spot
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Office of the Prime Minister - Ministry of Finance
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Driving Along The Coast
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Golf Course
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Bahamar Renderings
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Our tour also took us through a residential area where many rich people live. I did not include any photos of private residences because many of the homes are inhabited.
Conch Shell Statue
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Construction of the Bahamar
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Road Sign Pointing to Downtown Nassau
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As we were driving around we got a chance to take some pictures of the ship. Our tour guide pulled over to the side of the road to allow everyone a chance to take some pictures.
Carnival Dream and Carnival Fantasy
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Carnival Fantasy
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Carnival Dream
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Stop At The John Watlings Distillery:
Our tour bus stopped at the John Watlings Disillery for a short stop. Everyone was given a chance to walk around the distillery and buy alcoholic beverages. The official shore excursion guide from the ship says, "Your next stop is the historic 1789 Buena Vista Estate, home of the John Watlings Distillery for a self guided tour and rum tasting. View Bahamian hand crafted rums and spirits being produced." Our tour guide gave us time to look around and told us to be back to the bus in 30 minutes.
Our tour bus stopped at the John Watlings Disillery for a short stop. Everyone was given a chance to walk around the distillery and buy alcoholic beverages. The official shore excursion guide from the ship says, "Your next stop is the historic 1789 Buena Vista Estate, home of the John Watlings Distillery for a self guided tour and rum tasting. View Bahamian hand crafted rums and spirits being produced." Our tour guide gave us time to look around and told us to be back to the bus in 30 minutes.
Lighthouse in Nassau
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John Watlings Distillery
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Front Sidewalks of the distillery
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Small Tower
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Wheel and Water Well
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James Bond Marker
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We ended up not getting to leave on-time because of a group of stragglers that were buying mixed drinks. We ended up leaving close to 15 minutes later than expected because we had to wait on the late people.
We were then driven through downtown Nassau to the Paradise Island Bridge. Paradise Island is the home to the Atlantis Resort. Here are two photos that I was able to take of the ships as we drove over the bridge:
We were then driven through downtown Nassau to the Paradise Island Bridge. Paradise Island is the home to the Atlantis Resort. Here are two photos that I was able to take of the ships as we drove over the bridge:
Carnival Dream - View from Paradise Island Bridge
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Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Dream - From Bridge
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Our tour guide drove us through Atlantis and showed us the various hotel buildings. Here are some pictures of Atlantis that I took from the bus:
Atlantis on Paradise Island
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One of many Atlantis Hotels
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Pool Area at Atlantis
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Atlantis Hotel Buildings
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A Gate
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We never got to get off the bus in Atlantis, but we were able to see a lot from the bus. After we left Atlantis we were taken on the Paradise Island bridge to go back to downtown Nassau.
The shore excursion was very informational, but the back of the bus was very bumpy. Bumpiness from the bus and the tour guide's annoying accent made this excursion less enjoyable compared to the Freeport excursion.
The shore excursion was very informational, but the back of the bus was very bumpy. Bumpiness from the bus and the tour guide's annoying accent made this excursion less enjoyable compared to the Freeport excursion.
The Other Side of the Bridge
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Small Ships in the Harbor
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Nassau's Harbor
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Getting Back Onboard The Ship:
Before we were allowed on the pier we had to get our photo ids checked. The line for this check moved slow because some of the workers spent time examining each person's Sail & Sign Card and photo id. After getting our id's checked we walked back to the ship.
Once we got back onboard the ship security asked for each guest's Sail & Sign card and each guest had to go through a metal detector. The line to get back onboard moved very quickly and took less than 5 minutes.
Before we were allowed on the pier we had to get our photo ids checked. The line for this check moved slow because some of the workers spent time examining each person's Sail & Sign Card and photo id. After getting our id's checked we walked back to the ship.
Once we got back onboard the ship security asked for each guest's Sail & Sign card and each guest had to go through a metal detector. The line to get back onboard moved very quickly and took less than 5 minutes.
Carnival Dream Docked in Nassau
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Front of the Carnival Dream
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Side View of the Carnival Dream
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Carnival Fantasy
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Carnival Fantasy
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Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Dream
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Lunch in The Gathering:
Today the Gathering was not crowded for lunch. Most people were ashore in Nassau and there were no lines at most of the food service stations. Most of the lunch buffet lines opened at 12:00pm, except for the Pizzeria and Deli. Today's Taste of the Nations was Caribbean food.
Today the Gathering was not crowded for lunch. Most people were ashore in Nassau and there were no lines at most of the food service stations. Most of the lunch buffet lines opened at 12:00pm, except for the Pizzeria and Deli. Today's Taste of the Nations was Caribbean food.
From the Deli - Pastrami on Rye Sandwich
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From the Burrito Bar - Chips & Salsa
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From the Deli - Turkey Wrap
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Burrito Bar - Fillings For the Burritos
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Mongolian Wok
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Taste of the Nations Buffet Line
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Taste of the Nations Buffet Line
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Dessert Station
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Carnival Dream Desserts
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Carnival Dream Desserts
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Carnival Dream Desserts
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Key Lime Cheesecake and Sugar Cookies
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Continue to Day 5 Part 2
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