The next day we were on Grnad Bahama where we had a few hours to do something. So we again went to a beach. This one turned out to be really nice. Only we forgot to take any pictures. But you can find some information here about Paridise Cove. Back on the ship, there was time for a little relaxation on our balcony. Little did we know that in 3 hours we would we in rough water. Stephanie left dinner after the first two courses and went to bed. Stephen sat through all of dinner, but couldn't keep it in later that evening.
In April during spring break we all went on a quick vacation. To avoid air travel and all its issues, we took a cruise that left from and returned to New York City. We sailed on the
Norwegian Gem and made one stop in Florida and two in the Bahamas. The third Bahamas' stop was supposed to be on a private Island (many cruise lines have one in the Bahamas) in the Berry island group. However the sea was way too rough for the tenders and we passed the island without stopping. That was a real bummer. Especially since the rough weather also made all the really nice beaches on Providence and Paridise Island too rough to swim.
2008 Cruise to the Bahamas


In April during spring break we all went on a quick vacation. To avoid air travel and all its issues, we took a cruise that left from and returned to New York City. We sailed on the
Norwegian Gem and made one stop in Florida and two in the Bahamas. The third Bahamas' stop was supposed to be on a private Island (many cruise lines have one in the Bahamas) in the Berry island group. However the sea was way too rough for the tenders and we passed the island without stopping. That was a real bummer. Especially since the rough weather also made all the really nice beaches on Providence and Paridise Island too rough to swim.
We left New York City on April 12. The first picture shows Stephanie and Jordan on one of the high decks just when we departed. The second picture shows some of Manhatten and the docks we just left from. We passed Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on our way out to the ocean.
The first day we spend on the ocean. We sat mostly somewhere on the deck. Jordan swam in the pool and spend a lot of time in Kids Club. Day 2 we were in Florida, where we stopped in Port Canaveral, right next to the Kennedy Space Center. Many people went to the Spacecenter or to Disneyland, but we spend the day on the beach. Stephanie had brought her paints and the boys spend some of their time collecting shells and digging holes. We all swam in the ocean too.
As an unexpected bonus we got to see a rocket launch right from the ship. Here you see Stephen and Jordan waiting for it to happen and than two pictures of the actual launch.
After the launch, Stephanie and Jordan had a little snack on the pool deck. In the background you see some of the harbor facilities in Port Canaveral. After that there was time for some play time in the pool.
On day 3 we were supposed to be on Great Stirrup Cay, but instead we were on the water until 2 PM when we arrived early in Nassau. It was very windy, but that didn't stop Jordan from going down the slide in between stints in the hottub to warm up again. Here you see him bundled up by the pool.
That evening we had dinner in the Mexican restaurant while we were still in port. There were 12 different restaurants on the ship.  For most of them you needed reservations which were sometimes hard to get.
After we arrived in Nassau, we went off the ship for a while and walked through downtown Nassau. Nothing but shops for the tourists. We went back on the ship for dinner in the Oriental restaurant. We had a lot of very good Sushi that evening.
The next day in Nassau we rented a car. The original plan was to find a nice quite beach and spend the day there. But all the nice beaches are on the north coast and because of the wind, the water was very rough on all of them. So we drove to the south side of Providence and spend a while on Adelaide Village Beach. It was very shallow and you could walk out for ever. A few pictures of us beach combing and some of the things we saw/found.
The next day we were on Grnad Bahama where we had a few hours to do something. So we again went to a beach. This one turned out to be really nice. Only we forgot to take any pictures. But you can find some information here about Paridise Cove. Back on the ship, there was time for a little relaxation on our balcony. Little did we know that in 3 hours we would we in rough water. Stephanie left dinner after the first two courses and went to bed. Stephen sat through all of dinner, but couldn't keep it in later that evening.
All those seasick people missed the chocolate extravaganza that evening. Here two pictures of some of the many displays, and then one of Jordan ready to sample a few of the treats together with Diederik.
Luckily the next day the weather was much better. That was our last day on the ship and it was spend mostly hanging around, Jordan going between Kids Club and the pool. The boys doing who knows what, and Stephanie playing Bingo. That evening we had dinner in the best restaurant of the ship after Diederik finally was able to secure reservations. Dinner consisted of crab cakes, a shrimp cocktail, lobster bisque, filet mignon or lobster or a combination and finally desert. Stephen ordered a double portion of the cheesecake and enjoyed that as you can see.
The next morning we were back in New York City. After a nice, big breakfast, we had to leave the ship and catch our ride home and back to work and school with one day and a halve for adjustment, unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping, and all those things that need to be done after a vacation.