19.2.12

Epic Cruise - Part 5

Day 6 - at sea
Woke up and moved the clock back to Miami time. Gym and breakfast as usual. Oh, by the way, this is what my daily breakfast plate looked like:
yummy breakfast

Pool and slides in the morning, it was hard to find a free lounger, stupid people occupate them the whole day with their towels and never show up, and the staff doesn't actually care, that's one thing that really bothered me. We bought what they call Cruise Rewards, a $250 deposit for the next cruise; it's really convenient since you get $100 off your on-board account for the current cruise and then you have 4 years to use your 250$ deposit booking directly through NCL or though almost any travel agent, we tried it last year and worked perfectly, and since we are waiting for the new ship to come, the Breakaway (decorated by Peter Max), we might be using it next year.
They held the White Hot Party this evening, that's when you dress in white and party in the open areas (like Spice H2O).
Spice H2O

Day 7 - Nassau
Arrival to Nassau was scheduled at noon so we woke up and went to the gym and for breakfast.
Arriving to Nassau
Junkanoo Beach
 Got off ship and walked to the main street (Bay st.) through a covered market with nothing interesting. On Bay St. we visited the cosmetics store marked in our maps and got a great deal on Bobbi Brown products. Shops were the same as in other ports (Diamonds International, Sr. Frogs, etc.). Bay Street is busy and noisy, lots of trucks and traffic. No nice monuments or sights. We walked past the Hilton to a free access beach, not nice. Then we took a taxi for $15 to the Sheraton. Walked in through the front desk to the pool and beach.


Sheraton Beach
The beach was nice but the water was too cold and it was windy. (the Wyndham, where NCL takes guests for the resort break excursion is next door). We took a taxi back to the port (again 15$) and got the rest in Bahamian Dollars (be sure to pay with those before leaving Nassau). We didn't like Nassau, the streets were noisy, perhaps with a better weather we would have used the beaches more. Back in the ship we had a coffee in the balcony and started packing.
We chose the Easy Walk Off debarcation option (you take your bags and get off the ship when you want), so since we were taking our suitcases with us we didn't have to leave them outside the cabin. We had dinner at the Manhattan Room (salmon tartare -my fave- seafood cioppino -a kind of fish soup- with the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand).I must say that after having been on the Epic twice, the food has not lost any of the great quality we found the first time. They really put a lot of effort in giving you excellent food and good service, not only in the specialty retaurants but also in the buffet and other venues.


Last day - Debarcation, Miami
We woke up to the vibrations of the ship docking in Miami. We had breakfast at the buffet and then back to the cabin to get ready. Debarcation took long. Easy walk off was not that easy, we had to make a looong line to get off and there was a bit of a mess but by 9.15 (30 minutes after leaving the cabin) we were off the ship. Since our flight was in the evening, we took a cab to the Dolphin Mall (around $40) and shopped until it was time to go. They let us store our bags at the Mall Security office. Flight back was OK but after leaving Miami with 25°C, arriving to a freezing and snowy city was depressing.

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