Bahamas Celebration

It’s payday, cause for celebration. Since the crew all love to eat a few of us are going to have our own little Bahamas Celebration at Pier One restaurant just across from where Discovery Sun docks on Grand Bahama. We are fast becoming regulars at this restaurant. The food and service are great and it is convenient because it is so close to the ship. After lunch we are going to head to the beach for a while, it is a beautiful day and I can think of no better way to spend my afternoon than basking in the sun in the Bahamas.

Break Time

The weather wasn’t so good this morning but as we got closer to Grand Bahama it really brightened up. Once we arrived in the Bahamas a few of us headed over to the beach just across from Discovery Sun. It’s not the nicest beach on Grand Bahama and it is more rock than sand, but it is close and we got to enjoy a little break from the ship. Since it was so windy the ocean close to shore was really rough and there were some huge waves crashing around the rocks. We didn’t risk swimming in those conditions but we did play around close to shore getting knocked down quite a few times by the huge waves. We really had a blast. A friend of mine will be traveling on Discovery soon to celebrate his birthday. We will probably go into Port Lucaya for the afternoon and have a few celebration cocktails and try our luck in the casino, I am looking forward to it, as it has been a while since we have had the time to hang out together.

Celebration Weekend

Discovery Cruise Line has been a very popular celebration cruise this weekend. We have had birthday parties, business promotions, retirements, bachelor parties and church groups. Since Discovery has so many activities onboard and it is a great place to celebrate any occasion and be entertained through the whole day. Of course the fact that you get to spend the afternoon on Grand Bahama is a plus too. One of the groups that we had yesterday had an open bar party at the Sheraton in Port Lucaya, with a DJ playing on the beach, they really had a great day and said they can’t wait to come back again.

Junkanoo Rush Out

A Junkanoo 'Rush out' is where folks dressed in masks and armed with cowbells, drums and whistles come rushing out to the streets and start partying. Traditionally, Junkanoo celebrations (named for the slave John Canoe) were held at Christmas when slaves were temporarily freed for the holidays. This dynamic parade sees all the major Junkanoo groups on Grand Bahama performing to win the Best Music title. The costumes, floats and dancing are an excellent preview of Freeport's sensational New Year's Day Junkanoo Festival. Celebration cruises are also popular at this time.

Emancipation Day

Emancipation day is a public holiday on Grand Bahama that celebrates the 1834 emancipation of all slaves on the island and is sometimes referred to as August Monday. Taking place on the first Monday in August, the day starts off with an early morning "Junkanoo Rushout"a dance taking two steps forward, one step back accompanied by drums, whistles and bells. The rush-outs head down one of the many beaches such as Xanadu Beach. There follows an afternoon of music and "cook-outs" (sale of Bahamian food) and other cultural events, including "climbing the greasy pole".

Special Luncheon

When we arrived in Grand Bahama this afternoon there was a special department heads luncheon. We all thought that there was some kind of special celebration, but it wasn’t. The Food & Beverage manager made the arrangement just because it had been a while since we had gotten together. The food and company were great. It is our day off tomorrow and I am looking forward to sleeping late. I will be trying to arrange a special group cruise in the Bahamas for some of the crew next week. Many crew don’t have the chance to leave the ship very often in the afternoons, so it will be nice to arrange something for them.

Birthday Celebration

I don’t have much free time in Grand Bahama today, but I have to make time to join some of the staff for a birthday celebration. One of my staff is celebrating their 30th birthday and will be going for lunch at Pier One restaurant which is just across from where Discovery Sun docks. Pier One overlooks the ocean and it is always beautiful no matter what time of day. The restaurant has only been open for a few weeks now, but it is already very popular with crew as a place to celebrate birthdays. I made arrangements for a birthday cake yesterday; I just hope I can make it in time to at least get a slice of the cake.

Discovery Celebrations

Today we sailed with our last big group of spring breakers who will be returning on Thursday. Grand Bahama has been a popular destination this year and I am sure next year will be even busier. Grand Bahama goes all out to set up extra entertainment and activities for the college students during the month of March. Discovery Cruise Line also makes the extra effort to add more activities and entertainment that the younger guests enjoy. The weather has been great the past few weeks so all of the Discovery outdoor activities have been really popular and the crew have had a blast. A lot of the students have also chosen Discovery to celebrate their 21st birthdays and I am sure they will be celebrations that won’t be forgotten. Grand Bahama is a great place to go for any celebration especially this time of year. Next will be the younger kids and families which I love as I really enjoy the younger children, they are always so excited and have great stories to tell you on their return trip.

Pier One Restaurant

After a two-month delay, the Bahamas has cause for celebration. The legendary Pier One restaurant has reopened on Grand Bahama, offering much of the same features that made it so popular before. Situated about 300 feet from to the old restaurant, which was destroyed in 2004 by hurricanes, the new Pier One is approximately 14,000 square feet, three times bigger than the old one. With a two-storey deck and verandah with additional seating there is an incredible view of the ocean. An upstairs restaurant can be transformed into a hall for weddings and parties. I don’t think there is anywhere else in Grand Bahama where you can dine and have fun with a view like the one you will find at Pier One. It is always beautiful out there no matter the time of day. Since the restaurant is also adjacent to the terminal where Discovery Cruise Line docks, you could go and enjoy lunch before checking in on your return cruise. The new Pier One offers a wide selection of seafood entrees and is open daily for lunch and dinner.

Magic

Although it was our day off yesterday, all crew had to be onboard early in the morning for an emergency fire and boat drill. Fortunately the drill started early so we were able to leave the ship by 10:00am. A new entertainer Charles Arlington joined the ship yesterday; he is a magician from San Diego. Charles Arlington's magic has transported him to London, Singapore, South Africa, China, Blackpool, throughout the islands of Hawaii on extended tours and now the Bahamas. He has headlined in casinos and nightclubs and in several large-scale revue shows. He is also a regular performer on cruise lines such as Discovery Sun. Charles' creative mind is also sought after by his peers. He has taught magic and lectured to hundreds of magicians. He has also served as a technical advisor to other magicians such as: Shimada, James Dimmare, Mark Wilson, and Doug Malloy to name a few. He is going to be a great addition to our entertainment program and I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing him perform.

Port Lucaya

I am heading off the ship into Port Lucaya today to take in some of the spring break action. The beach and the square are packed with spring breakers at the moment and there are a lot of added events in both areas to keep them entertained. Some of the activities are a blast to watch, but are not the kind of activities we can do onboard. One of the activities that are a lot of fun is the bathing suit race. Four couples start off at the bandstand in the square in their bathing suits. They then have to race over to the lucaya beach where they exchange bathing suits and then race back. It is very comical to see the guys in the itsy bitsy teeny weenie bathing suites of the girls and the girls have to be very careful not to reveal too much as they now only have shorts on. I have to say the guys are really good sports taking part in that one. I had such a good laugh watching that a few days ago and wonder what they have planned for this afternoon.

Getting away

We have been carrying a lot of spring breakers to Grand Bahama over the past few weeks and the island is very busy at the moment. The Port Lucaya area is packed with students, especially the beach. We also have a lot of same day return passengers traveling and some of them are really looking to get away from the students but that is hard this time of year. However, there is an escape. If you are a same day return passenger you should make reservations for the Beach & Shopping tour, which is the only organized excursion available for same day return passengers. First of all this gets you off the ship before any other passengers, so there are no long lines to wait in. This gives you more time to enjoy the island. You will also be with a staff member from the ship who will take care of you during your stay. The tour takes you to a private beach resort where you have beach and pool access WITHOUT all of the spring breakers. So you can enjoy the beach, swim in the pool, have fun on the waterslide or just relax in a hammock by the pool. Now that is my idea of a great afternoon in the Bahamas.

Churches

Bahamians are very religious people and there are churches all over Grand Bahama. It is quite impressive to see exactly how many churches there are considering the size of the island. Christianity is the dominant religion in the Bahamas. The religious denominations in the Bahamas include Anglican, Assembly of God, Ba'hai Faith, Baptist, Bretheren, Christian & Missionary Alliance, Christian Science, Church of God of Prophecy, Greek Orthodox, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jewish, Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist and other smaller denominations. Quite a few Bahamians are even atheists (non-religious). I am asked on a regular basis about churches and church services on Grand Bahama.

Here is a link for you to follow that will give you a full list of churches and service times and locations, I hope that you find it helpful.

http://www.geographia.com/grandbahama/churches.htm

Fun Day

Yesterday was my day off which I spent with my husband on our boat and we had a really Fun Day. We left home late morning and headed to Bay Side in Miami. The weather was perfect and the seas were calm. We had lunch while we were at Bay Side and did a little shopping before heading back to Fort Lauderdale. On our way back we stopped at a little Island that was completely deserted, it was just the two of us on a beautiful stretch of beach that really reminded me of the Bahamas. The water was a little too cool for swimming, so we just relaxed on the beach. When we headed back home there was a Dolphin following our boat, which was truly a magnificent sight.

Fun Days

The ship has been full for the past couple of days with spring breakers and we are expecting the same again tomorrow. Most of them spend five days on Grand Bahama, which means they will be returning with us this weekend, so we are in for some long nights. The kids have been great though, they have taken part in all of the onboard activities and made them great fun, they have actually entertained us. The party packages for Grand Bahama have also been popular so the onboard Shore Excursion Desk has been busy too. One of the most popular excursions this time of year is the Robinson Crusoe Beach Party. It includes round trip transportation, snorkeling at a spectacular reef and then unlimited Bahama Mamas or fruit punch with a Bahamian buffet lunch on a private beach, which is great value for money.

Pelican Point

Today I went out to a place called Pelican Point on the East End of Grand Bahama. I have to say that this is the most beautiful place that I have seen on Grand Bahama. If you are looking for a place to relax and just get away from it all, this is the perfect place to go. Pelican Point is a small quaint settlement of just about 52 residents that are the most warm and welcoming people you could ever wish to meet. Many people ask me about going to the out islands while they are on Grand Bahama and quite honestly there is no need to look any further than Pelican Point as that is the feeling that you get when you are there. The beach is absolutely breathtaking and I can guarantee you wont want to leave. I really wish it were closer to the ship so that I could visit there more often.

New Excursion

There aren’t so many passengers onboard today, but we have sent a lot of people on the Beach & Shopping Tour. The day started off kind of cool, so I didn’t really expect a lot of people would want to go to the beach, but the sun came out late morning and it has turned out to be a beautiful day. I will be going to try out a new excursion this weekend, which will be fun. I will be going out to a place called Pelican Point, which is in the East End of Grand Bahama. I haven’t been there before, so I am really looking forward to going. I have looked at some pictures online and it looks really beautiful out there, I let you know how it goes.

No Drill

We have had a nice quiet day today, but it is cold and a little bit rough. We relocated our outside activities to the Starlight Showroom as it was too cold to host the activities outside, plus there wasn’t anyone out there. There was only a small crowd in the lounge but they joined in all of the activities and had a great time. We got good news this afternoon; the US Coast Guard inspection has been postponed until June. Since we have been doing so well with our quarterly inspections we will now only be inspected annually and semi annually. That also means we won’t be having drills every afternoon so we will have time to get off the ship when we get to Grand Bahama. I didn’t go out today, as it was too cold for me. I am spoiled and used to nice warm weather, if it is below 70 degrees I want to stay inside. It is supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow so I might head over to the international bazaar for lunch.

Success

Well the new activity program went well today. We were all a little big nervous hosting the new activities but they went really well. We found some of the events might work better in other locations, so we still have a little fine-tuning to do, but other than that we have a good program. Since we have so many passengers debarkation took a while this afternoon, but I did manage a 30-minute run in the Lucaya Harbor area. Tomorrow is going to be a lot quieter than it has been for a couple of months now and we are all looking forward to a bit of a break. We have our quarterly US Coast Guard inspection coming up next week, so in preparation we will be having daily safety drills. This means no more afternoon runs or excursions until next week.

Spring Break Is Here

Today we had our first group of spring breakers and they sure were a wild bunch. The shore excursion party packages for the island sold well and the Robinson Crusoe Beach Party is going to be a blast on Sunday. Our new activity program is now set and ready for us to start tomorrow. We have a lot of new things and it is going to be fun for us all when we host them for the first time. I haven’t had time to go out on the island for a few days now, which is very unusual for me; I like to get out and about. Fingers crossed I will be able to at least manage a 30 minute run tomorrow.