On this first full day of our nothing is planned cruise, we wake up whenever we darn feel like it. Oooh, that’s so nice! Of course, Whenver I feel like it is always early, so I head out to the balcony to take some pictures of the rising sun.
We have no set plan for breakfast, other than we all want to eat in the dining room, so we’re not going to let anyone sleep too late. A few of the gang was nauseous last night with the rocking, but they managed to get a good night’s sleep and they are up and awake and ready to go to breakfast. Danny had Ann a little worried with his cruise ship freedom, and she ended up hunting him down pretty late last night. Let’s just say a few ground rules were laid out over the Eggs Benedict this morning.
After a nice leisurely breakfast, we take the kids up to the kids club. Ann and Brighid and I have decided to hit the shore and take in a few of the shops, and Jim decides to lounge on the ship, beeper in hand for the kids, and read his book. On our way back from taking the kids to the club, however, he wants to stop by the spa.
Our very first cruise ever was on the maiden voyage of the Disney Magic. They offered something then called an exotic Rasul spa treatment, and it sounded like something I could live with. Jim was all over the whole couples massage thing, but I don’t like hands I don’t know all over me, so I’m not a good spa person. This, however, is something the couple does themselves. We LOVED it on the Magic, and no other cruise ship we’ve been on has offered it, so we were thrilled it was still being offered on the Disney Wonder. It was just as romantic as we remembered!
Basically, you have a private room in the spa for an hour. You are given instructions as to what you are supposed to do. A table filled with lotions and muds is laid out for you, and after taking turns exfoliating each other, showering off, and then applying mud to each other, you enter a steam room, where you can sit and relax while the steam opens your pores and the mud helps cleanse your body. Well, it’s so erotic applying the lotions and the mud to each other, not to mention relaxing and peaceful, you never want it to end. With about 10 minutes left in your hour, they knock on the door to let you know it’s nearly time for the experience to be over, and you can turn on the showers in the steam room and wash yourselves off. There is moisturizer to apply when you’re done. On this visit, after our showers, they escorted us to another area of the spa, where we were each given a glass of champagne as we sat and held hands and chatted. Talk about your Special Experiences! I might make this a whole separate blog post!
Okay, so I got way ahead of myself here. We booked our appointment for the spa for later that day, and we met Ann and Brighid back up in the room. Out we went to help boost the Bahamian economy!
We left the ship and headed for a walk around Nassua to see if we could find any worthwhile souvenirs. 
I found EXACTLY what I had been looking for since we left Orlando. Did you know there is a STARBUCKS in Nassau!! How lucky is that? We walked in and out of quite a few shops, and I was really tempted to pick up some tacky souvenirs for the kids, but really, with Christmas just minutes away, and my suitcases already bursting at the seams just with what I brought with me, packing in even more stuff became a bad idea. Until….
Why, yes, that pirate IS holding a sign that says Tortuga Rum Cakes. What you probably can’t see in this picture is how they lure you into the store innocently enough, but then a woman hands you a piece of rum cake in some absolutely luscious flavor, and you all of a sudden remember that if you leave ALL of your husband’s stuff in the Bahamas, you can pack in 6 or 8 of these cakes into your suitcases! We sampled key lime rum cake inside the store, and ended up buying a sample pack that included the incredible key lime, banana, pineapple, chocolate, coconut, and the original cake. We also picked up a can of conch chowder, because Brighid loves it and there weren’t any conch chowder vendors lining the streets (where did this kid think she was – Key West?). They also have coffees, but with the six pack of cake, we are sufficiently overweight on all of our bags, so we walk away. Brighid and her roommates will enjoy them, and I will not gain any weight from them.
After a bit more walking around, Ann buys a Harley Davidson t-shirt for her beau, Woody; and we buy, then lose, a straw kid’s handbag embroidered with Ariel. No worries – we go back and buy another one. They are everywhere.
This is the first governor of the Bahamas – well, a replica of the first governor, anyway.
And this is just a tree because, well, just because it is.
We head back to the ship, and we’re pretty hungry, but it’s nearly time for Jim and I to go to our mud bath/spa treatment. Ann and Brighid head off in search of lunch, then they’re going to grab the kids, take them to the movies, and meet us back here in time for us to take them trick or treating. How cool is that, that they can trick or treat on the ship??
So, we have a fabulous time at our treatment; Ann and Brighid find lunch, and we make it back in time to order something from room service to eat while we wait for the kids to come in. Ann and Brighid drop the kids off, then they head off for a movie that they wanted to see. We get everyone in costume, and we head out at precisely four to trick or treat.
Once all of the trick or treat stations have been visited, there is a parade of all the kids in costume on the deck, and Eilis, Chris, and Granuaile made quite the impression. They were all cheered when they walked up on stage, and they had a good time parading around with the other kids. Of course, all of this took time out of the kids club, so they wanted to get out of their costumes, into their pirate gear, and out to the club ASAP. Granuaile decided she wasn’t going to need to change out of her costume, and opted for the Ranger look for Pirate night. With the dine and play, though, it really doesn’t matter, as they aren’t in the dining room by the time the pirate parade takes place.
We end the night relatively early – well, as early as you can after you have late seating at dinner. This was a nice day – and I’m really enjoying the no plans made type of cruising! It beats being up at the crack of dawn to race to an excursion, then trying to get to every shipboard activity. This is, so far, a very relaxing trip.