My Vacation to the Bahamas

“Grandeur Of The Seas” August 2015

On a Friday morning in August I took a comfy coach bus to Baltimore to board a cruise ship to the Bahamas. I had no idea how huge the ship would be and was shocked when I first saw it at the port. My friend and helper Kay came with me, along with my AADD group.

As we boarded they gave each of us a card/key with our room number on it! By the way… the card was also good for free sodas. The room was very small, with only two people fitting closely in the compact space.

After unpacking we met my group in the ship’s lobby. Next on the program was dinnertime.

The dining room was very elaborate. I was seated with my group of friends Lucy, Justin, and Greg.   Our meals were served buffet style and the waiter for our table was from South Korea. For each dinner there was a theme from different countries made by chefs from all over the world. There were over 60 nationalities represented on the trip. Meals included salads, soups, and veggies, meat or fish. The dessert tables were amazing. My favorite was the white chocolate mousse!

Each morning we attended a meeting with AADD to talk about the day’s activities. Some included: enjoying the warm swimming pool, movies, nights outside on a big screen, clubs, dancing and hanging out and talking with friends.

One night there was a sing off contest. I won by finishing the song “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet boys. Thank God for all those concerts I went to!! During the day we took excursions around the small islands. One was a glass bottom boat ride where I saw awesome fish underwater. So cool! Captain Eric and his crew were playing island music to get all of us in the mood. We saw Jonny Depp’s house, a huge mansion, and JK Rowling’s home, again – huge. Captain Eric, wearing his snorkel mask went into the clear blue water and grabbed a starfish. I can’t believe I held a live starfish. It was a bit gooey, but cool. I felt like Sponge Bob!!! We also disembarked at Paradise Island, where we walked around to the shops. They sold jewelry, scarves and clothing, and the sales people were anxious for us to buy things. I bought a necklace and earrings and a Bahamas t-shirt.

The last night on board was very emotional with everyone knowing that we would not be together like this again. The days went by too quickly. We were so grateful to Larry, who heads up AADD, & his Staff and the Captain of Grandeur of the Seas & his crew. My dream is to go on another AADD trip.

For anyone who likes Island music, I want to share a list I put together. I made a CD a couple of months in advance of my trip to get into the island spirit. I named it Bahama Bound!! Take a break and close your eyes for a virtual vacation!! Ya Mon!

Barefoot Jeans Nights – Jake Owen

Fins – Jimmy Buffet’s

No Shoes No Shirt No Problems – Kenny Chesney

The Life – Kenny Chesney

Cruise – Florida Georgia Line

Knee deep – Jimmy Buffet

Ballando – Enrique Iglesias

Turn the Night Up – Enrique Iglesias

Two Pina Coladas – Garth Brooks

Feeln’ It – Scotty McCreery

Beat the Summer – Brad Paisley

Volcano – Jimmy Buffet

California Girls – Katy Perry

Good life – One Republic

Jump in the Line -Harry Belafonte

Kokkomo – The Beach Boys

Surfin’ Safari – The Beach Boys

Beachin – Jake Owen

Key lime pie – Kenny Chesney