Once we were all settled in on the Grand Bahama Celebration, we realized we were on the Holiday Inn of ships. It used to be a Carnival ship, 15 years retired. Everyone shuffles into an auditorium for a safety meeting where you find out that there are enough boats if there is an emergency and there won’t be a repeat of the Titanic. There is an MC at the safety meeting who just happens to be the MC all over the boat. Somehow, he appears everywhere consistently trying to sell you watches or jewelry that you can get for a “real special price” once you get to the island. It seems the Bahamas have a lot of rare gems that no one has ever laid eyes on.
The moment we stepped on the ship there was food. There is a breakfast buffet, after breakfast buffet, lunch buffet, mid-day BBQ, snacks, dinner buffet, after dinner buffet, late night snacks…you get the picture. Luckily the food was much better than the Radisson buffet, so we were mildly uncomfortable from overeating the entire trip. If you pay twenty-five extra dollars per person you can eat in the fancy sit down restaurant. It was worth it not because of the food, but because you get to share your table with strangers which always makes for an interesting conversation. We just so happened to be seated next to an ex-FBI Republican from Texas and his lovely trophy wife who hadn't left the house in over a year. I couldn’t have written these two characters better myself!
The nights on the boat were full of activities ranging from corn hole to Karaoke. My sister got second place in the competitive corn hole competition, proudly walking away with two drink vouchers. We played ping pong for hours listening to Karaoke that pierced through most of the ship. The boat was relatively empty. Some people were gambling, a few were dancing at the club, but most were at the Legends show where there was a Dean Martin impersonator that stared at himself in the mirror while he sang…the entire time! It seemed many of the passengers were middle-aged Midwesterners who had sat through the time share and were ready to let loose. It was prime people watching material.
Overall I would recommend this cruise if you don’t have huge expectations. The Grand Celebration sails every other day of the week which allows for a 1 night, 4 night, or 6 night stay in the Bahamas. All things considered, it’s relatively cheap and a great way to visit the Bahamas. I even noticed on their website Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line you can enter to win a free cruise right at the top!
Like any vacation, it’s all about who you go with.
