View of the Banana River

My husband and I were heading back home from the beach, passing Banana River along Cape Canaveral. While we were routing the 528 road, I just can't help but focus my camera on the wide blue skies. It was a gorgeous day and I have seen people kayaking, boating, fishing in the waist deep water (not afraid of gators) and surfing. At the far right of the photo is the Port Canaveral Cruise Terminal. There were cruise ships waiting for their schedule to depart. We were thinking, it would have been nice if we have a jet ski. What a great day to enjoy the outdoors!

Port Canaveral: Cruise Cargo and Naval Port

Port Canaveral is about 20 minutes away from our place and it is a cruise, cargo and naval port. We usually come here to see some cruise ships sail away. Some of the cruise ships are Carnival Sensation, Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Dream, Norwegian Sun, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy, Monarch of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas. They usually sail at 4 PM and we just parked our car at the parking lot and enjoy the beauty of the cruise ship.This road heads to the restaurants and bars such as Rusty's, Baja Tavern and Eats, Fish Lips, Milliken's Reef, and Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar.The picture below was taken in Astronaut Blvd and George King Blvd.If you travel towards the cruise terminal, you will be driving on this road Bennett Causeway and you will get excited to see the cruise ships on the left side of the road.They have a huge parking lot in the terminal and you can park your car on a daily rate. Parking is not a problem here because you can find parking lot with starting rate at $5.95/day. Most of them offers free rides to and from the cruise terminal. I rather have this area as my Port of Call than in Miami. Less stress and no traffic and the area is easy to navigate so; have a wonderful cruising!

Favorite Photo

This is one of my favorite photos taken when we are on board of the Norwegian Sky Cruise Line. We just came from Atlantis at the Paradise Island and we are watching the passengers/tourists walking towards the cruise ships. Some tourists from the other cruise line that just arrived the harbor were heading out to the beaches and to the Atlantis.

It was almost 4 PM and we are on our way back to Miami. There were activities inside the cruise ship but hubby and I prefer to watch the commotion down below. It was interesting especially when we saw a family running towards the ship when they saw the gangway being lift up. The gangway was put back again, giving the late comers the passage in. There were announcements, calling the passengers who are not on board yet. When we leave the port of Nassau, 3 names were being called and they did not return to the ship...we leave them behind.

Hanging out at the Port Canaveral Area

When my husband and I gets bored for the day, we hit the road and travel 30 minutes to Port Canaveral. This area is a strategic location to leisure destinations and cruise lines. We dine in to a restaurant along the area where we can see the cruise ships leave the port.This cruise ship is Carnival Sensation heading to Bahamas destination for 4 nights.When we had our cruising to Bahamas last October, we travel to Miami Port because our cruise line is Norwegian. It would be nice to cruise again and Port Canaveral is the perfect departure port for us.Here I am watching the Carnival Sensation passing by the restaurant ...

The Atlantis

October 17, 2011- We drove down the Florida Coast towards Miami. It was a gloomy and chilly day but, four of us were excited for our Bahamas Cruising via Norwegian Cruise Line. It was drizzlin' as we park our car in the rental garage near the Miami Port. Then, off to the Port area. There were so many tourists and guests in line systematically and we found our way fast on board the Norwegian Sky. This is Nassau Island of Bahamas and from the ship, this view will welcome your eyes!I was indeed dumbfounded by the blue water and the blue skies of Bahamas. This place is truly enchanting and the wonderful scenery will continue to amazed you every second of the day.From the Port, we took a van and paid $5/person towards Atlantis and I was blown away by its grand and luxurious architectural design. We explore the main hallway inside Atlantis and it was so huge complete with all the amenities: shopping center, movie theatre, restaurants, ballroom and more. We explore the Marina and it was absolutely gorgeous. The locals were charming and friendly and no one approached us to beg for money. On our way back, we decided to take a boat ride which cost only $3/person and it was an amazing experience.The Atlantis is a world class hotel and if you travel to Atlantis this week, the cheapest room rate you can get is $612 up to $2500 a day. So expensive right? Well, I can only stay in Atlantis if Bill Gates or Warren Buffet can provide me a FREE stay in this hotel (*-*) LOL. Not in my lifetime will I ever afford this hotel/resort. Dang! It would be awesome to stay one week and just enjoy the view and waking up with this enchanting scenery. Of course, I can dream can't I? I would love to travel and stay here with my family and that includes my mom and my brother with his family. That's it! I am now wide awake hahahaha. God bless you everyone! Remember, If you can't feed a hundred people then, just feed one says Mother Theresa.

The View of Nassau Bahamas From the Deck of Norwegian Sky Cruise Line

Exactly a month ago, we travelled to Miami Florida to board the Norwegian Sky Cruise Line which was heading for Bahamas. The weather for that week was cloudy but, it was not a deterrent to cancel our trip for four days. It was an instant booking because we had a family from Spain and we wanted them to go with us too. We arrived at Freeport Grand Bahama Island on the next day and we stayed there from sunrise to 5:30PM. The port is clean and there were transportation waiting for the tourists. I admire the systematic accommodation that they have and we feel at ease when we transact the ride to our destination because the fare/rates were posted clearly on the information board of the port. We paid $10 each (back and forth rides) towards Port Lucaya and the Marketplace. It took us maybe 15 minutes ride towards that destination and it was a long ride really.The place is beautiful and no one approached us to beg for money. I am sorry but, I cannot help but compare it to my experience in Bohol when the bus driver charged me double than what we agreed upon. Anyway, the place we went to is beautiful and clean. It was pleasing to the eyes of the tourists!The next morning, we arrived in Nassau Island. This is Nassau, the home of the world famous resort --> Atlantis and the Paradise Island. Did you know that I was looking for trash on the port and found none? There were temporary tents built along the port, selling for local goods but when I look at the water, it was very clean and so blue. Most of the tourists noticed that too. You can access the Internet for free from the Port connection. But, if you stayed on the ship, the access is not too good because of the strong wind. Some of the cruise staff who were Filipinos took advantage of the free wifi. I saw them occupying one small sitting area inside the Port building and chatting to their families back home. I would recommend that you should visit Bahamas and see Nassau Island. I heard from the locals that the most expensive room in Atlantis costs 25,000/day and you can only book it for 4 days and more. I tried to search for it but, the highest rate available to public costs less than $800. I don't know if that $25K/day is true or not but, the view in Nassau is worth a million! I love Atlantis and it is really huge and grand!

Beautiful Port Lucaya Marketplace

We live near the coastal area of Florida and even in Mississippi so; to visit the island of Bahamas give us the idea of what is great in the island. This is the International Marketplace with good size souvenir shops located at Lucaya in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. It is nice and a clean place with full of charm. The architectural design of the buildings in the marketplace is almost the same when I went to Saint Augustine, Florida. If you visit the Old Town somewhere in Kissimmee area of Florida, their shops are build like the picture below.Port Lucaya at Freeport has a place where tourists and guests can have a peek of a Dolphin Adventure along UNEXSO. The water in the island is truly beautiful though and I must admit. At the Port, I did not see trash on the water. And honestly, I did not encounter beggars and street kids in the tourist area such as this marketplace.The UNEXSO offers the tourist a Dolphin encounter and you can actually swim with the dolphins in the open ocean. If you love scuba diving, Bahamas is a great place to have that experience and swim on the wreck and reef. If you are not afraid, get the shark feeding dives too. Well, I do not want that risky adventure, LOL!It is fun and exciting to visit other countries and Bahamas is relatively a nice place to have a short vacation. Their hotels are world class, beautiful and contemporary. Again, I am pleased with the beautiful place along the Lucaya area. They have the Ritz Resort, Flamingo and Pelican Bay Hotels and more.
They have world class restaurants and you can shop at duty-free prices. Because we are paying dollars, their prices are affordable and reasonable especially when we went for a ride from the cruise terminal to Port Lucaya for only $5. Boy, it was a long ride. This is the van that we have and most of them have ID's. At the cruise terminal, the prices for a particular destination are listed clearly. It was well organize and so far, they are trustworthy. No one scam us and they are very polite. The van has the capacity of 13 and it was full from the tourists. We did not sign up for an excursion and we only pay $10 for each person for a back and forth ride from the cruise terminal to Port Lucaya area. The beach is just a walking distance in this area. Bahamas is truly an awesome place!

Grand Bahama Island

Before we woke up, the Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship arrived early and already dock at Freeport, Grand Bahama Island in Bahamas. We went to the 12th deck to see the sunrise at 7:18 but, it was so cloudy and the sun refused to shine. We thought that this day would be boring because of the rain but, it wasn't bad at all. We went to explore one place in the island and that's the Marketplace and Marina at Port Lucaya.I already love the view of this island. The water is so clean and so blue! When we go to the gangway, we need to swipe our keycard and when we go back, we do the same thing. The prices of the transportation is posted clearly on the big information board. To the Marketplace, we paid $10/person and it's already back and forth. Sorry for the blurry images. It was so windy and I am using BB phone. Anyway, we rode in a van and we are about 10 on it. We told the driver that we will drop by in the Treasure Bay Casino. Since it was so early, there were only few people in the casino.Freeport is district and a free trade zone in the island of Grand Bahama of the North-West of Bahamas. Freeport has become the second most populous city in the Bahamas. The Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) operates the free trade zone so; in Freeport area they will pay no taxes before 2054. I noticed that most hotels on the island are located along the southern shore facing the Northwest Providence Channel.

Sailing The Norwegian Sky

As of today, I am sailing the Norwegian Sky. We will have a 4-days cruising to Bahamas and we will stop by three islands: Great Stirrup, Nassau and Freeport. This is my first cruising trip to Bahamas and I am with my husband, his daughter and her boyfriend. They are having a vacation in the US for a month so; having this cruise would be fun!

Wish us with a safe trip everyone!

Cruising

This is a cruise ship at Port Canaveral. It will cruise to Caribbean. Almost every week, we came here to watch it sail to its destination.Today, my husband is trying to search for a cruise destination to Carribbean and we might take the last minute cruising. If that happens, it will be in the next two weeks.I am so excited to really push our cruising plan.This is Disney Dream and this is an expensive cruise ship owned by Disney. We can't afford this ship LOL. We will just book the Carnival Cruise.
For so many instances, we somehow cancel our cruising plan. I hope this time, we will pursue it.

I will let you know when we book the ticket. Thanks for stopping by!

Disney Dream

I was browsing on the Website of Disney Cruise and I found out that they are hiring for a newly ship that they will have by 2012. They are actually hiring not only for the US but also all over the world. It must be exciting to work in Disney Cruise Line but, only if you have no kids. You will be working most of the time away from the mainland but, the benefits are exciting.We were at Fort Canaveral last week and we watch the Disney Dream sail to Caribbean. I do not think I can afford the Disney cruise. These people are so lucky! But, I can keep on dreaming that someday, I will be on that ship too.

Me and my Valentine

Every day, hubby and I just go wherever we waanted to go. Simply no plans at all. After we checked our mails, we decided to have a buffet at Rusty's Seafood and Oyster Bar at Cocoa Area.We drove less than an hour to reach this place. The view in this area is fantastic and right on this area, you will see the cruise ships leaving to their distination such as Bahamas and Carribbean.

This is banana river, such an awesome place to go fishing and sunbathing. Oh! If you have a yacht? This is the best place to have your baby floating as the sun gleaming with so much joy!

Here is the Norwegian Cruise Line at Port Canaveral in Florida. Kennedy Space Center is just few miles away that is if you want to visit NASA.

So, we were here earlier today and had our Valentine lunch date. I was full and tired as we head back home. Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

Alabama Trip

Taken at the parking lot of Mobile Landing. I supposed this is the parking lot of that park because at the far end where I am facing is the Park already. The terminal guards directed us to just make a circle if we can not find our family inside. That is really tiring so we decided to just park this side. Anyway, its a free parking I supposed. No signs whatsoever. While we are waiting for our family, I took the time in taking these pictures. Because of this crazy hobby, my migraine attack like a tornado when we got home.

That is the Holiday Cruise Ship and it will be heading again to Mexico. From here, I can smell the food that they prepare. It is already 9:00 AM and the 97 degrees heat is pounding on my skin. My sister-in-law said, on the ship, there were 80 cooks who has their own specialty of cooking. They were sent to a culinary school for 6 months and then, they were given a training job on the ship. From the lowest rank, they have to work hard to get to the top. Some work straight for 6 months and some 10 months.

This is 1-10 going to Pensacola, Florida. I love that building and the Wallace Tunnel ahead. This view is in Mobile, Alabama. The terminal is on Exit 26 on the right so, this ride were heading there.

I already had a slight migraine but, nothing can keep me away from taking this nice view and my favorite building. The heat was really torturing!That is the parking lot of Mobile Landing. I am standing in the vicinity of the park. The bridge on the right side is the 1-10 and the building on the left is the parking lot of Holiday Cruise Terminal. If you travel on that cruise, you can park your car for the whole duration of the cruise for $75 fee. It is secure and has a surveillance camera. Unlike the terminal in New Orleans, safety is really a problem. One tourist went cruising and park his car on their terminal but, when he arrived, the car was vandalized, ransacked and the car windows was broken. They say, Alabama Cruise Ship Terminal is the safest one.

That is the view of the Port of Mobile. There were so many cargo ship mostly. I think there were Filipino seamen who docked their ship in here. If they docked in Alabama, this area must be it.

the Magestic Holiday Cruise Ship
MS Holiday cruise ship sails through the Western Caribbean from the Alabama Cruise Terminal on Water Street.

the Skyline of Downtown Mobile

Alabama Cruise Terminal on Water StreetThis is the FUTURE HOME OF THE NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM OF THE GULF OF MEXICO.
The Holiday cruise will be discontinued late this year and the Carnival Fantasy will replace it.

entrance to the Alabama Cruise Terminal on Water StreetThis is exit 26. Heading to the terminal. Hoping you like the pictures. Enjoy viewing. You can click on the picture to zoom in.