‘Bahamas’ Articles at Sweetnicks

It’s hard to believe our vacation was already over a month ago.

I have finally unpacked the suitcase.

For real.

Um, just yesterday.

A few astute readers guessed that we were on a cruise, and we were. Cruising is one of my go-to vacations because it requires very little thought. I don’t need to worry about how we’re going to get to our destinations, where we’re going to eat, how much everything is going to cost … it’s all taken care of. And I love that. Because sometimes the logistics of planning a vacation can seem challenging, especially if I’m doing it all by myself.

This was my sixth cruise, Nick’s fifth, and Madeline’s second. All with Royal Caribbean. We have gone out of three different ports, and my favorite is leaving from NJ/NY. Because the vacation starts right away. Although leaving from other ports opens us up to more varied itineraries, I don’t want to lose a day on either end because we have to fly to a new port.

At least not now.

This was a new itinerary for us, with two stops in the Bahamas (one in Nassau and one in Coco Cay, Royal Caribbean’s private island), and one in Port Canaveral. Three days where the ship is docked, four days at sea. It’s a pretty sweet balance between being active and completely inactive.

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When it comes to traveling, whether we are half an hour from home or thousands of miles away, I can guarantee one thing.

If there is a zoo or an aquarium or pretty much any place we can visit that has animals, we will be there.

Because my kids? Are crazy for animals. Nick actually just started volunteering with a local animal rescue group and will be also shadowing a vet soon. Stoked for him, but I need to contend with a five-year-old who doesn’t understand why she can’t do the same. Yet.

So anyway. When one of our stops during Spring Break landed us in Nassau, Bahamas, I knew exactly what we would do with our afternoon there. Visit the aquarium at the Atlantis Resort. Because as much as I’ve heard stories of how beautiful the resort is, and how expensive that bridge suite is, I’ve also heard wonderful things about their aquarium.

And you know, my kids.

It was a given.

We bought our tickets as an excursion, which meant it included a one hour guided tour of the aquarium and then we were free to roam about on our own afterwards. If *you* happen to go, the one hour guided tour felt really rushed. Because the property is huge, the aquarium is all over and not just one contained area, and there was a LOT to cram into that one hour.

The property is gorgeous. And spotless. It reminds me a bit of Disneyworld in that there are thousands upon thousands of people there and yet you don’t see a speck of garbage anywhere. And you don’t see people cleaning really either. So I don’t know how they do it, but they do an awesome job of it.

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Spring Break 2013 {Cruise Vacation in Review}

Visit: Atlantis Aquarium {Nassau, Bahamas}