June 11, 2022 Nassau, Bahamas

We woke up to a thin overcast sky and a temperature of 27°C, the southern Bahamas islands could be seen on the horizon. The ship was scheduled to dock at noon. Before breakfast, we walked on the outside deck on Deck 5 accumulating just over 6,000 steps. We were only the second couple at the Tuscan Grill for breakfast. We checked with Darryl, the Captain’s Club representative about tomorrow, when this will be the place for Elite status and up to wait for leaving the ship. We are assigned luggage tag 17 for an approximate 8:30 departure. Last evening along with the luggage tags, there was a schedule of when the different numbers were to be called and where people were to wait. Other shuttle passengers are to meet in the Silhouette dining room Deck 4 Port side to wait. People who made private arrangements or have cars parked in the parking garage are waiting in the Equinox Theatre, if not Elite status or higher. We then went to Café al Bacio for cappuccinos and a muffins or sticky bun. Our stateroom still needed to have the bed made so after waiting on the balcony, we went down to Deck 5 to watch the approach to Nassau.

Yesterday we completed the ArriveCAN form for returning to Canada. There was a part of the form where you could book an appointment for a COVID test in case you were randomly selected at Customs. In today’s newspaper it was announced that Canada will no longer be requiring random COVID tests for fully vaccinated traveller entering Canada, starting today. We had skipped the part of making an appointment. We had been dreading the chaos that we have heard about which was occurring at Toronto Pearson International Airport due to COVID random tests and security delays. Three years ago security delays occurred when returning from an international trip but we always had lots of time between flights.

Then, in other news, President Biden announced that international air travellers will no longer need to supply a negative COVID test result taken the day before entering the U.S. effective tomorrow.

The ship was cleared by Customs before noon and people poured from the ship. We are the only cruise ship in port today. The pier area has been expanded and there is still construction on the pier. The walk from the ship to the street is over 500 meters. There are some golf carts that transport passengers with mobility issues to the entrance. We had lunch on Deck 15 in the Oceanview Café, before going ashore to explore. The cruise pier is close to where we docked in 2019 and the beach where the kids went to swim is still visible.

We walked about 20 minutes to the 1928 concrete Water Tower by Fort Fincastle. We climber the 65 steps of the Queen’s Staircase up to the fort’s hilltop location. We met Anne and John as they walked toward the Queen’s Staircase with their private tour group. The admission to the small stone fort is just $3US plus Value Added Tax. Lord Dunmore, Viscount of Fincastle, was the governor of Nassau from 1787 to 1796. He armed the island of New Providence with a series of five small forts built across the island. We could see the ship in port, but new construction blocked part of the view. Next we walked down to the street and found a minor street to walk to East Street. Just as we got to East Street rain started and there was an unoccupied building with an overhang that sheltered us from the downpour. Within 10 minutes there were puddles everywhere. The rain stopped so we left that shelter, but within 200 meters the rain began again. This time we sheltered under the broad overhang of a Scotiabank. Finally the dark cloud passed and the sun shone. The air was sticky and the temperature was still above 30°C. We found the Rum Cake store where Anne was choosing some cakes to take home. It was less than a 20 minute walk back to the ship. The ship’s air conditioning felt great. After showers we finished reading the Saturday newspaper online.

At dinner it was just Arnie & Sue, John & Anne and us. We had a lovely final meal together. Anne and John will be boarding the Celebrity EDGE in October the day that we leave it. We may see each other. Each couple had prepared tips for the serving staff. After dinner we packed our suitcases and tagged them, to have them ready in the hallway for staff to take to the cargo hold until the morning, when the luggage would be transferred to the terminal to be picked up. We climbed up to the Sky Lounge on Deck 15 for our final Dark and Stormy cocktail. The bartender, Ian from the Philippines, took our photo.

Total steps 18,915