Nassau, Bahamas and Setting Sail

Note: When I say "last night" it means 2 nights ago. Technical difficulties have deprived everyone of a post. Up and running now!

Last night when I tried to do this, it decided it took me so long they logged me off of my account! I lost everything (which was a lot) that I had written. So let’s try again. Round two!
I woke up Tuesday morning at the boardwalk hotel with my family. After our last breakfast at Disney together, we boarded the bus to the airport and sat together at my gate, where we played a guessing game of who on my flight would also be participating in Semester at Sea. I think we won.
When my plane landed in Nassau, I met my ship roommate, Jen, outside of immigration and we took a taxi to the hotel and ship (she got work study and got to check in early to help with registration the next morning). I met my hotel roommates in the lobby, along with many, many other SASers. From there we went to Senior Frogs for the night. I didn’t realize that when I ordered a “chicken burger” it would be an entire chicken. But I ate it all! And it was gooooood. We spent the night mingling, yelling over music, and people watching. It was fun. We made our way back to the hotel around 11:30, where my 4 hotel roommates and I took more of a nap than a sleep.
We woke up early the next morning, repacked, and took a taxi to the port. We waited an hour in check-in line, but had the entertainment of other cruiseliners passing by being harassed by clouds of taxi drivers to keep us occupied. They ran all of our bags through security when we passed through the metal detector. I have never seen so many confiscated straighteners, curling irons, or duct tape in my life (but who would confiscate those anywhere but here?)! We continued the registration process, had lunch, unpacked, went to meetings, and ate dinner. At dinner we met some really nice people and went up to the top deck with them, where we watched the MV Explorer leave Nassau at 8 pm. It would have been really cool to leave port during the day so we could see the gorgeous blue water and colorful buildings. Instead we got brightly lit cruiseships and a little city full of lights and sounds. Everyone cheered and took pictures as we pulled out from between two cruiselines with the hotel Atlantis in the background, and for that time everyone was friends. There were no cliques or negativity. It was really a sight to see.
It was back to more meetings and a “spring ahead” (1 hour) time change after that.
This morning Jen and I woke up for a sunrise run and breakfast before a full day of meetings. It was cloudy, but the warm air made up for it. I spent a while looking out of my porthole today. This ship moves SO FAST. The waves collide with the ship in big sprays and bursts. Every time I get the chance I’m keeping an eye out for whales and dolphins.
The morning was filled with meetings. It’s time for lunch now, and then meetings and meetings the rest of the day. Classes start tomorrow. Not a problem :)
Keep you Posted!
P.S. My confirmed email address is kgzabriskie@semesteratsea.net. EMAIL ME!