Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas - Vacation Day 5

First off, thanks to ThriftMaven for identifying the signal at sail-away.  This Canadian had no clue!  Now, I'm curious - I may have to go back through previous sail-away photos to see if that or something similar has been evident.

Day 5 started early, as we were tendering in Great Stirrup Cay (GSC), Bahamas.  According Wikipedia, Norwegian Cruise lines (NCL) purchased the island in 1977 and has developed it into a private island for the use of their cruise passengers.  I had read previous reviews, the island was under construction until October 2017.  Must have been using unionized workers....sorry, old joke.

Look at the color of the water! I truly love the Caribbean blues.  The tenders started at 8 a.m., though I'm certain they were running earlier than that taking staff from the ship to the island where they set up a bar, buffet area, and equipment rentals (snorkeling and paddle boards I believe).  Sandra, Amy, Helene,  and I were among the passengers on the 2nd shuttle as we wanted to get our choice of chairs - far enough from the main area to be less noisy, close enough to the bathroom and bar, bar and bathroom, and any other amenities.  

This isn't the best photo (the colors look washed out to me), but it gives you a sense of the size of the island.  It's not very big!  According to the trivia we were provided, there are 6 permanent inhabitants of the island AND one cat.  No, I didn't get to see the cat.  I suspect the tender operators were the resident islanders, as the ship did not use its life boats as tenders. The tender landing is to the left of the photo, and there are additional areas for hanging out on the beach to the right.

We needn't have worried about getting there early because the passengers were about 4500 - I think there were at least that many chairs set out. I guess that is for the days when more than one ship is in port.  

The tall structure is apparently going to be used for zip-lining.  This I overheard from a conversation as I was heading to the bar bathroom.  Our chairs were situated almost in the centre of this photo.  Sandra and Helene were under the trees, while Amy and I headed out into the sun.  There is a shallow area of water on the right, and was perfect for a quick dip.  Of course, I tasted the water...you bet it's salty.  The strawberry daiquiri I followed up with was pretty tasty too. ;)

In the midst of the trees in the photo above there are several cabanas.  These contained 6 loungers, and came equipped with food and a cabana boy (or possibly girl) to run for beverages.  Sandra had looked into it for us, but the price had increased from $300 to nearly $700USD.  A tad lot more expensive than we were willing to pay! 

Amy and I stayed out on the island until close to 1 p.m, then headed back to the ship.  Sandra and Helene stayed for another hour.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day but I wasn't about to risk a sun burn.  Thank goodness for SPF50!

This photo and the last one were taken with my cell phone as I wasn't about to lug the camera equipment to the island.  

The Epic sure isn't the prettiest of ships, but she looks pretty nice sitting out beyond the reef.  

There weren't many other people out on the island when we first got there so it was very pleasant.  Amy and I chatted for awhile and watched the tenders moving back and forth from the ship.  Then she turned her music on and I read my book.  What a life!

After returning to the ship, we grabbed a bite to eat.  Amy headed to Posh, while I did a walk on deck 15 and 18 to get some photos of the island from the ship (all of the other photos in this post were taken mid-afternoon).

This was one of the tenders arriving back at the ship full of passengers.  

You would think they were worried that they won't be allowed on board...almost everyone jumps up as soon as the tender is tied up.

I tend to relax and wait...they've yet to say no.  When we board the ship, we present our key cards and our bags are put through the security scanner.  I can't recall if we did this at GSC but assume we must, as I'm sure I'd remember not doing so.  I wonder what we might have been able to bring back from the island?  

This is one of the last tenders of the day, heading back to the island with only the crew aboard.  

The rest of the afternoon was spent in Posh.  Sandra joined us on her return, and Nestor made certain the daiquiris (me), margaritas (Sandra) and mimosas (Amy) arrived as needed...just to be clear, I had two more drinks that afternoon.  It was the first time I've ever had the unlimited beverage package and I'm pretty sure I brought down the average.  The most drinks I had in one day was five, a couple I had none, and the rest I might have managed three drinks.  If I had paid for my drinks I would have spent about $200, with the UBP I paid $120 for the gratuities as they assume $80 per day.  I won't bother with the package again - if there is a free at sea offer I'll take the free internet minutes instead.

We had dinner at Taste again that evening.  I don't recall how many solos were there, but I would think 10-15.  When I arrived back at the room that evening, I found this fellow waiting for me.  Richard, my room steward took the other towel art the rest of the week but he let me keep Epic the elephant - Epic spent the rest of the week hanging out on top of the safe.  

So ended the day at GSC, and vacation day 5.  The following day I woke up in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.