I visited Ocean Cay back in 2020, with Jett and her sisters – her last cruise. I was impressed with it. Nice beaches, a scenic lighthouse. So when I saw that this short cruise on the Seaside included an overnight stay at Ocean Cay that became a major factor in my decision to book this cruise for Marlene’s birthday.
We dawdled in the morning and didn’t set foot on the island until after noon. We visited the shops (Marlene had to check them all out). The very first shop had a display of snorkeling fins. Very nice rubber fins with a price of $42. Not outrageous for cruise pricing. But there was a “50% off” sign above the display. So I asked the clerk if the $42 was the before-half-off price or the after-half-off price. It was her first day in the shop and wasn’t sure, so she ran a price check. I was hoping for $21. Nope. The price was $18.06. How did half of $42 come out as $18.06? I have no idea, but it was a gift horse and I wasn’t going to check his teeth.
But we didn’t get the fins because there were no goggles available. Supposedly there was a shop on North Island – the most distant part of Ocean Cay – that sold them so we went looking. We made it to the island – about a half mile walk – and found no shop. But we did find a lovely beach and some inviting, crystal-clear water. So we took a dip.
The water was heavenly. We stayed in longer than we should have without sunscreen. But we were rewarded with a sighting of a sting ray.
Neither of us had been in the ocean in several years. It was very nice. We had our metal cups with rum-and-coke which we drank while we luxuriated. A very pleasant hour.
By the time we got back to the island buffet it had closed. But we went back to the ship and found something to eat so we staved off starvation.
We bought 2 sets of fins on our way back to the ship with the intent of using them the next day. Even without goggles they would be fun.
I read while Marlene played the slots. Finished my book – a review soon.
We had another very good dinner. We didn’t go ashore after dinner, which I regret. A bonfire with live music was the attraction. How many times are there on-shore activities at night on a cruise? It’s pretty rare. We did wander the ship a bit and I got some mediocre night shots of Ocean Cay.
We played cards again at the midnight buffet and I won 2 of 3.