Gettin' on With It

HE is making this a double header, so to speak, finishing Day 1, dinner etc., and launching right into “Bimini or Bust” – The operative word being… “Bust”
 
As in past cruises, the pre-dinner ritual Happy Hour took place in a cozy alcove of the Lounge opposite the Upper level of the Main dining room with the Oh So Delightful Bartender/Waiter Jaya getting all the special drink orders handled with an excellent sense of humor and GREAT SMILE..
 
Remember, S&E don’t drink, so bottled water ain’t too complicated an order and as for Bob… it’s kinda hard to mess up a Stella Artois.
Jaya would continue throughout the cruise to amaze TE7 with his flair and Outstanding service.
 
Dinner was uneventful, the menu a little more inspiring than that of the previous cruise and the Casino play a bit livelier, albeit with higher minimum wage limits.
 
All retired to their cabins early as Bimini awaited with an early arrival.
 
And just like that they were in BIMINI.
 
Bimini is sorta the Red Headed Step-child of the Bahamas Islands Chain, sitting just 50 miles off the Florida Coast, it’s another 80 miles to Grand Bahama Island to the north and 120 miles from Nassau to the South.  And for almost an eternity it has been the Florida Fisherman’s not so dirty little secret runaway spot to drink, fish, party, drink some more and tell tall tails [sic] of the one that got away, until…
 
Having their plans to turn the old Miami Herald bay front property into a mega casino and resort foiled by the Florida Panhandle Gang and Bible Thumping legislature, The Genting Group out of Malaysia developed Resorts World Bimini and Casino as a consolation prize which in turn became the only real highlight of the whole island, if you can call it that, besides drinking, fishing and lying about fishing.  And... you can even catch their ferry round trip for only $89.  What a Bargain!
 
And since it is almost in Miami’s back yard, the overnight trip took almost less time than it took TE7 to make the long walk on the even longer pier to hop aboard the long tram that would take them to… well, actually, nowhere. 
 
The Tram’s primary purpose seemed to be to either transport tourists to Resorts World and Casino, The Public Beach, or the Fisherman’s Village & Marina which, is a small collection of even smaller shops and a bar.  That’s it.  If you want to see the rest of Bimini, or even the World Famous Straw Market [NOT!] ya gotta haggle a cab ride to… again – nowhere in particular.
 
Soooo after a 10 minute stroll around the marina, TE7 find a cabby with a van that seats 6.  But what about Bob? [Sounds like an old movie title come to think of it]. 
Welllllll,  Bob spots an upside down  bucket in the luggage area of the van and that’s how he decides to ride along as they head to… the Straw Market cause’, Ellen has GOT to do some shopping or she'll bust.
 
If you have ever been to that rambling mega expanse of tee shirt, Straw hat, conch shell creations and Tchotchke shops that is THE STRAW MARKET in Nassau, , then you know what a REAL Straw Market is. 
 
If you have never been to the Straw Market of Bimini, Thank Your Lucky Stars!  

You ain’t missed NUTHIN’. 
 
Seriously, it consists of a handful of little rooms linked around what could have been a ramshackle motel converted into Tchotchke shops. 

“This is it?” asks Bob, who rode 30 minutes on a bucket to get here.
 
Sooooo, after a 15 minute stroll around the Straw Market, it was time to find a bar somewhere to make the trip worth it.
 
After polite inquiries of the Tchotchke ladies who were visibly disappointed that even Ellen couldn’t find anything to buy, they were pointed up the hill that led to Sherry’s Shack on a very lovely beach. 

This is where a very jovial fellow wooed them with magnificently potent CoCo-ladas, albeit served in tall plastic cups with a VERY generous float of Myers Rum, until the Cabbie returned to deliver them back to the Fisherman’s Village and the Long Tram that took them past Resorts World, one-more-time [see what your missin’ folks] and back to the long pier, for the long walk back to the ship. 

Oh Wait... while sipping our VERY potent frozen concoctions on the VERY lovely beach, we did see the Crystal Symphony pull in and anchor off shore and not dock at the cruise pier.  We later found out that the ship and her sister ship the Serenity were subsequently, seized by the Bahamas for the US authorities as there was an arrest order in Miami for the Captain for not paying long overdue fuel bills. 

 
Now… wasn’t that Exciting?!?
 
Tomorrow, the lovely island of Bonaire, and without an excursion planned they won't be able to get off the boat so it will be a Pool Day.
 
Dinner and the results of what Celebrity will or will not do to accommodate S&E+Bob’s mission in Aruba are reported in the next episode of…
What We Did For 9 Day in the Caribbean.
Or sumpin’ like that.

 

 

Ciao 4 Now
Uncle Chuck & The Disappointed with Bimini, 
Dragon Lady