Miami & Nassau, Bahamas

If you follow me closely on my Social channels, you'll already know that for my 30th Birthday, I flew out to Miami and went on a Carnival Cruise to Nassau, Bahamas. Reaching this milestone chapter of my life, I knew that I wanted to do it BIG! I had never been to Florida or the Bahamas before, so I was so excited and grateful for the opportunity to experience this new adventure with my closest friends and family.

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I arrived in Miami Thursday evening on January 5th. My sister, cousin, friends, and I settled into our hotel room and adjusted to the heat and humidity, unlike the cold and stormy weather in the Bay Area. We then headed out for dinner at Versailles where I had my 1st Cuban Mojito and Cafe Cubano. Both were DELICIOUS!

After dinner we discussed the possibility of taking a salsa lesson and going salsa dancing, only to realize how tired we all were from traveling. We decided to try to go salsa dancing when we arrive back in Miami on Monday. The next morning we had brunch at The Local House and checked out South Beach before boarding our cruise at the Port of Miami.

The cruise ship was amazing! We spent a lot of time familiarizing ourselves with the ship layout, especially considering the casino, the Spa, and where we could eat. A majority of us made spa appointments for the very first night, so we'd be extra relaxed and energized when we arrived in Nassau the next morning.

Our day in Nassau was fun and exciting, while still being pretty slow-paced and relaxing. We saw the Queen's Staircase, Fort Fin Castle, Junkanoo Beach, and went to John Watling's distillery for a rum tasting and tour. One of my favorite aspects of the trip was how friendly and accommodating everyone we met was. At the Queen's Staircase and Fort Fin Castle, there were insightful guerrilla historians giving out history lessons, which were absolutely fascinating!

We spent Sunday at sea on the cruise ship. I luckily won $85 playing slots at the casino and spent some time in the steam room, since I wanted to relax and sweat a bit more and the thought of working out in the gym while on a moving ship scared me. lol That evening we had our formal dinner night, where I also celebrated my birthday. :)

We ported back in Miami on Monday morning. Being our last full day before flying home, we went to the Wynwood Walls to enjoy some street art, ate lunch at RUST Wynwood, and attempted to go salsa dancing at Mango's Miami. I say "attempted" because our plans were interrupted by a bomb scare that shut down Ocean Dr. where Mango's Tropical Cafe was located. We had to settle on more drinks, dinner at Naked Taco, and nearby hookah bars.

My 30th Birthday adventure was everything that I had hoped for, with the exception of missing out on learning how to salsa dance of course. lol I explored two places that I had never ventured to before and created lasting memories with my family and friends! I definitely want to check out other Bahamas Islands and return to Florida again one day.

Have you been on a cruise before? Where did you go? What did you do for your 30th Birthday, or what do you want to do? Were there other places I should have checked out while I was in Miami? Let me know in a comment below!

XO,
Denise