One night cruise on Norwegian Gem; Cruise destination Nassau

Very short cruises are becoming extremely popular. People want to get away from it all for just r a day or an evening, take a mini-vacation or a memorable night out. On these cruises, the ship is the destination as there are no ports of call.

Norwegian Cruise Lines has been very active in this market. Several of its ships are doing one or two night cruises this winter. The popular Norwegian Gem has a one-night cruise in her schedule each month this winter.

We went aboard Norwegian Gem to experience one of these one-night cruises to nowhere. During the voyage, we spoke with Hotel Director Jenny Lind about one-night cruising on the Gem. That article is at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-gem-one-night.html

In addition, we have expanded and updated our section on cruise destination Nassau in the Bahamas. We have added an additional page to our photo feature on the attractions of Nassau. http://www.beyondships3.com/cruise-destination-nassau-attractions.html

Also, we have a new slideshow with photos of cruise ships that have called in Nassau. It is a busy cruise port and seemingly sooner or later every ship comes to Nassau. Well, that is probably an exaggeration but we have photographed quite a few ships in Nassau over the years. The slideshow is at http://www.beyondships3.com/cruise-destination-nassau-ships.html

Cruising to Nassau, The Bahamas

Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas, is one of the most visited cruise ports in the world. Although it is not actually in the Caribbean, it far enough south to have sub-tropical to tropical weather. Furthermore, it is close enough to the United States to make it a convenient port of call not only for ships sailing from the Florida cruise capitals but also for ships sailing from ports further north. Consequently, it is not unusual to have five or six large cruise ships in port on a single day.

For the most part, the ships are left unoccupied during their stay in Nassau. A few souls stay aboard and use the ship's facilities but the vast majority disappear onto the island. For many, the objective is a day at the beach or involvement in some form of water sport. However, there are other things to see and do.

The king of Nassau's attraction is the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, which lies on the other side of the harbor from Nassau. This is not just a hotel with a nice beach and a swimming pool, it is a vast fantasy land built with considerable imagination around the ancient legend of the lost city of Atlantis.

For those who like looking at ships, Nassau has much to offer. The harbor is quite compact and when ships enter or leave the harbor, the other ships have a good view. In addition, all of the ships dock together and the piers are laid out in such a way as to provide a number of good camera angles.

Beyondship's profile of Nassau begins at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination---nassau.html. Included in the profile is a page of photos and information about the attractions and points of interest in Nassau. http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination-nassau-attractions.html We also have a slideshow of some of the attractions at the Atlantis resort at http://www.beyondships2.com/cruise-destination-nassau-atlantis.html There is also a video showing Norwegian Epic entering the harbor. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-epic-video.html

Norwegian Epic Photos and Video

Continuing to shine the spotlight on Norwegian Epic, this week we take a look at the outside of the ship.

The venue where these photos were taken is Nassau in the Bahamas. If you like to watch and/or photograph ships, Nassau is a good place to be. The port is quite busy, often with several ships calling on the same day. In addition, the port is laid out so that you can get good shots of the ships when they are underway as well as when they are docked.

Nassau is a regular port of call for Norwegian Epic during her winter season. The ship generally arrives mid-morning and so if you are on one of the ships that arrived early in the morning, you will have the opportunity to see Epic enter the harbor and dock.

It was a beautiful clear morning when this photo essay was shot. We see Epic enter the harbor and then make a 180 degree turn before backing into her berth. As a result, we get to see Epic from pretty much all sides. The photo essay is posted at http://beyondships.com/NCLEpic-Photos-Nassau.html

In addition to still photos, I was also taking video. I confess that I have not made up my mind which medium tells the story best - - a series of still photos or a video showing the action. I'll let you be the judge. The video is posted at http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-epic-video.html

For those who are also interested in what goes on inside Epic, we have a new page of menus from various restaurants on the ship http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-epic-menus.html plus a new page of daily programs (Freestyle Daily) and other information distributed onboard the ship. http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-epic-daily-programs.html