Day 3: Nassau—Beach Adventures, Pirate Shenanigans, and Midnight Movies

We woke up early and ran straight to our verandahs to take in the stunningly blue Caribbean water and our first look at Nassau! The excitement was real—nothing beats that first glimpse of a new port.

Papa led us on a little self-guided tour of downtown, which was both fun and, well, a bit of an adventure. Turns out, Nassau sidewalks aren’t exactly designed for a parade of 18 people! We were bummed to find the Queen’s Staircase and the Fort closed for construction, but we made the most of exploring the colorful streets and soaking up the island vibes.

Determined to find the perfect beach, we took a long walk all the way to the very end of Junkanoo Beach. The water was a little chilly, but that didn’t stop Grandma, Landon, Finn, and Cyrus from splashing in the waves. Mave, as always, was on a mission and dragged most of us out into the ocean before we were fully prepared to brave the cold.

On the way to the beach, Mave had spotted a little shell shop that she simply had to visit. So, Tara, Nat, Carlie, Gwen, Mave, and Halle took a little girls’ trip back to check it out. We all left with matching bracelets, bringing extras for Grandma and Jhena, and most importantly—Mave found her coconut. Trip complete.

As we wandered back, we decided we needed smoothies. We found a little roadside stand and placed our orders, but the real highlight was the owner’s adorable daughter. She was completely fascinated with Gwen and Mave’s braces—so much so that she put her little hands directly in their mouths to feel them (sanitary? no. hilarious? absolutely). Then she spotted Nat’s Stitch nail stickers and was obsessed. Nat, being Nat, pulled them out of her bag and started applying a few to the little girl’s fingernails. After we got our smoothies, the girl plucked the entire sticker sheet out of Nat’s hands and announced, “I think I’ll keep this.” How could we argue?

Meanwhile, the boys were living their best lives playing football on the beach. When they finally took a break, they grabbed some freshly grilled jerk chicken and rice from a stand next door—perfect beach food. Josh and Cyrus had a blast playing in the sand, proving that no one is ever too old to dig a hole at the beach.

Finn needed a break and so he and Landon and Jhena and Grandma and Grandpa went back to the ship a little earlier than the rest of us. He got to meet some fun characters along the way!

After a full morning of adventures, we made our way back to the ship for a late lunch (plus the necessary post-beach soft-serve ice cream stop).

Back on the ship, we had the very fun task of getting Josh registered for his BYU housing trying to use the internet on the ship. It took a little strategic placement (on the top deck) but we got it done! In the days leading up, we were all a little stressed that it might not work out, but everything went just about as smoothly as we could have hoped for.

Pirate Night—A Full Send

Pirate Night is no joke on the Disney Wish, and we went all in. Matching shirts, pirate ears, bandanas—the whole deal. We caught both of the pirate shows, and dinner was easily one of our favorites of the trip. The desserts were next-level: the Pirate’s Treasure Sundae (rum and raisin ice cream, pineapple, whipped cream, and a Florentine shard) and Bananas in Paradise (banana bread layered with hazelnut fudge and banana spice purée) were the standouts.

After dinner, the energy ramped up for fireworks at sea and a dance party on deck. Even Grandma and Grandpa were getting down! Jack Sparrow made his dramatic entrance, swinging down from the top of the ship, and the little cousins followed Halle’s dance moves like she was their fearless pirate captain.

Finn, however, was out. He slept straight through the fireworks on Natalie’s shoulder.

Our Stellar dancing even made it to the big screen!

To cap off the night, the big kids ran down, grabbed blankets, loaded up on food from Mickey’s Festival of Foods, pulled up deck chairs, and settled in to watch Pirates of the Caribbean on Funnel Vision. They stayed up till 1:30 a.m., fully embracing the fact that sleep is optional on vacation.