My recent trip to the Bahamas was not at all what I expected. Being an island of the Caribbean I was expecting more Caribbean-like things. While I cannot define what Caribben-like specific things I am referrin to, I guess what I am trying to say is non-American. But when I stepped off the cruiseship onto Freeport and Nassau, I was very disappointed to see an American-like culture with the phrase I HEART THE BAHAMAS plastered across stands. I must say that I was sort of expecting a little too much, especially because I went to the Bahamas on a cruiseship; that basically screams AMERICA! And for the most part, I was spending 20 hours a day on the cruiseship. As a result of this I basically lived on an American cruisehip for 4 days and visited the Bahamas for 4 hours out of those 4 days. It never ocurred to me beforehand that cruisehips could only dock on ports. I know right, what else would I think? Our first destination, Freeport, was extremely industrialized and this is because we literally docked at a port where they mainly did importing/exporting there; with very little tourist shops. My family and I literally stepped of the boat to walk around shops designed in a circle. Not to mention, tourist shops that all sold the same exact items at different costs. As for Nassau, it was more what I expected of the Bahamas, Beaches, more in=depth tourist shops, and actual Bahama-people. I saw school children in their uniforms, business women in their attire, and people driving on the opposite side of the roads. This was the experience I was hoping for. As for the third day of our cruise we spent a day at sea, aka an entire day of the boat. With very little things to do for adolescents my age, majority of my time spent on the ship was a bore. I'm all for relaxation, but there is only so much time one can spend sleeping in the sun. Thankful that I had a book to read, I couldn't help but notice that my brother wasn't having fun and this become more boring for the both of us. My first cruise was truly an experience, although, I don't know if I would do it again. While I did enjoy it, I want to truly experience some culture in non-tourist places. You can't immerse yourself into a country if you go with 300 Americans on a cruiseship! Can't wait to start my European Experience.
