This was the first of back to back cruises over the kids winter break 2013-14. We took the 5 day on the Carnival Victory because we were going on the Oasis of the Seas and wanted some more time and some more places to stop and snorkel as well as a longer stop in Nassau so we could visit Atlantis for a full day.

The things Carnival did good. The stops were efficient and the day at Atlantis was priced reasonably, though Atlantis is still expensive. You can go to Atlantis and get a day pass from their ticket booth outside for $135. The Carnival excursion was $180 but included transportation and lunch. It was a reasonable premium, but next time I would take the cab to Atlantis. I can't believe they would ever sell out.

In Half Moon Cay we got out and snorkeled from the beach. There is a baby reef near the private cabana with the slide near the pier. There is supposed to be a better snorkeling spot at the north end of the beach but that is a really long walk, so we didn't make it out there. I would recommend taking their boat snorkeling excursion as there was very little to see snorkeling from the beach. Read more