Nassau (Half) Day

I posted under the Bahamas thread but not getting much response. So thought I'd post here since I'm assuming most RCL ships have similar timings. When we cruise, our ship arrives at 7:30am (but most likely I can't see us heading out before 9:30am...unless we have a tour that leaves earlier). The ship then leaves at 2pm, which means we'd want to aim to be back by 1ish.

So what do you do in Nassau for such a short time? Would love to hear too if you are coming with kids. There is an Atlantis Discovery tour but not sure if that's worth it or if our kids would be bored. I also found a place called Blue Lagoon that looks greta for kids but not sure how far it is or if worth it for only a few hours.

What do others do in Nassau?

We didn't plan any excursions when we were there. We just went to the shops, ate at Senor Frogs, and went to the straw market. The kids liked the straw market. What I learned from the straw market is "how much do you want to pay." That seems to be what every negotiation boiled down to. You can also tell the vendor that you saw the same item at another stand for $x and can likely get what you want for the price you want.

Agreed...with such little time I would do some self exploring. Lots to see and do to kill a few hours for cheap.

Shops, markets, free beach all within walking distance from the ship.

WE also had a short time in Nassua on our Allure cruise. Wasnt alot of time we did a snorkeling tour and did some shopping at the straw market. It was hetic in there people hollering at you come here come there etc. Likely I would avoid that kaos next time

We've done the Blue Lagoon trip a couple times - it was great! It's a short boat ride right from the pier (maybe 15 minutes) and the beach is great. Plenty of space and they have loungers and umbrellas all set up. The water is shallow so it's great for kids. There was a buffet as well - pretty standard, burgers, etc. but overall it was good. Blue Lagoon is also where they do the dolphin excursions and they have a small pool area where they let the dolphins hangout when in between events so we got to see a free show of sorts. There's also a souvenir shop if you're looking for that.

What do others do in Nassau?

Here's the perfect thing to do for a half day

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1579041

I did exactly this route, great couple of hours around the town. plenty of time to walk over to Junkanoo Beach to hang out a bit, and go through the strawmarket also for a little bit too.

Do what we do....have a early lunch here

http://twinbrothersbahamas.com/default.aspx

We also enjoyed the Blue Lagoon while visiting Nassau a couple of years ago. Just a nice, laid-back day-I would do it again. Last year, we went to Atlantis, and definitely did not have enough time, and a lot of places were closed-due to it being Sunday..

Our kids liked the pirate museum when we sailed a few months ago on Oasis. It is not a long walk. There are many shops on the way to and from also to kill some time. To us it just wasn't worth it to do an excursion for the amount of time we were in Nassau.

For a half day, I think Atlantis is too expensive, especially when ship tours take forever to get you there. I did visit Atlantis on Majesty when we were there all day and loved it. I've also done a Segway tour a couple of times, I think it is BAHMASSEGWAY or something like that, found it on Google.

Unless you can spend a full day at Atlantis, it's not worth the cost. There is shopping within easy walking distance of the ship...and if you google Nassau, you'll find many other things to do that won't cost an arm and leg!

Thank you for the replies. For now, I'm thinking either Blue Lagoon for a few hours and/or the Pirate Museum . I wish we were staying until dinner time as it would have been fun at Atlantis bug doesn't seem worth the cost.

How many hours is the least amount that would make Atlantis Aquaventure worth it?

With that short time, we would only do the Blue Lagoon on a ship's tour.

We went last year and the ferry ride was longer than we thought it would be and we didn't want to miss the ship's departure.

Another good excursion is Ardastra Gardens and Zoo with the Marching Flamingos. Takes about 2 hours. They have a good website.

With that short time, we would only do the Blue Lagoon on a ship's tour.

We went last year and the ferry ride was longer than we thought it would be and we didn't want to miss the ship's departure.

 

Another good excursion is Ardastra Gardens and Zoo with the Marching Flamingos. Takes about 2 hours. They have a good website.

Yeah, I did a closer search on Blue Lagoon and it looks like the fairy times are very restrictive. There is only one boat that returns before 2pm and that is at 1pm...so cutting it very close. Too bad as this place looks great for kids. I don't see any excursions there on my cruise.

Thanks, will consider Ardastra Gardens.

There is an Atlantis Discover Tour but not sure if that would interest our kids

We didn't plan any excursions when we were there. We just went to the shops, ate at Senor Frogs, and went to the straw market.

When considering Senor Frogs, keep in mind that it does not open until 11:30 AM. ;)

LuLu

Bahamas question if you don't mind...will be there next week. I have something that I MUST do via online. Really need to do it the day after we are in Nassau but it is a Sea Day and I don't want to risk a wifi outage. So I will do it on Nassau day. I plan to do it onboard (and it really won't take very long) but if I have connection issues I will look for something near the port as I will need to take my laptop with me.

So, any suggestions for a spot with wifi near the ship?

Bahamas question if you don't mind...will be there next week. I have something that I MUST do via online. Really need to do it the day after we are in Nassau but it is a Sea Day and I don't want to risk a wifi outage. So I will do it on Nassau day. I plan to do it onboard (and it really won't take very long) but if I have connection issues I will look for something near the port as I will need to take my laptop with me.

 

So, any suggestions for a spot with wifi near the ship?

Ask a crew member (like your bartender or bar server). They always know there the "hot spots" for internet access are. ;)

LuLu

With half days in Nassau, if you get off the ship when it arrives in - are shops etc open?

Yeah, I did a closer search on Blue Lagoon and it looks like the fairy times are very restrictive. There is only one boat that returns before 2pm and that is at 1pm...so cutting it very close. Too bad as this place looks great for kids. I don't see any excursions there on my cruise.

 

Thanks, will consider Ardastra Gardens.

 

There is an Atlantis Discover Tour but not sure if that would interest our kids

We booked ours through the ship because I'll admit I'm a worrier when it comes to missing the ship. For some reason though, I'm thinking the excursion wasn't called "Blue Lagoon", I think it was like "beach day" or something but in the description it said Blue Lagoon Island. Just a thought, may want to check out the details in the excursion listing.

There is lots to do in Nassau for a half day without booking an excursion. Within 15 minute walk of the ship there is the Pirate museum, old historic forts (with awesome views), the Queens staircase, the National Art Gallery museum, Graycliff chocolate factory, free tours of John Watlings rum factory, plenty of shopping on the main boulevard, historical walking tours of Nassau. You can walk to the fish fry area, a beach area near the pier. Not all of these are free, but some are and others are low cost.

I would never go to Atlantis with such a short port time. It will be a big waste of money.

When considering Senor Frogs, keep in mind that it does not open until 11:30 AM. ;)

LuLu

Thank you for pointing that out. I don't remember what time we left the ship and our all aboard time might have been later than OP. Plus we went in a few stores before we got there so my concept of time is a little blurry.

There is lots to do in Nassau for a half day without booking an excursion. Within 15 minute walk of the ship there is the Pirate museum, old historic forts (with awesome views), the Queens staircase, the National Art Gallery museum, Graycliff chocolate factory, free tours of John Watlings rum factory, plenty of shopping on the main boulevard, historical walking tours of Nassau. You can walk to the fish fry area, a beach area near the pier. Not all of these are free, but some are and others are low cost.

 

I would never go to Atlantis with such a short port time. It will be a big waste of money.

Thank you. This is a great list of ideas. It's a shame looking at the ferry times of Blue Lagoon as it's too restirctive . Looks like a fun beach day though if the ship was in longer.