What to do in Nassau and Port Canaveral??

Three adults cruising on the Grandeur of the Seas to the Bahamas.

I have looked over the excursions that are available and nothing interests me in Port Canaveral because we all have visited that port before. Do many people stay on the boat or would it be a good idea to get off the boat for a little bit of time? Where would we go?

In Nassau what would be something we could do that would be inexpensive? Do most people go shopping? Is it close to the pier or do we take a cab?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Shopping is Nassau is walking distance from the ship.

We walked to Lukka Kairi to eat in Nassau, we really enjoyed the food! You could see it from the ship. We wished we would have gone to the beach after our excursion.

Google Nassau Walking Tour. Lots to do within walking distance of ship if mobility not an issue. Climb queens staircase. Check out the fort at the top. Walk to John Watling rum distillery or Bahamas Art Museum. You will pass the main shopping drag plenty of shops yo check out.

Some vendors (taxi, horse carriage) can be pushy and heavy handed. Just keep looking ahead and moving.

I used to really dislike Nassau but it's not terrible. There's enough to see and do for low dough.

Thank you very much for the ideas!!

We have no mobility issues (even though we are celebrating our 60th) so those are excellent suggestions. I heard that Nassau is dangerous so we didn't want to go off the beaten path for safety reasons. Only a few weeks and we are on the ship!!:D

A friend & I did this cruise in October. We went on an air boat ride excursion from RCC & loved it. We got to hold an alligator too. I had such a good time, I forgot to go in the gift shop!

We just walked around the shops in Nassau on our own. It was ok but I wish I could have gone on a walking tour. We did find a McDonalds & had a milk shake.

If you go to Key West (the 8 Day Cruise), make sure you get tickets for the hop-on hop-off trolley. A guide tells you all about the area & you can get off anywhere to see something interesting then hop back on to the next area. I also saved a couple of dollars by ordering my tickets online & just had to show my cell phone with the receipt. I had never been to Key West before. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Three adults cruising on the Grandeur of the Seas to the Bahamas.

 

I have looked over the excursions that are available and nothing interests me in Port Canaveral because we all have visited that port before. Do many people stay on the boat or would it be a good idea to get off the boat for a little bit of time? Where would we go?

 

In Nassau what would be something we could do that would be inexpensive? Do most people go shopping? Is it close to the pier or do we take a cab?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

You could just stay on the ship in PC if nothing interests you. There are a few restaurants right near the port. Depending on what terminal you are at, they might be walking distance. Off the top of my head there is Grills, Fishlips and a couple of other ones. You could also catch a taxi to the beach, or tour Kennedy Space Center if that's your thing.

In Nassau, you can easily walk to the shopping areas. Junkanoo Beach is also walkable, just on the other side of the Hilton. Atlantis is close, but you have to pay to get in.

Port Canaveral- cocoa beach is nearby. There are chairs/umbrellas for rent, a bathroom and two restaurants on the beach. Right by the pier are several seafood places to eat. I know the ship food is free, but there is quite a bit of fresh fish here, very reasonably priced for a meal and the dress is casual. I'm asuming you were not interested in the space center.

Frankly I'd use these ports as "the ship is all mine" time. It's amazing having such a huge ship essentially to yourself. You'll only get that in ports like these that aren't as appealing.

Great suggestions - you guys are great.

A few more questions:

1. Do you take your passport with you when you leave the ship?

2. If we want to play slots, do you use cash or load your card? When I was on Princess we just used our card but my friend says we need cash.

Thanks!

... If we want to play slots, do you use cash or load your card? When I was on Princess we just used our card but my friend says we need cash.

 

Thanks!

You need cash to play slots (and the other games) in the casino on Royal.

Three adults cruising on the Grandeur of the Seas to the Bahamas.

 

I have looked over the excursions that are available and nothing interests me in Port Canaveral because we all have visited that port before. Do many people stay on the boat or would it be a good idea to get off the boat for a little bit of time? Where would we go?

 

In Nassau what would be something we could do that would be inexpensive? Do most people go shopping? Is it close to the pier or do we take a cab?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

How long does Grandeur stay in port? I scuba dive so there are a lot of private excursions that are pretty good I could look into. We also took a private Segway excursion in Nassau in 20010 and 2013. If you have never Segway'd before, its fun and a great place to try it.

I'm a little annoyed right now trying to find an excursion for my Oasis trip next Spring. Oasis and Allure spend so little time in port that it really tends to keep you with their excursions. What annoys me about that for now is this far ahead, Royal lists about 21 excursions on their site some are repeated) 14 of them are related to Atlantis. I liked Atlantis when I was there all day with Majesty, but IMO its overpriced for the short time Oasis and Allure are there.

This next cruise will be my 7th that goes to Nassau. In 2011 that occurred on our 30th anniversary and we did stay on the ship. That could happen again this year.

In Port Canaveral, I would highly recommend visiting the Kennedy Space Center. It it just spectacular, with a number of goose-bump inducing experiences.

As for Nassau, do you want to spend the day on a beach? If not, you can easily do your own walking tour around the historic area (very close to the pier), and then have some fabulous, real Bahamian food for lunch at the Bahamian Cookin' restaurant. We've eaten there a couple of times, and as recently as May. Don't miss the conch fritters, mac and cheese, peas and rice, and homemade fruit punch and lemonade. Yum!!!

And check out the Ports of Call/Nassau board for plenty more advice.

http://bahamiancookin.com/

(photos by turtles06)

We just got back from a Bahamas cruise on Enchantment of the Seas out of Port Canaveral. It was too hot in Nassau to do much so we did some shopping on Bay Street by the dock. There are walking food tours and historical tours near the docks. We did not encounter any panhandlers or pushy merchants. Some uniformed soldiers made us feel safer. We would definitely avoid straying too far from the tourist areas as in any major U.S. City.

Loved the pic of those Conch Fritters. Our favorite activity is to walk, or cab, down to the Fish Fry on Arawak Cay. It's a group of many small local restaurants. Candies is our favorite, but there are others. Conch Fritters are amazing and they have the best grouper I've ever eaten, and I live in Florida!

There is a Senior Frogs in Nassau. You can see it along the side of the pier at the very end. It is a very easy walk, just walk along the bulkhead until you get there. They do fun things there, make all sorts of balloon creatures and flowers for you, have a conga line I won't tell you about. You know who has been to Senior Frogs when you see people wearing balloon creatures on their heads!

We stay on the ship now as we've been to Nassau so many times. You can hear the laughter usually around noon coming from Sr. Frogs when we're on our ship. You can sit on the deck there if you order food but its more fun at a table inside where you can also seen the stage. and still get food.

You can also go to Atlantis and watch people dripping in gold losing $1,000 chips and not crying. It costs to go to their fantastic aquarium, etc. There are folders about Atlantis by the guest services desk.

I will definitely write down all of these suggestions.

I think we will stay on the ship in PC since we have already done the Space Center and Disney. Since we are staying on the ship does the spa have discounts on services while in port? Should we wait to make a reservation once we get on the ship?

Thanks.

Another vote to heading over to Arawak Cay ("Fish Fry") for lunch. Several really good restaurants and not touristy like the lame, US-based chain places right by the pier.Twin Brothers is our personal favorite.

I also second the walking tour. You can download them free. Very interesting way to take in the area. Queen's Staircase, Fort Fincastle, the library (formerly a jail) and several of the government buildings are all very interesting.

I will definitely write down all of these suggestions.

 

I think we will stay on the ship in PC since we have already done the Space Center and Disney. Since we are staying on the ship does the spa have discounts on services while in port? Should we wait to make a reservation once we get on the ship?

 

Thanks.

They do frequently have port day spa specials, check the Cruise Compass inserts for them.

Great suggestions - you guys are great.

 

A few more questions:

 

1. Do you take your passport with you when you leave the ship?

 

 

2. If we want to play slots, do you use cash or load your card? When I was on Princess we just used our card but my friend says we need cash.

 

Thanks!

Best to leave your passport in your cabin safe. All you need to carry is photo ID and ship's key card.

Best to leave your passport in your cabin safe. All you need to carry is photo ID and ship's key card.

I agree with the above but we also carry photocopies of our passports; worst case scenario we have the information in hand.

Also, on the daily Compass will be a phone number for the local port agent if you run into an issue.

We bring our passports with us in money belts tucked out of sight. If we should miss the ship it's easy to get a flight to the next port. In Nassau we had to produce ID to security before even being let onto the dock.

We like to walk up to the British Colonial Hilton for a drink or tea. Nice hotel.

See website.

Also, the Ardastra Gardens and Zoo is a good inexpensive excursion. See website.