wildcats40

Just returned from 3 night cruise to Nassau. There were 5 or 6 ships in port so a lot of people. The port area was pretty nice with restrooms, lots of vendors, food and drinks, hair braiders, etc. We just walked around the area close to the port, had lunch and drinks, and returned to the ship. It was very crowded and hot so preferred to relax on the ship. Our daughter did the ship excursion that included swimming with the pigs. She really enjoyed it. They had a short boat ride to the beach which was pretty and then were assigned a half hour time with the pigs. She got some good pictures. They fed apples on skewers to the pigs and she even got to hold a piglet. The excursion included a lunch of beans and rice, fish, chicken. She'd recommend it.

We were a little concerned when we booked an 11:30 AM flight out of Miami but we had hours to spare. We just had carry-ons so were able to disembark about 7:20 AM. Surprisingly the traffic wasn't too bad and we were at the Miami airport in 20 minutes. We called for an Uber and they were there in a couple minutes. Very easy. There was a line for TSA precheck but it moved quickly. We would have switched to an earlier flight but they were all full.

When we got off our cruise in Miami, there were numerous people offering van shuttles to both Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports. They were standing on the way to where ride shares pull up.

We flew in around 9:30 on a Friday morning, Took an Uber to the port which took about 25 minutes because of traffic. I think it was about $30. Very easy.

Just got off the Freedom and thought the bed was comfortable...not overly firm. Slept well.

Our daughter is doing the swimming with the pigs excursion this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

We used the Celebrity shuttle from the cruise port to FLL which is a little different situation since lots of people are getting off at one time. We waited about 15-20 minutes for the bus to fill up. Most of that time was the driver organizing the luggage. Like others have said, an Uber or taxi would be convenient as long as there are plenty available.

We will be on Freedom of the Seas soon and wondered if the cafe serves Starbucks coffees/teas. If so, would they take Starbucks gift cards? We aren't doing the beverage package so just curious. Thanks.

Here's a map you can try. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/perfect-day-at-cococay-wayfinding-maps.pdf

We are thinking of going out to lunch somewhere in Nassau as we are not interested in spending time on the beach. Possibly going to the Fish Fry area or The Poop Deck. Would like to see a little bit of Nassau and wondered if the taxi driver would do a short tour on our way to or from lunch. Has anybody done that and what was the price? I know we'd need to settle on a price before going...don't want to be taken advantage of. Any recommendations for areas to drive through or is it not worth it? Thank you.

We will be on a 3 night sailing to Coco Cay and Nassau. We may go off the ship for a little while but wondered if there were still a lot of activities/entertainment going on onboard while docked, eg. trivia, game shows, music. Thanks!

Thanks for the recommendation. We're looking at their website. One place it shows 45 minutes to 1 hour for the $90 snorkeling tour but then it says "all day". Does that mean the snorkeling portion is about an hour and the rest of the time you are free to enjoy the beach and have lunch? I see an estimated time to pick up from the cruise port but don't see what time you are taken back to the port. It sounds good but am trying to understand the details. Thanks.

Thanks for sharing this.

We are interested in going to the gardens and wildlife center when we are in Nassau. Unfortunately, we're finding some places, such as the Bahamian Cookin restaurant aren't open on Sundays which is when we will be there. Not really wanting to go to the beach so looking for other suggestions for something to do or somewhere open for lunch on a Sunday? Assume the gardens won't take more than an hour or so.

Are they using the facial recognition when you disembark in Miami? It was nice not having to have your passports out in Fort Lauderdale and it was very quick.