Convienence Store in Nassau for Chips an Soda

[wcook]

We are planning a walking tour of Nassau on our day in port. One place I'd like to visit is a convenience store to buy soda, chips, candy etc. The point isn't just to buy food, but to see what junk food is like in the Bahamas. Are the snacks the same? Different?

 

Any suggestions for a place that is in walking distance from the cruise port... but that caters to local tastes and not just tourists? And will we be able to pay us US currency?

 

Thanks

[scubagirrl]

We are planning a walking tour of Nassau on our day in port. One place I'd like to visit is a convenience store to buy soda, chips, candy etc. The point isn't just to buy food, but to see what junk food is like in the Bahamas. Are the snacks the same? Different?

 

Any suggestions for a place that is in walking distance from the cruise port... but that caters to local tastes and not just tourists? And will we be able to pay us US currency?

 

Thanks

There's a small grocery store near the port. Just ask the locals, I think it's Charlotte or Fredericks street. It's close by.

As for food and snacks.. they are the same as in the states. Fritos, cheetos, lays, wise, nabisco, Hershey, cadbury, ritz, coke, pepsi etc. You might find a few British brands.

 

They do have a couple of local soda' .. junkanoo and goombay punch. Very sweet. Some local beer Kalik and Sands, and rums. Don Lorenzo, Don ricardo and Ole Nassau.

 

US currency is excepted everywhere in the bahamas.

[wcook]

There's a small grocery store near the port. Just ask the locals, I think it's Charlotte or Fredericks street. It's close by.

As for food and snacks.. they are the same as in the states. Fritos, cheetos, lays, wise, nabisco, Hershey, cadbury, ritz, coke, pepsi etc. You might find a few British brands.

 

They do have a couple of local soda' .. junkanoo and goombay punch. Very sweet. Some local beer Kalik and Sands, and rums. Don Lorenzo, Don ricardo and Ole Nassau.

Thanks. Sounds perfect. I'm sure the kids will want to try a goobay punch (who wouldn't).

 

Anyway... your post got me thinking about "open container" laws. Is it legal to buy a beer then walk around town sipping it?

[scubagirrl]

Thanks. Sounds perfect. I'm sure the kids will want to try a goobay punch (who wouldn't).

 

Anyway... your post got me thinking about "open container" laws. Is it legal to buy a beer then walk around town sipping it?

 

I don't know if it's legal or not.. but everyone does it descreetly. I do know that public drunkeness is against the law, so don't get stupid.

[PH8]

There's a small grocery store near the port. Just ask the locals, I think it's Charlotte or Fredericks street. It's close by.

As for food and snacks.. they are the same as in the states. Fritos, cheetos, lays, wise, nabisco, Hershey, cadbury, ritz, coke, pepsi etc. You might find a few British brands.

 

They do have a couple of local soda' .. junkanoo and goombay punch. Very sweet. Some local beer Kalik and Sands, and rums. Don Lorenzo, Don ricardo and Ole Nassau.

 

US currency is excepted everywhere in the bahamas.

Im pretty sure it is across the street from the Hard Rock ......we went there in June to buy toothpaste..

[NeverBeenThereEither]

Goombay Punch!

 

I still have some rusting cans somewhere in my basement from our trips in the late 70s and early 80s. I LOVED those as a child...

 

I had forgotten. I will definitely pick up some in November.

 

BTW, the catamaran sail & snorkel trip offered by CCL appears to be the same as the private company one -- right down to the price, and since it's at 9am booked through Carnival, I assume we will get priority disembarking. We'll be doing that as a family of 4.

[patseacruiser]

I am staying this week in Sandals in Nassau and I can't believe how high the prices are for snacks and food here compared to our stuff at home and I thought that was expensive.:eek:

[Froufie]

I don't know if it's legal or not.. but everyone does it descreetly. I do know that public drunkeness is against the law, so don't get stupid.

 

When we were there December 2007 - my son wanted a 'local' beer - went in to buy a Kalik - and they asked him if he wanted to drink it right away....and had a bottle opener ready...and a 'paper bag' for 'transportation! :D

[bguppies]

I am staying this week in Sandals in Nassau and I can't believe how high the prices are for snacks and food here compared to our stuff at home and I thought that was expensive.:eek:

Costs $$$$ to have EVERYTHING imported by ship....

 

I remember our tour guide in Grand Cayman teling us, how he spent every vacation, flying to the US with empty suitcases and getting to Tampa or Miami and filling up the suitcases with clothes and shoes and then flying back.

Because everyday clothes, food etc... was 2 to 3 times higher than US due to being 100% imported.

 

Bill

[scubagirrl]

Costs $$$$ to have EVERYTHING imported by ship....

 

I remember our tour guide in Grand Cayman teling us, how he spent every vacation, flying to the US with empty suitcases and getting to Tampa or Miami and filling up the suitcases with clothes and shoes and then flying back.

Because everyday clothes, food etc... was 2 to 3 times higher than US due to being 100% imported.

 

Bill

yep, we do major grocery shopping (we have 2 big soft side coolers for perishables) and most anything else in either miami or Lauderdale. when I go back to NY.. I fill up my cases with goodies, car parts, tools and whatnot. Always have a long list of things we need to get.

 

Even with the customs tax.. we come out ahead.

[ParRoo]

Hi, We were wondering how much a 12 pack of coca cola "coke" would cost in Nassau

and if you know the price of a six pack of beer. Thanks

[Solo1959]

Costs $$$$ to have EVERYTHING imported by ship....

 

I remember our tour guide in Grand Cayman teling us, how he spent every vacation, flying to the US with empty suitcases and getting to Tampa or Miami and filling up the suitcases with clothes and shoes and then flying back.

Because everyday clothes, food etc... was 2 to 3 times higher than US due to being 100% imported.

 

Bill

I hear this a lot. But then I stop and think, just about everything we can buy here in US is imported from China or some other place. It no longer makes a lot of sense to me that things imported to US cost so much less than things imported to the Bahamas or other islands.

[scubagirrl]

I hear this a lot. But then I stop and think, just about everything we can buy here in US is imported from China or some other place. It no longer makes a lot of sense to me that things imported to US cost so much less than things imported to the Bahamas or other islands.

 

 

Since the bahamas does not have taxes (sales, property, income etc), they tax imports (customs and stamp taxes) at a very high rate. Some items at 60% or more. Making the price for the same item even higher than the U.S.

We don't have Walmart, H&M, Kmart etc in the bahamas..nor do we have a Home Depot or Lowes that have prices based on bulk buying. So we head to Florida for such things. And Car part etc.. OMG.. the prices here are nearly 300% more than in the states due to very high taxes. I'm always bringing break pads, carburators, spark plugs and the like in my suitcase.

[Solo1959]

Since the bahamas does not have taxes (sales, property, income etc), they tax imports (customs and stamp taxes) at a very high rate. Some items at 60% or more. Making the price for the same item even higher than the U.S.

We don't have Walmart, H&M, Kmart etc in the bahamas..nor do we have a Home Depot or Lowes that have prices based on bulk buying. So we head to Florida for such things. And Car part etc.. OMG.. the prices here are nearly 300% more than in the states due to very high taxes. I'm always bringing break pads, carburators, spark plugs and the like in my suitcase.

So the extra high prices is not simply because the items are shipped as they are to the US, but because the items are highly taxed. Since I am not from the Bahamas (or other islands), I won't have an opinion on whether or not this is fair, but thank you for your honest answer to the question. It's NOT the extra costs because the items are shipped or imported, it is because of the high tax on them. Your answer makes a lot of sense.

[Carolla5501]

I think it's probably a combination. Shipping to the US is cheaper due to VOLUME. We buy by the shipload :) A smaller place means it has to be "broken" into smaller shipments etc.. higher handling costs result from that then shipping in gross! It's cheaper to load the entire boat with "Barbies" then to load one container of "Barbies", one of "software" etc...

 

And then a lot of stuff actually gets shipped to the US or another large port and then shipped again. While it's not taxed in the US, once again there's a "second" handling involved. All adds up!

[scubagirrl]

So the extra high prices is not simply because the items are shipped as they are to the US, but because the items are highly taxed. Since I am not from the Bahamas (or other islands), I won't have an opinion on whether or not this is fair, but thank you for your honest answer to the question. It's NOT the extra costs because the items are shipped or imported, it is because of the high tax on them. Your answer makes a lot of sense.

 

Funny thing is.. the gov't makes deals with places like Atlantis (and now Bahamar), which allows them to bring in construction materials, and just about everything else without duty for extended periods of time. This has even included food and food/restaurant supplies ever since Atlantis has opened. So there is NO excuse for Atlantis to be 2-3'x as high as anywhere else. They really should be the lowest price in town. They also have a moratoreum on Paying Casino Tax.. which was for 11 years, but I'm pretty sure has been extended to 23. Sweet deal, right? Our PM has pockets lined with gold from deals like this.

[Solo1959]

Funny thing is.. the gov't makes deals with places like Atlantis (and now Bahamar), which allows them to bring in construction materials, and just about everything else without duty for extended periods of time. This has even included food and food/restaurant supplies ever since Atlantis has opened. So there is NO excuse for Atlantis to be 2-3'x as high as anywhere else. They really should be the lowest price in town. They also have a moratoreum on Paying Casino Tax.. which was for 11 years, but I'm pretty sure has been extended to 23. Sweet deal, right? Our PM has pockets lined with gold from deals like this.

No different from over here. Politicians are the same where ever you go. It's just the way it is.

 

Shipping costs do add some to the price of items, taxes add the most. Again, the same every where you go............