? regarding ports

[tricy99]

I am looking to book a group cruise, I am undecided about which itinerary to choose. We did a wedding cruise with 47 people last August on Destiny and folks had a ball.

 

We are looking at Pride out of baltimore June 2012, Could you all offer some advice on which port is cooler?

 

Pride June 10-Ports: Orlando, Fl, Nassau and Freeport bahamas.

 

Pride June 3-Grand Turk, Half Moon cay and Freeprt bahamas.

 

The balconies for both are the same however for the June 10 cruise both the OC and Interior are cheaper by 20 and 40 bucks.

 

For anyone who has been to a port in orlando, fl..how was it?

[RoofingPrincess]

Technically, the ship does not dock in Orlando. Orlando is in the middle of Florida; it's landlocked. The ships dock in Port Canaveral, on the Atlantic Coast.

I don't enjoy Nassau, it's too commercial for me, so I'd pick the June 3 sailing.

Half Moon Cay is one of those "private island" stops.

The one Princess cruise I went on stopped at Grand Turk. There's an area right at the foot of the dock which has clearly been developed for the cruise crowds, but if you go beyond that, there are a few interesting things to see. If you'd like to see my pix from that trip, follow the link in my signature to my Shutterfly share site and look at the pictures from the Caribbean Princess.

[tricy99]

Technically, the ship does not dock in Orlando. Orlando is in the middle of Florida; it's landlocked. The ships dock in Port Canaveral, on the Atlantic Coast.

I don't enjoy Nassau, it's too commercial for me, so I'd pick the June 3 sailing.

Half Moon Cay is one of those "private island" stops.

The one Princess cruise I went on stopped at Grand Turk. There's an area right at the foot of the dock which has clearly been developed for the cruise crowds, but if you go beyond that, there are a few interesting things to see. If you'd like to see my pix from that trip, follow the link in my signature to my Shutterfly share site and look at the pictures from the Caribbean Princess.

 

 

Thank you very much for your reply. I will view your pics now:) Your input is appreciated

[okgirl]

Personally, I don't like Nassau so I would never want to go there and when I do I don't get off the ship.

 

I would choose the Grand Turk, HMC and Freeport route. Freeport is not a very pretty port but there are some decent excursions. I love the new Margaritaville at GT and I've never been to HMC but I hears its a great beach day too.

[firefly333]

Hard one for me too, as I think the Bahamas are really ugly brown islands. Nassau is ok for the shopping. Half Moon Cay is a private beach for Carnival, so its a beach day, nothing else. The water is still pretty even if those islands are less than impressive. Id say a toss up .. between .. Bahamas including Nassau, Bahamas again for both ports, including a private beach. both ships only got to Bahamas, so I dont know, flip a coin. Are you beach people, if so then Half Moon Cay.

[Irishlinny]

Definitely would vote for HMC, Grand Turk over Pt Canaveral and Nassau. And even though this one's a little more expensive, you can do that one very cheaply if you want. GT has a beach and a Margaritaville (with a massive pool and swim up bar...music) right at the port. HMC is a beautiful beach with a couple of bars and they serve you a barbecue lunch (included). So you don't even have to spend money to go on excursions. Freeport is not a great place, IMO, but they have some nice beaches, or book an excursion.:)

[obsessedwithcruising]

I live in Florida and I have been to both Nassau and Freeport. Nassau I would visit again just because of Atlantis but Freeport in my opinion sucks. Grand Turk, Half Moon cay and Freeport is probably ur better option however I wouldnt bother getting off the ship @ Freeport. :D

[LHP]

Personally. I would vote for June 3rd....

 

it will definately be a "beach" cruise...but I like those ports better than "Orlando" and Nassau....

[hlb76]

Guess it all depends on what you want to do on your cruise. If you just want to sit relax and enjoy the beach I'd pick the HMC and GT. HMC is a great place and nice since CCL owns it and your S&S card works, food is there for you etc. GT you can sit on the beach or at Jimmy Buffets. There are a few tours you can book at each place.

 

If you want to go and explore more I'd pick the other. There are prob more chance to do stuff.

 

Personally I would do the HMC I love it there and would go there each year if i could. I did Nassua once and don't care to go back. The snorkel adventure we had was the best ever but still no hurry to go back!

[tricy99]

I LOVE my CC buddy's! So after all your great opinions lol, It is evident which cruise we are going to book. I have phone calls out to TA and carnival. Thanks so much! If is wasn't for you guys I probably would have booked the Nassau cruise, I went there on Valor with my friends in 2007 and had fun but it was my first cruise :)

[avandrie]

Last April we went on the Pride out of Baltimore. The itinerary was Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport. We had mixed reviews for PC - the group we went with loved it; however, my husband and I couldn't stand it. We picked Cocoa Beach/Ron Jon as our excursion. CB was so dirty (cigarette butts all over the sand), and it was so crowded it was exhausted trying to keep after the kids.

 

Nassau was by far our favorite. We went on the Blue Lagoon excursion and it was the most beautiful and private location. We spent the day there and had a delicious lunch. The only downer part was that by the time we got back from that excursion the markets were only open for another 30 minutes - and then we had to get back to our 6pm dining time - so we didn't get to really enjoy the markets.

 

Freeport was a total bust, but I blame that on not going to Xanadu beach. Instead we went to a large market and we were so unimpressed. Freeport had pretty waters, but the port was very industrialized and after PC and Nassau - we disliked this one the most.

 

We've booked another cruise for September on the Pride out of Baltimore again. This time our itinerary is Grand Turk, Half Moon Cay and Nassau. We're hearing mixed reviews on this itinerary, but I figure it's got better potential than our previous one.

 

Feel free to read my trip review (see signature line), and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! :)

[photojunkieEMT]

In the last year I have sailed on the Pride and have done both sets of ports. I think I can put them in pretty simple terms. Do you want to shop? Then do the one that includes Nassau. Would you rather have beach days on the islands? Then do the other set. I personally am not a big shopper. I enjoyed the GT, HMC, Freeport set better than the other. Not a Freeport fan but that is on both of them.

[tricy99]

In the last year I have sailed on the Pride and have done both sets of ports. I think I can put them in pretty simple terms. Do you want to shop? Then do the one that includes Nassau. Would you rather have beach days on the islands? Then do the other set. I personally am not a big shopper. I enjoyed the GT, HMC, Freeport set better than the other. Not a Freeport fan but that is on both of them.

 

 

I am speaking for myself but I would perfer to lay on the beach vs cruise shopping. Thanks for input. GT,HMC it is