Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

What do RCI cruisers do when docked in Nassau?

micmacmissy
 Share

Recommended Posts

micmacmissy

micmacmissy

Posted
Posted

It's such a short day- 7am to 2pm. We've never been and aren't "stay on the ship" sort of people.

 

Looking at either a day pass to British Colonial Hilton or Breezes Bahamas. I've heard a lot about the Hilton, but has anyone been to Breezes? The beach looks nicer from the photos...

 

Any thoughts? This was already posted on the ports of call board, but man, those boards don't get much action! Thanks in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted

Way too short of a port call for me to bother with anything expensive/all inclusive. You'll need to leave before 1 to get back to the ship by 130 and that's even pushing my own comfort zone.

 

In Nassau I do whatever is free or cheap, and there is lots to do. Ride the water taxi to Atlantis and walk around the shops, walk to John Watlings Rum distillery for a tour, walk to the Queens Staircase and Fort Fincastle, go up the main drag to the fish fry for some cheap drinks and authentic food. Next time we are going to the pirate museum.

 

If you were in port until 5 or 6 a day pass somewhere may be worth it, but 2pm, no way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

Posted
Posted

I agree with LMaxwell. We do much of the same sort of things. I enjoy walking around Nassau and get a bit tired of all the negative posts around here about how it is just a pit and you should just stay on the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruiseguy1016

cruiseguy1016

Posted
Posted

You could get your hair braided. If you search really hard you might be able to find someone to do this for you.:rolleyes: Actually, the number of people trying to sell this is mind boggling. You can't walk 50' without someone trying to braid your hair. I'm a male and my hair is, maybe, 3/4" long. I had several people wanting to braid my hair. :eek:

 

If you are able to say "no" and walk away from all of the "salespeople", Nassau is not a bad place to walk around. As others have mentioned there are inexpensive things to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
spookwife

spookwife

Posted
Posted

my one and only experience was on Christmas day. 97% of everything was closed. oh and the excursion we booked through the ship never happened because the tour guide never showed

 

left a sour taste in my mouth regarding the port.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cruisnpat

cruisnpat

Posted
Posted

We got on one of their transit busses and went to the west end of the island and back. It took around 1 hr. and cost was $1.00 at that time.You would have to do a search but I think we were on bus 10. You could get off and on whenever you wanted and you paid $1.00 each time you got on. It was like a mini sightseeing trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Thelongos

Thelongos

Posted
Posted
In Nassau I do whatever is free or cheap, and there is lots to do. Ride the water taxi to Atlantis and walk around the shops, walk to John Watlings Rum distillery for a tour, walk to the Queens Staircase and Fort Fincastle, go up the main drag to the fish fry for some cheap drinks and authentic food. Next time we are going to the pirate museum.

 

This sounds like a good plan to pick from, thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LMaxwell Great Review Rare

LMaxwell

Posted
Posted
This sounds like a good plan to pick from, thanks.

 

Water Taxi = $4 per person each way; Atlantis is free to walk the marina shops and casino.

 

John Watlings = Free tour. They have a bar at the end; 3 nice drinks for $20 deal.

 

Queens Staircase = Free. Fort Fincastle = $1 entrance per person.

 

Walking up to Fish Fry; prices vary depending what you want to eat. $10 usually gets you an armload of drinks. Plenty of bars along the way offering 2-3 beers for $10, or some shots and beer deals.

 

The Pirate museum is $13; half price for kids.

 

The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas is right up the street from John Watlings, I really enjoyed it. The website says $10 per adult but we paid $5. Pretty sure the admissions person just pocketed it.

 

http://nagb.org.bs/visit/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LookingForward2

LookingForward2

Posted
Posted

As stated previously, there can be a lot of things to do while in Nassau.

We have done (besides going to a beach for the day {Melia-our favorite})... the historical walking tour, which you can find by googling just those words; just walked around town visiting the Straw Market and many shops, stopping for lunch; taken the #10 bus ride with the locals all around the island; gone to Atlantis and walked around as much as possible without paying to do anything (at night we've gone into the aquarium when there was no admission).

I'm glad to hear you're not one to stay on the ship, especially when it's a port you've not been to.

Have fun with whatever you choose to do!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
impatientlywaiting

impatientlywaiting

Posted
Posted

The one and only time we were there we were one of 7 ships in port that day. Needless to say the streets were jam packed with cars that were barely able to move; the sidewalks were so packed with people it was hard to walk --- but we did get off the ship and walked around a bit. DH decided to stay on the ship and enjoy the peace and quiet. I wasn't off the ship long - trying to make my way through the hoards of people just wasn't worth the effort!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
CruisenDad

CruisenDad

Posted
Posted

We were on Allure a few weeks ago when it stopped in Nassau on our second day. The ship got in at 700 am and pulled out at 200 pm. Our pre-cruise plan was to walk down to the Fish Fry, shopping as we went, then walk back. We were surprised that the vast majority of the shops in Nassau didn't open until around 1030 am or so. As we got off the ship around 800 am we ended up walking around empty streets and finally going to Senior Frogs for a snack and some beer then back on the ship around 100 pm. It's their right to open shops anytime they want, of course, but it just surprised me that they opened so late when they had a ship with 5000+ folks ready to spend $ coming ashore for only a few hours in reality. Things could have been totally different on Paradise Island.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
micmacmissy

micmacmissy

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Thanks everyone! We'll be with our kids, 14 and 16, so I'm afraid walking tours and art museums probably won't cut it. ;)

 

However it's good to know that it's a walkable town- cost of a resort would be $240 for the four of us, so I'm questioning if that's worth it. I have a must-get-back-to-the-ship paranoia (left over from our very first cruise when a couple was left behind in Mexico, screaming on the dock, and it scarred me for life), so for a 2pm sailaway, I'd probably need to leave wherever we were at 12:30, even if it was a 10 minute walk. (Seriously paranoid!)

 

I think the town/shopping might be a good plan!

Edited by micmacmissy
Link to comment
Share on other sites
KansasK

KansasK

Posted
Posted

I did a ship's excursion - snorkeling at Rainbow Reef. It was an interesting ride through the harbor and there were fish and there was coral at Rainbow Reef. The snorkeling equipment was in good condition. You get the boat right off the pier, but coming back, you walk through shopping areas, if that is what you want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
NECruiser83

NECruiser83

Posted
Posted
We were on Allure a few weeks ago when it stopped in Nassau on our second day. The ship got in at 700 am and pulled out at 200 pm. Our pre-cruise plan was to walk down to the Fish Fry, shopping as we went, then walk back. We were surprised that the vast majority of the shops in Nassau didn't open until around 1030 am or so. As we got off the ship around 800 am we ended up walking around empty streets and finally going to Senior Frogs for a snack and some beer then back on the ship around 100 pm. It's their right to open shops anytime they want, of course, but it just surprised me that they opened so late when they had a ship with 5000+ folks ready to spend $ coming ashore for only a few hours in reality. Things could have been totally different on Paradise Island.

 

Were you there on a Sunday? We will be there on a Sunday, I am thinking that will affect things for us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...