Nassau Beaches

[F27TW]

We went here when it was the Sheraton. Wonderful day....and beautiful. We took the #10 Jitney though. I think it was $1.25 (?). Fabulous day.

 

Wait there was a jitney!? Didn't know that !! D'Ohhhh !! ;)

[F27TW]

Just check with Melia resorts price is now $45

 

A little higher than last year when I was there .. but I'd still do it --- its a really nice respite from the rest of Nassau ... once you've been there enough times that you're tired of it ! ;)

[GrayMaineCruiser]

We just went. My friends went to Junkaroo ? Junkanoo? whichever that one is. They had a nice time. We opted to go to Blue Lagoon and loved it! Got away from Nassau downtown and had a gorgeous beach to ourselves! Food was great as well. Would do that again if we're there another short day.

 

I second Blue Lagoon. Wife and I did that excursion on our cruise earlier this year and had similar experience. Very uncrowded beach, nice beautiful warm water, good food. Would definitely do again!

[gagirl7143]

You can actually see it from the pier. It is right past Sr. Frogs. Very close.

 

 

Not quite right. We were just there last week. The one you can see right from the ship just past Sr Frogs is the Hilton Beach. You go past that and follow the signs. It is about 20 min walk. Past sr frogs, past Hilton hotel, past a construction area and then you can see Junkoo beach.

 

 

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[OntarioTraveller]

Just check with Melia resorts price is now $45

 

Where did you see this? Does that include any food or water sports? $45 for just the use of the beach chairs and pool is crazy....

[andrew2346]

We did Melia for the day last year and would never do it again. The cost was around $35 pp just to get in the door. When we got there we waited in a huge line to get wrist bands but for some reason they did not give us a band for towels. I had to beg the towel hut lady to give our party of 6 towels without waiting in that line again. Once we got down to the beach/pool...you guessed it..not a chair/lounger to be had. My husband finally got two terrible looking loungers and we put all of our belongings on them. Kids enjoyed the pool and the beach was pretty but I do not remember it being all that calm.

 

Then lunch...you are held hostage basically since you on in the resort. I believe we did the buffet at $30 or more bucks pp? for 6. lol Nothing we could order ala carte.

 

In the end we felt like fools as we passed on the way back the folks enjoying a nice beach at junkanoo having reasonably priced food and drinks...not too far from the ship.

 

Just our experience but it was not money well spent.

[micmacmissy]

We are also on Allure and I'm looking at the Blue Lagoon excursion through the ship.

 

Should we book this in advance? I ask because we have about $800 OBC and I'd rather book onboard, but don't want to miss out.

 

Also: how does the straw market compare to, say, the vendors on Labadee? I'm a former New Yorker so I love to check out a busy market and I think it's fun haggling...but the Labadee market scared my 13 yr old daughter enough that she asked "Are we going to any scary places on this cruise?" Lol

 

RCI also has a new excursion in Nassau called Pearl Island...anyone heard of that?

[champagne123]

We did Melia for the day last year and would never do it again. The cost was around $35 pp just to get in the door. When we got there we waited in a huge line to get wrist bands but for some reason they did not give us a band for towels. I had to beg the towel hut lady to give our party of 6 towels without waiting in that line again. Once we got down to the beach/pool...you guessed it..not a chair/lounger to be had. My husband finally got two terrible looking loungers and we put all of our belongings on them. Kids enjoyed the pool and the beach was pretty but I do not remember it being all that calm.

 

Then lunch...you are held hostage basically since you on in the resort. I believe we did the buffet at $30 or more bucks pp? for 6. lol Nothing we could order ala carte.

 

In the end we felt like fools as we passed on the way back the folks enjoying a nice beach at junkanoo having reasonably priced food and drinks...not too far from the ship.

 

Just our experience but it was not money well spent.

 

Wow. That is terrible. I have not been there for years (when it was the Sheraton)....so thanks for the update. It was great when we went and nothing like your experience. Now I know not to go again since it changed hands IF I ever return to Nassau.

[Yenom]

No, just cruising.

 

Hahaha.... Glad to hear. I was wondering the same thing when I didn't see you posting. I've been doing more reading than replying on this board for years. Like me, I'm guessing that there are plenty of people that read the various questions and think "what will Bob Say". If you say it, it is a comment I take seriously.

 

Enjoy your cruise! They (Cruise Critic and Royal Caribbean) should pay you to cruise, since you are huge resource for both new and experienced cruisers.

 

Thank you for all your informative posts!

 

~Ryan

[boontj2003]

We are also on Allure and I'm looking at the Blue Lagoon excursion through the ship.

 

Should we book this in advance? I ask because we have about $800 OBC and I'd rather book onboard, but don't want to miss out.

 

Also: how does the straw market compare to, say, the vendors on Labadee? I'm a former New Yorker so I love to check out a busy market and I think it's fun haggling...but the Labadee market scared my 13 yr old daughter enough that she asked "Are we going to any scary places on this cruise?" Lol

 

RCI also has a new excursion in Nassau called Pearl Island...anyone heard of that?

 

I would use your OBC. We did blue lagoon while on Disney and swam with the dolphins. I thought it was ok, food was gross but the beach was fun!

[mjkacmom]

We did Melia for the day last year and would never do it again. The cost was around $35 pp just to get in the door. When we got there we waited in a huge line to get wrist bands but for some reason they did not give us a band for towels. I had to beg the towel hut lady to give our party of 6 towels without waiting in that line again. Once we got down to the beach/pool...you guessed it..not a chair/lounger to be had. My husband finally got two terrible looking loungers and we put all of our belongings on them. Kids enjoyed the pool and the beach was pretty but I do not remember it being all that calm.

 

Then lunch...you are held hostage basically since you on in the resort. I believe we did the buffet at $30 or more bucks pp? for 6. lol Nothing we could order ala carte.

 

In the end we felt like fools as we passed on the way back the folks enjoying a nice beach at junkanoo having reasonably priced food and drinks...not too far from the ship.

 

Just our experience but it was not money well spent.

 

Was it at a busy time? There was no one in front of us when we arrived, there were tons of empty loungers, had no problem getting towels or order a burger and fries at the beach bar. The only food was at the buffet? We are a family of 7, so ate a big breakfast, and brought some granola bars with us (same as when we go to Atlantis, where the good is even more expensive).

[Ken Greco]

Where did you see this? Does that include any food or water sports? $45 for just the use of the beach chairs and pool is crazy....

 

I e-mail the resort this week and got an answer from the hotel itself

[Ken Greco]

We are also on Allure and I'm looking at the Blue Lagoon excursion through the ship.

 

Should we book this in advance? I ask because we have about $800 OBC and I'd rather book onboard, but don't want to miss out.

 

Also: how does the straw market compare to, say, the vendors on Labadee? I'm a former New Yorker so I love to check out a busy market and I think it's fun haggling...but the Labadee market scared my 13 yr old daughter enough that she asked "Are we going to any scary places on this cruise?" Lol

 

RCI also has a new excursion in Nassau called Pearl Island...anyone heard of that?

 

I understand your 13 year olds comments but we found the local people on Labadee very welcoming for a Caribbean island; even bought some local artwork

[Ken Greco]

Lets all hope Haiti and Labadee survive the latest huricanne

[AmandaKaye79]

We did Melia for the day last year and would never do it again. The cost was around $35 pp just to get in the door. When we got there we waited in a huge line to get wrist bands but for some reason they did not give us a band for towels. I had to beg the towel hut lady to give our party of 6 towels without waiting in that line again. Once we got down to the beach/pool...you guessed it..not a chair/lounger to be had. My husband finally got two terrible looking loungers and we put all of our belongings on them. Kids enjoyed the pool and the beach was pretty but I do not remember it being all that calm.

 

 

 

Then lunch...you are held hostage basically since you on in the resort. I believe we did the buffet at $30 or more bucks pp? for 6. lol Nothing we could order ala carte.

 

 

 

In the end we felt like fools as we passed on the way back the folks enjoying a nice beach at junkanoo having reasonably priced food and drinks...not too far from the ship.

 

 

 

Just our experience but it was not money well spent.

 

 

There was a menu when we were there. It was outside at the beach bar type hut. They had burgers, pizzas, etc. it was limited but it wasn't a buffet. They also had plenty of chairs at the pool and the beach. The line to get a bracelet was a little long, but not unbearable.

 

 

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[andrew2346]

Yes it was during Spring Break so perhaps that contributed to the insanity : ) We had two options ...both were buffet. One was just a few things but still very pricey and the other was the deluxe buffet with many more options. It was also very difficult to get a drink at the bar.

 

They may have suspended ala carte ordering because it was spring break and there was no way they could have handled it? Not sure.

I am curious about others experiences there.

 

I have also heard that the British Colonial Hilton is nice and closer to the port.

[Clarea]

Hahaha.... Glad to hear. I was wondering the same thing when I didn't see you posting. I've been doing more reading than replying on this board for years. Like me, I'm guessing that there are plenty of people that read the various questions and think "what will Bob Say". If you say it, it is a comment I take seriously.

 

Enjoy your cruise! They (Cruise Critic and Royal Caribbean) should pay you to cruise, since you are huge resource for both new and experienced cruisers.

 

Thank you for all your informative posts!

 

~Ryan

Thanks for the kind words.:)