Bahamas cruises are a waste of money???

[molly361]

deleted

[Joseph2017China]

There are many types of cruises.  There are many reasons to go on a cruise. 

1. The ship is sometimes the destination.  You are going on one of those ships.  It is amazing. 

2 The ports you visit are the reason for the cruise.  Granted Bahamas is not really the best, it is better than staying home, and I have been there too many times to count.

 

An example of the port is more important.  If you are going to Cuba, the ship is the smallest in the fleet, and the least fun.  But you are going to Cuba, and so this is a destination cruise.  Other examples are cruises in Europe, Middle East, or Asia.  All of them are destinations, and you pick the destination and get on whatever ship they have.

 

The Caribbean is all about the fun on the ship.  It is getting away, with some fun items in ports.  After awhile all the ports in the Caribbean are just stops.  But I have something I like at each one.  Being 50 miles away is meaningless. 

[grapau27]

15 hours ago, Tntt said:

Ok.... I just need a little encouragement from the fellow cruisers.... my family and I are going on the symphony of the seas Bahamas cruise in may. We have been so excited and have been in great  anticipation.  After having a conversation with a friend that cruises often they said to me that we are wasting our money going on a cruise to the Bahamas and that Bahamas is only 50 miles from Florida and it is not worth the 12 hour drive to get to the port and cruise to a place that only takes a hr to get to by plane. Honestly I felt a little discouraged and they made me feel sorta stupid and a little embarrassed that I've been so excited  because I never thought of how close the Bahamas was. We are definitely still going but it kinda hurt my feelings that someone would say we are basically throwing our money away.... just curious does anyone else think Bahamas cruises are a waste of money?

Being on Symphony is worth the money alone.

Royal are making Coco Cay a perfect day which reflects the importance of the Bahamas to RCI.

I suspect these people are jealous and not true friends unfortunately.

 

[dpostman]

I'd much rather be in Nassau today.

 

This is what my driveway looks like

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, grapau27 said:

Being on Symphony is worth the money alone.

Royal are making Coco Cay a perfect day which reflects the importance of the Bahamas to RCI.

I suspect these people are jealous and not true friends unfortunately.

 

Sorry, but all that means to me is that instead of going to the Bahamas I get penned up in another RCI private stop. Coco Cay is about as much about the Bahamas as Labadee is about Haiti. And I am not saying there is anything wrong with that if it is what you are looking for. What it truly reflects is that there is a plot of land, conveniently located, where RCI can set up their contrived port of call. It has nothing to do with the importance of the Bahamas per se. Personally, I'd rather be in Nassau. 

[grapau27]

6 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Sorry, but all that means to me is that instead of going to the Bahamas I get penned up in another RCI private stop. Coco Cay is about as much about the Bahamas as Labadee is about Haiti. And I am not saying there is anything wrong with that if it is what you are looking for. What it truly reflects is that there is a plot of land, conveniently located, where RCI can set up their contrived port of call. It has nothing to do with the importance of the Bahamas per se. Personally, I'd rather be in Nassau. 

We liked Coco Cay in February 2016 and personally we won't use the new park when it opens.

[grapau27]

10 minutes ago, dpostman said:

I'd much rather be in Nassau today.

 

This is what my driveway looks like

Nice house.

[awestover89]

I don't get their argument. No matter where you cruise, a plane would be faster. We did a transatlantic, it was 12 days on a cruise ship or 6 hours by plane. Does that mean transatlantics aren't worthwhile? It's only like 3 hours by plane to San Juan, so clearly southern caribbean cruises are a waste. You can fly to Alaska in 6 hours, so those aren't a good value either...

[MJSailors]

Hello Tntt

Here’ s my experience.

In 1984 my DH and I took our first cruise on the Big Red Boat from Port Canaveral to the Bahamas. I recall that it was a three day cruise coupled with a stay in Orlando to visit Walt Disney World and SeaWorld.

We loved that vacation and because of it we have taken numerous cruises on NCL, Princess, Celebrity and Cunard. 

We have experienced cruises to Alaska, Canada, Europe,Bermuda and the Caribbean. Obviously,we enjoy cruising. However,we may not  have realized the benefits of cruising vacations if we had not taken that short cruise to the Bahamas thirty-five years ago 

I am not certain if this is your first cruise  vacation,but I say enjoy it !

Enjoy exploring the ship and experience what it has to offer you and your family. You do not have to partake in all the offered  activities or areas. You chose what you would like to do.

Explore the Bahamas if you wish. There are ship excursions if you are interested or day stays at various resorts. Do some research before your cruise to familiarize yourselves to the port(s).

After the cruise,you may decide you really enjoy this type of vacation or it may not be for you and your family. At least,you have tried it!

IMHO,time spent to relax and enjoy with loved ones is never a waste.

Bon Voyage !

 

[teddybear231]

We've been to the Bahamas plenty of times on cruises, and not on cruises. We did a weekend to the Bahamas back in November on Mariner and we are going back in August on Adventure. Are there "better" places than the Bahamas? Yes. Are the Bahamas still a great destination, especially by cruise? YES!! I would not listen to your friend and go for it! We love cruising to the Bahamas, and I'm sure you will too!

[OCruisers]

22 hours ago, Tntt said:

Ok.... I just need a little encouragement from the fellow cruisers.... my family and I are going on the symphony of the seas Bahamas cruise in May. We have been so excited and have been in great  anticipation.  

 

May is a wonderful time of year to go to the Bahamas!

Look forward to having a great cruise!  

[mayleeman]

We own a timeshare at the Atlantis, and every time we go we find something new to do either there or in Nassau. We always felt bad for the cruise people paying >$100 each to use the water park (it is hidden in our yearly fee, so we can pretend it isn't extra), but I don't remember meeting anyone there who had a bad time. The kids love the rapids river, there are HUGE slides (exiting in a glass tunnel through a shark tank), you can have a blast getting your neck and shoulders "massaged" in grottoes with pounding waterfalls, rentable water toys like "bikes" with 6 foot balloon tires, fascinating walkways through the catacombs....   Do some research and download a map of Atlantis before you go and you could find it is an unforgettable experience.  Hope you have fun whatever you do!

Edited February 13, 2019 by mayleeman
fixed misspellings

[JasonMason]

I think I'd just have to echo the more sensible comments here that state in some way, shape, or form that it is YOUR vacation and you WILL have a great time! I'll admit, the Bahamas aren't my personal favorite ports (even though there are countless enjoyable ways to spend one's time on shore there). That being said however, I do still cruise to the Bahamas quite often, and simply look at port days as a great opportunity to enjoy a virtually empty ship! Long story short, don't let anyone else tell you that you wasted your money because you WILL find a way to enjoy every second of your trip!!

[bigwill882002]

Everyone has their own reasons for cruising.  My wife and I just cruised on Symphony in Barcelona in October 2018.  We had a wonderful time, but the issue was that we didn't really get to enjoy the ship.  I mean that itinerary is really port intensive.  We have booked several shows as we typically would do for previous cruises.  Out of the four shows we booked we only had the energy to go to see Hairspray and get this.... We all (8 of us) fell asleep.  That has never happened before... Fast forward.  We decided to book a cruise to Bahamas in Dec. 2019 on Anthem of the Seas.  I am really excited about this itinerary not because of the ports, but because of the almost 3 1/2  sea days... We couldn't care less about the ports.  I want to enjoy the shows and enjoy the ship... So go, do your thing and forget about what your friends say...   I bet if you invited them to join you and you paid for them, they would go..  Some people.

 

[dpostman]

14 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We liked Coco Cay in February 2016 and personally we won't use the new park when it opens.

 

I Agree. We've only been to Coco cay once, and we loved it.  Kids and I went Scuba Diving and my DW and MIL went parasailing.  Spent the rest of the day in a Bungalow and made good use of our Bev Package since it is included on Coco Cay. We did not go around to the Aqua park as we are not fans of this type of activity but it did not bother me that it was there.  Would jump on the occasion to go back.  I'm happy to see RCI is finally building a dock so that we won't have to gamble with tendering.

 

dp

Edited February 13, 2019 by dpostman

[grapau27]

1 minute ago, dpostman said:

 

I Agree. We've only been to Coco cay once, and we loved it.  Kids and I went Scuba Diving and my DW and MIL went parasailing.  Spent the rest of the day in a Bungalow and made good use of our Bev Package since it is included on Coco Cay. We did not go around to the Aqua park as we are not fans of this type of activity but it did not bother me that it was there.  Would jump on the occasion to go back.  I'm happy to see RCI is finally building a dock so that we won't have to gamble with tendering.

 

dp

For us the dock would be a big plus rather than the risk of tendering or not in bad weather.

[BSocial]

On 2/11/2019 at 9:35 PM, Tntt said:

Ok.... I just need a little encouragement from the fellow cruisers.... my family and I are going on the symphony of the seas Bahamas cruise in may. 

 

Stay excited.  You have a family cruise on  Symphony of the Seas!   Congratulations on your choice of a great ship!

 

 We’ve only been to Nassau once - diverted for a hurricane, so we didn’t have time to research excursions.    Since it was last minute, we walked to a nearby beach, and visited the market.   Surprisingly, the grandkids (7-11) loved the inpromptu Nassau visit.  They said they’d always wanted to visit the Bahamas.  Who knew?!     

 

Go, have a great cruise on a fantastic ship, and make lots of memories.  

 

 

Edited February 13, 2019 by BSocial

[asalligo]

I do not care as much where the ship goes. I love the ship part of cruising. I stopped getting off the ship in Nassau long ago. 

[JTBCruiser]

IMHO you will have a great time, check any concerns you may have at the pier. Anxious to hear your reviews upon your return.  Happy cruising. 

[sixesandeights]

If you have never been to the Bahamas it will be fine.  There is a few awesome things to do at every port.  The Bahamas has relatively few things to do compared to other islands so it gets old very quickly, but on a first visit you will be fine.  After you have gone a time or two you too will likely not want to go back.  We actively avoid cruises with Bahamas stops these days if at all possible, and would never think about booking a Bahamas only cruise.

 

6&8

[iuki]

On 2/11/2019 at 10:35 PM, Tntt said:

Ok.... I just need a little encouragement from the fellow cruisers.... my family and I are going on the symphony of the seas Bahamas cruise in may. We have been so excited and have been in great  anticipation.  After having a conversation with a friend that cruises often they said to me that we are wasting our money going on a cruise to the Bahamas and that Bahamas is only 50 miles from Florida and it is not worth the 12 hour drive to get to the port and cruise to a place that only takes a hr to get to by plane. Honestly I felt a little discouraged and they made me feel sorta stupid and a little embarrassed that I've been so excited  because I never thought of how close the Bahamas was. We are definitely still going but it kinda hurt my feelings that someone would say we are basically throwing our money away.... just curious does anyone else think Bahamas cruises are a waste of money?

In my opinion, sounds like your friends are jealous.  Ignore them and enjoy your cruise.  If you’re into shore excursions, then you get to enjoy any port you go to because you get to see the island beyond the port.  Some cruises are better than others, but just being on a cruise is always fun.

 

Bon Voyage

 

[dpostman]

23 hours ago, dpostman said:

I'd much rather be in Nassau today.

 

This is what my driveway looks like

 

That was yesterday.... This is Today... I sure could use me some Nassau right now...

[Ocean Boy]

1 hour ago, sixesandeights said:

After you have gone a time or two you too will likely not want to go back.  

 

6&8

I've been more than a time or two and still enjoy going back.

[sixesandeights]

13 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I've been more than a time or two and still enjoy going back.

Clearly you missed the key word LIKELY. I have not talked to many people who have been to Nassau more than once who want to go back and I have talked to a lot of people.....to each their own.  Enjoy Nassau....

Edited February 13, 2019 by sixesandeights

[aandersen33]

Just got off the Symphony. Love the boat. That alone was worth it. 

 

The ports were bad. Not my favorite by far. 

 

Nassau - only there for a few hours. Waste of time. 

St. Thomas - there were 6 boats in that day. Everything was packed and crowded. 

St. Kitts - one drive around the island and you have done everything. 

 

But you will LOVE the boat. I would do it again, just for that.