Only 5 hours in Nassau, what to do?

[jcw2462]

I will be on the Valor in June and will have a very short day in Nassau. This is my first time to the Bahamas. What would be the best thing to do in only 5 hours? What is the area like where the ship docks? Is there a beach or shopping within walking distance of where you get off the ship? The ship sails at 2:00 and I don't want to venture off too far. Would a quick trip to Atlantis be worth it? I would like to visit a beach, could do some looking around at shops, but I don't plan to do a lot of shopping. If there is not a beach or shops at the dock, I will probably book something through the ship because of the time factor. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[BarJen]

I will be on the Valor in June and will have a very short day in Nassau. This is my first time to the Bahamas. What would be the best thing to do in only 5 hours? What is the area like where the ship docks? Is there a beach or shopping within walking distance of where you get off the ship? The ship sails at 2:00 and I don't want to venture off too far. Would a quick trip to Atlantis be worth it? I would like to visit a beach, could do some looking around at shops, but I don't plan to do a lot of shopping. If there is not a beach or shops at the dock, I will probably book something through the ship because of the time factor. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

 

The area where the ship docks, lots of shops, senor frogs, some other restaruants, and the straw market.

 

You can take a cab for $5 per person each way to cabbage beach, it is near the Atlantis.

 

Also, the glass bottom boat and yellow bird party boat are within walking distance of the cruise ship.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Take the water taxi from the dock area to the head of the Paradise Island Toll Bridge, where it's another 5 minute walk to Atlantis. Wander through the shops there, into the casino, view the huge aquarium (free) from the lobby/restaurant area and then head outside for a taxi. You can now say if anyone ever asks you about Atlantis...."Been there, done that".

 

Taxi back to the pier and when you get out you've got Bay Street and the whole Nassau shopping area before you. Use as much or as little time as you desire to peruse the shops up and down Bay, all the way to the British Colonial Hilton.

 

If you're not a shopper then when you get out of the taxi do the Nassau Self-Guided walking tour (described elsewhere here in the Bahamas threads) and walk up the famous Queens Staircase up to big hill where you see the water tower, visit Fort Fincastle for a great view down the hill to the city and cruise ships below you. Then head back to town.

 

BobK/Orlando

[bguppies]

If you want to swim and sun close to the ship, the British Colonial Hilton (the big hotel just to the right when your ship docks) offers a $15 per person daypass for the use of their pool and beach area. (plus the use of a towel and pool floats, etc.)

 

It is a very quiet business hotel, with few kids and no motorized equipment roaring at the beach.

 

A very relaxing day, only a 15 minute walk from the gangplank of your ship. (nothing more comforting than laying on the beach with all the ships a stones throw over from you)

 

Bill

[jcw2462]

Thanks guys! I think I may just entertain myself close to the dock. Where do you get the day pass at the Hilton? Would I really be missing something if I don't go to Atlantis? I don't know if I will get the chance to go there again, so should I make it a point to go?

[thecruisers723]

The British Colonial Hilton (BCH) is a very nice hotel and beach. The walk really depends on which dock your ship pulls in to. If it's the one closest to the shore, your walk to the BCH could be as little as 5 minutes. It's right behind Senor Frogs and the shopping area is between the ships and the BCH, so you'll pass right by them. To pay the $15, you just go to the hotel lobby where you check in and tell them you want a day pass for the beach and pool. They'll collect your money and give you a receipt that you take to the beach hut to exchange for a towel. They have chairs on the beach for your use. And they have small tables between them so you can put drinks or food that you may order from the beach servers on them. If you don't see them serving on the beach and would like beachside service, just go up to the open air bar & restuarant and they will send someone out. The pool also has many chairs and tables with umbrellas around it. They have a band that plays hit music and you can also hear it while laying on the beach. It's a nice place and I would highly recommend it. We were there 2 years ago in March and plan to go back there next month when we stop in Nassau on our spring break cruise. I have some really good pictures of the beach and pool there. If you want to give me your email address, I'd be happy to email them to you.

[thecruisers723]

[thecruisers723]

Cool I tried this a couple of years ago and it wouldn't work. If you click on the picture, it gets bigger. The quality isn't as good as if it's emailed to you. But it's not too bad.

[jcw2462]

Thanks Cruisers, the pictures look like heaven! Did you go to Atlantis also? Is it really that big a deal?

[jcw2462]

Thanks Cruisers, the pictures look like heaven! Did you go to Atlantis also? Is it really that big a deal?

[bguppies]

Thanks Cruisers, the pictures look like heaven! Did you go to Atlantis also? Is it really that big a deal?

It is a very fancy resort...

The Digs aquarium is intresting, but I wouldn't pay the $29 admission fee.

(I'll stick with seeing it for free after 6PM each time)

 

But with your short time in Nassau, you would blow nearly every second of it running over to Atlantis and back.

Probably a 10-15 minute cab ride each way and the cabs won't leave from the dock or Atlantis until they have 8 or so people to fill the van up.

 

Remember, 5 hours is actually a little less since you don't always debark right at the arrival time and they want you back on board 30 minutes before departure.

 

Luckily Nassau is an easy place to get on and off the ships.

 

Plenty of shopping one block over from the Welcome Center/docks....

 

The British Colonial Hilton is down at the end of Woodes Rogers Walk on pier.

 

Plenty of local siteseeing, all within a short walk of the pier....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=332656

 

Bill

[scubagirrl]

It is a very fancy resort...

The Digs aquarium is intresting, but I wouldn't pay the $29 admission fee.

(I'll stick with seeing it for free after 6PM each time)

 

But with your short time in Nassau, you would blow nearly every second of it running over to Atlantis and back.

Probably a 10-15 minute cab ride each way and the cabs won't leave from the dock or Atlantis until they have 8 or so people to fill the van up.

 

Remember, 5 hours is actually a little less since you don't always debark right at the arrival time and they want you back on board 30 minutes before departure.

 

Luckily Nassau is an easy place to get on and off the ships.

 

Plenty of shopping one block over from the Welcome Center/docks....

 

The British Colonial Hilton is down at the end of Woodes Rogers Walk on pier.

 

Plenty of local siteseeing, all within a short walk of the pier....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=332656

 

Bill

 

 

Here's a map of downtown. Gives you an idea of what's in the surrounding areas.

http://www.bahamasgp.com/islp-map-nasscomm-w.html

[jcw2462]

Thanks Scubagirrl, the map is great! I should have no problem finding my way around. More than likely going to skip Atlantis because of time factor.

[bguppies]

Our last two cruises had 24 hours in Nassau, so we were able to do anything we wanted. (including Atlantis)

 

Our next cruise, we will only be there from 10AM-4PM, so we will probably head straight for the British Colonial Hilton and get a fast start on our "relaxing"....

 

Hope whatever you decide to do for your 5 hours, that you have a great time.

 

Bill

[thecruisers723]

Thanks Cruisers, the pictures look like heaven! Did you go to Atlantis also? Is it really that big a deal?

 

We have never been to Atlantis. We cruised by twice on a boat going to snorkeling once and to the dolphin encounter the other time. It looks pretty fancy from the water. I've seen it in detail on the travel channel many times though. I'm not all that into walking around a resort and just checking out the grounds. I like to participate in activities on vacation. So if I can only look, but not do, it doesn't appeal to me much. Now I like the casino/resort atmosphere as we go to Vegas a lot. So it may be fun to go to their casino and hang out for a while or to try one of their nice restuarants. I do like aquariums, but wouldn't pay the $29 to see theirs. I've seen so many of them, I just can't justify the cost. But the free after 6:00 thing appeals to me. We may just take a taxi over there in the evening when we're there in 3 weeks and check that out along with the casino. I'm sure it's much nicer than the ships casino.

[jeffcole]

I like KingBobOfTheNorth's Itinerary. Any way to include parasailing (for two) into that? If so, how much would it cost and where would you find it?

[Caribbean-Ria]

I think I will also take KINGBOBOFTHENORTHS advice and do a quick Atlantis thing and then head for the colonial hilton I hope I will have enough time for both cause I love the beaches there, besides , not much of a shopper, rather save my money for St Thomas, do we take a regular taxi back to the pier after the colonial and will they be out front of the hotel? sorry for all the questions but with 5 hours we really want to make the most of it.

[shaney]

Just got back from blackbeards. There are probably 20 or more stingrays in a fairly large penned up area some fish also. I personally had a great time you get to feed them while you are there You can spend as much time as you want with them . The kids there seemed to like the experience. For $10 you can have a pic in the water holding one if you like. the beach area was nice also plenty of room and chairs. It looked like you could rent jet skis also. I took the powerboat excursion through Royal Caribbean It was a little more money , but only took 5 min to get there and back so I feel I had more time on the island . There are some great pics on webshots of the area if you want to get a idea of the area I will have some on there soon. There was a bar ,snack bar , suvenier shop , bathrooms and showers on the beach also

Have fun

Shaney

[OrlandoMom]

....

[OrlandoMom]

Just a heads-up about the glass-bottom boat excursion in Nassau (operated by Sunshine Cruises, Ltd., which I purchased through Carnival). Yes, it is convenient from the dock (within walking distance). But, my advice is to save your money & do just about anything else!

 

I took this excursion last Fall and, while the excursion time is listed at 90 minutes (if I remember correctly), you actually only get about 10 minutes of viewing time. And, that's through a narrow, scratched viewing area. Plus, there was almost nothing to see. The "reef" looked like a few rocks on the bottom and there weren't very many fish; certainly nothing colorful or exciting. And, because the viewing area wasn't very wide, you could only watch the fish for a brief few seconds as they swam past.

 

Another warning, someone should definitely take the microphone away from the tour guide, Tony. He repeated himself over & over & over. I can still hear him now... "If you have any questions, you can TALK TO TONY!!!" (He said it about 30 times...in the microphone...loud). If not for him, it would have at least been a nice boat ride. :(

 

I hope this is not a spoiler, but I felt compelled to write since your time in Nassau is so short! Hope this helps!