Nassau.... is it worth it?

[CountriCruiser]

Does anyone know of a "good and/or fun" excursion to take in Nassau. I've not seen very many good reviews of Nassau....:( would just like to know if it is worth getting off the ship. Thanks =)

[hill6]

We were there in July and did the Pearl Island Snorkeling/Treasure Hunt Tour and loved it. It was a 30 minute boat ride past the lovely Paradise Island to get there. Our tour included the snorkeling and we got to keep the conch shell we found and it also included a bbq lunch and all the rum punch and non alcoholic drinks we wanted. It was well worth it to me. Pearl Island is absolutely gorgeous.

[Cruising89143]

I happen to enjoy Nassau. I think that some people think that the islands should be just like the good ole USA. The people have always been friendly and there is plenty to do.

[staylor]

This one's easy....go to Blue Lagoon! It is beautiful. Go to www.dolphinencounters.com and click on "Gallery" for photos and then "General Info". You don't have to do a dolphin swim to go there. It is a great way to spend the day.

[TakeMeAway1001]

Yikes, I have a totally different opinion of the Pearl Island Treasure Hunt. We, three couples 20's-30's did it this a week ago Sunday. I am not a big fan of Nassau due to the short time on the island so we opted to do a tour.

First off I think the write up on the excursion is very misleading. They should say for 99.00 per person we will bring you to an area of Pearl Island where you can hunt/search for shells we put in the water. All of the conch shells are shells they have previously retrieved and removed the inside and tossed back in the water. The oyster shells with possible pearls are the ones you see in the water with elastics keeping them together. You are only allowed to keep on or the other, not what the write up says. To me searching for things someone else has already found and place back isn't too much of a treasure hunt. The lunch wasn't worth it in my opinion it, there were no salads and our choice was a burger or hot dog. The punch was ok, my stomach however didn't care for it too much. The water where you snorkel is high and rough and fenced in. I know that everyone is entitled to their own opinion but for 200. per couple we could have gone to a much nicer locale. In St Thomas for instance we went on a private tour for 20.00 per person, sights, shopping if we wanted and brought to a beach of our choice to snorkel for close to 3 hours. It pays to do your homework~ Enjoy

Kristen

I wrote a more detailed review earlier today of our E. Carib cruise this past week.

[vermonter16]

If you are into snorkeling, try Stuart Coves and book an independent excursion through them. $40pp prebooking and they will pick you up and drop you off. The best money I've spent on an excursion yet....they take you to three snorkel sites and one of them is with caribbean reef sharks...it is great!!! What I didn't like about Nassau was that everything shut down about 5:30pm and the place turned into a ghost town...if things had remained open, shops, bars (besides senor frogs), it would have been a great place.

 

vermonter16

[dickinson]

If you're not into doing excursions but like the beach, just take a cab to Paradise island and tell the driver to let you off at a public access point. The beaches in Nassau are public. It is a nice beach to spend a few hours.

[tankersbabe]

If you are into snorkeling, try Stuart Coves and book an independent excursion through them. $40pp prebooking and they will pick you up and drop you off. The best money I've spent on an excursion yet....they take you to three snorkel sites and one of them is with caribbean reef sharks...it is great!!! What I didn't like about Nassau was that everything shut down about 5:30pm and the place turned into a ghost town...if things had remained open, shops, bars (besides senor frogs), it would have been a great place.

 

vermonter16

 

I second that! Stuarts Cove was awesome! They pick you up across the street from the pier, drive you out to their site, and the excursion was fantastic. We were not aware that Nassau shut down before 6pm...that was disappointing. We got off the ship early, went to Atlantis, did the whole self tour thing, rode back, did a little window shopping and then went out snorkeling. Nassau was fun, they just shut it down too early.

 

Stef

[gogetter]

Hello,

 

Just like evry other port they have some decent shopping.

 

We did a Yellowbird party boat excursion and had a great time.

 

We also have been to Cable Beach. We had visited the Marriott which turned into a Whyndham, which has recently been sold again. Good pool and they never bothered us and never charged us.

[voyagerfl]

Wow.......I was all ready to try that Peral Island thing...(this coming weekend.....BUT, for $100 ea. forget it.........

 

Of course, we can end the day parying at Senior Frogs :D

 

x

[tpiper]

http://www.seaislandadventures.com/daytrip.lasso

 

This one is cheaper and since we don't get in port till 1:00 they are doing a 2:00 for us for $55 reg price is $60

[Slinkiecat]

We really enjoyed our day in Nassau - took a morning excursion in a glass-bottom boat to see the exotic fishes, then back to the ship for lunch and put on bathing suits to take an afternoon trip to Pearl Island to pet and feed the sting rays. We took along our snorkeling gear and after 15 minutes of sting ray petting we went into the deeper area to snorkel and photograph the big fish out near the fence. The water was warm and wonderful, although we were told to keep our swim fins on because of sea urchins and sharp rocks on the ocean floor in that area. We had a lot of fun and would do it again, even with the primitive changing facilities and restrooms (no showers, no water in the sink).

 

No way would I have stayed on the ship instead of going to shore. There is a big shopping district in town besides the straw market. We didn't have time to do more than a quick walk-through of the town as we had to get back and clean up for formal night in the dining room. There are horse-and-buggy rides through town that might be fun as well as the big aquarium at Paradise Island.

 

You will have all the next day going home to sit around on board and there's no way off the ship then.

 

Enjoy your cruise and the beautiful crystal-clear waters in Nassau!

 

Slinkie

[CountriCruiser]

Thank you everybody... your replies have been very helpful! We get into Nassau at 8:30 am and depart at 2:00 pm so we don't have a lot of time there. The glass bottom boat sounds kind of neat and maybe some shopping. Still looking at all of the options =)