Alone in Nassau with a 4 and 5 year old

Hello,

I will be traveling with my 4 and 5 year old girls in November on RCL Anthem of the Seas. My first option is to stay on the ship when we go to Nassua, but I would love to go to the beach espeiclaly if the Coc Cay port is skipped. The ship's excusions are about 200 for the 3 of us for a 4 to 5 hour excusion to Blue Loogoon or one of the other beachers. In contrast a day pas to the Hiton wihich includes use of the private beach and pool is about $60 (kids under 5 are free). I understand that it is a short walk from the pier to the Hilton. Based on your personal experince is it safe to walk there with my children. I know that a lof of crime has been reported in Nassau, but I realize a lot of it is due to people being stupid or going to sketch areas. Of course I will use common sense (don't flash lots of chas, fancy clothes, or jewlrey.) This is eay becuase I dont' have any of these things. My most preciuous possessions are my beautiful brown children. I don't think it will be a problem becuase we will be on the main street, it will be daylight, and I assume many cruise passengers will be on the same street. Out of an abundance of caution, I thought I would check here to see if there are any experiences that would suggest that this plan puts us in danger Thanks in advance for your answers.

You will be perfectly safe walking. Just my suggestion, Ardastra Gardens is a fun place to visit. We enjoyed it as adults visiting and later with our son. It is still a family memory that we talk about.

Read up on Nassau...it's not a "hotbed of crime" if you stick to the tourist areas. You'll be perfectly safe. There are public beaches..cabs are fine...but research your ports. A bit of reading will go a long way..and save you a bundle!

Pretty sure EVERY American city has an "iffy" area, where you wouldn't want to be...and so does EVERY city/country! Do your research! You'll be just fine!

Perfectly safe. We even rode the bus (Jitney 10) and hopped off for Adastra Gardens when my kids were 3 and 9. Zero issues.

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Blue lagoon was fabulous, was just there last month.

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Thank you for all of the replies so far. I would love to go to Bule Lagoon, but 200 for 4 hours at the beach is not in my budget.Of course, I would never endanger my family to save money. So if it is unsafe we will stay on the ship. However, I suspect much of the crime happens in iffy neighborhood or when people have been drinking too much. However, I did read about a cruise tour group on a Segway tour being robbed at gunpoint and some tourist beeing robbed on the Queen's staircase which is a popular attraction that I have visited myself. However, these may be just isolated incidents. Something can happen anywhere, I just don't want to take an unreasonable risk.

I haven't been to Nassau in awhile. But I have traveled to St. Petersburg, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Cartagena with toddlers. I have always chosen private tours from trip advisor, and felt completely safe. The private tour operators will be able to help you navigate Nassau and visit the safest parts, and I'm sure you will be fine. It is much better with children to be on a private tour so you can control the schedule and stay longer at attractions they love, and leave when they are tired or bored.

I sailed to Nassau with my daughter who was 2 at the time and then 12 year old son. I agree it is not a "HOT BED OF CRIME". The kids and I walked to Junkanoo Beach. My daughter at that time was in a small umbrella stroller and I packed all of our beach gear in the basket under the stoller. I'd packed a travel beach mat that I picked up from my local "Big Lots" store for $5.00 which ended up being the best idea ever. I also pick up a blow up pool floatie and snorkel gear for my son again all form Big Lots. There was a nice size crowd of cruisers on Junkanoo beach and we had a great time. I never felt unsafe. There was also music on the beach a bar that serve free drink for kids as well as adult drink and food. Once my daughter was ready for a nap we walked back to the ship and stopped to browse a few shops on the way back to the ship. It was a really nice experience and best of all it was FREE!!

Thank you! I think it's outrageous to have to pay over $300 for 4 hours at the beach which is what the ship is charging. May I ask when did you travel with your 2 and 12 year old? Was it recently or many years ago?

Following along.. we are going on a cruise in February and I was thinking about the day pass for the Hilton- we will be traveling with an 11 month old though! But would rather go somewhere that we could walk to from the pier!

We were there a year ago. Junkanoo beach is next door to the Hilton. There will be tons of tourist walking in the same direction so it's very safe. There is even a Mc Donalds on your walk to the beach. There will be a few vendors on the beach with chair and umbrella rentals for about $10.00 with is still cheaper than the Hilton or any other excursion. My kids and I had a great time.

We took the jitney to a resort once for a beach day. Can't remember the name but hated the resort but felt very safe. I don't feel that Nassau is unsafe at all. But I'm from Baltimore (county lol) so I see things differently maybe.

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We took the jitney to a resort once for a beach day. Can't remember the name but hated the resort but felt very safe. I don't feel that Nassau is unsafe at all. But I'm from Baltimore (county lol) so I see things differently maybe.

 

 

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Lol I am from Los Angeles... perhaps that why I felt perfectly safe in Nassau.

Following along.. we are going on a cruise in February and I was thinking about the day pass for the Hilton- we will be traveling with an 11 month old though! But would rather go somewhere that we could walk to from the pier!

The Hilton is right next to the FREE Junkanoo Beach. It is separated by a fence. Bring a few beach toys and the toddler will have a blast.

We took our 5 yo DS to the Hilton last summer and had a great time! I would highly recommend it. It is small, so you don't have to worry about masses of people there. It was easy to keep my on him at the beach and in the pool.

The walk is absolutely doable with your girls. It is not far at all. However be warned - there are a lot of pushy street vendors. Probably more so than other ports I've been to. I'm sure time of day had something to do with this, but our walk there didn't seem as bad as our walk back to the ship. We had a chat with DS about keeping up with us and not taking anything from anyone. There were ladies trying to hand him bracelets only to then ask for payment. It just seemed chaotic and the side walk is not very wide. Whenever possible walk on the side of the street opposite the shops. It seemed calmer there, but it doesn't run the whole length of street.

Also I would advise changing out of wet bathing suits at the Hilton (bathrooms are decent enough for this!). Poor DS got quite the irritation from chaffing on the walk back to the ship - cost me $6 on a travel size container of vaseline at the next port!

Have fun! You can do it mama!!

Blue lagoon was fabulous, was just there last month.

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Agree! Blue Lagoon is perfect for children! :)