mandyc3383

Hello,

Could you please email me a copy of your walking tour? I have been searching all over for just the right thing and it sounds like your tour is it. I'd greatly appreciate it! Mandyc3383@gmail

Thanks!

Drink from the tap or from the bottle is a personal choice. For those that say drinking bottled water is the same as drinking filtered or out of the tap, I question the accuracy there. Especially considering the County I live in is known to have an "Autism cluster" and "Cancer cluster" which has been linked back to drinking the water straight out of the tap or filtered that was contaminated in various towns without the public's knowledge or awareness. As well I just received a notice in the mail this week stating that the water quality that was tested recently indicated too high levels of radium. So for people who live in areas with water quality such as this, drinking filtered water or spring water in a bottle is definitely not the same and a step up from the tap and I would definitely not refer to those people as stupid.

My issue is the cost of the water. Water is not included in UBP, can't be brought on board, and has quite the cost. Seems like a bit of a monopoly to me.

I have sailed both lines. Here is my personal opinion.

Food: RCI had better tasting food while Carnival had more options.

Entertainment: Very similar for both, liked RCI shows better.

Cleanliness: Very very disappinted in RCI. Carnival never had any complaints this far.

Cabins: I stayed in inside on both lines. RCI was smaller and felt more cramped.

As far as class of people... I always read people saying RCI has a higher class of people and Carnival is a party line. My cruise on RCI had the rowdiest and drunkest group of people we ever experienced. That blew that theory right out the window.

I'd sail both again if the price is right and I'm sure have a great time because I believe your vaca is what you make it. 😊

The first time I went to Nassau we walked to Senior Frog's for lunch amd drinks. It is a touristy chain restutaunt but a lively atmosphere. We took a taxi over to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to Blue Lagoon island where we did the sea lion excursion. We loved the excursion so much! Fun experience! Then we took the ferry back and walked around Atlantis to check it out. We toured the aquarium. We felt that the aquarium wasn't worth the cost personally. We walked around the shops outside of Atlantis, browsing and shopping. Then we took a taxi back over to the ship. We had a good day for sure.

The second time in Nassau we wandered into the town and walked to Graycliff's cigar and candy shop to check them out. Then walked to the rum distillery. We took a short self guided tour of the facility and then did a rum tasting. Then we walked to junkanoo where we hung out, swam, had lunch from a hut, got a massage from a hut before walking back to the ship. We had a good time that day as well.

I think Nassau is what you make of it.

In my opinion, fixing the issue of the smell isn't going above and beyond. It's doing thier job. I was on this ship a couple weeks ago and while my cabin did not smell, I walked past a few where the smell was pouring unto the hall. It was horrible! And my cabin attendant, while friendly and kind was not a good cleaner. I did pay gratuities on my sea pass, but no extra like I normally would.

We are planning on hitting those as well. Really looking forward to trying both. How far from port were they? I've heard it's only like 15 minutes walk.

It was about a 15 min walk. You have to leave the main tourist area and walk through the actual town. You will walk by some other sites as well art museum, junkanoo museum ect.

For Graycliff's, unless you want to explore hotel and grounds, keep walking past entrance... About 3 or 4 doorways down you will come to entrance for cigar shop and candy shop. Cogar shop you can see people work right from store but they offer tours and lessons. The chocolate shop you just see the goods unless you take the tour.

Distillery is a self guided tour around the back of property. Everything is very clean and pristine. They had the cleanest public bathrooms in nassau that I have seen. Inside there is a shop and a saloon where you can try a rum flight. 3 types for $6.

We walked to Graycliff's and JohnWaitling's distillery before going to Junkanoo beach.

I just returned from a 4 night cruise. Prior to this I had only sailed Carnival and couldn't help but make comparisons.

The ship itself looked well taken care of. The public bathrooms were quite nice in my opinion ( nice deco, spacious and clean). We had an oceanview cabin. The cabin was very small! We had the beds put together and we had to crawl from the bottom to get in. Not a biggie but a heads up. The room was dirty upon embarktion... Dirt on the floor, sticky stuff on bathroom counter, debris left behind from past guest in closet. That was a turn off.

The shows and entertainment were typical. We enjoyed them and had fun. The cruise director Mark was very enthusiastic and funny. The service in the main dining room was amazing and the food was 5 star. We did not have one bad meal in the diningroom and dinner was honestly the highlight of the trip. The coke soda machines were sporatically working and always seemed to be out of coke zero. The windjammer food had a decent variety but typical cafeteria type and quality of food.

I was most disappointed in CoCo Cay. Maybe because we visited right after the hurricane went through but the beach had sea grass washed ashore and was very rocky. In the water you stepped in mud with a consistsncy of wet mushy oatmeal. There was sea grass most everywhere and the water was murky.

Any questions, please feel free to ask.

Maybe because we were just there following the storm, but the water was murky. We definitely needed googles to see. Also there is a lot of sea grass on ocean's floor and jellyfish.

I am also a Carnival cruiser and The Majesty this past week was my first RCL cruise.

When we boarded the windjammer (buffet), sorentos (pizza) and Johnny Rockets was open. We received a coupon for half of Johnny Rockets as soon as we boarded. The cover charge for JR is 6.95 per person.

I don't know about taking drinks on board. We had an oceanview cabin and it did not have a fridge. Not sure about all cabins.

The dinner menu was posted outside the main dining room each day.

I saw everything from very elegant to casual dressy on formal night. I suppose how dressy you get is up to you. I don't know if there is a specific dress code for the evening regarding flip flops. I suppose if they are more of a sandal then they would be fine but if they are more of a flip I personally wouldn't.

Activity schedule is listed in daily compass. That's put in your room at night or can be found at the guest relations desk, hanging on the wall.

Yes the muster is outside, clustered together, and takes as long as it takes all the guests to show. It was not fun for an adult to say the least. And they were very strict about it... The people in my section were reprimanded for talking, holding cell, and drinking water. I don't recommend for your son. With that being said they allow people with particular circumstances to sit in the lounge for the drill. When you check in explain to the crew and I'm sure they will direct you to the lounge.

The tender to the private island was a process. We left the ship about noon and waited about 30 mins to get on the tender winding down the stairs and then about 15 mins sitting on the tender. I was highly disappointed with the private island. I honestly wouldn't even do another cruise with that port on the itinerary. Fair warning, if your son has sensory issues be careful with the water. The sand is like muck. You step into it and sink doe as if in gooey quick sand. It is gross texturally. Also there were a lot of jelly fish on the bottom. Nothing like Half Moon Cay... So don't expect that. You will be sadly disappointed as well.

There were free liquor tastings and liquor events with a cover charge.

The lady sea day there was a brunch for 35 per person and you got a tour and cooking demo along with brunch. They will offer that the first night at dinner.

Not to miss... Quest, love and marriage show, dinner in main dining room

I took this excursion a few years back with three other people in my party. The tour guide took you to many different areas in Freeport and gave a brief overview of each area when we stopped.

It was interesting and educational. A good way to see the island and learn some info. It was not too exciting as it did not offer any time to off road, ect. I was happy to do the excursion once, but would not do it again.

Any specific questions, feel free to ask. Oh and if you don't have atleast four in your party, I think they pair parties of 2 into a jeep which can be slightly awkward for some people.

Hi Cory,

I have only visited Half Moon Cay once, but once was enough to make me addicted. The water is beautiful clear, turquoise and the sand is like powder. We rented a cabana while there, but we were also cruising with another couple. We just spent the entire day on the beach and primarily in the water. The buffet lunch is provided by the ship, a lot to offer and tasty bbq foods.

In Nassau we went to blue lagoon for the sea lion encounter. That was a great experience and a lot of fun. We also explored the dig (aquarium at Atlantis). We went after 6pm when the guard was off duty so we did not have to pay. Had we paid I would have been disappointed in my opinion. We played a bit in the casino since we were there and went to Senor Frog's for some drinks. I would recommend blue lagoon if the timing works.

Thank you so much for the information!!! That definitly makes more sense and is doable!

So then I would take the 10:30 ferry but the interation wouldn't begin at 10:30? From what I read I thought the ferry times were as posted and the interaction times as well. I didn't think they coincided. If so that would be great!!!

I was thinking we wouldn't. Thanks for the input.

We will be in Nassau from 8 am to 5pm. We are interested in doing the Blue Lagoon Sea Lion Encounter however are not sure it will be possible time wise. I've researched that the first ferry over is at 10:30 am. The next available encounter is at 1:30 pm. From what I understand the encounter is approx. 30 mins long. In order to complete the interaction and purchase photos we would need to take the last ferry back to paradise island at 4pm. That would leave us 1 hr to take the ferry back, take a taxi to the port and get back to the boat by 5pm. Is this a possibility or cutting it too close? :eek:

World Gallery...

We didn't go to the beach in the Lucayan National Park. We went to Tiano Beach. However, I have read reviews and seen pics of that beach and it did look beautiful and peaceful. Would you be able to possibly rent a car to drive to the park on your own? Or you could look into taking a taxi there and have them pick you back up. The park was a good distance away when we stopped there. I would suggest leaving the ship asap and going straight there to enjoy enough time on the beach. The stops in Freeport are never that long.

World Gallery... Here is the current Jeep Tour description listed on Carnival. It was the same description listed when we booked. I made notes next to each of the listed points.

• Hop into your jeep and drive off, on the left side of the road, following British tradition.
  
• See the popular Taino Beach, Sanctuary Bay where dolphins live, and picturesque replicas of the original New Plymouth homes. We stopped at Taino Beach first. You did not have time to swim or explore. We got out, stretched our legs and were able to use the bathroom. The guide gave us some historical information before we carried on. We stopped at Sanctuary Bay to see the Dolphins. We pulled up behind a chain link fence that enclosed the private area where dolphins were kept. We looked through the fence at the dolphins swimming before hopping back into the jeep. We saw the homes as we drove past and information was provided through the in jeep radio system.
  
• Stop on Casuarina Bridge to learn about Freeport’s unique history and founder, Mr. Wallace Groves. We stopped on the bridge and listened to more historical information.
  
• Continue with the off-road segment through Grand Bahama’s pine forest. Take a short hike to an inland Blue Hole. The off road portion was simply driving through a woods road at a slightly quicker speed. Our guys were expecting something a little more thrilling. The off road ride lasted about 5-10 mins. We stopped at the Lucayan National park, walked about 5 mins in and down into the cave.
  
• Get back in your jeep and follow the Heritage Trail along the seashore walked by settlers in the 1800’s.
  
• Take a dip in the crystal clear waters at a beach and enjoy a native snack. This is where our tour differs slightly. We did stop at a beach. It was the last thing we did. We stopped at the same beach as we first stopped at. There was a bar on the beach. We had the option to go swimming or sit at the bar. We were there for about 1 hr. We also stopped at the Garden of the Groves where we were able to tour on our own and had lunch.
  

We booked through the ship, however they used the local tour guide service in the area. We were suppose to meet just outside ship at 7 am. The guide was a little late arriving. We boarded a bus that took us to the location to pick up the jeeps. The bus ride took about 20-25 mins. Let me see if I can find you more information.

We took the Jeep tour in August 2009. Some parts of it were very interesting and others were lacking. We were a little dissapointed for the cost. We did alot of driving by and pointing out things. I would have prefered to rent a jeep and go explore on our own. Any specific questions about the tour, let me know.

The national park and cave stop during out tour was brief. We walked in to the park about 5 mins. We walked damp a spiral ramp into the cave. The cave was interesting... inhabited by bats in the far corner. Then back up and out. If you take a specific tour of the park I'm sure that the time spent there and history given would be much more in depth.

I was considering renting a car when we arrive in Saint John and then driving the approximate 45 minutes to Saint Martin. Once we get to Saint Martin I would like to explore the sea caves, providing the tide is out. I have searched through the boards and haven't found yet... Where do you park to see the caves? Also do you walk down steps to get to the caves or do you simply walk onto a beach and follow it along until you get to the sea caves?

We would also like to visit the Fundy Parkway which from what I understand is a driving route that takes you along the coast, with places to stop to take in the veiws. Is the parkway in Saint Martins as well? Or is the parkway in the National Park?

Thanks!