elliotoakley

I have an interesting question to pose... can an adult do this ting with zero kids?

Bottom line is that you can pay for the aqua park and the water slide separately. I am traveling with all adult friends and we are interested to both the aqua park and the slide but realistically why pay when you get it for free?

This photo safari costs $0.00 for adults. The slide $24 for adults. The aqua park $20 for adults. So logically, in order to save $45 I would sign up for this sill photo safari for free right? Although I have absolutely zero-interest to see the characters or go to the dance party after, the thought of saving $45 is interesting.

Any thoughts?

I was in Nassau on the RCI Enchantment of the Seas on September 24, 2014. The ship was there from 07:00 to 23:59. Yikes!

As someone who has been to Nassau many times on cruises I wanted to test out all the Wi-Fi hot spots people on this site mention. Here is the best of what I found.....

BEST SPOT = On the Pier

NAME = Festival Place A

When you get off the ship you are still quite away from solid land. You walk along a long pathway and as you approach land you can pick up a good signal from the cruise ship administration office and it was free / open. Also a good solid signal. I used the Magic Jack App on my phone to call free back to America.

YOU DO NOT have to go in to the port and get sucked into "Can I brade your hair honey?" or "taxi, taxi, taxi". You can stay in the safety and comfort of the pier walkway. The best spot was by this shaded sign (see picture). Also a good spot was under this tall sign (see picture)

I stayed along the pier through the security check point and felt safe. Funny part is watching thousands of people walk passed all staring at you while you are facebooking and all that.

NUMBER THREE = This blue bench (see picture)

NAME = Waterfront Wi-Fi

Walk out of the Nassau Pier, turn right. Walk all the way to the end and you will get to Senior Frogs Bar. Turn left. The next building is this office park with a set of blue benches and super turbo Wi-Fi. We are talking video-streaming turbo fast! And it was FREE. The downside is that it was in the direct sun = HOT!!!. Also located along a public sidewalk so any random person including a bad guy might see you and your iPad knowing full well that you are some tourist and let's just say it's not good to stand out in a foreign country. I never saw any such persons but it was sort of quiet and away from the view of the ships so unless you have major video streaming to do this blue bench would be a secondary choice to the pier itself.

NUMBER THREE = Dunkin Donuts

It's free but the problem is that since it's air conditioned lots of people flock to this location and as a result = slow speeds. Email was fine but facebook and all that was no good!

I had a great time with Snorkeling at Cococay and do recommend it. But with all things the crowds of people are at their peak during the middle of the day. It's best to go early first thing or later in the afternoon, or both.

You will not need to rent a private umbrella unless you are one of those people who has ginger skin and gets burnt quick. if you get to the island early there is TONS of shaded areas to lounge about, tons of trees and tons of hammocks in the shade. I would say no. I was at Cococay last week.

TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION...

Yes you can rent a beach umbrella from the island for the day, but I would say it's not necessary.

I went to Cococay and I would say NO, do not pre book. The day I went the weather was cloudy and for a few moments rain. The sun came out 2 hours before the ship set sail but meanwhile because of the clouds many people di dnot bother getting off the ship. Also my ship had an unusually large amount of seniors who needed wheelchairs and cains who also did not get off the ship.

PLUS on the day I went to Cococay my ship was the only one there. AND it just so turns out that my ship was only 60% full.

So all these things combined, not full ship, lots of people with mobility issues and not great weather, made the island essentially empty. When I was there there was no reason to pre-book anything.

What I recommend is two things. First check the weather about 5 days before. If it's all sun and calm OK, but if it's not going to be great then most people will stay on the ship. Second is see how many ships will be there. This might be a bit more tricky but you could even call RCl and ask!

SEPTEMBER 2014 UPDATE

COCOCAY SNORKEL

I like snorkeling and saw on the RCL website that you can book a shore excursion / rent snorkel equipment for about $30 however a lot of message boards said bring your own. I was delighted that you could bring your own but then there were some myths and vague answers about the RCL policy on bringing your own stuff. I took a chance!

TO BE CLEAR...

YES you can bring your own snorkel stuff. There was absolutely no restrictions and the security people did not care. HOWEVER they did require you to rent a life vest for $6. So $30 for their package or bring your own and rent a life vest for $6. The choice was obvious, especially if you had a family! (I cruised alone).

In the main reef area they have 4 life guards who keep a good watch on the people. After all the fish, sting rays, and yes the odd jelly fish are all there. Plus the water itself ranges from ankle deep to about 15 feet deep in parts.

MAIN AREA

I recommend you stay in the main lagoon. There is sunken treasure in multiple locations including: airplane, pirate ship with cannons, pirate ship mast, various other hidden treasure scattered throughout the lagoon.

OTHER AREAS

If you walk around the rest of the island there are plenty of other beach areas to swim however the snorkel experience at the back of the island is nothing special. The secondary beaches are just as good but the underwater snorkel experience is nothing more than just fish and grasses etc.

I am a runner, I log about 30 miles per week. By the time my ship gets to Costa Maya it will be the 4th stop and quite frankly I know Costa Maya is a beach-town. Uinless you like shopping or sitting on the beach then there just aint anything to do! And before you comment on this I like extreme adventure stuff, I don't really care for looking at ruins.

I don’t care about shopping, and living in Florida I get plenty of sun and “beach” at our clean, safe, and relaxing Water Parks (Typhoon Lagoon kicks butt!).

I am looking for advice on anywhere I might log a quick and easy 5 mile run? It could be less but 5 miles is pretty short to begin with. Does anyone know of a safe route or way to go?

I know I can take a taxi from the cruise port to the beach, is this a route that involves a sidewalk that I could run on?

I have been on many cruises over the year. I went on the CARNIVAL DREAM, had a standard balcony and found out that for a mere $150 I could upgrade to have the entire 7-days in the VIP-Only Cloud 9 Spa including all of its exclusive delights.

I came back to the CARNIVAL DREAM because what I discovered was that for a regular room it was an upgrade of $150 for this package HOWEVER when booking the cruise itself I could reserve a "Spa Cabin" for a mere $75 more (or somewhere in that price range). So pay a tiny bit extra upfront and get all the exclusive VIP benefits... or pay when I got to the ship and shell-out more money.

In either case it was worth every penny, the Cloud 9 Spa was quite literally a Dream and I am considering the Carnival Dream a 3rd time because of this feature alone.

But now I have done the "Carnival Dream" twice and want to explore other ships with a similar "VIP Spa Staterooms". It does not matter the cruise line to be honest, but does anyone know of any other ships with a similar style of stateroom?

Part of what made the Carnival Dream's "Spa Cabins" different were:

1. Unlimited access to the Cloud 9 Spa

2. Special VIP slippers to keep (bonus)

3. A special wristband so that wherever I went on the ship quite literally doors were opened for me, people said hello and people treated me like a celebrity, at times even allowing me to get better VIP seats at certain shows

4. More personalized cabin treatment... part of staying on the "Spa" deck was that we had concierge style cabin staff (almost like having a private butler). I know that our maids did clean other rooms but they told me that on other decks they the other staff have many more decks to clean whereas on the "Spa" deck those guests get more personalized attention.

On both times I was on the Carnival Dream people kept asking me why I had doors opened for me or why I could just walk in to the spa without having to "check-in" at the receptionist’s desk. Quite frankly it made me feel like the VIP and although I am not a rich pompous jerk, I will admit that knowing I had VIP privileges that others on the ship did not made me feel special.

So if anyone can help, are there any other ships on any other cruise lines that offer not only the health spa but also quote/un-quote "spa cabins" with access to VIP spa's and also maybe more personalized treatment.