First time in Nassau

We are looking at our first cruise for October (Conquest to Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove). There is only 1 sea day-the last day. I know many people stay on board in Nassau. I am considering it, as we will be in HMC the next day, and we would also get an extra ship day. However, we have heard Nassau is a waste of time. What should I do, stay on or get off?

You're going to get different answers from everyone. Everyone thinks their answer is the correct one. Personally, my family wouldn't get off if we were forced to go back to Nassau. We try to avoid Nassau/Freeport when booking.

We loved the dolphin swim at blue lagoon

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If you've never seen Nassau and it's your first cruise, explore and decide for yourself.

Nassau is a beautiful island. The Bahamas are expansive and have excellent diving and fishing. Unfortunately the Bahamas are expensive as well. The cruise ship area is not very attractive and there are some aggressive vendors. This is what gives Nassau it not so great reputation. I am doing a 1/2 day Fly Fishing trip for Bone fish in the flats and am very excited.

We love the Ardastra Gardens Zoo and conservation center. They have a wonderful choreographed flamingo show, and there is an aviary where you can go in with the birds and feed the parrots and other birds. They come and land right on you! You can easily get there yourself in a taxi, or do a Carnival city tour with time at Ardastra Gardens. Very informative about Nassau and enjoyable time at the zoo.

Our last cruise we stayed on board, but really only because after a few times, there wasn't anything left we really wanted to do there and we enjoyed the day on a uncrowded Lido deck. But, if you decide to give it a go, I can recommend the Pirates of Nassau museum, we enjoyed it, it's very well done and the staff members were very friendly. There was one young man who was in costume and had the whole pirate act down pat, he was a hoot! Another time we did a city tour that was very good, our driver and guide were great, lots of good history and info. I can't recommend Atlantis, overpriced and overrated IMO, and save going to the beach for HMC.

We went to Blue Lagoon and it was beautiful. I would hate to go all the way to the Bahamas and not see it for myself, but the choice is up to you if you prefer an extra ship day. There are always people who stay onboard but it will still almost feel like you have the place to yourself.

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I will skip the land vacation ideas from 30 years ago, all the places I went are gone.

so as far as ship excursions

Black Beards Cay-now they do Balmoral island, perfect beach day. away from the bustle of city

Blue Lagoon, beautiful (not great weather when we were there, but very nice when the weather is not cold

Melia-we went twice got day passes, great pools, nice beach with a built up snorkel reef

A day on our own, the Pirate Museum-FUN, and the beautiful church across the street, then walked down to Starbucks in the pouring rain for coffee

Then, one time I went with the daughter of a friend, she did dolphins, I stayed on board.

and the last time we were there, DH who is on chemo had run out of steam that day, and we relaxed on board.

If I was going someplace new, I would get off and see the sites, but remember what everyone has said-aggressive sales people, so choose an island or hotel, and enjoy the beautiful waters.

get off!

We have done snorkeling in Nassau and had a blast. We have also walked to Junkanoo beach which is a nice cheap relaxing day.

I don’t think it’s a waste of time. I think some have just cruised here too many times. So many ships go to Nassau. I don’t hate it but I would prefer to go somewhere else. We are on the same cruise itinerary in a week. We are getting off and walking and seeing a few things we haven’t. And maybe stopping at local beach. You can’t guarantee you will have nice weather later so we want to make sure we get some beach time.

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I think we may end up getting off for only a little bit; just to take some photos and get a sovenier or two. Isn’t there a ferry that goes to Atlantis? I know you can tour it for free.

There is plenty to do in Nassau.

Even if you’ve been there many times before, like me!

There is of course the famous resort/theme park that is Atlantis. You can take a tour of the resort and visit the aquarium and marine habitat or you can spend a day at their Aquaventure Water Park with their famous water slides. For gamblers there is a large casino on the property too. You can take a taxi there from the port.

Under 5 minutes walk from the port is the main shopping district along Bay Street with all of the jewelry and Swiss watch boutiques. Also along that street is the Bahamas Parliament Square and behind it the Supreme Court and Nassau Library. There are lots of small restaurants and bars there where you can try some cheap Bahamian cuisine.

On our most recent two overnight stops there two weeks ago we really enjoyed taking the tour at the Pirate Republic Brewery on Woodes Rodgers Walk just a 5 minute walk from the port. It’s the only microbrewery in the Bahamas and they have daily guided tours twice a day for $13 which includes a flight of beer and a pretzel. The tour guide is dressed as a pirate and gives not only a tour of the brewery but an in depth history of the many pirates that occupied the region in years past.

Just 5 minutes walk past there is Senor Frogs bar.

For inexpensive souvenirs be sure to check out the Straw Market along the way.

Another 5 minutes beyond that is Junkanoo beach. We recommend walking a little further down the beach to the seafood shack called Crab and Tings. They are 5 star rated on Trip Advisor and the beach is much less crowded there. They have beach chairs for their customers and the food is fresh and inexpensive.

Just 5 minutes inland from there is the John Watling Rum Distillery where you can get a free tour and do a rum tasting.

Heading back toward the ship you can stop at the Graycliff Chocolate Factory for a tour.

You can visit the Nassau Pirate Museum for more of the Pirate history and see a full sized replica of a pirate ship.

Some other sites accessible by taxi include Fort Fincastle and the Queens Staircase.

So as you can see there is plenty to do.

I would recommend printing a google map of downtown Nassau before you leave and mark all of the places you want to see in case you don’t have cell service on the island.

I think we may end up getting off for only a little bit; just to take some photos and get a sovenier or two. Isn’t there a ferry that goes to Atlantis? I know you can tour it for free.

This is exactly what I did in my visit this past December. I can also give you a first time perspective since i've never been before.

I took the ferry over and enjoyed the ride. Be aware though, they won't depart until the boat is filled to capacity. It fills up quickly though and it's a nice ride over. I took a taxi back to the ship.

I spent just over 2 hours at Atlantis and really loved it, though i'm a casino junkie lol. The huge aquarium on the lower level is mesmerising and a must see. It's also free and there's lots of nice photo ops all around the property that's accessible to the non paying public.

I have two cruises booked with both going to Nassau and plan to go back to Atlantis each time since i'm not a beach person. If you're just planning to walk around and take pics, browse the property and pick up a souvenir I highly recommend it....especially to a first timer. Have fun!

If you have never been to Nassau, by all means, check it out! Once you have been there, and later , checked out other ports, you can make your own opinions of this port.

We've been to Nassau a number of ties including twice in 2017. In December we walked to the Queens Staircase, to which we had never been. It was a nice day and a good walk. We have a four year old grand daughter and spent the afternoon walking down Bay St. collecting the trinkets they give out in the various stores.

I think we may end up getting off for only a little bit; just to take some photos and get a sovenier or two. Isn’t there a ferry that goes to Atlantis? I know you can tour it for free.

You can’t tour the Atlantis for free. The only parts that are accessible without paying extra are the casino and the shops. The rest is off limits except for guests and people on paid excursions. There was a time when it was worth it to go to the Atlantis without having to pay extra but now it’s just a waste of time.

A lot of the negative things that you may have read about Nassau have less to do with what this island truly has to offer and more to do with the fact that this port of call appears on too many itineraries and frequent cruisers are in the most part fed up with it. The place does have its charm and, since it’s your first visit, I would highly encourage you to explore beyond the welcome center area and the straw market (which are dumps in my opinion). If you don’t allow yourself to explore beyond this area, you will most likely join the many who speak negatively about this port. The difference is that you will do so with limited knowledge about the place.

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I think we may end up getting off for only a little bit; just to take some photos and get a sovenier or two. Isn’t there a ferry that goes to Atlantis? I know you can tour it for free.

Not really, you can go into the casino and marina village, anything else requires a pass of some sort. We’ve done aqua adventure twice with the kids, expensive but fun. We’ve also purchased day passes at resorts, and had great days, the ocean is gorgeous.

We are looking at our first cruise for October (Conquest to Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove). There is only 1 sea day-the last day. I know many people stay on board in Nassau. I am considering it, as we will be in HMC the next day, and we would also get an extra ship day. However, we have heard Nassau is a waste of time. What should I do, stay on or get off?

I'm not familiar with Amber Cove, but from what I've read HMC and Grand Turk are primarily beach days (and both are listed as very nice beaches). If you feel you and your family need an extra ship day, I would stay on at Nassau (or as you said, only get off briefly) since it is at the beginning rather then 2 "sea" days at the end if you stayed on at Amber Cove.

Nassau does have a lot to offer, but it is understandable to want to enjoy the ship some on your first cruise too - and it should be less crowded since many passengers do get off the ship.

Best wishes whatever you decide:)

Definitely get off and check it out. But if you only stay in the port area you'll probably find you don't like Nassau very much. It's a place that begs for you to get out and explore. Go to a private island, adventurous excursion, private tour, fish fry, caves, breweries, etc. I could visit Nassau all the time, always something fun to do, even if it's just a relaxing day at a beautiful beach.

So it all comes down to whether you are cruising to spend time on the ship or to explore the ports of call.

As you can see from my post and others above there is plenty to see and do in Nassau for a FULL day. Pam and I still visit Nassau even though we’ve been there a dozen times before. We cruise for the ports of call and find that the mornings, evenings, and a sea day or two are plenty of time to experience what the ships have to offer onboard. So when the ships stop we like to get off and explore. After all we are all paying port fees for the port stops so we might as well get our money’s worth!

As others have said don’t think that the ship excursions and Atlantis are all that Nassau has to offer. There are plenty of free or very inexpensive things to do.

We are beach people (not shoppers) so we don’t mind Nassau because we have found beautiful beaches there. Atlantis is having a special in May so we are going there for our first time to enjoy the beach and water park and whatever else we are entitled to with our pass. For those who are not beach people I can see why they would just stay on the ship and feel the way they do about Nassau.

Happy cruising!:)

We are beach people (not shoppers) so we don’t mind Nassau because we have found beautiful beaches there. Atlantis is having a special in May so we are going there for our first time to enjoy the beach and water park and whatever else we are entitled to with our pass. For those who are not beach people I can see why they would just stay on the ship and feel the way they do about Nassau.

 

Happy cruising!:)

The beaches are very nice. But don’t think that this is the only thing to do other than Atlantis.

Pam and I aren’t really beach people. We live in Tampa just minutes from some of the top rated beaches in the country and we may not get out there even once a year. Yet we have found plenty of things to do in Nassau outside of the beach. TripAdvisor is a good resource. :cool:

We went to blue lagoon island last week and it was horrible. Don’t waste your time or money.

We went to blue lagoon island last week and it was horrible. Don’t waste your time or money.

Just curious what made it horrible. We haven’t been there but we were debating between Blue Lagoon and Balmoral Island for our last visit.

We chose Balmoral, and while the island was very nice, the facilities modern, and the beach beautiful, we ran into an issue which almost spoiled the day. One of our family members started feeling very sick so we tried to cut our day short and return to the ship. When we asked about an early boat back, they told us that it wasn’t possible and that there would only be one return boat at the end of the day. So we had to wait about 3 more hours before we could leave the island. Not fun when someone is sick. You feel a bit like a hostage. Thankfully our sick family member powered through it, but we learned a valuable lesson about these excursions to private islands. Most likely we won’t ever take one of these excursions again.

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