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morsekk
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Ok, so we booked our cruise for October of this year. We were supposed to go on a cruise in 2015 and got snowed in here in NY and never made it out of the airport to Miami to catch our ship. Now I'm getting nervous and a lot of "what ifs" are going through my head. We are traveling on NCL out of NY to Bahamas. Any advice or tips?

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So, it sounds like this trip is from your home town, so transport issues should be minimal. Great.

Seems NY dock parking fees are crazy at something like $400 for a week!?! If you can't reach the port by public transit, then there are threads about specific hotels that have 'stay one night, free parking for 15 days' sort of deals...maybe $175.

If you want to hang out with others...or just want to know who else might be on the cruise, join your specific cruise's Roll Call.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/

 

Head over to your cruise line specific forum for ship specific questions, and read about all the rules - no irons or clothing steamers, how much liquid beverages (if any) are allowed to be brought on board, and the value of bringing stuff on as carry on to survive the first few hours of your trip.

If you have specific 'what ifs' then ask them. As to other advice, start reading the posts on this 'First Timer' sub forum. Also the 'Ask a Cruising Question' sub forum.

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Get a guidebook on the Bahamas....it will tell you ALL there is to do , and HOW to do it! You can save a bundle if you don't need to use ship's excursions...and most things are quite easy to DIY...if you do your research! Libraries have guidebooks, if you don't want to buy one!

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Get a guidebook on the Bahamas....it will tell you ALL there is to do , and HOW to do it! You can save a bundle if you don't need to use ship's excursions...and most things are quite easy to DIY...if you do your research! Libraries have guidebooks, if you don't want to buy one!

I am usually a strong advocate for using libraries and guide books, but given that the Bahamas had hurricane damage, it would certainly behoove the OP to confirm things via the Web.

 

Morsekk, I forgot to mention the port specific forums that Cruise Critic hosts. Also, check the Things to Do for the different ports on TripAdvisor. The books are great for defining what is manageable by foot, public transport or better done by excursion, but the port forums and TripAdvisor will define how good tourist activities are now, and then check again before travel.

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We live right outside of NYC so will have someone bring us in---we totally are calling in all the favors we have done over the years with bringing friends and family to airports and what now.

 

I remember a cruise from New York on Caribbean Princess where the dockyard guys had gone on strike. The taxi we were in got stuck in traffic for about half an hour. Eventually the driver pointed out that we were about half to three quarters of a mile from the ship and it looked like nothing would ever move. So we paid him got out and walked the rest. We were the first to do this but noticed others following suit. At the front of the queue of traffic was a police woman stopping cars from entering the parking area and I felt sorry for anyone who was in their own car. We boarded in a few minutes but people with their own cars were completely stuffed for hours. Having someone else to take you to the quayside is absolutely marvellous when things go bad.

 

Regards John

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Get a guidebook on the Bahamas....it will tell you ALL there is to do , and HOW to do it! You can save a bundle if you don't need to use ship's excursions...and most things are quite easy to DIY...if you do your research! Libraries have guidebooks, if you don't want to buy one!

 

I'm surprised how many people suggest guide books. They are outdated! Google, Wikipedia, Tourism sites, TripAdvisor, etc. Also friends, co-workers and family members who have travelled same area.

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I am usually a strong advocate for using libraries and guide books, but given that the Bahamas had hurricane damage, it would certainly behoove the OP to confirm things via the Web.

 

Morsekk, I forgot to mention the port specific forums that Cruise Critic hosts. Also, check the Things to Do for the different ports on TripAdvisor. The books are great for defining what is manageable by foot, public transport or better done by excursion, but the port forums and TripAdvisor will define how good tourist activities are now, and then check again before travel.

 

We were just on RCCL in the Bahamas at the beginning of Dec 2017 and there was no real evidence of hurricane damage. Don't bother with Atlantis - it's a ripoff, grab an Uber and ask them to take you to the Caves Beach (bring a snack and drink) and pick you up after a couple of hours (depending on how much you want of 'alone beach time') Check at Fodor's online and do your own little walking tour in downtown Nassau - lots of stuff to see and little restaurants and bars to go to.

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I'm surprised how many people suggest guide books. They are outdated! Google, Wikipedia, Tourism sites, TripAdvisor, etc. Also friends, co-workers and family members who have travelled same area.

 

CB at Sea ALWAYS recommends a guidebook. I don't know why since recommending CC's Ports forum would make a lot more sense imo since it has current info from fellow cruisers.

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x2 the above suggestion on trip insurance given the fact it's hurricane season.

 

 

And exactly how far is "just outside" the city? I'm always a very strong proponent of staying in town at a hotel near the ship the night before unless you're talking a very short distance. It only takes an unexpected road closure or something to turn what should be a 1 hour drive into a 6 hour nightmare that causes you to potentially miss the ship. Call me crazy, but if I was any more than 60 miles from the port, I'd be spending the night before the cruise in town and just chock it up to an extra day of vacation - the fun starts earlier that way.

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I recommend guide books for land travel and sometimes cruise travel, because beginner travelers don't always know what to research on the net, or what questions to ask. A book format can also be benificial for port heavy itineraries for flow and ability to revisit data. I travel where my friends don't go, and I also want more specifics and off the beaten path than my co workers or friends....or the CC port forums, for that matter. A book is concise and usually more factual.

However, they can also be out of date particularly for ports.

If only Bahamas, gather info where you wish. Options have been provided.

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CB at Sea ALWAYS recommends a guidebook. I don't know why since recommending CC's Ports forum would make a lot more sense imo since it has current info from fellow cruisers.

 

I always laugh when I see the guidebook comments. I understand some older people like the guidebooks, maps, cds, cassettes, but it's 2018.... Time to turn the page.

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Regarding the guide books comment I will just say guide books do have an excellent advantage or two over strictly online sources. One is you can read them on board the ship without needing to purchase a data plan. If you are relying solely on online sources be sure to print out any bits you need to make sure to remember such as copies of confirmations for booked tours and printed directions for walking or driving if you're planning to solo it somewhere. We always do this and place them in a file along with our cruise luggage tags, cruise boarding pass, copies of any airlines tickets, and etc.

 

Even if you do purchase internet access for your cruise we have experienced cruises where it didn't work properly. They did kindly refund our purchase price but thank goodness we were not relying on it to get information for our stops. We talked to several couples who missed out on things they'd planned on doing or had to curtail their time more than they'd have wished due to having to locate a restaurant with wifi which ended up being for fee in order to download information first. We've also experienced one situation where having pre-printed directions saved us a lot of time and extra expense with a driver who tried to take the long way round.

 

Which brings me to another suggestion. There are apps where you download maps of cities in advance and can access them using only GPS not data. Great invention! :)

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Regarding the guide books comment I will just say guide books do have an excellent advantage or two over strictly online sources. One is you can read them on board the ship without needing to purchase a data plan. If you are relying solely on online sources be sure to print out any bits you need to make sure to remember such as copies of confirmations for booked tours and printed directions for walking or driving if you're planning to solo it somewhere. We always do this and place them in a file along with our cruise luggage tags, cruise boarding pass, copies of any airlines tickets, and etc.

 

Which brings me to another suggestion. There are apps where you download maps of cities in advance and can access them using only GPS not data. Great invention! :)

 

Great suggestions. I’ll add my two cents to yours. :)

 

I’ll agree that a guidebook is useful when you don’t want or have service. Just rip out the pages for the city you’re in instead of carrying the entire book around.

 

And instead of carrying around paper copies of confirmations, we take a screenshot or photo on our phones.

 

Downloading maps works great for using gps for directions. You can do this right on google maps-no need for an additional app.

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  • 6 months later...

I always do research online, but I also get the latest guidebook out of the library at home (pre-trip) simply because I like the feel of the paper and the view of the whole page I get when I'm curled up on the couch in the evenings having fun planning. Somehow, I feel claustrophobic scrolling through a little window (ESPECIALLY on a phone - I always take my tablet along on trips too). I feel I can't see the whole picture and easily flip back and forth from one page to another like I can in a book. But that is just me. I also don't always buy a guidebook, especially if the trip is under 3 weeks, I just take the library copy along with me. I have done the printed directions idea, and also taken photos on my phone of pertinent info out of the book. I never spend the money for data even at home. I just use free WiFi spots.

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I do all my research online, using a multitude of sources. Since we normally take longer cruises with lots of ports, I create a Word document for notes on each port - cruise ship berth, other ships in port, currency/exchange rate, local attractions, craft breweries, wineries, pubs/restaurants, history, culture, local tour companies, local guides, etc.

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Some really good information (definitely cruise insurance!), but also, you are traveling during hurricane season. I do most of my cruising in October and the lines do great jobs at keeping us safe...and sometimes that can mean a missed port - or a different cruise!

 

The year Hurricaine Gonzalo caused a little ruckus we were cruising to Bermuda from Cape Liberty. Evidently Gonzalo heard we were coming because he decided to plan landfall in Bermuda for the day we’re we were docking there. Consequently, when we got to port we were told SURPRISE! You’re going to Canada! The Canadian season was over by a few days, and they did a totally incredible job scrambling their shore excursion crews to make sure we had things to do. It was a great time (I love Canada anyway), and the majority of passengers were good natured about it - even the ladies we lunched with who drove down from Halifax to do some tanning on the beach [emoji38].

 

Be relaxed, go with the flow and have a good time. Remember, you’re on a ship where there are people who will feed you, entertain you, serve you drinks and clean your cabin. Life is good!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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We were just on RCCL in the Bahamas at the beginning of Dec 2017 and there was no real evidence of hurricane damage. Don't bother with Atlantis - it's a ripoff, grab an Uber and ask them to take you to the Caves Beach (bring a snack and drink) and pick you up after a couple of hours (depending on how much you want of 'alone beach time') Check at Fodor's online and do your own little walking tour in downtown Nassau - lots of stuff to see and little restaurants and bars to go to.

If my family should revisit Nassau we'll keep that in mind.:) We opted to take a taxi to Atlantis and did our own sightseeing for free and saw many amazing attractions! I have nothing against excursions but we were more than happy to diy on that day.:cool:

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