St Thomas & Nassau Bahamas, excursion advice

Hi everyone,

This is my second cruise and my first since 1999, so I imagine I'll see some changes.

My daugher (age 14) and I (older) are sailing on Oasis of the Seas August 5. We're going to Nassau, St Thomas and St Maarten.

I'm looking for excursion suggestions / general impressions on how to spend our time in St Thomas and Nassau. I have been told that St Thomas is good for shopping and Nassau is relatively boring.

First of all, I'm wondering about general impressions? Are there interesting places to see in the city within walking distance of the ship? Is there okay shopping within walking distance of the ship? We aren't looking for anything too high end.

In terms of excursions:

My daughter would be interested in the beach or a city tour. I'd be interested in seeing some of the city. We'd both be pretty happy wandering around the city is there is some decent stuff to see and some okay shopping. Ideally I'd be happy with some time at the beach and a walk around the city. Going and spending 5 hours at a beach is less interesting to me.

Atlantis could be interesting, I'd be curious about feedback or suggestions on that.

I'd like to keep the cost of any excursions at around $100 per person. Less is obviously fine.

Regarding St Maarten, we're planning an island tour but have not booked any. Suggestions welcome.

Overall, I'd be very happy to hear people's impressions of these places and what they liked and didn't like. I'm open to any really great excursions which people have done that might not have occurred to me.

Thanks very much.

Hi everyone,

This is my second cruise and my first since 1999, so I imagine I'll see some changes.

My daugher (age 14) and I (older) are sailing on Oasis of the Seas August 5. We're going to Nassau, St Thomas and St Maarten.

I'm looking for excursion suggestions / general impressions on how to spend our time in St Thomas and Nassau. I have been told that St Thomas is good for shopping and Nassau is relatively boring.

First of all, I'm wondering about general impressions? Are there interesting places to see in the city within walking distance of the ship? Is there okay shopping within walking distance of the ship? We aren't looking for anything too high end.

In terms of excursions:

My daughter would be interested in the beach or a city tour. I'd be interested in seeing some of the city. We'd both be pretty happy wandering around the city is there is some decent stuff to see and some okay shopping. Ideally I'd be happy with some time at the beach and a walk around the city. Going and spending 5 hours at a beach is less interesting to me.

Atlantis could be interesting, I'd be curious about feedback or suggestions on that.

I'd like to keep the cost of any excursions at around $100 per person. Less is obviously fine.

Regarding St Maarten, we're planning an island tour but have not booked any. Suggestions welcome.

Overall, I'd be very happy to hear people's impressions of these places and what they liked and didn't like. I'm open to any really great excursions which people have done that might not have occurred to me.

Thanks very much.

In Nassau, you can walk to Junkaroo beach. It is free. You can rent chairs. There is a bathrooms and changing rooms. You can walk a bit further and there is an area that offers fish fries. I have forgotten the name of the place. Junkaroo has food and other vendors. Last time we were there they were playing games on the beach and people could win prizes---food and drinks.

the part my grandchildren like is on the way back we stop at McDonalds. they have free wifi so your daughter can let her friends know she is still alive and eating junk food. The other fun thing she may like is get the coupons on the ship for all the free stuff in town. People in town also pass out coupons for free stuff. Effy offers necklaces and there are 2 Effy stores. Of course they try to sell you the matching earrings for $10.00. They make great gifts for her friends. DI offers charm bracelets. Other stores offer items also. DelSol has neat stuff. The best is the nail polish that changes color in the sunlight. Caribola gives out free bamboo necklaces. All their items are made from bamboo. The clothes are so soft but very pricey. Stop in at Kay's Fine Jewelry store and tell them Bob and Ruth sent you. They are great people and have some nice pieces. https://kaysfinejewelry.com/nassau.php They are NOT every kiss starts with kays. On the outside of the straw market, there is an ally with lots of wood cravers. Some really pretty stuff (some drug paraphenalia also). Bargain with them. We got a beautiful carved horse for our Granddaughter for $12.00. The gentleman was asking $25.00.

Hope this helps.

Hi Ruth

Thanks very much for your reply which is very helpful.

Hi Ruth

 

Thanks very much for your reply which is very helpful.

Hey no problem. Just remember it has been at least a year since we have been to Nassau so things could have changed.. for the better I hope. We have never been to Atlantis. Unless you buy one of the expensive packages, you are limited on what you can do and where you can go from my understanding.

I did not talk about St. Maartin. the hurricane did a lot of damage from what I am reading. the French side is still in recovery mode. Orient Beach is up but not many facilities. Remember this is a clothing optional beach.

We usually take the water taxi to town. You can walk, it is about a mile. There is a Kay's very close to the water taxi pier. After stopping to say hi to he employees we just walk down the boardwalk and find an area of the beach that is not to busy and rent some chairs. The town is a pleasant town to walk around and there is a section with local vendor -- sort of like the straw market in Nassau. Again, the hurricane hit the island very hard. The last report I read said that not all the stores in town were open but the bigger stores were up and running. Again lots of free items from Effy, DI, and others. When we started cruising, I thought it was great fun to collect all the free items for my friends. It was nice seeing all the jewelry in the stores also.

If you want more specific information please feel free to contact me at ruthc5@hotmail.com. I kept my answers kind of generic to give you just an overview.

Ruth

Just got off Enchantment of the Seas, with my daughter who is 16 and we did the SeaHorse Sail and Snorkel and it was awesome. This was our first cruise and we have never snorkeled. The crew was awesome sailed for about an hour out to a reef directly in front of Gilligan’s island. Crew did a great job showing us how to Snorkel and we had an amazing hour in the water and then we sailed an hour back. Great way to see the beautiful homes and waters around Paradise Isle. Definitely would recommend this and booked thru Royal Caribbean for under $100 a person!