Review - Nassau and Cable Beach with Kids

Prelude:

After using CC extensively for planning our July 10 cruise on Allure of the Seas, I figured on giving back with some thoughts on suggestions given and how they worked out for our family. I'm breaking up the tidbits into the appropriate forums and then I'll probably put links to all of them in an aggregate review (once they're all done, of course).

Background:

We were a Latin family of six, with two grandparents, two parents (DW and myself), and two kids (DD1 is nearly 8, DD2 is just over 2). DW and myself have been on several cruises, the grandparents were on one a lifetime ago, and this was the kids' first venture on the sea. We're comfortable international travelers based in the US (ex: DD2 has been out of the States three times now), so we're OK with adapting to local customs.

Review - Nassau and Cable Beach:

Following a very restless night (DD2 was just smitten about sharing a bunk bed with her sister), we woke up with our entry into Nassau. It was actually a pretty rough docking with a lot of vibration, followed by the grandparents remarking "We're here!" Good job, guys, you just woke up DD2! After breakfast at the Park Café, we were off the ship, about 90 minutes after arrival (getting kids going is tough).

Once in port, we played a game of "dodge the tour groups and tour guides." That was rough. All of the tour groups were assembling right on the dock, and then they started moving en masse with us. When you have small kids, this kind of stinks. Add to that the fact that it was stinking hot (really, the heat kind of smelled), we entered the little market. From there, it was time to play "dodge the taxi drivers." I took one suggestion to just ask one driver about the #10 Jitney, and that pretty much silenced them all. Good deal, now to walk in relative piece.

The next challenge was finding the bus stop. Folks on this board have said that it's at the intersection of George and Bay, but it's really hard to find that intersection when there are no street signs. It was also Independence Day in the Bahamas, so there weren't a lot of folks around to help point the way. After walking around for a bit, DW decided to clue me in to the fact that she couldn't find where we were on the map. Knowing that we had a map, of course, would have been useful information before I made myself look like a clueless cruiser for 10 minutes. 5 minutes later, we were there.

There, you may ask, is where? Here's a hint that I haven't seen on CC. When you exit the port marketplace, follow the sidewalk to the right, staying next to the water. You'll go through every manner of taxi driver, car/moped rental, tour hawkers that you can imagine, but just keep with it, out the parking lot, down the waterfront. After about five minutes, you'll find the straw market across the street on the left (just before the Hilton). Go through the market, and you'll find benches. This is the bus stop. The #10 Jitney stops just across the street and sits there for a bit (I imagine until there are passengers). I spoke to the driver, and on we went to Cable Beach.

Sure, you could get a taxi, but with kids, the Jitney was great and much cheaper. $1.25 for each of us, and since we didn't have exact change, we just gave the driver $8 once we got off. After listening to DW nearly scream several times over the next 15 minutes about being on the wrong side of the road and watching other vehicles come at us, the driver helpfully announced that we were at Cable Beach. It was a beautiful drive as we admired the deep greens and blues on the water.

Into the Sheraton, we dutifully got our day passes at the front desk ($25 per adult, $12.50 for DD1, $0 for DD2), and headed out to the beach. When I looked at DW's face when we stepped out of the hotel, I knew that I'd done good.

The grounds are gorgeous with the main pool, wide beach, nicely spaced chairs, and a big, giant, blow-up slide. We stopped at the towel hut, got towels, and then got some chairs. Everything is indeed included with no hassles whatsoever. Water equipment included a trampoline out on the water, paddle bikes, and kayaks. DD1 used them all. DD2 loved the very calm, shallow water. You could probably walk a good 50 yards before needing to worry about swimming as an adult, maybe 15 yards for DD1 and 10 yards for DD2.

After a couple hours on the sand, we all headed over the pool to clean off a bit and chill with some drinks. The bartenders here make some very potent margaritas with real lime. The pool is a salt water pool, so it will sting your eyes a bit, but the kids didn't seem to mind. Everyone was smiling and having a great time. I took the opportunity to go check out the water slide, but it was closed for maintenance. It did look nice, but we didn't miss it.

At around noon, we cleaned up and got ready for our return to downtown. We picked up the #12 Jitney right in front of the hotel (you can apparently use either that one or #10 to go back, "but don't use #15, no no.") Going back was a trip. Here, the bus was nearly full, so I parked DW and the kids into the front seat behind the driver, and then the rest of us spread out among the remaining seats. On the way back, the bus got so packed, that getting out was an act of musical chairs (fold down chairs end up blocking the aisle). DD2 had so much fun that when we started getting off at the original bus stop, she cried "No!" The driver got a kick out of that.

Back through the straw market, made some purchases, took some grief about being the father of two girls from all of the ladies ("Yeah, I'm pretty used to getting abused by beautiful girls."), and back to the ship we went.

Of course, it really wasn't that easy. The grandparents discovered early that they forgot their passports and almost tried to go back to the ship when I explained that to do it now or later will have the same outcome. Lo and behold, they were actually checking for passports and Sea Pass cards. Uh oh. In comes DD2 to the rescue, who started crying and screaming as we were going in (this became a return theme for each port), and allowed us all to pass through without nearly any inspection at all. Tip: Either carry photo ID as stated in the Cruise Compass or pinch a kid in front of you when trying to get back on.

After that, there were two really long lines to get back on the ship. That was miserable in the sun and I would have preferred something more akin to the wonderful boarding experience. Alas, not every cruise moment is going to be perfect.

While it was a short day, with little kids, it was probably a perfect amount of time. Everyone had a great time and we looked forward to having some time to go around the ship. My one gripe was that they showed Kung Fu Panda 2 while the ship was in port. Never fear, they ended up showing it three more times. Whew, one promise to DD1 saved.

Next stop, the St. Thomas board for that review.

Great review. Thanks for all the info. We are planning to go to the Sheraton too and this really helps.

Could you use the grounds at Wyndham too? I read that you can. If you don't take the jitney I assume you can take a taxi?

Yes, the Wyndam grounds were open (with the water slide). They are essentially connected, with a path going between them (Wyndam is to the left when looking from the beach). We didn't actually hang out on the Wyndam side since there was so much on the other side that occupied the kids, but I went over there to check things out and just confirm the access.

Thanks, seems good because I see that they charge kids under 18yrs kids price which is good.

Thansk for your review!

Great review! Just wondering, is snorkeling equipment included in the day pass price???

Thanks for the review! This is our new top pick for our Nassau visit next year! Could you tell me if there is plenty of shade available? I'm assuming umbrellas near the pool and maybe trees? Thanks so much!

We saw some a lot of folks snorkeling, so I'm pretty sure that they had the equipment and that it would be available in the day pass. We didn't use it, so I couldn't say for sure.

As for shade, the umbrellas provided some shade on the beach, but really not much. We had decent shade over by the pool from umbrellas, trees, and the bar itself.

What does the $25 Sheraton day pass include?

Thanks!

The Sheraton Day Pass includes access to the grounds at both the Sheraton and the Wyndham, the pools, non-motorized water equipment (kayaks, paddle bikes, mats, snorkeling equipment, trampoline, etc.), towels, and restroom facilities.

Thanks for the review! We've never been to the Bahamas and are looking for somewhere clean and safe to go.

Did you do any snorkeling? Is there much to see from this beach?

We didn't do any snorkeling, but dodged a bunch of snorkeling folks as we were using the paddle bike. The water is very shallow with a lot of vegetation, so I'm sure that there were things to see. I also noticed most of the folks staying near some rocks at the edge of the marked zone, so maybe that's a good area to snorkel.

Great review figgva! We are coming in December but my kids are older and mentioned they would like to parasail on this cruise. Did you happen to notice parasailing solicitation around the beach?

Thank you!

We didn't see any solicitation for parasailing near Cable Beach nor any activities nearby. We did see it from a distance, though, nearer to the port, so I'm betting that the port will be your best bet for finding an outfit.