Questions - going on a Bahamas cruise for the first time

[Plasticmouse]

Hi,

My wife, daughter (2 years) and I are going on a cruise on Carnival Sensation to the Bahamas on 7-Feb. This is our first cruise. Have a few questions. Please help.

 

1. What should we expect weather-wise on the sea as well as in the Bahamas? From weather point of view, what should we pack?

 

2. We have 1 day at Freeport (itinerary says 9 AM arrival and 5 PM departure). Please suggest what we can do. Since our daughter will be there, we will have limited mobility. Not too keen on sports.

 

3. We have 1 day and night at Nassau (9 AM - 6 AM next day). What can we cover during the day? Here is a list of things that I thought:

Queen's Staircase

Christ Church Cathedral

Pirates Museum

Vendue House

Ardastra gardens and zoo

Fort Charlotte

Straw market

Versailles Garden

Lunch at Fish Fry

Is this do-able in a day? If not, what are the must-see ones? The Versailles garden looks beautiful in pictures. Is it worth traveling to Paradise island for?

Any suggestion of itinerary or time needed to cover these attractions will be of great help.

 

4. Maybe a dumb question. Should we take the stroller along for our daughter for the shore excursion? My concern is that it may become an unnecessary luggage for climbing stairs, walking on beaches or uneven surface etc.

 

4. Any other tips/suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Vivek

[tbjl24]

Hi,

My wife, daughter (2 years) and I are going on a cruise on Carnival Sensation to the Bahamas on 7-Feb. This is our first cruise. Have a few questions. Please help.

 

1. What should we expect weather-wise on the sea as well as in the Bahamas? From weather point of view, what should we pack?

 

Weather can vary wildly this time of year. Could be chilly(50s/60s) or very pleasant (mid to high 70s). Best to keep an eye on the weather channel as you get closer. Jeans and a jacket should get you by if it isn't warm.

 

2. We have 1 day at Freeport (itinerary says 9 AM arrival and 5 PM departure). Please suggest what we can do. Since our daughter will be there, we will have limited mobility. Not too keen on sports.

 

You can take a taxi to the Our Lucaya area of Freeport. Lots of little shops, restaurants and hotels in this area.

 

3. We have 1 day and night at Nassau (9 AM - 6 AM next day). What can we cover during the day? Here is a list of things that I thought:

Queen's Staircase

Christ Church Cathedral

Pirates Museum

Vendue House

Ardastra gardens and zoo

Fort Charlotte

Straw market

Versailles Garden

Lunch at Fish Fry

Is this do-able in a day? If not, what are the must-see ones? The Versailles garden looks beautiful in pictures. Is it worth traveling to Paradise island for?

Any suggestion of itinerary or time needed to cover these attractions will be of great help.

 

I haven't done most of these, but the Queen's staircase was pretty cool. There is also an old fort at the top of the hill nearby. Might be a little cumbersome with a 2 year old. Especially if you have a stoller/bag/etc.

 

4. Maybe a dumb question. Should we take the stroller along for our daughter for the shore excursion? My concern is that it may become an unnecessary luggage for climbing stairs, walking on beaches or uneven surface etc.

 

I guess it depends on the excursion. If you have a vehicle with you the whole time that you can decide whether to take the stroller along or leave it at each stop, it might be nice to have. Sorry that isn't much help, is it?

 

4. Any other tips/suggestions?

 

You can always try to do the sightseeing that is easy with the little one and then maybe take her back to Camp Carnival and explore just with the wife on more challenging sights.

 

Thanks,

Vivek

 

 

See above in RED

[cruisekwazee]

I would highly suggest going to Atlantis in Nassau. You can google it. I think even a two year old would like it.

 

Freeport I am not sure what to suggest because we just did the shopping and Casino and walked down and took a look at the beach.

[ImmortalxKiss]

We did a historic tour in Nassau ..and it was lovely! It would give you enough time to see Atlantis, as well. You can take a cab over for like, $5 per person or something cheap :D

[Plasticmouse]

Thanks to all. One question - why are you guys recommending Atlantis? As I understand, it is essentially a resort. What's so special about it that we should spend time there in our 1-day Nassau trip? Don't mean to challenge anyone - just trying to understand.

 

Also, we will not have a car and plan to use taxis for moving around. Is that wise or any other suggestion?

 

ImmortalxKiss, you suggested a historical tour. Is it a tour offered by someone? What does it entail?

 

Thanks for all the help.

[iceshots]

Thanks to all. One question - why are you guys recommending Atlantis? As I understand, it is essentially a resort. What's so special about it that we should spend time there in our 1-day Nassau trip? Don't mean to challenge anyone - just trying to understand.

 

Also, we will not have a car and plan to use taxis for moving around. Is that wise or any other suggestion?

 

ImmortalxKiss, you suggested a historical tour. Is it a tour offered by someone? What does it entail?

 

Thanks for all the help.

 

 

You HAVE to do Atlantis. Yes it is a resort, but it is a once in a lifetime experience. The grounds are amazing, the pools and slides are all over the place, and everywhere you turn there is marine life to look at and study.

 

They have glass tunnels that go under the various ponds so you can see the fish up close. One of the water slides actually goes though a shark tank.

 

I am not sure what is included in the excursion package. We spent three days at Atlantis on one of our Bahamas vacations and did not get to see everything. The Dig is a trip into fantasy where they have uncovered evidence of the lost city of Atlantis, including some of the machinery and other technology. And as with everything else in Atlantis, there are fish tanks and aquariums everywhere.

 

Your daughter would love seeing the fish from under water.

 

In Freeport, I second the suggestion to go to Port Lucaya. It is a nice little shopping area where you will not get overly hassled to buy things. They have some good restaurants and various entertainment going on. It is a good place to wander around, relax and enjoy the sights. You can also walk around the harbour and go to UNEXCO which is home to the dolphin experience. The excursion itself is very expensive and would be better of done when your daughter is older. The building itself is very interesting, and they have a nice cafe with a pool outside.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[diathoney]

I'll second (or third) the Atlantis suggestion. Yes, it is a resort. They have a beautiful beach area. The grounds have pools/lagoons with fish, stingrays, sharks to see. The Dig is a great Aquarium and then there's the water park and zero entry pool. There's a kiddie area to the water park and several kiddie slides scattered around. There is a lot to do.

 

We did the Sensation 3 day in Nov with 12-6AM in Nassau. We booked a room at the Comfort Suites. We took a backpack with a change of clothes, which we left at the CS (there are also lockers at Atlantis you can use, but CS has a security closet). We spent the day enjoying the grounds, beach and water park - then went back to the CS to shower and change.

 

One note here - since the room wasn't ready at check-in we got the paper cards. These won't let you back in the side door closest to Atlantis for the return to CS. We had to walk around to the front of the CS resort to get in.

 

After showering and changing, we returned to Atlantis with our luggage. The Atlantis lobby will hold your luggage until 11:30. We ate enjoyed the sunset, dinner and went through the grounds at night. Since we were two adults, we hit the casino for a bit and the night club Aura (admission was free since we had our wristbands).

 

It was a fabulous day! We're doing a repeat in March.

[angiegal]

Has anyone ever done Atlantis excursion through Carnival? It's $145 and I'm wondering if that is worth it considering it includes lunch and transportation. How much is comfort suites and does it include anything other than the room and the wristband?

[4gomez]

Atlantis!? To each his own. If going to an island, why not hit a beach (preferrably not crowded) and relax? Can go to a pool anytime. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it.

[mudpievelour]

You HAVE to do Atlantis. Yes it is a resort, but it is a once in a lifetime experience. The grounds are amazing, the pools and slides are all over the place, and everywhere you turn there is marine life to look at and study.

 

They have glass tunnels that go under the various ponds so you can see the fish up close. One of the water slides actually goes though a shark tank.

 

You do NOT HAVE to do Atlantis. It is basically a Carribean Disneyland. I think the historical tour would be more to your liking, AND it is A LOT cheaper. Yes take the stroller. An umbrella stroller would be perfect as it is so much easier to fold up and carry the child if you have steps and stuff.

[Burchrod]

If you don't want to spend the time and money (it's not cheap) to do Atlantis for the day you can always do what we did. We took a taxi over by ourselves and walked around.

No, you can't swim but the place is gorgeous and the lobby has a huge aquarium that is free to visit. When I say huge I mean probably 8 enormous windows looking into the tank.

We definately thought it was worth the hour we spent there.

Your two year old might love the giant manta ray that lives in the aquarium. Very impressive.

[LemurCat]

I've been to Atlantis a couple of times. I can't say I find it overly impressive (as it looks like every other casino/resort that's going up these days), and to be honest, it was looking a little rough the last time I was there. Broken doors, stained carpets, nasty people both hanging out there and working there. The place looked a bit down-market, really.

[angiegal]

Cabbage beach is right next to Atlantis. It's public, free and beautiful from what I've read. I don't remember all the details but I'm sure it isn't hard to find. You can probably search the forum or google it. We're trying to decide there or Atlantis. (free or $600???)

[tbjl24]

I won't say Atlantis is a MUST DO. Everyone's idea of a vacation is different.

 

You will get a lot of people who have been to Nassau ask, did you go to Atlantis!?!?!

 

It's a very nice resort, very Americanized. So if you are looking for a natural Bahamas type atmosphere, Atlantis is not it.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Atlantis!? To each his own. If going to an island, why not hit a beach (preferrably not crowded) and relax? Can go to a pool anytime. If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it.

 

BCH British Colonial Hilton or go to Cable Beach and go to the Wyndham.

 

Neither is free but a lot cheaper than Atlantis.

 

Bill

[newporttngirl]

You are suggesting a pretty big plate of things to do in one day at Nassau. My suggestion, since you have a 2 year old, is to go to the "ports of call" section. There should be plenty of reviews and pictures of places where you can kind of get a good idea of what you are looking for. Read, Read, Read. That is what we do.

[umiami11]

I also have a 2 year old, and took her on her first cruise when she was 13 months. The stroller was a bit of a hassle at times, but invaluable most others!!! Not sure if your daughter would fall asleep in it if she was really tired, but ours did and I thanked god every we decided to take it! My shoulder and my husbands couldn't have handled carrying her that much! Also, Atlantis is great!!! They had tours you can take and the casino is beautiful! Huge glass sculptures! Lot's to see for little curious eyes!

[Smithkids5521]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth- I think your Nassau day looks fun, but very long for a 2 year old. If you really want to do as much as you are thinking of- you will need a stroller (light umbrella stroller- most have a shoulder strap/back pack like straps so you can carry it around when not in use.) Either that or maybe one of this back packs that the child sits in on your back...maybe something like this- just check weight limits-)

http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-Smart-Support-Backpack-Red/dp/B0007NC7K6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1264103688&sr=8-1

 

For Atlantis- be aware that the slides the other posters were mentioning having height restrictions. My 3 yo will be 4 when we cruise in August and she'll be too short, so I personally couldn't justify the expense of Atlantis just for the kiddies water area (we have many great water parks near us in Maryland, so that doesn't impress us too much)- same for the aquarium section, although we may wander over in the late afternoon.

 

We will be doing a sting ray snorkle/ beach afternoon over at Blackbeard's Cay... that may be something fun for your 2 yo. If you look under the ports scetion of the board you will see some reviews for it...

 

Have a great time!!! I am very jealous ;)

Take care,

Diana :)

[Essiesmom]

You might also go over to the Family Cruises section of the special Interest board. Lots of folks there who have cruised with little ones and can give good advice. EM

[lady_cruiser]

My wife, daughter (2 years) and I are going on a cruise on Carnival Sensation to the Bahamas on 7-Feb. This is our first cruise. Have a few questions. Please help.

 

1. What should we expect weather-wise on the sea as well as in the Bahamas? From weather point of view, what should we pack? We just got back from the Bahamas on the Conquest out of Galveston and it was unusally cold and rainy.

 

2. We have 1 day at Freeport (itinerary says 9 AM arrival and 5 PM departure). Please suggest what we can do. Since our daughter will be there, we will have limited mobility. Not too keen on sports. We are not water people either so all we did was take a bus ($5.00 PP, each way) to Port St. Lucia to walk around the shops. Not sure if your daughter would like this.

 

3. We have 1 day and night at Nassau (9 AM - 6 AM next day). What can we cover during the day? Here is a list of things that I thought:

Ardastra gardens and zoo - We did this and loved it - we got to feed Lorries (brightly colored birds) by hand. They fly to you, land on your hands, arms or shoulders and eat slices of apple right out of your hand.

 

You can also visit Atlantis where they have an aquarmin that your daugher might enjoy.

 

4. Maybe a dumb question. Should we take the stroller along for our daughter for the shore excursion? My concern is that it may become an unnecessary luggage for climbing stairs, walking on beaches or uneven surface etc. We saw a few people walking around with strollers in Nassau and there did not seem to be a problem.

 

4. Any other tips/suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Vivek

[bean-si]

I've been to the Bahamas and never gone to Atlantis. I want to see/do things I can't do/ see at home in Florida. If your little girl eats regular food, take a bus/taxi from downtown Nassau to an area called FISH FRY. The bus cost $1.25 each :) We ate at Seafood Haven and it was delicious. A mix of tourists and locals.

[vandus]

Plasticmouse - You posted the exact same questions i have in my mind right now..Even am travelling with my 22 month old in Jan. Could you pls tell wat all places you visited in Nassau?It would be really helpful..Wish I could send a personal message but i hve some other questions too..Did you take a visa to Bahamas?Is visa required for Indian citizens (H1B)? Pls reply..really need some guidance.

[guxu]

For Atlantis, this is one of the pictures I took this year when we were there.

[firefly333]

I might save Atlantis until your child was a bit older and had a longer attention span.

 

Go take a taxi to a free beach if you have time after exploring Nassau and build sand castles until she is tired .. might not make it to the beach even.