Recommendations for Nassau, Bahamas Shore Excursions

[DimSum]

Hello,

We will be going on our 1st DCL cruise on the Wonder in December to the Bahamas.

Which shore excusions when docking at Nassau, Bahamas would be best for a 2yr old and 4 yrs old? I've heard Atlantis (in general) is overrated. Should we do an excursion to Atlantis? Or is there another excursion(s) that is better. Or should we just skip all the excursions and go off on our own to sight see?

Thanks!

[greatdanemom]

For your children's ages they might enjoy the Ardastra Gardens & Zoo. It's a small zoo but there are lots of colorful birds and animals to check out. It would impress children more than adults but it's a decent jaunt.

[lolakat]

I love the Atlantis aquadventure but I think your kids (especially the 2 yo) may be too young to get your money's worth out of it. If you are interested in a pool/beach I would look into the resorts that offer day passes. At the Sheraton Nasau Beach you can get a room for the day and access to the pool/beach and resturants for $99. I've heard it is nice. We booked it for our last cruise but ended up canceling because my grandmother wasn't feeling well. The Hilton right by the harbor also offers a day pass but I've read that the facilities are not as nice. You might want to check out the Bahamas Destination board. There are some "experts" on there who give good advice.

 

Have a great cruise!

[mom x4,grandma x4]

Ardastra gardens as listed above would be good for little kids and not the pools but just the aquarium at Atlantis is nice. It is mostly inside where its air conditioned so kids dont get hot and cranky but some is outside too.

Once you od the tour your free to go back through at your own pace and really let the kids enjoy the fish. The windows are large and are low enough to the ground that little kids can easily see into them.

 

You dont have to book it through DCL. Its easy to get a taxi or a water taxi to take you there, buy your admission there and enjoy.

 

The pirate museum is neat for adults and older kids, it might have a couple of scary spots for little kids.

 

We did the glass bottom boat but didnt see anything, the boat was old and dirty and to get down ot the viewing area was short steep stairs that were hard for kids and older people to goup and down. Fish do migrate so just because we saw nothing doesnt mean you wouldnt see something.

 

For kids thats the best I can think of. There are lots of great rours there but not for little kids. They would get bored.

[owensjro]

The "discover Atlantis" was nice if you like aquariums. It took about an hour to do the tour and then we walked the aquarium again on our own. A lot of different tanks/rooms and quite a nice variety of sea life.

 

This was the only excursion we have done with our daughter (age 8) in Nassau. Every other time we've just stayed on the ship and enjoyed the pools, clubs, etc. :) It's like a sea day for us.

 

Jim

[ToriaLynnS]

Has anyone done the partial submarine excursion from Nassau (we are cruising with Disney, not sure if other lines offer this)? We have a 7 year old and we though it might be fun, but are hoping for advice from someone who has done this....

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

We did the partial sub, we didn't see a whole bunch a turtle, mostly fish lots of garbage (sad) but we enjoyed it, I would recomend dolphin encounters we've gone twice just do an encounter your waste deep in at a dock the kids will love it and then you can walk around blue lagoon island while there I think they also sell beach passes for blue lagoon when we did the encounter Jan 2010 we were allowed to use the beach no extra cost not sure if they still Allow it

[mymollysue]

We got day passes to the British Colonial Hilton and it was within walking distance from the port. They were $55 per person and gave you access to their beach and pool plus food and drink credits. We loved it! My DD was 1 at the time and wasn't charged.

[juniper627]

I'm interested in hearing the replies... We'll be traveling w/ our 4 year old & 22 month old on the Dream (a group of 10 in total)... we were't sure if the beach would be our best option... and if so, which one!

[WeLoveDisneyAlways]

I'm interested in hearing the replies... We'll be traveling w/ our 4 year old & 22 month old on the Dream (a group of 10 in total)... we were't sure if the beach would be our best option... and if so, which one!

 

 

I'm not sure you'd want to just hang out at a beach, you'll probably be doing that at castaway cay. Try the half sub it doesn't go under water but you can see fully underwater we really enjoyed it for a lower priced option http://seaworldtours.com/ you can also head over to blue lagoon island and do a dolphin encounter they even video tape your experience its great for little ones. I have personally done both with a little one and she loved it she was a bit shy at first with the dolphin but made for great memories

[jenseib]

We are giving the blue lagoon dolphin encounter a try....if all goes well.

[txcruise75]

How far was the British Colonial Hilton? Also, do you think the Sheraton or Wyndam day passes are better?

[mymollysue]

About a 10-15 min walk from the ship. We loved the Hilton. The beach was small but quiet and the water was calm. Plus you could see all the cruise ships in the distance and got to see ships pulling into the port. The beach was calm and my DD loved the water. The pool was lovely and the food was good. We chose to go there because we had read a lot of good reviews from cruise critic.

 

You also might want to check out the Blue Lagoon Beach Excursion and Blackbeard's Cay excursion.....it might be a bit more kid friendly.

[tuliplvr]

We are giving the blue lagoon dolphin encounter a try....if all goes well.

 

We did the encounter last year and it was FANTASTIC!

[jenseib]

We did the encounter last year and it was FANTASTIC!

 

If you have any pictures, I would love to see them

[tuliplvr]

If you have any pictures, I would love to see them

 

I'll see if I can post some. The pictures they took were unbelievable. They came out so good!!! Worth every penny!

[goofymom71]

which aquadventure did you do? we were thinking about doing the one with the boogie board and the power thingy. it includes a meal and the water park too. is it worth it? it will be me and my 11 year old son