Probably a stupid question about excursions...

[ErinPhae]

I searched but there are so many posts I couldn't find what I needed - I am sorry if this is redundant.

 

I am going to be sailing on Carnival, with stops in Nassau (8am-6pm) and Half Moon Cay (7am-6pm).

 

We were thinking of booking excursions, but truly, we were hoping we could just get off the ship and go onto the beach on our own; however, I keep seeing ads for "Beach Day" or "Beach Time" - do we have to pay to go on the beach?!?

 

I do not fully understand how this works. My mother in law has been on many cruises on many lines, and she told us that she has always just come off the ship and went onto the beach, with her own towel, etc, and stayed as long as she liked before returning to the ship. She said that sometimes she has gotten a cab and asked to be taken to a public beach?

 

Could someone clear this up for me?

 

Thanks so much!!!

[LittleMissMagic]

For ports with beaches, you can purchase a beach excursion that includes transportation to/from the beach and maybe a cocktail.

 

However, often when you do the math, that is a huge waste of money.

 

You can also get off the ship and get a taxi to a beach. If you aren't sure which beach you'd like, see where the beach excursions are going to. We've also just asked the taxi driver to take us to the nicest beach, and that worked out very well. So that's like an $5-8 cab ride each way, compared to say an $18/person excursion.

 

The cruiseline is going to encourage you to book their excursion because they get some money from it and so does the port. However, if you think about it, you are still supporting the islanders by going directly through the taxi drivers (no cruiseline deduction). The problem with doing it on your own is that if something happens and you can't get back, you're on your own. If you book through the cruiseline, you will definitely get back on the ship.

 

I suggest planning to arrive to the dock at least an hour before the ship is to set sail. Time how long it takes to get there and allow that much time to come back. We always do beach days on our own, and we have never yet not made it back on time. You just have to allow time for error.

 

Hope that helped! :)

 

*Edit: The other thing about the beach excursions is that they limit the amount of time you can spend at the beach. If you do it yourself, you can take as long as you want. You'll still have to rent chairs, but often with the beach excursions, chairs are not included, anyway. Read the beach excursion information very carefully before you book. I have yet to see a beach excursion that is a good value.

[ErinPhae]

Thank you so so much! I feel a lot better now! :) I do believe we will take your suggestion and try the taxi route :)

 

Um, another embarrassing question; when off the ship, do we use American $ or will we need to exchange it somehow? I have only travelled out of the country a few times (to Ireland), where you have to exchange.

 

I'm sorry, I'm not very smart about this! :o:o

[firefly333]

Thank you so so much! I feel a lot better now! :) I do believe we will take your suggestion and try the taxi route :)

 

Um, another embarrassing question; when off the ship, do we use American $ or will we need to exchange it somehow? I have only travelled out of the country a few times (to Ireland), where you have to exchange.

 

I'm sorry, I'm not very smart about this! :o:o

 

Looks like you are just going to the Bahamas. They love your dollars. Spend away. lol :D

 

All the ports Iv been to will take my dollars. A few didnt make change!!! except in their currency. (Jamaica and Cozumel)

[gord13]

You will be good with U.S. dollars. Try and keep a bunch of singles, fives and tens. And please don't say that you are not very smart, never undersell yourself.

[ErinPhae]

And please don't say that you are not very smart, never undersell yourself.

 

 

Thanks so much :) I get really overwhelmed trying to plan; I have a ton of questions but don't always post becaue I never know if people will be nice or naughty when they reply. Thanks :)

[ErinPhae]

Looks like you are just going to the Bahamas. They love your dollars. Spend away. lol :D

 

Yep, just wanted to do one stop for our first cruise :) Thanks for your help!!

[GlendaleCruiser]

You will be good with U.S. dollars. Try and keep a bunch of singles, fives and tens. And please don't say that you are not very smart, never undersell yourself.

 

 

Exactly. We all started out not knowing all these things. I didn't even have CC when I went on my first 3 cruises, just learned one thing at a time by asking once onboard and making a lot of mistakes and missing out on a lot because I didn't know. That's what we are here for--to help each other.:D

[johneeo]

Yep, just wanted to do one stop for our first cruise :) Thanks for your help!!

 

Check out the Ports of Call thread for the Bahamas for more info.

[uppitycats]

Not only can you just get off the ship and "wander" on your own...you don't have to get off the ship at all! A lot of new cruisers think that they must get off the ship at every port...when in fact there are all kinds of ship amenities open on board, and some of the port days -- when everyone else is off running around, can be calm, and fun. There are no crowds at the pool, sometimes specials in the spa, a generally laid-back experience all around. So if you feel beat from running around the day before, somewhere, you can just stay aboard and have a very nice time, too!

[cb at sea]

Half moon cay IS a beach day...on the "private" island....no need to do excursions there, either, if all you want is the beach and lunch!

[firefly333]

Half moon cay IS a beach day...on the "private" island....no need to do excursions there, either, if all you want is the beach and lunch!

 

I went to the beach on a Princess cruise like that, and even getting a float for $8 (which I never picked up) is considered a excursion. lol

[gord13]

One more thing. Always get the cost of the taxi before you get in.

[goatgoat]

At Half Moon Cay, you will tender from the ship to the dock. There is an expanse of great beach right there with water activities available. I do recommend you rent a clam shell. This give you some shade and two reserved lounges for about $15 for the day. The sun can get pretty intense if you stay out all day. Also, the ship will provide a bbq lunch under a pavilion (no extra charge). Waiters will circulate and take your drink orders. Those are charged to your onboard account. This is one of my favorite ports!

[ErinPhae]

Thank you all soooooo much! I feel much better now!

 

My poor mother in law is exhausted from my questions, plus she is a "stay on the boat" type so CC is my only resource! :)

 

Also, I am definitely excited now for Half Moon, I didn't know for sure what type of port it is. I am definitely going to look into the clamshell :)

 

Thanks so much again for your help! I'm sure I'll be posting much more as the big day arrives :)

[marshhawk]

I guess people have different reasons to cruise, to stay on a ship is the "I don't have to do anything for a while" cruise, and the other is "I get to see somewhere I have never been before" cruise. Half Moon Cay is a tender port. They load you up on small boats and take you to the island, and there is no extra $ you have to spend. We are sailing to Nassau again in December, and when we went last time I heard enough from other people to want to once again do an excursion with the cruise lines.

The Bahamas' #1 money making is tourism. From the time we we returned from our excursion, all we heard from people, was "wanna buy?" "wanna braid your hair" "gotta great deal" and I do not handle being solicited very well. It intimidates me. And that's just me, alot of people love to get in the whole shopping thing, best bargain thing. I hate it.

That said, if I feel uncomfortable I am unhappy:(. We , my DH and I decided to go to Blackbeards Island to snorkle. We were met at the ship, walked to our catamaran, and headed out to the island. (We were on the cruise because friends of ours were getting married. Once the reception was over, we basically were on our own on the cruise.) The bride's mother and aunt decided they did not want to do a shore excursion, they would just wander the streets and look around.

They did not get very far(but were off the main road) when a young man asked if he could sing for then for a dollar. He sang, and they gave him a dollar. And then a whole bunch of kids swarmed around them and started asking for money. They felt very intimidated, and began to run, the aunt fell on the streets, and when the bride's mother, got her up off the street and they sat down on the curb to evaluate the injuries, the bride's mother sat on a yellow jacket and got stung in the butt. Now they were both hurting and had to still turn around and get back to the ship.

I tell this story because when you are on a cruise and you get off the ship, you may be where they speak English, but you are not "in Kansas" anymore. When you are on a ship's excursion, you are not being peddled to pieces. You do not have the stress of trying to get back to the ship, and you can put your "worries" in someone else's hands. And that to me is what a vacation is all about. No worries.

You can google everything these days, city maps, tourtist attractions in places you are going to, so if you do not want to pay the cruise lines for "no worries" at least you can have a plan of where you are going, how far away it is, etc. As far as Nassau, there is a beach at the Hilton that you can walk to, but the hotel does charge you to use their beach. To find a "free beach" you will have to take a cab, and as others have said, check out the Bahamas Port of Call threads.

Sail safely.....cruise happy:)!

[lovingme]

Hello,

 

I am very new to the message board. I have never cruised before and am planning my first one next year. I have a silly question about excursions.

 

Is it safe to jetski if you wear prescription glasses? Unfortunately, I need my glasses all the time. One thing I have always wanted to do was jetski, but of course, I'm afraid that my glasses will fall off or break.

 

Thank you for any advice

[Schoifmom]

Hello,

 

I am very new to the message board. I have never cruised before and am planning my first one next year. I have a silly question about excursions.

 

Is it safe to jetski if you wear prescription glasses? Unfortunately, I need my glasses all the time. One thing I have always wanted to do was jetski, but of course, I'm afraid that my glasses will fall off or break.

 

Thank you for any advice

 

I'm sorry that I don't know the "official" answer to your question. However, I would like to recommend that if you plan to jet ski, you might look into purchasing goggles that will cover your prescription glasses and take those with you.