if you've been to Nassau, Freeport, or Key West..

[momof4boys]

We just visited those ports in June (for the second time) Our group had a senior in high school, 6 college kids, two young 20 year olds, and 4 upper 40s and low 50s yo parents. Everyone loved our acitivities.

 

Key West: hop on/off trolley. Went to Butterfly conservatory, walked to Southernmost point for pictures, ate at Warf at amazing place tour guide recommeded, listened to info/ tour of town. Visited Pirate Museum and then Parasailed---not many people so they took each group of 2 up twice!! (Purchased from a store near pier!)

 

Freeport- Did all inclusive from Carnival. (My third son turned 21-and it was a big hit) Food, trapeze lessons, sand volleyball, food, and beach! Oh...did I forget the drinks???

 

Atlantas: Booked Comfort suites/Atlantis at a fraction of the cost. Had complete access to all Atlantis properties. We had to purchase food, but I did not think the cost was outragious. They had combos like chicken strips or cheeseburgers with fries and drink for less than $10. The mixed drinks were perfect, the woman and small band entertaining were amazing, and the slides and crazy river were a hit.

 

Again, EVERYONE loved this.

 

PS. On another cruise, we did a catermaran sail and snorkel in Key West, went to a beach in Freeport via CCL excursions, and snorkeled and dolphin encounter (not swim)-CCl excursion. Then visited Paradise Island Beach on our own.

 

These were also fun times.

 

Have a BLast

[HendersonKY]

For those wanting to go snorkeling, we have heard that paradise cove in freeport was a great day. We booked it for $35 each. That is transportation and snorkel equipment. It seemed to be the only way to be able to have a long beach day and snorkel for more than an hour if we wanted. They have a small bar that serves drinks and food and the prices look pretty reasonable. You don't pay until you get there. Seems like good people with nice beach that is not very crowded.

[beach410]

Freeport: take a taxi to our lucaya, nice beach day with the availability of water sports

 

Nassau: since you mentioned an all inclusive try breezes

 

Key west: haven't done it myself, but I have read that the bar hopping excursion is a blast. When we went we rented golf cart type vehicles and toured the island on our own.

[beach410]

I am loving this thread, as I am taking this trip in June on the Triumph. I have been so confused trying to figure out which excursion to do where. I think we have finally decided to just wing it in Key West. But I still can't decide where to snorkel. Is Freeport better or Nassau? I was thinking of doing the beach day at the Radission excursion in Freeport, and hoping we could rent some snorkel equipment there. But who knows if there is anything to be seen off the beach there? In Nassau they have Atlantis, but the excursion prices are so high, I'm thinking we might either snorkel or do the Blue Lagoon. It's so overwhelming! :eek:

 

 

 

We love the beach at our lucaya in Freeport, for Nassau we enjoyed the catamaran snorkeling tour thru Carnival and also the day we spent at Atlantis by renting a room at comfort suites.

[DEBnGAB]

we need help trying to figure out what to do on these islands.

 

we know that freeport doesnt have much going on like the other 2 so we figured thatd be a good place to snorkle. Has anyone snorkled there before? if so where? or have any other ideas for freeport?

 

In nassau we heard there were much more sites to see but we werent too sure what is best? also we were thinking of day passes. we are college students about to graduate soo any day passes that include food and alcohol would be great if anyone knows of any? or if anyone has any other ideas for nassau i would love to hear them!

 

and for key west we honestly have no idea what to do. any ideas?

 

 

We're doing a booze cruise in Nassau that includes lunch and snorkeling...and drinks.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Do you know about any of the forts there? We are going to Nassau and my DH and myself would like to tour the forts. I now that there ae excursions that go there but it would be nice to know if anyone has experienced it?

 

I've walked to Fort Fincastle. Tours come through regularly, so if you just stand somewhere of interest, you can hear all about it if you wait a few minutes. It was kind of interesting how the tour guides put there own spin of things. :p

 

 

[MistyRo76]

Never been to Freeport, so I can't help ya there.

 

But in Nassau, we took a cab over to Atlantis and took their Aquarium Tour. It was amazing. It was like $20-25 per person and ended up being about a 90-minute to 2 hr. tour through the underground aquariums, the hotel and the outdoor grounds. It was a really neat tour. And you get to hear alot of history and stories about the hotel and the island. Then we had lunch down on the marina and took the water taxi back to the ship.

 

Been to Key West numerous times and we mostly just walked around. But on our last time there, we booked the Key West Pub Crawl Tour through the ship. It was a BLAST! You visit 5 different pubs in Key West and for each stop you get a drink ticket. Each location has their signature drink. You don't have to be a big drinker to enjoy the tour. Our tour guide, Captain Ron, was your typical laid back old beach bum. Quit his job to move to the islands and find a job that would allow him to drink! He was hysterical. And we met such a great group of people on this tour. It was a walking tour, but everything was in a few blocks of each other. Lots of history told during the tour and nice little stories and antedotes. You also get a T-Shirt that says "I survived the Key West Pub Crawl". Best time I've ever had in Key West.

[lemonlime403]

We're doing a booze cruise in Nassau that includes lunch and snorkeling...and drinks.

 

we looked into that and it ran pretty late. i believe it was over 30 min before the cruise was suppose to leave port so we decided we didnt want to risk it. Make sure you check the times.. i read somewhere that they tend to run late because they dont leave until the whole group has arrived.

[lemonlime403]

Thanks so much for the ideas! after reading this im pretty sure we will snorkle in freeport and sightsee/walk around in keywest - possibly do the pub crawl.

 

still not 100% about nassau though. atlantis sounds amazing but if we went we'd want to do everything but its crazy expensive. i believe it was 153 per person? i heard breezes did an all-inclusive with alcohol and everything for 60. anyone been there or know of any other all inclusive resorts in nassau?

 

if anyone has any other ideas i would still like to hear them. nothing is 100% yet but we will be booking things on the islands soon considering we leave on the fantasy in only 15 days! :)

[Cruise Envy]

We did Pat & Diane's snorkeling tour in Freeport, and enjoyed it very much. We did the dolphin encounter @ Blue Lagoon in Nassau, and the trolley in Key West. The shipwreck museum right at Mallory Square wasn't expensive, and it includes the right to climb up their tower for lovely views of Key West.

 

You'll enjoy your cruise, we did it at Thanksgiving!

[klm2]

We have been to Key West twice. First time we did snorkeling, seems to me it was a reef off shore. It was good but a little rough. Second time we did a pub crawl and had a blast. Tourguide was great! It was a bit strange as it was a morning crawl but we just headed back on the ship for food afterwards.

[Martini Mom]

We're pretty simple. We found a nice beach to plunk down on and soak up the sun, soft sand, and warm, clear water. I am not into paying a grip for a day pass to a tourist resort (Atlantis). That's just me. :)

[DEBnGAB]

we looked into that and it ran pretty late. i believe it was over 30 min before the cruise was suppose to leave port so we decided we didnt want to risk it. Make sure you check the times.. i read somewhere that they tend to run late because they dont leave until the whole group has arrived.

 

Aww bummer! The one we are using is below...leaves at 1:00pm and lasts 4 hours.

 

http://bahamascruiseexcursions.com/NassauBoozeCruiseParty.htm

[lemonlime403]

Aww bummer! The one we are using is below...leaves at 1:00pm and lasts 4 hours.

 

http://bahamascruiseexcursions.com/NassauBoozeCruiseParty.htm

 

 

yeahh thats the one we looked at. looks like alot of fun but when we spoke to someone who works there they said it was usually over around 5:30 and considering our ship leaves at 6 its cutting it pretty close :(

[DEBnGAB]

yeahh thats the one we looked at. looks like alot of fun but when we spoke to someone who works there they said it was usually over around 5:30 and considering our ship leaves at 6 its cutting it pretty close :(

 

 

Oh true dont blame you there!!!

[Pug Lady]

We just visited those ports in June (for the second time) Our group had a senior in high school, 6 college kids, two young 20 year olds, and 4 upper 40s and low 50s yo parents. Everyone loved our acitivities.

 

Key West: hop on/off trolley. Went to Butterfly conservatory, walked to Southernmost point for pictures, ate at Warf at amazing place tour guide recommeded, listened to info/ tour of town. Visited Pirate Museum and then Parasailed---not many people so they took each group of 2 up twice!! (Purchased from a store near pier!)

 

Freeport- Did all inclusive from Carnival. (My third son turned 21-and it was a big hit) Food, trapeze lessons, sand volleyball, food, and beach! Oh...did I forget the drinks???

 

Atlantas: Booked Comfort suites/Atlantis at a fraction of the cost. Had complete access to all Atlantis properties. We had to purchase food, but I did not think the cost was outragious. They had combos like chicken strips or cheeseburgers with fries and drink for less than $10. The mixed drinks were perfect, the woman and small band entertaining were amazing, and the slides and crazy river were a hit.

 

Again, EVERYONE loved this.

 

PS. On another cruise, we did a catermaran sail and snorkel in Key West, went to a beach in Freeport via CCL excursions, and snorkeled and dolphin encounter (not swim)-CCl excursion. Then visited Paradise Island Beach on our own.

 

These were also fun times.

 

Have a BLast

 

In freeport was the all inclusive at the Radisson? I'm confused as to what "all-inclusive" actually means. On the carnival website, it says a beach chair is included with the price of the ticket, and a meal, but they have drinks for purchase. So drinks were included in your excursion?

 

By the way, I'm the mom of 2 boys, so I have nothing but respect for anybody that can handle 4!! ;)

[lemonlime403]

is there an all inclusive including alcohol in freeport? what about nassau?

[Superjoku]

www.deadmansreef.com

 

After hearing what a waste Freeport was, we were tempted to not get off the ship.

We heard about Paradise Cove @ Dead Man's Reef on CruiseCritic and decided it was better than sitting on the ship.

It was the absolute highlight of our trip (and we did Atlantis in Nassau!).

The beach was private. . no peddlers. .

The food was reasonably priced and yummy.

My husband rented snorkel equip and a kayak.

I rented a beach chair.

The owner's name is Barry and it's my understanding that he and his family own and operate the place.

[Iluvmypuggle]

I didn't read all the way to the end so I apologize for any duplicate responses, but wanted to share my fav things at those ports:

 

FREEPORT - We snorkeled and the water was amazing, but the boat ride to/from the snorkel location was almost an hour.

 

NASSAU - This port is so easy to navigate w/o booking an excursion. They hand you maps when you get off the ship so there's a lot within walking distance. We did the pirate museum which was $12/person. It was just something different because we didn't want to do the beach that day.

 

KEY WEST - Hands down my fav port ever! I did the pub crawl and it was probably my favorite cruise excursion of all time. We went to 4 or 5 bars and got a decent walking tour of the island - plus we made a bunch of friends for the remainder of the cruise. Then we did some shopping afterwards because there's a bunch of cute stores and also some outlets.

 

Enjoy!

[jyado]

In freeport we just took a cab into our lacaya, the shopping was good, it was our go easy day.

In Nassau we did the booze cruise, It's around four hours I think, i really don't remember the end too well;), I beleive it was 60 per person, we went in october of 2010. You get on a double decker boat, with a snorkeling spot. The snorkeling honestly kinda stank, just my opinion. Then they take you to a small private beach for like twenty min., you can rent a jet ski, or do banana boat rides there. The prices start kinda high, but they soon go down if you hesitate. They provide lunch, ribs/chicken/rice. It was actually pretty good. The plus side was the unlimited drinks. It ends up being a huge party on top of the boat, nobody was on the bottom. Great music, we are in are early/mid twenties, and it was the music from our past...greatest hits. Everyone was dancing, limbo contest, guys were doing push-up contests, it was a blast. A plus side is the age range was from early twenties, up to late fifties. I would recommend this, if your looking for a party/fun atmosphere. Don't forget the conga line, the whole boat was doing it!