Key west, freeport, nassau excusions

[CRUISE4JANE]

What are the best excusions in Key West, Freeport and Nassau? Are there any cute little quaint shops right as you get off the ship? :rolleyes:

[ATL2LAS]

Key West is an easy port to get around. You can either take the hop on-hop off Conch train tour or just rent bicycles or golf carts. For Nassau, I just head over to the Atlantis for the day. Have never been to Freeport:(

[BIG_Steve]

Freeport is a busy industrial port. Where the ship docks is a small straw market, bar, and a gift shop. If you're not taking a ship excursion, then you'd want to pay $5.00 for a shared cab ride to Our Lucaya. That's where the beaches, more shopping, restaurants and a casino are. Did not take an excursion there. The beaches and snorkeling off a boat are supposed to be very nice.

 

 

In Nassau, the shopping starts when you leave the ship. The terminal is full of stands selling almost everything. As you exit to the street, the straw market, and Bay str are a short walk for more shopping. A lot of folks have good luck hiring a cabby at the dock for a tour. We did that and got a stinker of a tour. The only excursion we did there was the semi-sub. It was a pleasant day, but there was nothing to see, and the crew was bored to death. I don't recommend it.

[taszmom]

That's tough to answer without knowing what you like to do! ;) There are a few excursions in Nassau as previous poster mentioned Atlantis, that's if you can get a day pass which is the $100pp range. There are other resorts on Cable Beach where you can buy day passes as well. They have a Blue Lagoon Island/Dolphin Encounter. Its a pretty cove which is great for swimming, food drink. (This is where they filmed the actual movie.) Even if you don't want to do the dolphin encounter, you can just hang out at the beach. They also have an excursion to a private island, Blackbeard's Cay I think it was called and they have stingrays. Within walking distance of the pier, there is a cheesy Pirate Museum with a restaurant in the courtyard.

 

Key West - Can't miss Sloppy Joe's or Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. There is Ernest Hemingway's house, Key West Auarium. I will be in Key West on our upcoming cruise in August and decided to do something different, Waverunner around Key West which I booked with a different tour operator.

 

I haven't been to Freeport in about 25 years.

[satbeachbill]

In Nassau, you can go to the Sheraton at Cable Beach and have full run of the facilities for a $25 day pass/ per person available at the front desk of the hotel. No reservations required. Extras would be food and drinks. Take a cab there or the #10 Jitney from near the straw market.

[JRock59]

Key West - do a little research and plan your own walking tour. We've done this twice and truly enjoyed it. The Mel Fisher treasure museum is pretty much right as you get off the ship and is very interesting to tour. There's so much to do and see don't try to get it all in in one visit.

 

Nassau - If you haven't been to Atlantis it's a nice way to spend the day. We've done the Aquaventure and the beach day there both included admission to the dig and other sites. If you want to shop there's lots right off the ship and with in a couple of blocks.

 

Freeport - Take a ship ex if you really want to do something any of them are good. There's very little in the Ship port area and don't bother going into the Port Lycua shopping area it's not worth the taxi fare. We usually end up staying on the ship and enjoy the pool, slides and hot tubs while everyone else is off the ship!

[gobucks_43228]

Check out Fury Water Sports for Nassau we used them for an amazing parisail adventure. They have added more things since.

 

I'm not sure about Freeport ( never been) Nassau only been there once

[bguppies]

In Key West you can just walk down Duvall St. from the pier to the southernmost point of the US. (Duval St. runs a mile or so, north to south from tip to tip of Key West.)

 

Plenty of bars, shops and interesting stops along Duval or one block west.

 

I know my DW got some handmade Kino sandals at their shop there.

Found out that was a popular stop from the Key West boards in here.

 

 

In Freeport, I would catch a cab to Our Lucaya resort, which has amazing beaches and a nice sized straw market right across the street from the beach.

(very easy to catch a cab back from the straw market also)

 

In Nassau there is tons of things to do....

It would help to know what you like to do, to help steer you.

 

Shopping is just on the other side of the Welcome Center.

Bay Street runs parallel to the piers.

Shopping up and down for about a mile.

The new Straw Market is right next to the pier area off Bay St. (the fake purse, haggling capital of Nassau)

 

You can get day passes to the beach and pools at the Sheraton Cable Beach or the British Colonial Hilton right near the pier.

 

Ardastra Gardens and zoo has a great marching Flamingo show and a fun Lorry Parrot feeding twice a day.

 

Blue Lagoon has great Dolphin swims/encounters and a Sea Lion encounter.

(plus a beach for free after paying for either or both encounters.)

 

Alot of people enjoy Atlantis and its fake Disney/Vegasy vibe.

We did it once, but definitely not our cup of tea.

But if you enjoy that kind of place, then Atlantis might be for you.

(be warned, EXTRAORDINARILY expensive. A tiny cup of Mac and Cheese was like $10. )

 

I would STRONGLY suggest you check the actual port of call boards (Bahamas and Key West) for each of these places, which is where I learned about all of the places I mentioned, before each of our cruises there.

 

Bill

[AQW]

There are a million things to do in Key West; it's all a matter of what you enjoy. Since we were there with our homeschooled children (9yo nephew, 8yo son, 5yo daughter) we visited the Butterfly Conservatory, Southernmost Point, and the Shipwreck Historeum. We booked the hop-on, hop-off trolley to get around & were lucky to have excellent drivers/guides who were happy to share the rich history of Key West. Throw in some frozen key lime pie on a stick, and it was a wonderful day! :)

[photojunkieEMT]

If you decide you want to play with the dolphins and don't know if you want to do it in Nassau or Freeport I HIGHLY recommend Nassau. I have done it at both ports and we were running late getting back in Freeport. Thank God we were on a Carnival excursion. I stepped on the ship and they pulled the gangway up behind me.:eek: Carnival excursion or not, I don't want to repeat that EVER again.:rolleyes:

[C Cruise Dude]

What are the best excusions in Key West, Freeport and Nassau? Are there any cute little quaint shops right as you get off the ship? :rolleyes:

 

Keywest: Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

 

Freeport: Garden of the Groves

 

Nassau: Semi Sub is nice but be sure to get a reasonably priced drink at the port. A fraction of the ship's prices and more drink.:p;):D Take a cab to Atlantis and walk around. Cab $6 each way/pp.

 

Atlantis Casino - They give complimentary drinks

 

Garden of the Groves - Freeport

[CRUISE4JANE]

Thanks Big Steve. I appreciate this info very much.

[CRUISE4JANE]

Thanks Bguppies! What do you mean Atlantis is Disney/Vegas vibe? OMG, I love Disney and Vegas. I am interested in shopping, beaches and DH likes everything. What's this about a casino? I wouldn't mind checking it out for just a short time as I don't want to miss out on the other stuff while in port. There is always the casino onboard which I know I will be in while sailing.

[bguppies]

Thanks Bguppies! What do you mean Atlantis is Disney/Vegas vibe? OMG, I love Disney and Vegas.

 

We prefer to visit ports and see the authentic parts of towns and authentic local cuisine.

 

Atlantis is alot like some of the larger Vegas properties with the Atlantis backdrop instead of fake Venice or fake Paris, etc... in Vegas.

 

It is very fancy and beautiful inside, with a very expensive Rodeo Drive type shopping area near the Casino.

 

The Dig aquarium is OK, but I have seen much, much better in Baltimore and Atlanta.

 

We don't do the waterslides, so that has no attraction to us.

 

Honestly, if you enjoy Vegas style properties, DEFINITELY save some time to try it out yourself.

 

Bill

[GTO-Girl]

Can someone tell me the price of the hop-on, hop-off trolley in Key West?

 

Thanks

[CRUISE4JANE]

Bguppies your description of Atlantis sounds fine to me. I WILL HAVE TO GO THERE

[CRUISE4JANE]

Bguppies, OOPS, didn't finish my reply to you. Love Vegas, love Rodeo Dr.. Now I know I will have to check this out. Thanks a bunch.

[bguppies]

No problem.

Everyone's idea of a good time is subjective.

You couldn't pay DW to go within 100 yards of any kind of shopping while on a cruise.

 

Hope you have a great experience at Atlantis.

 

Bill

[GTO-Girl]

Can someone tell me the price of the hop-on, hop-off trolley in Key West?

 

Thanks

 

 

anyone?

[bguppies]

I would try the Key West message board if you don't get a response.

There are a couple of locals who answer in there.

 

That is where I did all of my research for Key West.

 

Bill

[AQW]

Can someone tell me the price of the hop-on, hop-off trolley in Key West?

 

Adults $29; Seniors (62+) $26; children under 12 ride free. There is a 10% discount for booking online, and they offer a 100% money-back guarantee.

 

We were thrilled with their service and would absolutely use them again in the future. Here is their website: http://www.trolleytours.com/key-west/

[Cristallo]

Nassau- We did the Fromers Walking Tour ourselves. We got most of it done and we enjoyed it. A perk was we got some stamps at the post office and Bahama dollar as a keep sake. http://www.frommers.com/destinations/newprovidence/0251010008.html

 

 

Freeport- I'd also recommend Garden of the Groves. It was really pretty and a great tour. The bus ride over was kinda pointless but once you get to the Garden it was great. At the end the tour you can walk around for a bit. There are some stores at the garden plus they take you to Port Lucaya for shopping.

[CRUISE4JANE]

I would try the Key West message board if you don't get a response.

There are a couple of locals who answer in there.

 

That is where I did all of my research for Key West.

 

Bill

 

I am new to the message boards, but am finding that out. Just go to the forum you want and go. Sooooooo.... many threads. Cruised twice before without it. Stupid me! :( Now I can't get off. Will I ever have time to pack for my upcoming cruise? Well................I do have a year :eek:.

[CRUISE4JANE]

Bguppies, will check out the Key West board. Thanks a bunch!