stay on the boat in Nassau?

[jeast]

Hi! We are taking a 4 night cruise. DH and I think it may be easier to remain on board with DS6 and DD3 at the Nassau port. I've heard mixed reviews about most of the beach excursions (Atlantis and Blue Lagoon) and are not sure it's worth it (hassle and financial) to drag two little kids around anyway. We think it might just be worth it to enjoy the kids programs and almost empty pools.

 

What do you other parents of young children think?

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi!

 

I'm also very interested in what others have to say. We have a DS7, and think he would be bored with shopping, and too impatient to wait for excursions.

 

I'm considering taking him to a beach, but I'm not looking forward to "running the gauntlet" to get off the ship.

 

We've been to Nassau before without our son, and I didn't find anything there I particularly want to see or do again.

 

Since this is such a short cruise anyway (4 nights), I think remaining on board may make a lot of sense...

 

Anxious to hear what others think.... :)

 

Maria

[gatour]

Not a parent, but I have stayed on the ship in Nassau I have been there many times. It can be quite pleasant with the ship being uncrowded.

[mycruz]

Personally, if the Atlantis casino wasn't there, we wouldn't get off the ship in Nassau. It is really nice to have the whole ship to yourself, we did that last time when we docked in Castaway Cay. If you have kids, you may find it more relaxing just to take them to the pool on board for the day, you get lot's of beach time on Castaway. Pool shouldn't be very crowded at at. Or if you want to check out the casino, let the kids stay in the Kid's club, they'll love it!

[shellden]

We just sailed the 4 night, me, DH, DD8 and DD10. We stayed on the ship and enjoyed a relaxing day, pools are definelty less crowded. There were 1000 children on our sailing so a pool spot is prime. We didn't find many activities scheduled for this day but that was fine since we had been running around Disney for a few days prior to sailing.

The ship is awesome Disney all the way!!

Happy Sailing

[ruttie]

we almost always stay on the ship in nassua "ben there done that":) But i will say my kids lovethe pirate museaum.. it is affordable and an easy walk.. We just went to the gift shop first bought some eye patches/bandanas.etc.. and then walke don our own throught the museaum.. We did not do teh guided tour as that did not keep the kids interest but we killed a little over 2 hours walking to from and doing the museam... still plaenty of time to do ship stuff..

[Druke I]

Not a Nassau fan - stayed on board - but I've done that at several ports in which I have no interest.

 

Personally, I am a fan of sea days, not port days, and don't care for the Caribbean as a destination.

[oscarmoraz]

Hi,

 

We have booked for the 29th of Sept. and are bringing our 4-year-old grand daughter. We are planning to stay on the ship in Nassau also...my questions is will the characters be visible during this time since most of the passengers will be in port?

 

Cindy

[deborahjo]

We did the Blue Lagoon last august. It was to rough to swim withthe dolphins but it was a beautiful beach. I am glad we opted for it instead of the Casino.

[Kuffam]

We just stayed on the ship. It was a nice relaxing day with me, DW and DD (18 mos at that time) went swimming, saw a movie, took a nap. After 4.5 days of running through the parks, it a great way to slow down and not feel like your missing anything.:)

[MrPete]

One time we just walked around town, as I had to get off to buy some video film. She (4) loved the Calypso band along the walk. They have really started to build nassau up with the vibrant colors. Anyway, we walked the shops, and made our way to the straw market, if not just to stretch our legs.

 

 

Next time (she was 5), we did go to Blue lagoon. There is a band on the boat going and coming, so they may be entertained. The ride was longer and slower than I expected. But the Lagoon would be nice enough for them to frollic around in the water with no fear, as it's shallow and clear (and WARM in July).

 

Your choice! I have stayed opn the ship as well.

[magic1]

We also stay on ship while in Nassau. We took kids to Atantis the last time in port to see the Giant Manta Ray in their Aqurium but otherwise stay on the ship. Usually no characters while in port unless there is something special going on.

[NCmom]

We usually stay onboard with our DD who enjoys the movies, a fairly uncrowded pool, and activities onboard.

 

I have considered going to the Atlantis with a day rate, or with the Comfort Suites rate, but haven't yet. I think I also read that someone grabbed a taxi to a hotel on Cable Beach, and enjoyed the pool, chairs and beach for free.

[jnnifer01]

DH and I walked around & shopped for about an hour or two on our 2nd trip there and spent the rest of the day on the ship. It was nice- cool AC, not as crowded, 'free' lunch, etc. It was nice to see for the 1st time, but after that, we decided to take it easy and relax on the ship. It was a nice change- we usually tire ourselves out, thinking that we have to spend every minute on land before we have to go. We had our fun on Castaway Cay, where it's clean, pretty, good food, and great swimming.

Have fun!

[bobbyfk]

if you dont want to get off the ship i have video of the island from when i went on a bus tour on the ncl dawn in aug of 03. if u want to see it IM me. or e-mail me at bobbyfk@aol.com.

[Yellowlily]

My DH and I have been to Nassau on numerous occassions through cruising. It's not one of our favorite places in the world, by any means. The one thing I would do in Nassau again if given the opportunity is the Dolphin Encounter. That was awesome. Overall, I don't like Nassau all that much. I hate to say it, but Atlantis is such a dissapointment. I mean - big time!! We are going to be new parents soon and have a trip booked (land & sea) to take our baby (when he/she's one-year old). We are thinking now everything will have to be "go with the flow". If we do get off the ship, we might go have lunch at Hard Rock or Senor Frogs (which is right off the pier).

 

IMHO, do whatever floats your boat. If you stay on the ship, don't feel bad cuz you aren't missing much. If you ever have the chance to do the Dolphin Encounter, I highly recommend it. That was one thing that was extremely exciting for us.

 

Best of luck to you!

[oscarmoraz]

if you dont want to get off the ship i have video of the island from when i went on a bus tour on the ncl dawn in aug of 03. if u want to see it IM me. or e-mail me at bobbyfk@aol.com.

 

Bobby,

 

You have mail...thank you so much for your generosity!

 

C

[oscarmoraz]

Well my interest is peaked for the Dolphin Encounter…if anyone has a link as to who they used I would appreciate it! But then again it doesn’t matter what I am interested in…our 4 yr old GD will have to be interested…lol

 

I am not yet convinced she will be ready for this, as last time we took her on a cruise, which was the Sovereign of the Seas, she was a little apprehensive with all of the water and mommy not being near…but this time around we are preparing her with all of the videos and websites associated with the cruise.

 

The Dolphins will be something for her to get use to but I think she would enjoy this as long as her Papa and I are reinforcing the fun! She enjoys the pool, the beach, being on a boat, but for some reason she shys away from water parks. So I am unsure where she will be in her thoughts with the Dolphins. But it is something worth showing her over the net to see if she perks any interest.

 

TIA,

Cindy

[newcastleunited]

Make sure that you take a power of attorney allowing you as grandparents to take her out of the country, as we have had to provide that document with every cruise.

[TSoccer5]

We took the bus with our 2 & 4 yr old to the beach at the Wyndham hotel, we were there for 2 hours and had a blast! we could have used the pool too!

 

next time we will do Atlantis! we took a cab to Atlantis and just walked around and it was amazing! why miss a new place to explore! my son got a pirate flag that he loves!

have fun!

[Richro]

Stay on board.

[MrPete]

We took the bus with our 2 & 4 yr old to the beach at the Wyndham hotel, we were there for 2 hours and had a blast! we could have used the pool too!

 

We will be staying there a week from Wednesday. What is the conditition of the beach these days? I haven't been there since 1993.

[PattiPB]

We took a cab to Cable Beach last December (and will do the same this December!). It was an extremely easy and inexpensive day at the beach for us.

 

Cab to Wyndham (Cable Beach): $20.

Lunch: Packed sandwiches ordered the night before from room service with cookies and chips. Brought bottled water/soda: $0.

Bus back to dock: $1 per person, total $5.

 

We would have taken the bus to Cable Beach, but got turned around with the directions I read (didn't print!) from the DIS boards, so we just took a cab instead. Bus back picked up in front of the hotel, and went two blocks from the dock. VERY easy.

 

BTW---my kids were 10, 8 & 6 last year. LOVED the beach day---swam and dug in the sand, played in the Wyndham pool (with waterslide!). There were jet skis for rent right there, as well. HIGHLY RECOMMEND this day for a relaxed, inexpensive few hours. We would LOVE to spend a long weekend just at this Wyndham.

 

Patti

[mom x4,grandma x4]

With young kids it is probably easier to stay on the ship.

However one excursion we found to be nice for young kids was the glass bottom boats. You may need to hold them up a little to see over the small wall around the glass bottom. But if they like colorful fish, this is a good one. It's very relaxed atmosphere, although the stairs to the lower level are very steep and they will need your help. We had lots of young kids on this excursion. Most had umbrella strollers they used until they got to the boat, then they folded them up and got on. It was very nice. If they were older I would recommend the pirates museum, it was great. Even if you stay on the ship, if they like horses, you might want to walk just off the dock they have horse drawn carriage rides that were $10 per adult, dont know about kids prices. It was a narrated tour about 20 to 25 minutes long. The entire trip from the ship, the ride and back again would only take about an hour of your time. Just a thought.

Hope you have a great cruise.

mom x4,grandma x4

[thecleave]

Here is the website for Dolphin Encounters:

 

http://www.dolphinswims.com/