Horrible port in Nassau

[hammer000]

I can't wait for our Oasis cruise in January, but my one beef is with this first stop in Nassau. It arrives there at 7am and leaves by 2pm! Could there be a worse time slot than that?

 

I figure by the time we leave the ship it's close to 9am, and then back on for 1:30pm to be safe. Doesn't give much time for anything. May not even be beach weather on a late January morning.

 

Any ideas on what would be worth doing in this short time.

[Clarea]

I can't wait for our Oasis cruise in January, but my one beef is with this first stop in Nassau. It arrives there at 7am and leaves by 2pm! Could there be a worse time slot than that?

 

I figure by the time we leave the ship it's close to 9am, and then back on for 1:30pm to be safe. Doesn't give much time for anything. May not even be beach weather on a late January morning.

 

Any ideas on what would be worth doing in this short time.

Conch Fritters at the Fish Fry.

[eldolko]

I can't wait for our Oasis cruise in January, but my one beef is with this first stop in Nassau. It arrives there at 7am and leaves by 2pm! Could there be a worse time slot than that?

 

I figure by the time we leave the ship it's close to 9am, and then back on for 1:30pm to be safe. Doesn't give much time for anything. May not even be beach weather on a late January morning.

 

Any ideas on what would be worth doing in this short time.

 

We're in the same situation. None of the ships excursions is in our taste. We're thinking of just taking a walk in the area outside the dock.

 

Which January cruise are you going, 11 or 25?

[MrFunInTheSun]

Yup. Conch Fritters, fish fry and conch salad.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[Ralphinsc]

Ouch! Such a short time off. TBH though, with the docking you should be able to get off with almost no line and no hassle and be off the ship as early as ten after 7 (though who knows what will be open THAT early)

[Rufferto]

Go to the Casino. Bet $1000 on black, one spin only. Come back to the ship either very happy or very sad.:D

All joking aside, I don't know what to do there either. If you think the beach would be too cold, I'd probably just stay on-board.

[ryano]

I would stay on the ship! I dont care for Nassau at all and we were docked there until almost midnight!

[alfaeric]

First time we did the Allure, DW and I were injured, so we didn't get off this ship and spend the time wandering around and finding things. it was nice.

 

(otherwise, we just would do what we normally do- go for a short run, get ice cream, read new history installations out in one of the plazas.)

[aurelius180]

Conch Fritters at the Fish Fry.

 

 

Delicious! :D

[Icruzthere4Iam]

I personally would not even get off the ship. Nassau is a waste of time in my opinion and the fact the majority of other folks will get off means you'd have a great opportunity to have that huge ship to yourselves, in a way:p. That'd be the time to get pictures without people in them, enjoy the pools uncrowded, if the Flowriders are open ride them with little to no wait etc. etc. etc. Enjoy your cruise! Jim

[Mark_K]

Unfortunately, they don't have much choice, it's 40 hours at cruising speed for Oasis to get to St Maarten. Add in time at both ends for maneuvering, docking, etc. and that's pretty much when they have to leave.

 

 

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[eldolko]

On the western itinerary we didn't care much for Falmouth. We took a quick walk and then returned to the ship for an imaginary sea day.

[Tapi]

Nassau on a 7 night itinerary is a waste of a port, time, and money. It's ok on a short, cheapie itinerary, but not on a 7 night itinerary when there are so many other ports to visit.

 

And about the weather in January, yes it can be chilly. If there's a cold front sweeping through the US, the Bahamas will feel it. Last time we were in Nassau (on a December sailing), temperature was in the 50's. The attendants at the Straw Market were wearing jackets and gloves!

[Tapi]

Conch Fritters at the Fish Fry.

 

Oh, and don't forget the frozen drinks with those conch fritters. Probably the best frozen drinks I've ever had!

[ehfl]

Try one of the restaurants that the locals go to (not the touristy ones like Sr. Frogs). Have some amazing local seafood. Cracked conch, conch fritters, or fresh local grouper. Get it with the peas and rice, which is how the locals eat. Have it with a Kalik, which is the Bahamian beer, and it will be one of the best and most memorable meals you will ever have.

[Familygoboston]

Yeah, it stinks! Usually we take a Royal excursion, because its too tight to book an indie with transportation. It's fine to walk into to town, shop and get fritters as the others have suggested, but the cabs have attitude and I wouldn't risk it with such a short window. Your kind of stuck, spending a small fortune to got to Atlantis or taking a too short too expensive excursion that promises to get you back on time.

 

Other things people have done on their own:

-Go to the pirate museum, Queens staircase, check out the colonial buildings a d straw market by walking into town

-renting a day room on the beach at a cheap resort

- we enjoyed going to Blue Lagoon, even if you don't do dolphins the beach break is nice and the transport is included and set up to get you back at 1:30

 

Good luck!

[CorDave]

We have booked a tour on the island that looks very interesting. Is only 3 hrs which fits in our short stay there. It's called Tru Bahamian Foods Tour. She changed the tour time to accommodate our ship time. Get to enjoy the food as well as a bit of history and culture. :)

[JMG]

We typically do a few excursions. First, we find lounge chairs of our choice, then we take an excursion up to the bar. The next excursion is to the Windjammer for lunch and then we reclaim our lounge chairs and continue to enjoy a peaceful relaxing day in the sun.

[wwcruisers]

We took a quick walk and then returned to the ship for an imaginary sea day.

 

We typically do a few excursions. First, we find lounge chairs of our choice, then we take an excursion up to the bar. The next excursion is to the Windjammer for lunch and then we reclaim our lounge chairs and continue to enjoy a peaceful relaxing day in the sun.

 

I like both of your attitudes :cool: -- we call those our "private yacht" days! :D

[Winnigirl]

I personally would not even get off the ship. Nassau is a waste of time in my opinion and the fact the majority of other folks will get off means you'd have a great opportunity to have that huge ship to yourselves, in a way:p. That'd be the time to get pictures without people in them, enjoy the pools uncrowded, if the Flowriders are open ride them with little to no wait etc. etc. etc. Enjoy your cruise! Jim

 

This!

[Langley Cruisers]

Agreed with most of the others. We have been there twice and felt it was merely a "bleh" kind of day. The sail in was pretty. First time we took a water taxi and then walked to some beach (I forget the name) but we were so nervous about swimming and leaving our stuff on the beach that only DH swam. The second time (on Oasis) we just walked around the port and surrounding area - boring!

 

I've not been to the Fish Fry but if it's not as touristy as awful Senor Frogs, I would definitely check it out. :)

 

.

[sleepless]

We typically do a few excursions. First, we find lounge chairs of our choice, then we take an excursion up to the bar. The next excursion is to the Windjammer for lunch and then we reclaim our lounge chairs and continue to enjoy a peaceful relaxing day in the sun.

 

 

That is how we spend our day the last time we were in Nassau. Only, we had a bit longer stay. We were to be there from about 1:00 pm to about 5:00 pm. For some unknown reason, the ship stayed docked until about 10:00 pm that night. So, in addition to the previously mentioned activities, I had two more excursions - one one for dinner in the MDR, and the other a show on board the Explorer of the Seas. A delightful day was spent ported in Nassau.

 

What was also unique about that day, is that when we originally docked, it was poring down with a heavy rain storm. And, it rained off and on all day. Yet, still, most people did get off of the ship, leaving us to enjoy a peaceful paradise.

 

Not sure what we will in Nassau when we visit there in July via the Alllure - we too, will have a very limited time slot.

[hammer000]

Anyone think one of those $30 pp day passes at the Sheraton would be worth it?

[Raptor2010]

We thought it was a great stop. We went to Blue Lagoon and did the Sea Lion excursion and still had time to go back to town and have a couple of drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe before reboarding the ship :D

 

[jmf123]

Friends on the July 27th sailing went to Atlantis on their own, first thing in the morning. They loved seeing the aquarium there.