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Last Minute Pride Questions

JAJameson2010

By JAJameson2010,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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pyopyo

pyopyo

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Same trip here! I'm so stressed out since this is our (4) first cruise ever. What activities are recommend in Nassau (11AM - 8PM)? Snorkeling? Should I just bite the bullet and order the supposedly overpriced cruise excursion or plan our own? Many thanks!

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JAJameson2010

JAJameson2010

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Same trip here! I'm so stressed out since this is our (4) first cruise ever. What activities are recommend in Nassau (11AM - 8PM)? Snorkeling? Should I just bite the bullet and order the supposedly overpriced cruise excursion or plan our own? Many thanks!

 

I'm trying to figure out the same thing! I just found this website. It even has a map!

 

http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/nassau.html

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pyopyo

pyopyo

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Good find! I was getting dizzy checking out TripAdvisor. I heard about Stuart Cove for snorkeling (with sharks!), but their afternoon trip leaves around 1PM, which seems a bit tight considering we have 2 senior foreigners.

 

What are you doing in Port Canaveral? We plan on spending the whole day in KSC. I'm thinking of Ubering there. Our terminal doesn't seem very accessible for Uber though.

 

Ugh, so stressed!!!

 

I'm trying to figure out the same thing! I just found this website. It even has a map!

 

http://www.cruiseportinsider.com/nassau.html

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JAJameson2010

JAJameson2010

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Good find! I was getting dizzy checking out TripAdvisor. I heard about Stuart Cove for snorkeling (with sharks!), but their afternoon trip leaves around 1PM, which seems a bit tight considering we have 2 senior foreigners.

 

What are you doing in Port Canaveral? We plan on spending the whole day in KSC. I'm thinking of Ubering there. Our terminal doesn't seem very accessible for Uber though.

 

Ugh, so stressed!!!

 

I think we are just going to use that day as a nice day to stay on the ship and explore. :) Then in Nassau, maybe walk to Senior Frogs? I've seen that place mentioned often online. Then in Freeport we have an excursion booked. Garden of the Groves and City Tour, we booked through Costco and saved a few dollars. I think there's going to be lots to do on the ship too. My goal is to not overplan and try and relax! :) But we are first time cruisers too.... So that may not happen!

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swodog94

swodog94

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In Freeport we've gone off the ship to the Lucaya shopping area. There are some nice shops and a few restaurants. We had some great cracked conch there! But...just didn't feel it was worth the 20 minute an ride. Last time we were there we just went to the pier and walked around. The vendors are only pushy if you look like you're going to buy (i.e. handle their merchandise). I never have any issue saying NO. Also, there's a Senor Frogs and a Fat Tuesdays there, so you can buy a couple of drinks, too.

 

Nassau is fun, and you can do it without paying for an excurrsion! We walked down to the British Colonial Hilton and paid for the day passes. They are $65pp but $45 of that is a food voucher. You get a private beach, pool, towels, chairs, etc. Waiters come to your chairs and take you food/drink orders. We also walked from there to the Watlings Rum Distillery and too the tour and had some complimentary drinks at the end of the tour. From there we walked to Grey Cliff and visited their chocolate factory and cigar factory (separate operations, no chocolate cigars LOL). And finally after we waled back to the port area, we took a cab to Atlantis for a little casino fun.

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JAJameson2010

JAJameson2010

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In Freeport we've gone off the ship to the Lucaya shopping area. There are some nice shops and a few restaurants. We had some great cracked conch there! But...just didn't feel it was worth the 20 minute an ride. Last time we were there we just went to the pier and walked around. The vendors are only pushy if you look like you're going to buy (i.e. handle their merchandise). I never have any issue saying NO. Also, there's a Senor Frogs and a Fat Tuesdays there, so you can buy a couple of drinks, too.

 

Nassau is fun, and you can do it without paying for an excurrsion! We walked down to the British Colonial Hilton and paid for the day passes. They are $65pp but $45 of that is a food voucher. You get a private beach, pool, towels, chairs, etc. Waiters come to your chairs and take you food/drink orders. We also walked from there to the Watlings Rum Distillery and too the tour and had some complimentary drinks at the end of the tour. From there we walked to Grey Cliff and visited their chocolate factory and cigar factory (separate operations, no chocolate cigars LOL). And finally after we waled back to the port area, we took a cab to Atlantis for a little casino fun.

 

Thank you!!! That's super helpful! :)Very glad to know the pushiness isn't all the time! LOL

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crooooze

crooooze

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What are you doing in Port Canaveral? We plan on spending the whole day in KSC. I'm thinking of Ubering there. Our terminal doesn't seem very accessible for Uber though.

 

 

 

We’ve done that before - taxi to KSC. My advice (which I wished someone shared with me beforehand)... buy admission tickets in advance or go through a formal excursion.

 

We thought we’d save a few bucks by getting a taxi on our own and using a coupon to save on admission. We ended up spending over an hour and a half in the admission line outside, while everyone got off buses and walked right in. We also waited 30 mins for a taxi to show up and take us back to the ship. At the end of the day, We didn’t have enough time to see everything we wanted to and felt really aggravated at ourselves. I don’t recall that we saved the much either.

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pyopyo

pyopyo

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Sorry that you didn't have a great experience. I might look into renting a car. Thanks!

 

We’ve done that before - taxi to KSC. My advice (which I wished someone shared with me beforehand)... buy admission tickets in advance or go through a formal excursion.

 

We thought we’d save a few bucks by getting a taxi on our own and using a coupon to save on admission. We ended up spending over an hour and a half in the admission line outside, while everyone got off buses and walked right in. We also waited 30 mins for a taxi to show up and take us back to the ship. At the end of the day, We didn’t have enough time to see everything we wanted to and felt really aggravated at ourselves. I don’t recall that we saved the much either.

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PrincessArlena'sDad "Live from...." Rare

PrincessArlena'sDad

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Sorry that you didn't have a great experience. I might look into renting a car. Thanks!

We looked into renting a car to go to KSC. For just two adults, it hardly saved any money, and absolutely not worth the hastle of taking the shuttle to and from the rental place.

 

We took the ship's excursion, and were very happy with it. We left the terminal, and got right on the bus that was already waiting for us. Within 5 minutes we were off, and we arrived at KSC just as they were opening for the day. We were actually one of the first to go through the gates that day.

 

We left KSC and went back to the bus at the time instructed by the driver, and waited less than 10 min for everyone who was supposed to be there to get on board. Got back to the ship later than we would have felt comfortable planning had we decided to rent a car and take the shuttle back from the rental terminal.

 

The ship excursion, in this case, really maxed out the time we could have been at KSC, and, for two adults, I think it was less than $20 more than a rental car + admission would have cost.

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nybumpkin

nybumpkin

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We'll be on Pride in May and would like to use a jacuzzi and the sauna in the spa area. Do we need to buy a special spa pass to use these facilities?
One of my favorite areas on Pride! No, the jacuzzi does not require a pass - at least, it didn't last year.
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Bluemoon319

Bluemoon319

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Same trip here! I'm so stressed out since this is our (4) first cruise ever. What activities are recommend in Nassau (11AM - 8PM)? Snorkeling? Should I just bite the bullet and order the supposedly overpriced cruise excursion or plan our own? Many thanks!

 

With very few exceptions, I always book excursions privately. However, since you are a 1st time cruiser, I would recommend booking something through the ship. It will be easier for you. Plus you will have the ease of mind knowing that the ship will wait for you if the excursion runs late for some reason. Also, it often takes more days than you have left to research excursions privately & getting something booked.

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Bluemoon319

Bluemoon319

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In Freeport we've gone off the ship to the Lucaya shopping area. There are some nice shops and a few restaurants. We had some great cracked conch there! But...just didn't feel it was worth the 20 minute an ride. Last time we were there we just went to the pier and walked around. The vendors are only pushy if you look like you're going to buy (i.e. handle their merchandise). I never have any issue saying NO. Also, there's a Senor Frogs and a Fat Tuesdays there, so you can buy a couple of drinks, too.

 

Nassau is fun, and you can do it without paying for an excurrsion! We walked down to the British Colonial Hilton and paid for the day passes. They are $65pp but $45 of that is a food voucher. You get a private beach, pool, towels, chairs, etc. Waiters come to your chairs and take you food/drink orders. We also walked from there to the Watlings Rum Distillery and too the tour and had some complimentary drinks at the end of the tour. From there we walked to Grey Cliff and visited their chocolate factory and cigar factory (separate operations, no chocolate cigars LOL). And finally after we waled back to the port area, we took a cab to Atlantis for a little casino fun.

 

Although I have walked to Watlings Run Distillery myself a couple of times, it's really not a smart thing to do. I am truly not someone that gets skittery easily, but walking outside of the main shopping area in Nassau can be rather sketchy. The 2nd time I went there, even the owner of Watlings highly recommended taking a cab ride back to the port rather than walking. It was only about $5.

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Bluemoon319

Bluemoon319

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I've had a great time with Pat & Diane Tours (http://www.snorkelingbahamas.com/ ) in Freeport on their Deserted Beach & Snorkeling excursion & almost booked it again for my upcoming cruise in April. However, since we have to be back on board so early, I opted to just go to Count Basie Sq. It's about a 15 min. ride & only $10/pp R/T. There will be a some shops right by the ships, but certainly not enough to warrant spending much time there IMO. There will be sooo much more around Count Basie Sq. (Port Lucaya).

 

 

I usually bring a CC when I'm in the ports, but rely mostly on cash because smaller shops often do not accept CC's. Most of he booths at the straw markets where you will find lots of souvenirs accept cash only. The same thing goes with tours that are offered at the ports after you get off the ship.

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