travel advisory Bahamas

[mo&fran]

https://www.wptv.com/news/state/travel-advisory-issued-for-the-bahamas-citing-violent-crime

 

[evandbob]

Indeed.  The travel warning is a Level 2.  Other countries deemed to be at the same level 2 are Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

 

As someone who grow up in and around NYC, I've developed a particularly strong street sense, and I don't leave home without it. I don't flash jewelry or money in port, don't drink, can usually converse with locals pretty easily, sometimes a bit in their language.

I do have fun in ports, and I rarely stay in the immediate port area.  I like getting away from the port and find local eats to enjoy.  Maybe as I get older and frail this will change, but for now let's keep on truckin.

Edited March 1, 2019 by evandbob

[taglovestocruise]

Last trip to Nassau we just stayed on the ship and enjoyed the emptiness. The Sand Trap area is only a few miles from the ships.

[sfaaa]

Good advisory. Going to Nassau once is more than enough. Place is a dump.

[rkacruiser]

Thanks for posting this.  I was unaware of it.  My first visit to Nassau was before they gained their independence.  It was a very pleasant visit.  Rarely, if my cruise visits Nassau, will I leave the ship.  Freeport:  my last visit was after the Port officials had greatly renovated and improved the dock area with cafes, shops, small merchants, and music.  I had planned on staying on my ship, but when I saw the area, I disembarked for a pleasant 2-3 hours.  I'm really glad that I did.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our first visit to Nassau was back in the 80's -- really enjoyed the day there.

 

The last couple of times we were there, we stayed on the ship.  I use a Rollator so have to be even more "street" wise.

[Bizmark'sMom]

That just means you shouldn't be an idiot.  Don't flash jewelry. Don't have important stuff in a backpack or tote bag. (Use a cross body bag or a purse with a short shoulder strap that rides under your arm) And stay sharp witted.  Don't get plastered at Senior Frog's and follow some nice guy off of the main road.

 

On one trip, the guy next to me in the Cologne cathedral was pick pocketed. The thief got 100 euros.  This stuff happens everywhere.

[soonernstlouis]

Honest question-why do people go on cruises where they don’t even enjoy the itineraries?  Have they done so many that staying on the ship is just as good?  

[lisiamc]

10 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

Honest question-why do people go on cruises where they don’t even enjoy the itineraries?  Have they done so many that staying on the ship is just as good?  

Sometimes, there is one port that doesn’t appeal, but the rest are great.  Last autumn, we did a Transatlantic that was supposed to call at Boston, NYC, Bermuda, Nassau, and Ft Lauderdale.  The Nassau call was cancelled due to bad weather, and we didn’t mind a bit - we had been planning to make it an honorary sea day anyway.  We really enjoyed the other ports, and for us it would have been a bad decision to not take the cruise because of one port.

[leaveitallbehind]

12 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

Honest question-why do people go on cruises where they don’t even enjoy the itineraries?  Have they done so many that staying on the ship is just as good?  

 

We enjoy every itinerary, but there are ports of call that we have been to a number of times and don't need to go ashore.  Not all ports of call are created equal and there are one or two on just about every itinerary the are better  - or worse - than others. So once a port of call is experienced, it may not be necessary to get off the ship other times when there.

 

In our case, the answer to your second question is yes.  After many years of cruising, our style has changed and although we enjoy most ports of call there are a few at which we enjoy staying on the ship just as much or more than going ashore.  We cruise more now just to relax.  The ship is generally far less crowded as most people are off the ship and it provides an enjoyable time having the ship and different activities to ourselves.

Edited March 2, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[soonernstlouis]

Thanks for the feedback.  My upcoming cruise will only be my 2nd ever (ironically my first was Nassau & Grand Bahama 20+ years ago).  Nassau was touristy & I didn’t know about Paradise Island then.  Grand Bahama was a tender port & I just enjoyed the beach.

 

Would I ever book a cruise knowing in advance I would not go ashore at any stop?  Absolutely not.  It’s too expensive for a half-vacation  & since I have to travel to get to any boat (not on the Mississippi River), I can just pick another port or cruise line.  And I could otherwise just book a destination trip.  

 

Just seems a waste to do something knowing full well it’s not really what you want when those better options do exist.  JMO

[Kmkub]

12 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

Honest question-why do people go on cruises where they don’t even enjoy the itineraries?  Have they done so many that staying on the ship is just as good?  

The best part of cruising is that it is a completely flexible experience for the cruiser. 

 

For us, we are 15 minutes from Port Everglades and around 45 minutes from Port Miami. All of our eight cruises were out of one of these ports. We could certainly afford the cash to fly to other ports, but it is time prohibitive, due to the nature of my husband's job.

A land vacation doesn't give us the opportunity to truly unplug and relax completely. We both have jobs where we'd be constantly bothered via text or phone calls from work.  A cruise let's us say, "too bad/so sad, figure it out 'til I'm back."

 

We are only moderately interested in sight seeing. On a land vacation, we have to have a car, we need to drive to a restaurant, so my husband can't have a beer. A cruise makes perfect sense for us. 

 

Sitting on our balcony, ordering room service, and watching the ocean go by - very attractive. Our phones are turned off and in the safe, where they will stay for most of the cruise.

 

We come back 100% relaxed, and ready to take on the stress that awaits us at work.

 

Ports are just a side-benefit. We end up in Cozumel a lot. We have no need to get off the ship, though we'll always get off the ship if we end up in Aruba.

 

The ship is the destination for us.  

[pacruise804]

12 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

Honest question-why do people go on cruises where they don’t even enjoy the itineraries?  Have they done so many that staying on the ship is just as good?  

 

I do think that is sometimes the case, but here are a few other scenarios:

 

Those who sail for the ship, not the ports - I've seen this discussed about the big mega ships that the ship itself is the destination and the ports don't matter to them.

 

Cruise to nowhere - these used to be offered years ago, but I think there are labor laws prohibiting them now.  Staying on the ship is a way to work around this.

 

Enjoying cruise vacations, but having limited times/itineraries from the home port - we have flown but prefer driving which means Baltimore or NY/NJ ports.  We are generally limited to 7 days or less at this point in our life too.  This limits us to Bahamas, Saint John/Halifax, and Bermuda.  After a while there really isn't too much new to do at some of these ports (we haven't reached that yet though 🙂 ).

 

[soonernstlouis]

12 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

Enjoying cruise vacations, but having limited times/itineraries from the home port - we have flown but prefer driving which means Baltimore or NY/NJ ports.  We are generally limited to 7 days or less at this point in our life too.  This limits us to Bahamas, Saint John/Halifax, and Bermuda.  After a while there really isn't too much new to do at some of these ports (we haven't reached that yet though 🙂 ).

 

My closest ports are Mobile, NOLA & Galveston.  Didn’t really want Mexico so knew we would have to fly to at least FL.  Really wanted Southern Caribbean but again ports were limited out of FL.  After a little research,

found airfare to San Juan for about $100 more RT pp than MIA.  So I’m calling my Carnival ship out of SJU “faster to the fun” since I expect no more than a water taxi out of it.

[txflood33]

13 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

Honest question-why do people go on cruises where they don’t even enjoy the itineraries?  Have they done so many that staying on the ship is just as good?  

 

I'll answer from a fairly novice cruiser's point of view. We have been on 2 cruises with a third booked. So far, we have gotten off at every port. Even after only 2 cruises, there are 2 ports I wouldn't care if we stayed on the ship. Both my wife and I had a stop once in Montego Bay, Jamaica. We both thought it was a dump. I have no desire to go back. Cozumel is another. We both have been multiple times via cruise and land vacations. It just seems silly to get off the boat to spend money of food or alcohol when I've already paid for it on the boat. There's no trinkets or souvenirs I can see myself really needing, so simply no reason to get off the boat. We usually get a massage or something at the spa, so that is a great day to get that done as there are sometimes discounts for the spa on port days.

 

That said, I would never book a short cruise(7 days or less) that included both of those stops. That just seems impractical. There is a cruise that I'd like to do that leaves FL and makes some stops in the Caribbean and then goes through the Panama Canal and then makes some stops in Mexico on the Pacific side and then ends up in San Diego. I would have no issues booking that cruise if Cozumel or MoBay was one of the ports.

 

The cruises we book now are checking off bucket list stuff(Great Wall of China - setting foot on all 7 continents - etc) so we are certainly getting off at all ports. To me, many of the Caribbean ports are similar so I would rather do an all inclusive for a week somewhere in the Caribbean...JMHO. 

[lisiamc]

8 hours ago, soonernstlouis said:

Thanks for the feedback.  My upcoming cruise will only be my 2nd ever (ironically my first was Nassau & Grand Bahama 20+ years ago).  Nassau was touristy & I didn’t know about Paradise Island then.  Grand Bahama was a tender port & I just enjoyed the beach.

 

Would I ever book a cruise knowing in advance I would not go ashore at any stop?  Absolutely not.  It’s too expensive for a half-vacation  & since I have to travel to get to any boat (not on the Mississippi River), I can just pick another port or cruise line.  And I could otherwise just book a destination trip.  

 

Just seems a waste to do something knowing full well it’s not really what you want when those better options do exist.  JMO

 

If you choose a cruise where you feel you must do ALL the ports, you may get a surprise.  We’ve taken many cruises where a port is cancelled or changed because of weather or passenger emergency.  The nature of cruising means that a particular port can’t really be guaranteed.  Most people choose a cruise based on the total package of ship, ports and season.  If a particular port is a “must-do” you’d be much better off to do it as a land trip.

[Mike981]

I understand being concerned for your personal safety. Just a suggestion, check the safety rating of the port you are leaving from in the U.S. It's all relative.

[OCruisers]

Sometimes, we've found on longer cruises that Nassau was a "me too" port stop before returning to Florida.  

No way would we  NOT  take a cruise just because it included a Nassau port stop even if we decided to stay on the ship.