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Bahamas Change their Stance on Cruises

hloakes

By hloakes,
in Royal Caribbean International

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bigrednole

bigrednole

Posted
Posted

Of course they want the money. They could make it a requirement to stop in Nassau if the stop at the private island. Their country, their rules. The problem is they need to clean up Nassau. Been there before when I live in South FL. If I had to go again I would do Atlantis or stay on the ship. That doesn't solve what they are looking for though.

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Dennis#1

Dennis#1

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

If I do get off the ship in nassau it is to go to blue lagoon island.  Nice relaxing day.  Otherwise Atlantis is very run down last year when I went there.  Most times I just stay on ship when in nassau. 

Also try to avoid Nassau.  But when we go, we like going to Blue Lagoon Island.

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c-leg5

c-leg5

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Ashland said:

I try to avoid stops in Nassau...that's a definite stay on ship day for us.


Not my favorite destination, but after several stops in Nassau over the years, including a two day/overnight stop, we have always found something new to do and had an enjoyable time.

 

I have to smile every time I read on roll calls the number of people who plan to have a “quiet” day on the ship in Nassau.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

If they want to go that route then the cruise line could say "we're stopping but we're not letting pax off".

 

That might work once or twice, but no more.

 

As it is, I understand the local governments are pissed that people elect to stay on ship

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Computer Nerd

Computer Nerd

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

That might work once or twice, but no more.

 

As it is, I understand the local governments are pissed that people elect to stay on ship

Don't see how they could forceably remove people from a ship and force them to spend money on their junk.

 

Which I always do in Nassau. IMO, it's a craphole. I'd much rather enjoy the niceness of a nearly empty ship.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

Don't see how they could forceably remove people from a ship and force them to spend money on their junk.

 

Which I always do in Nassau. IMO, it's a craphole. I'd much rather enjoy the niceness of a nearly empty ship.

 

They obviously can't force you off, but they could make it uncomfortable.

 

Shut down most pools and dining venues for instance. I'm not advocating this, just speaking out loud.

 

And as @Merion_Mom said, first timers and in frequent cruisers love it 

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KG1924

KG1924

Posted
Posted

I would be fine with a "required" stop in Nassau. In 11 cruises we've been there often. In May 2019 we had our best stop there yet-we walked through town and stopped in the rum distillery there (the name escapes me...) and it was beautiful and the people were so friendly! Then we stopped at a brewery near the pier and then on to what appeared to be a newer little bar/restaurant on the pier itself that extended out past Senior Frogs. We went into the day expecting a nice but pretty basic day but we were all pleasantly surprised. My 19 year old nephew wanted a pair of sunglasses so we helped him barter in the straw market (which I despise going into, but after the rum and beers it was actually fun to help him out lol!

 

We've yet to just stay on the ship in all these years. The closest we came was in Falmouth right after they started sailing there. We walked just outside the gates and instantly a woman started touching my hair (I'm assuming to get braids??) My husband grabbed my hand and said it's way too chaotic out there so we strolled through the gated port area for a bit and then headed back on. I'm fine with the locals trying to get your business and I'm sure she meant nothing by it....but touching anyone is a big no no in my book! I felt much more comfortable strolling around Nassau without a plan then Falmouth. It's been years since we've been there so hopefully it isn't like that anymore.

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Sunshine3601

Sunshine3601

Posted
Posted

About 2 years ago my Dh spent a nice day at Ble Lagoon island and when we got off the ferry he wanted to walk over to Fat Tuesdays bar to pick up a tshirt for our son that used to work at another fat tuesdays.  On our walk there I stopped in a store while he continued.  I did Not like the vibe in town that day at all.   After I walked out the store there was 3 police officers on the corner and they asked if I was alone I said my husband was done the block.  They told me it is not safe for me to be alone and I should go to him immediately or get back to the ship.

I have no idea if something had happened but he was very serious and he watched me walk to my Dh.  

Since that day we have been to nassau 3 or 4 times and I only got off the ship once for a quick walk to straw market and back.  Otherwise I make it a spa / pool day on the ship.

I would prefer other stops in bahamas such as grand bahamas to change it up.

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orville99 "Live from...." Rare

orville99

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Computer Nerd said:

If they want to go that route then the cruise line could say "we're stopping but we're not letting pax off".

Wouldn't make a major difference to the GovT, since they collect the port fees based on the number of people on a ship regardless of whether they get off or stay on board. The merchants would lose out, however.

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Sea Dog "Live from...." Rare

Sea Dog

Posted
Posted

I've never been to Nassau, but everyone seems to not like it. What is it exactly about Nassau that people don't like? Is the feeling of safety, run down or dirty, too many tourists, not enough great places to see? Why do you prefer to stay onboard?

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BND

BND

Posted
Posted (edited)

We've been to Nassau at least 10 times. We get off in Nassau to eat lunch and Freeport just to walk around.  We then get back onboard and enjoy the solarium.  We currently have 7 cruises booked for 2021-2022 and Nassau, and Grand Bahama  are on at least one itinerary.  Nassau used to have decent shopping, but a lot of stores have closed down over the last few years.  We stayed at Atlantis in 2009 for 5 days and only left the resort once to go into Nassau by water taxi.  Everything we wanted was at the resort and it's a different world than Nassau.  I know all the islands are hurting financially (except probably Grand Cayman with their financial businesses) since they are so dependent on tourism.  

Edited by BND
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yogimax

yogimax

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, bigrednole said:

 The problem is they need to clean up Nassau. 

Precisely!  This has been the problem for  years.

 

The government happily takes the money and doesn't put it back to work.  Start with the immediate area around the port...

 

- Fix the sidewalks.  They are actually dangerous for falls.

- Repave the streets.

- Close Bay Street to vehicular traffic and make it a pedestrian Mall

- Spruce up the entire area.

 

Will this happen?  I doubt it.  The government has done nothing for years (decades).  I hope they will change but...

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