WHY DID INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS CHANGE ITINERARY FROM NASSAU TO A SEA DAY?

[dockgirl]

INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS CHANGING ITINERARY, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY?

THANKS

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, dockgirl said:

INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS CHANGING ITINERARY, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY?

THANKS

Why are you yelling? 😎

[soremekun]

[mawvkysc]

Are you talking  about a sailing this week? I heard that it has to do with construction in Nassau. Not 100% for sure though. It’s fine by me. Actually I picked the cruise for the extra sea day. 

Edited December 12, 2021 by mawvkysc

[dockgirl]

Thank you, I was worried it had to do with the pandemic, Bahamas cannot handle high hospitalization .

[island lady]

There is indeed a LOT (emphasis not yelling 😉 ).....of construction going on at the Nassau port.  

 

The plans are really nice.  They are spending quite a bit of money for the total makeover.  Really updating it.  

[Retired LEO]

And before somebody asks NO port fees are NOT being refunded 

[mawvkysc]

I booked after the port was already  dropped. My port fees are somewhere around $87. CoCoCay is a Bahamas port even though it’s a private island. 

[bucfan2]

2 hours ago, island lady said:

 The plans are really nice.  They are spending quite a bit of money for the total makeover.  Really updating it.  

Wonder if they'll be complete by Christmas, 2025?  Probably not.

[luckyinpa]

should have continued down the street and replaced the straw market with non verbally assaulting merchants

[Ocean Boy]

2 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

should have continued down the street and replaced the straw market with non verbally assaulting merchants

That's interesting. I've never encountered that type of issue in Nassau.

[luckyinpa]

46 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That's interesting. I've never encountered that type of issue in Nassau.

 only thing worse was in cancun when they literally put their arm around me and tried to guide me to their booth. if i wasnt worried bout getting stuck in a mexican jail i woulda slapped him silly. you dont lay hands on strangers! but in oct on on of the side streets in nassau a woman literally came across the street to where i was walking. offered something. unsure what it was. i said no thank you at least 3x. she kept walking next to me. literally like saying cmon, youd like whatever it was. followed me a a good minute or so. did harrassing a person ever make anyone a sale? it MUST because they always do it. so it has to work on someone. just not me. it's so off putting. gives me a very very negative impression of the people there. when the straw market was open i was there one time near christmas. literally every aisle they harass you. c'mon sir you need a hat, what about this tshirt. nice purse for the lady then they follow you. you cannot stop and look at ANYTHING without them literally on your butt. my friend decided to get her hair braided there. was due some change, i literally had to stick my head down facing toward the womans purse to get our change back. its like they werent gonna give change unless you 'fought for it'. it's a horrible horrible way to do business. in my part of the world vendors sit behind tables at things like flea markets and wait for you to come to them. no harassments, no begging to buy things. the 'tourist shops' in nassau never harass you and i guarantee they make money . so no need for the others to badger you constantly. they need to take a lesson. it's just horrible to walk around there and not be able to enjoy things without someone constantly bothering you. 

[Blauelini]

It's Nassau, hardly anyone even leaves the ship in that port for good reason. 

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

 only thing worse was in cancun when they literally put their arm around me and tried to guide me to their booth. if i wasnt worried bout getting stuck in a mexican jail i woulda slapped him silly. you dont lay hands on strangers! but in oct on on of the side streets in nassau a woman literally came across the street to where i was walking. offered something. unsure what it was. i said no thank you at least 3x. she kept walking next to me. literally like saying cmon, youd like whatever it was. followed me a a good minute or so. did harrassing a person ever make anyone a sale? it MUST because they always do it. so it has to work on someone. just not me. it's so off putting. gives me a very very negative impression of the people there. when the straw market was open i was there one time near christmas. literally every aisle they harass you. c'mon sir you need a hat, what about this tshirt. nice purse for the lady then they follow you. you cannot stop and look at ANYTHING without them literally on your butt. my friend decided to get her hair braided there. was due some change, i literally had to stick my head down facing toward the womans purse to get our change back. its like they werent gonna give change unless you 'fought for it'. it's a horrible horrible way to do business. in my part of the world vendors sit behind tables at things like flea markets and wait for you to come to them. no harassments, no begging to buy things. the 'tourist shops' in nassau never harass you and i guarantee they make money . so no need for the others to badger you constantly. they need to take a lesson. it's just horrible to walk around there and not be able to enjoy things without someone constantly bothering you. 

If you knew and experienced this previously, why did you get off the ship!

[BirdTravels]

36 minutes ago, Blauelini said:

It's Nassau, hardly anyone even leaves the ship in that port for good reason. 

Hmmm... we were there recently and most of the people left the ship. 

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, dockgirl said:

INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS CHANGING ITINERARY, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHY?

THANKS

Probably because of dock availability. The Port of Nassau is undergoing massive construction. The old Festival Place buildings have all been demolished. They are working to extend some of the docks to accommodate Oasis class ships. Our cruise changed the order of port calls because of Nassau. 

 

On the day that we were there, they scraped away dirt, sand, and debris enough to make a path from the gangway to the main dock. That being said, the construction equipment and jackhammers were running kicking up dust and flying rocks. 

 

[yogimax]

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

 

In my part of the world vendors sit behind tables at things like flea markets and wait for you to come to them. no harassments, no begging to buy things.

 

Your "part of the world" is a poor comparison with life in Nassau.  Ever consider that those folks in Nassau are living from day to day and may be needing to sell a few items to feed their families?  You are indeed "lucky" to be living in PA, where the situation is totally different,  and not the Bahamas!

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, Blauelini said:

It's Nassau, hardly anyone even leaves the ship in that port for good reason. 

We have been to Nassau four times this year and most people got off the ship every time. 

[Ocean Boy]

8 hours ago, Blauelini said:

It's Nassau, hardly anyone even leaves the ship in that port for good reason. 

Once again, not my experience.

[island lady]

11 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

should have continued down the street and replaced the straw market with non verbally assaulting merchants

 

Everything down that end is almost totally dead.  Covid and the construction has put them out.  It didn't look like Senior Frogs was even in business any longer.  The straw market was almost a ghost town, many of the vendors were gone.  

 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

Once again, not my experience.

 

Mine as well.  Throngs of people walking off all the ships.  We always get off the ship, get in some walking action, and usually always find something interesting to do. 

 

This time most of our awe was checking out the construction and the many large posters depicting what the final result will be...wow!  

Cleaning up their act big time...will be very new and modern looking.  

 

 

 

[UNCFanatik]

SO....what does this mean moving forward? Are future sailings of the Indy  going to skip Nassau as well?

 

Thoughts?

[bouhunter]

12 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

should have continued down the street and replaced the straw market with non verbally assaulting merchants

No one forces you to go there.

[Ocean Boy]

6 minutes ago, bouhunter said:

No one forces you to go there.

Anyone who has walked the gauntlet at Labadee shouldn't even blink an eye in Nassau.

[bouhunter]

Just now, Ocean Boy said:

Anyone who has walked the gauntlet at Labadee should even blink an eye in Nassau.

That's for sure 🙂