Why go to Nassau at all?

[ilikeanswers]

30 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

You could be right, although for me personally relaxing and exploring aren't necessarily incompatible with one another. 

 

I also think that the comfort level associated with exploring a location changes based on other factors such as level of economic development, security and language. I know this is a barrier where I live as many people in San Diego are afraid to cross the border into Mexico.

 

Once I met a traveller who told me they perceived going to Europe as "travelling" while visiting the Caribbean is a "vacation". They had no interest in exploring a Carribean island they just wanted somewhere to sit back and do nothing😂. 

 

I don't understand people who freak out when visiting countries like Mexico. I felt perfectly comfortable road tripping there. When I visited Bali we would get swamped by vendors at certain attractions but again didn't feel unsafe just annoyed. Maybe some people for whatever reason are better at adjusting to foreign places than others🤷‍♀️.  

[Hlitner]

30 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Once I met a traveller who told me they perceived going to Europe as "travelling" while visiting the Caribbean is a "vacation". They had no interest in exploring a Carribean island they just wanted somewhere to sit back and do nothing😂. 

 

I don't understand people who freak out when visiting countries like Mexico. I felt perfectly comfortable road tripping there. When I visited Bali we would get swamped by vendors at certain attractions but again didn't feel unsafe just annoyed. Maybe some people for whatever reason are better at adjusting to foreign places than others🤷‍♀️.  

Just a positive word for Mexico.  We have lived in Puerto Vallarta for the past 16 winters (there now) and are totally in love with the place, the people, the food, and even the culture.  As I sit on my Condo balcony after a gorgeous sunset (the norm) I am looking at the Majestic Princess as she sails off to her next port.  Many on that ship limited themselves to large group ship excursions and never really gave themselves much time to experience the real Puerto Vallarta.  And that is the way it is in many cruise ports all over the world where some cruisers only feel comfortable on excursions that are designed to show them just about anything other then the real local culture.   These folks are usually happy and think they have experienced many good local things, but the reality is that they are seeing a carefully orchestrated tour designed to please cruisers.

 

Hank

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

We have done a self-driving trip in Alaska and really enjoyed ourselves.  It is a beautiful State with much to see and love....but I am just so sure that places like Ketchikan are representative of the best of AK.  That being said, on our last Alaskan cruise (on a small ship with about 500 passengers) we were really impressed with Icy Strait Point.  The resident native tribe (and their corporation) have done a pretty good job preserving the area and it is nice to see a place without that "Diamonds International" sign :).

 

Hank

 

You should try an AK trip with just 50 passengers.  A truly great experience.  I have been looking at taking the family on a cruise on one of the AK trawler yachts that hold 12 - 12 passengers but I just can't justify the cost.  I guess that I just have to win one of the big lotteries for that trip.

 

DON

[luckyinpa]

On 2/18/2022 at 5:04 PM, sfaaa said:

C'mon now, I know you all love to visit the straw market in Nassau.  I mean what else is there to see?

 

the only place in the world worse that ive been is in cancun where there's a similar market. but in addition to the constant badgering, someone there put their hand on my shoulder and was basically trying to force to to shop down his aisle for his trinkets. since i was in a foreign country i just quickly left. in the USA it would have gotten a different response. cause you dont go touching strangers here. but probably is custom there. and must be effective. cause EVERYONE likes to be constantly badgered into buying something and it has to be successful cause otherwise they wouldnt do it. i dont know how businesses  like flea markets  in the USA make any money cause they arent following people around constantly hounding them. simply amazing. and since the straw market was closed last time i was in nassau, a woman on a side street made me her mission of the day .  they make a horrible impression on the rest of the world but somehow they just dont get it. 

[Joebucks]

18 hours ago, SelectSys said:

Personally I like both the Bahamas and the Caribbean in general.  I am amazed at the level of desire of some to remain in some kind of "clean room" bubble like that provided by a private island.  I guess it's safe, but sometimes it's worth going out and exploring a bit more. 

 

The sentiment I am picking up here reminds me of all the people that go to Mexico and never really venture beyond the walls of their resort hotels.  Did you visit Mexico or did you simply some experience a standard corporate resort experience that happens to be located in Mexico?

 

 

To me, it is somewhat consistent with all of the do-gooders who want "better pay" for foreign workers. What that really means is they want some large corporation to cut the workers large check to serve the vacationer fruit. At no inconvenience to them. Especially, instead of being hassled by people who are trying to make a living. 

 

I mean, I don't blame people for not wanting to be hassled by vendors. The world is not some soccer mom beach though.

[Markanddonna]

I enjoy the warm climate, the beaches, and the palm trees of the Caribbean but after visiting the interior and cities of many islands, they all tend to look alike after a while. I suppose my attitude, along with others, is that our heritage doesn't come from these warm island countries. I suppose others could look at Europe and say "all I see are the same types of cities and churches and museums."  Our attitude and interests are all individual and why we choose different places to travel.

[ilikeanswers]

4 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

I suppose my attitude, along with others, is that our heritage doesn't come from these warm island countries. 

 

I can't say I understand this. Why would your heritage matter to your enjoyment of a place? I have enjoyed many places where I have no connection, if anything I get more pleasure in learning about things that are completely foreign to me. If I restricted my travel to my heritage I would only have four countries to travel to including where I live. That would get boring after awhile😂. 

[Markanddonna]

33 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I can't say I understand this. Why would your heritage matter to your enjoyment of a place? I have enjoyed many places where I have no connection, if anything I get more pleasure in learning about things that are completely foreign to me. If I restricted my travel to my heritage I would only have four countries to travel to including where I live. That would get boring after awhile😂. 

Well, that is obviously what makes people different. I appreciate the Caribbean and Mexico for a break from our cold winters up north. I love history and am a writer, so I never get bored when exploring topics I enjoy researching. I write about WWII, the Holocaust, and Biblical archaeology, so obviously the Caribbean isn't where I care to spend my time.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

 

To me, it is somewhat consistent with all of the do-gooders who want "better pay" for foreign workers. What that really means is they want some large corporation to cut the workers large check to serve the vacationer fruit. At no inconvenience to them. Especially, instead of being hassled by people who are trying to make a living. 

 

I mean, I don't blame people for not wanting to be hassled by vendors. The world is not some soccer mom beach though.

If they want the "International Experience" without the seamy downside often seen in the Caribbean and Mexico, Disney has just the thing for them at EPCOT.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, Markanddonna said:

Well, that is obviously what makes people different. I appreciate the Caribbean and Mexico for a break from our cold winters up north. I love history and am a writer, so I never get bored when exploring topics I enjoy researching. I write about WWII, the Holocaust, and Biblical archaeology, so obviously the Caribbean isn't where I care to spend my time.

 

Not even for the Battle of the Caribbean😜🤡? Though in all seriousness with 16000 Caribbeans enlisted in WWII you could technically argue that part of the world is also part of that whole history too. But I guess from your perspective as a writer probably not the interesting part😂

Edited February 24, 2022 by ilikeanswers

[Zach1213]

5 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

I enjoy the warm climate, the beaches, and the palm trees of the Caribbean but after visiting the interior and cities of many islands, they all tend to look alike after a while. I suppose my attitude, along with others, is that our heritage doesn't come from these warm island countries. I suppose others could look at Europe and say "all I see are the same types of cities and churches and museums."  Our attitude and interests are all individual and why we choose different places to travel.

 

As an African, part of what I love about many parts of the Caribbean is to see how my fellow Africans adjusted over the generations and built their own cultures in the various islands and nations. On the surface, many people (not saying you) see the Caribbean as a single entity with little or no culture. But once you get past the touristy crap and the beaches, it's amazing how each island and each country can be so vastly different, full of blacks, whites, indigenous peoples, Indians, even Chinese and Hmong in more recent years, speaking English, or French, or Spanish, and various others languages, some of which aren't spoken anywhere else in the world. And throw in the natural beauty...man, I love the Caribbean. 

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

On the surface, many people (not saying you) see the Caribbean as a single entity with little or no culture. But once you get past the touristy crap and the beaches, it's amazing how each island and each country can be so vastly different

 

Very well said.  The Caymans like Martinique?  No.  Barbados like The U. S. Virgin Islands?  No.  It's like someone thinking that if they have visited Ohio, they have "seen/experienced" the rest of the 49 States.  

[evandbob]

Other differences are volcanic vs coral origin, agriculture vs trade economy, history of pirate predation, how some isles were governed by different European countries, often changing hands several times, history of slavery, abolition of slavery before our Civil War, food (e.g. the flying fish and breadfruit are staples in Barbados).

 

If one doesn't venture beyond the port area or Margaritaville's, sure, it all looks the same.  Just like JFK looks like LAX.  Go further away and see the differences.

[ilikeanswers]

6 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

As an African, part of what I love about many parts of the Caribbean is to see how my fellow Africans adjusted over the generations and built their own cultures in the various islands and nations. On the surface, many people (not saying you) see the Caribbean as a single entity with little or no culture. But once you get past the touristy crap and the beaches, it's amazing how each island and each country can be so vastly different, full of blacks, whites, indigenous peoples, Indians, even Chinese and Hmong in more recent years, speaking English, or French, or Spanish, and various others languages, some of which aren't spoken anywhere else in the world. And throw in the natural beauty...man, I love the Caribbean. 

 

You get the same complaints with the Pacific Islands. If you stay in the resorts the islands of course look very similar but once you leave those grounds they are completely distinct destinations🤗. 

[rkacruiser]

19 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

You get the same complaints with the Pacific Islands. If you stay in the resorts the islands of course look very similar but once you leave those grounds they are completely distinct destinations🤗. 

 

Bora Bora is quite different from Guam.  You are so right!  

[navybankerteacher]

20 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Bora Bora is quite different from Guam.  You are so right!  

And St. Barths is quite different from St. Thomas.

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

And St. Barths is quite different from St. Thomas.

 

Absolutely!  Memories of an excellent lunch on a Christmas Eve with very good French wine and French Bread and some delicious Caribbean Lobster.  Nothing like that on St. Thomas.  

[mlbcruiser]

I would much rather go to Nassau than Coco Cau, which seems to be on just about every Royal Caribbean cruise now. I even prefer Lavity because topographically it’s much more beautiful.. Nassau not only has lots of history but there are some great snorkeling areas not far off the coast with extremely clear water. While,  it wouldn’t be my very first port on my favorites list but  it’s above some others. others.
 

It’s very narrowminded to assume just because you don’t like something, someone else shouldn’t see a reason for going there. We happen to like going to Atlantis, driving down to Cable Beach, seeing the Queen’s Steps and around the island, or sometimes watching a cricket game over by the fort. I enjoyed the pirate museum, too. Used to enjoy just walking around the straw market. However,  I have to say that I liked the straw market in the olden days when it was actually spread out on the ground. The one that’s covered, smashed up, and large, doesn’t appeal to me that much.  Still I go there to get trinkets to use as little gifts. I also like seeing the bobbies, Areas of the island away from NASA, including different neighborhoods, and the feel of a different country because it is one. (Far,  far more like the US than it used to be. The accent is giving way to an American accent more and more. Sadly,  I must say. ) Ot was the first port we ever visited many years ago. Our three day cruise remained there overnight and we went to the drumbeat club pretty great show. The next day went over to Paradise Island and also on a snorkeling excursion. Great time! I nearly cried having to get off the ship at the end of the cruise.   So there are other opinions about this port. 

[mcgore83]

I prefer Nassau over Grand Cayman.

[navybankerteacher]

48 minutes ago, mcgore83 said:

I prefer Nassau over Grand Cayman.

That says a great deal.

[pris993]

On 2/17/2022 at 11:43 AM, Markanddonna said:

Setting aside the experience of Nassau, I'd like to address just the port fees. I am on a 4 day cruise from Port Canaveral with one stop in Nassau and two days at a private island. The port fees are $139. PP.  I just noted a Mediterranean cruise with port fees at $72 PP and they stop at Haifa, Cyprus, Santorini, Athens, Kusadasi and Rhodes- very desirable ports to visit. Why the huge discrepancy?  BTW- China now owns the port of Athens...

British lb money twice value of dollar, possibly.