10 cruises and never been to Bahamas. Thoughts?

[houseflipper48]

We are not a fan of the Bahamas, been there many times. Other than the beautiful water imo not much to do there.  The 2 ports we generally stay on the ship are the Bahamas and Belize. 

[Anyislandwilldo]

3 hours ago, txcruiser1234 said:

We did this 8 day Dream itinerary in '22 and '23. The first time, like you, was to visit the Bahamas for our first time. We like Key West ok enough for a day visit... but Nassau and Freeport were a disappointment.. just not what we thought they would be. But Half Moon Cay (Little San Salvador Island) was exactly what we pictured as an idyllic Bahamian island. A top 5 all-time favorite port call for us. We liked HMC so much that we booked the same itinerary again for a second NYE Dream cruise, knowing that the day at HMC alone would be worth it for us. We just stayed on the ship for Freeport and Nassau the second time... the Dream being a solid ship to spend a port day on...

Oh yeah!!!  Half Moon Cay gets my vote every time!!  The water is so blue!!  The sand is like flour!!  Carnival also sets up picnic type food.  Rent a clamshell and go in the clear water!!

[carol louise]

I’ve been to Nassau several times. The straw market near the dock burned some years ago and I have not seen it since it was restored/rebuilt. It was good shopping, as I recall.

 

I can recommend the Ardastra Gardens—there may be a ship excursion there. A lovely combination botanical garden and zoo, including a fascinating performance by trained flamingoes. https://ardastra.com/
 

Half Moon Cay has the whitest powdery sand and clearest water I’ve ever seen. Highly recommend!

[mlshum]

Just like any other port, you will never know until you go.  Going to the Bahamas is easy and affordable.  I, personally, try to get to as many different ports as possible. My least favorite so far was not in the Bahamas, but Jamaica.  That said, I still had a wonderful experience and would do it again in a heartbeat.  

[May1cruiser]

22 hours ago, staceyglow said:

Did some quick calculating.  1% of Carnival cruises go to Bonaire, not one of which is less than 8 days. 26% go to the Bahamas. and many are 4 days or less.  

 

It's not like you can easily swap out Bonaire for the Bahamas at will.

Correct, Just our perspective. Been on 24 cruises and only once to Bonaire. So 4.17% of our cruises. 

 

[Joebucks]

The poo poo'ing on Bahamas is annoying and overplayed. There's just a ton of spoiled cruisers who have been there too many times and may have been inconvenienced by its hustle and bustle. Is it my absolute favorite port? No. However, I've had plenty of good times there. There is a ton to do, the water is beautiful, plenty of good food, good shopping, etc. The private islands are also tough to beat. 

 

In Nassau, I've done a few day passes at Sandals, which was a great time. We also enjoy cabbage beach, and getting the bottomless rum drinks for about $30, while having a nice beach day.

[jsglow]

8 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

The poo poo'ing on Bahamas is annoying and overplayed. There's just a ton of spoiled cruisers who have been there too many times and may have been inconvenienced by its hustle and bustle. Is it my absolute favorite port? No. However, I've had plenty of good times there.

Could not have said it better myself! 👍

[mz-s]

It's fair to want a prepackaged whitewashed resort style destination on vacation I suppose. Carnival and other lines work to provide that on their ships and proprietary ports of call. But Nassau is not that and never will be.

[Drazil65]

DH enjoys some reef snorkeling and does it here (as well as other islands).  Myself and DS enjoy some of beaches as well as an occasional trip to Atlantis.  Back in the day (before DS) we owned a vacation condo on the island so we are well acquainted with Nassau and have our fav places to visit when we are back.   Just depends on what your likes and dislikes are or if you are open to trying new things.  All said, just have fun!

[sanger727]

On 12/29/2023 at 11:15 PM, lrk said:

Thank you all for the input.  To be more specific, I am only looking at cruises that keep me from having to fly....so sailing out of Galveston or New Orleans.  This limits me to the Western or Eastern Caribbean.  I have cruised out of Miami and San Juan and been to Caribbean islands which are wonderful.  However, I cannot get there sailing from Texas.  So, that limits me to Mexico, Honduras

(Love it) Belize, Cayman, and Jamaica.  The only place I haven't been is the Eastern Caribbean ie, the Bahamas, which led to my original post.  The exact cruise I am thinking of goes to Key West ( been there...meh!). Freeport, Half Moon Cay, and Nassau.  Snorkeling is what I enjoy while in the Caribbean so Honduras, Cozumel, and Cayman, are my favorites.  

 

well, in that case you are limited enough in itinerary that you may as well due the Bahamas. But if you can get to st Martin and/or st Thomas, I would do that first. Curious what the issue is with flying? I live in Ohio so can’t go on any cruise without flying.

Edited December 31, 2023 by sanger727

[MisterOJ2]

On 12/28/2023 at 8:56 PM, lrk said:

I am trying to plan my next cruise and I am just curious how you like the Bahamas.  I have really only gotten one opinion from a family memeber who did not recommend the Bahamas over Mexico.  Says it is very crowded, commercialized, etc.  After going to the Western Caribbean SO many times, thi thinking of doing Bahamas for something different.  Just curious what all you Carnival cruisers think.

 

Hi! So, I was pretty much in the same boat as you until my most recent cruise, which was last week. Although, I'd been to Nassau once on my very first cruise back in 2009. We were brand new to cruising and really didn't do anything there, though. We just got off the ship, walked around the straw market and got back on board.

 

Like you, the majority of our cruises were to the western Caribbean. We love Cozumel and Roatan and even Costa Maya (mostly just because of Maya Chan, but still). Anyway, when we were looking at Christmas cruises, we saw that the one leaving Mobile went to the Bahamas and booked it because it would be "new" for us.

 

The short version is that we really wished we'd gone to the western Caribbean instead. We've done December cruises down there before, but just not over Christmas. Maybe it was just bad luck, but the Bahamas seemed much cooler than Mexico. It didn't help that the weather was overcast most of the time.

 

We booked a day pass to a resort in Nassau and it was very underwhelming. Food and drinks weren't great. If the weather was nice, it might have helped save the day, but it was very "meh." The area around the port was nice, but we didn't really enjoy the straw market for shopping. Shopping for souvenirs and alcohol in port at all three stops was not as nice as in most other ports either.

 

We did have a day of beautiful weather in Bimini - and had a great day there. We rented a golf cart  and drove around the island (which is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be) and hung out at Radio Beach, which was really nice. 

 

The weather in Freeport was so bad that we just got off the ship to do a bit of shopping in the port, but again, it wasn't very nice and the stuff offered there just wasn't great.

 

I don't know that I'd book another trip with that kind of itinerary again. Bimini was nice, but the other two ports just didn't do anything for us.

[MistyRo76]

I just did a five day cruise to Nassau and Half Moon Cay after having not been to the Bahamas in probably 8-10 years. Nassau has never been my favorite port and the last time we were there years ago we just stayed on the ship. But we had our 9 year-old with us this time, so we knew we'd be getting off the ship. 

 

The Bahamas have some nice beaches and I'm sure there are fun things to do there. But my biggest gripe with Nassau is how ridiculously expensive it has gotten. We did the "free" beach (Junkanoo Beach) as none of the excursions in Nassau held much appeal and were very pricey and the cost of doing a day pass at a decent resort would have set us back $500 or more for our family of three. Even at the "free" beach we still managed to spend over $100. The beach itself is free and we could have probably plopped our towels down on the sand, but it was mega hot when we were there so we wanted some shade and I'm not that young anymore and my back would have hated me for sitting on the sand for very long. The cost of two lounge chairs and an umbrella was $30. Plus the chairs were squished together so tight that your neighbor next to you was practically on top of you. We then paid $70 for a very basic lunch - cheeseburger and fries for the kiddo, an appetizer for the hubby and a shrimp and rice meal for me plus two sodas. It took almost 90 minutes just to get our food. There were no other amenities here other than the restrooms which were filthy. I get that you get what you pay for...but it's hard to justify $500 for a beach day (that doesn't even include all drinks and food) at a resort here. Especially after having been to Cozumel and Costa Maya on my previous cruise. In Cozumel, we paid $65 per person for an all-inclusive day at a beautiful resort. Included all food, drinks (alcohol included), had a pool, gorgeous beach, and the service was amazing! In Costa Maya, we paid $52 for the same type of package. And both places limit their capacity so it's not overcrowded. It was peaceful, relaxing and fun! 

 

Now, Half Moon Cay on the other hand is amazing and one of my favorite cruise stops! The water is beautiful, the activites on the island are reasonably priced (the three of us did a stingray encounter for $150 total), the food is included, and there is a ton to do! We even splurged and got a cabana (shared the cost with the family we were traveling with). And this was the way to go! It was absolutely worth it to have our own private space. 

 

All that being said - YMMV and you may end up loving the Bahamas as a whole. You won't know until you try it. If we do book a cruise that has Nassau as a stop in the future, I will most likely stay on the ship. And I doubt that I would ever book a cruise that ONLY stops in the Bahamas again. 

Edited January 2 by MistyRo76

[missholly24]

On 1/2/2024 at 1:53 PM, MistyRo76 said:

I just did a five day cruise to Nassau and Half Moon Cay after having not been to the Bahamas in probably 8-10 years. Nassau has never been my favorite port and the last time we were there years ago we just stayed on the ship. But we had our 9 year-old with us this time, so we knew we'd be getting off the ship. 

 

The Bahamas have some nice beaches and I'm sure there are fun things to do there. But my biggest gripe with Nassau is how ridiculously expensive it has gotten. We did the "free" beach (Junkanoo Beach) as none of the excursions in Nassau held much appeal and were very pricey and the cost of doing a day pass at a decent resort would have set us back $500 or more for our family of three. Even at the "free" beach we still managed to spend over $100. The beach itself is free and we could have probably plopped our towels down on the sand, but it was mega hot when we were there so we wanted some shade and I'm not that young anymore and my back would have hated me for sitting on the sand for very long. The cost of two lounge chairs and an umbrella was $30. Plus the chairs were squished together so tight that your neighbor next to you was practically on top of you. We then paid $70 for a very basic lunch - cheeseburger and fries for the kiddo, an appetizer for the hubby and a shrimp and rice meal for me plus two sodas. It took almost 90 minutes just to get our food. There were no other amenities here other than the restrooms which were filthy. I get that you get what you pay for...but it's hard to justify $500 for a beach day (that doesn't even include all drinks and food) at a resort here. Especially after having been to Cozumel and Costa Maya on my previous cruise. In Cozumel, we paid $65 per person for an all-inclusive day at a beautiful resort. Included all food, drinks (alcohol included), had a pool, gorgeous beach, and the service was amazing! In Costa Maya, we paid $52 for the same type of package. And both places limit their capacity so it's not overcrowded. It was peaceful, relaxing and fun! 

 

Now, Half Moon Cay on the other hand is amazing and one of my favorite cruise stops! The water is beautiful, the activites on the island are reasonably priced (the three of us did a stingray encounter for $150 total), the food is included, and there is a ton to do! We even splurged and got a cabana (shared the cost with the family we were traveling with). And this was the way to go! It was absolutely worth it to have our own private space. 

 

All that being said - YMMV and you may end up loving the Bahamas as a whole. You won't know until you try it. If we do book a cruise that has Nassau as a stop in the future, I will most likely stay on the ship. And I doubt that I would ever book a cruise that ONLY stops in the Bahamas again. 

May I ask what all-inclusive you loved in Cozumel and Costa Maya for $65pp? I am headed there and Costa Maya in Feb and researching what to do. Thank you so much! I'm scared to not just be going to HMC and Grand Turk (my favs). LOL....

[MisterOJ2]

3 hours ago, missholly24 said:

May I ask what all-inclusive you loved in Cozumel and Costa Maya for $65pp? I am headed there and Costa Maya in Feb and researching what to do. Thank you so much! I'm scared to not just be going to HMC and Grand Turk (my favs). LOL....

 

I know you weren't asking me, but Maya Chan in Costa Maya and Nachi Cocom in Cozumel are the two very favorite all-inclusive beaches that my wife and I go to. And because of that, those are our two favorite ports. When we're looking for cruises, we will often look first at itineraries that include both those ports, just because we love those beaches so much.

 

Now, I know the prices have gone up in recent months, so I don't think it's $65 for either of them anymore, but they're still great deals. Also, the price for Maya Chan includes transportation to and from the beach, but you have to get a taxi to and from Nachi Cocom.

[missholly24]

1 hour ago, MisterOJ2 said:

 

I know you weren't asking me, but Maya Chan in Costa Maya and Nachi Cocom in Cozumel are the two very favorite all-inclusive beaches that my wife and I go to. And because of that, those are our two favorite ports. When we're looking for cruises, we will often look first at itineraries that include both those ports, just because we love those beaches so much.

 

Now, I know the prices have gone up in recent months, so I don't think it's $65 for either of them anymore, but they're still great deals. Also, the price for Maya Chan includes transportation to and from the beach, but you have to get a taxi to and from Nachi Cocom.

Ok thank you! I have been to Nachi in the past (probably 10yrs ago) and can't remember anything about it. LOL...I will check them out!

[Butterbean1000]

On 12/29/2023 at 10:40 AM, mz-s said:

Any serious cruiser owes it to themselves to cruise to the Bahamas, just like they owe it to themselves to cruise out of Miami. It's kind of like a rite of passage to have a bracelet put on your wrist without permission in Nassau.

Ha! this happened to my husband but it was a necklace.

[Butterbean1000]

I've been to Nassau 4 times, 3 times too many.  I've been to Freeport once.  One and done.  However, I'll go back to Half Moon Cay over and over.

[ledges1]

39 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

Ha! this happened to my husband but it was a necklace.

The necklace happened to me and the woman wanted $10 in front of the Straw Market. I looked past her and there were a couple of local men watching her. She was working for them. I gave her $5 and got my wife (at the straw market) and we went back to the ship. Nassau cruise port is a dump. You can remodel the port all you want but it does not change it.

[Butterbean1000]

4 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

The necklace happened to me and the woman wanted $10 in front of the Straw Market. I looked past her and there were a couple of local men watching her. She was working for them. I gave her $5 and got my wife (at the straw market) and we went back to the ship. Nassau cruise port is a dump. You can remodel the port all you want but it does not change it.

She took us for $5. Not a fan of Nassau at all.

Edited January 9 by Butterbean1000

[ninjacat123]

I have not had the necklace/bracelet thing happen to me but I have had children approach me with a woven leaf that looks like a flower.  I say no thank you and move on.

[ledges1]

The scary part of the setup is that the woman had her arms around my neck putting the necklace on me before I could resist. Any resistance may have caused the local men to intervene. I got away cheap at $5.

[mz-s]

Nassau is not a prepackaged part of a complete breakfast island paradise, and never will be.

[Oletruckdude]

We've done 17 Carnival cruises, mostly Caribbean.

Half Moon Cay is great, as are all of the cruise lines' private islands. 

after a couple of times in Nassau and Freeport we don't even get off the ship there anymore. We enjoy the ship while all the crowds are ashore.

Nassau had lots of shopping and the Atlantis resort. They're worth doing at least once.

Freeport has some minimal shopping shipside, but to see anything more requires a 10 mile bus ride into town.

In both Nassau and Freeport I highly advise you to STAY IN THE TOURIST AREAS. Don't venture out of the tourist areas on your own. Don't wear expensive jewelry or high end designer handbags, etc . The straw markets are fun and you can haggle with the vendors (they expect it), but be aware of your surroundings. The straw markets are a maze of booths and corridors. 

We really enjoy Grand Turk, St Thomas, St Marten so much more.

Have fun! 

[MistyRo76]

On 1/8/2024 at 6:55 AM, missholly24 said:

May I ask what all-inclusive you loved in Cozumel and Costa Maya for $65pp? I am headed there and Costa Maya in Feb and researching what to do. Thank you so much! I'm scared to not just be going to HMC and Grand Turk (my favs). LOL....

 

In Costa Maya, we did Jamie's at Blue Reef. I just double checked my notes and it was $52 pp all-inclusive. It's a small resort...but absolutely beautiful and peaceful. They only usually take 35 guests total, so it's not crowded at all. There were six of us girls here and we each had a large, nice lounge chair under a palapa. Plenty of shade. Our waitress was amazing and kept the drinks and food flowing! Her name is Digby! The bartender makes a lot of her own syrups for drinks from scratch. The drinks were awesome! And the food was too. The ceviche was some of the best I've had. There aren't any other amenties here like water inflatables for kids or massage huts. But it was a great day! There was a rooftop pool at the hotel here, but we stayed down on the beach. 

 

In Cozumel, we went to Nachi Cocom. It was $59 pp all inclusive. The food is a four-course lunch (appetizer, salad, entree, desert). It's a bit larger, but still caps out at 130 people total. I think when we were there, there were only 85 people or so (according to our host). Same kind of set up...we had reserved loungers under a palapa and a dedicated server who kept the drinks flowing. There is also a large pool at Nachi. The food was better at Jamie's, but for the price, everything here was great as well! 

 

Here's a link to my cruise review for this trip. You can find our Costa Maya day starting on Post 41 and our Cozumel day starting on post 51. 

 

BTW - HMC and Grand Turk are two of my favorite ports as well! Just so beautiful! 

[missholly24]

23 hours ago, MistyRo76 said:

 

In Costa Maya, we did Jamie's at Blue Reef. I just double checked my notes and it was $52 pp all-inclusive. It's a small resort...but absolutely beautiful and peaceful. They only usually take 35 guests total, so it's not crowded at all. There were six of us girls here and we each had a large, nice lounge chair under a palapa. Plenty of shade. Our waitress was amazing and kept the drinks and food flowing! Her name is Digby! The bartender makes a lot of her own syrups for drinks from scratch. The drinks were awesome! And the food was too. The ceviche was some of the best I've had. There aren't any other amenties here like water inflatables for kids or massage huts. But it was a great day! There was a rooftop pool at the hotel here, but we stayed down on the beach. 

 

In Cozumel, we went to Nachi Cocom. It was $59 pp all inclusive. The food is a four-course lunch (appetizer, salad, entree, desert). It's a bit larger, but still caps out at 130 people total. I think when we were there, there were only 85 people or so (according to our host). Same kind of set up...we had reserved loungers under a palapa and a dedicated server who kept the drinks flowing. There is also a large pool at Nachi. The food was better at Jamie's, but for the price, everything here was great as well! 

 

Here's a link to my cruise review for this trip. You can find our Costa Maya day starting on Post 41 and our Cozumel day starting on post 51. 

 

BTW - HMC and Grand Turk are two of my favorite ports as well! Just so beautiful! 

Thank you so much! I will check that all out. Happy Cruising!!