nassau excursion advice

[jewel1]

Myself, husband, and 9 year old daughter will be in Nassau from 9:30am - 7:00pm on a Monday in June. I have read so many posts and have gotten such good ideas, I am overwhelmed! Our priority is a great snorkeling excursion, but we would also love to spend some time swimming/lounging on a beach with beautiful water. Our ship (Disney Wonder) offers two snorkeling trips - the Caribbean Queen and a catamaran trip. I am leaning toward booking our own excursion, though. I have looked at Flying Cloud, Stuart Cove, Seahorse, Sea Island Adventures. There are just too many options! Any suggestions would be great. :confused:

[StPauli]

Hi, maybe you've taken your cruise already, but I decided to answer anyway for all the people looking for something to do in Nassau on their own.

 

We just sailed on the Carnival Sensation on 6/11/06 and were lucky enough to get a whole 24hrs in Nassau. I highly recommend Sea Island Adventures if you have the time for it. Pick up was at 9:30 am and I think we got back to the cruise terminal around 4:00 pm. They shuttle you to a dock and the boat ride is about 30 minutes. There weren't too many cruisers, most were hotel guests. Actually half the boat was filled with local school children on a field trip. Lucky kids.

 

Despite being overcast, rough seas and windy at landing on Rose Island, a short walk to the leeward side made all the difference. The water was so calm and a gorgeous green/blue. The sand was clean and white. There were plenty of loungers and quite a few hammocks. It didn't feel crowded at all, even with the big school group.

 

You snorkel right off the beach. I never made it over the coral, but I still saw so many fish, even a turtle. They dont provide fins, so bring your own. We didn't lug ours to the beach that day and its what kept me from going far out because I'm not a strong swimmer.

 

For the truly antsy, like my husband, there were volleyball nets, kayaks and paddle boats. If you like to just lounge in the water like I do, they had raft floats and tubes. The workers were very friendly and everyone wants you to have fun. The activity guide did a great job. A nice touch is the lifeguard on duty.

 

The trip was cheaper than anything we would have booked with the ship. If you book directly with them online you get a discount. Our total was $112 for 2 people. Lunch and punch are included. They have rum punch and wine, but my favorite was buying 2 ice cold Kalik beers from the bar for $10. They really tasted good on a hot day. I could've lay on the lounger drinking more beers, but I just had to go back in the water.

 

We had a wonderful time and I did not really want to leave that beautiful beach with it's clear water. It rained on the boat ride back but at least it waited until we were done. I would definitely do this excursion again and we will be recommending it to anyone heading to Nassau. The only thing I'd do different would be bring my fins, wear a cap (my forehead was so burnt), wear a two piece swimsuit (much easier bathroom breaks) and tip the shuttle driver ( I feel bad that I forgot.)

[ArizonaTracie]

StPauli, I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this..we are going to be in Nassau on 7/15/06 and I just booked this for myself, my husband and our 12 y/o daughter....I am really excited now that you have given it a thumbs up!!

[StPauli]

I know what you mean T&K, I was worried too. I booked after reading a lone recommendation on another board and it wasn't very detailed. I promised I'd write something when I got home to help others research.

 

Onboard I chatted with some of the fellow tour guests and they recommended seeing Atlantis and swimming with the dolphins at Blue Lagoon. Sea Island was the only thing we did in Nassau other than shopping in the terminal, but I definitely see us returning there to explore some more.

 

Hope you have as much fun as we did and wear shoes with a good grip, especially if it looks rainy. The deck can be slippery in the wrong shoes.

[sfjmm]

St Paulie:

We will be in Nassau this summer. Do you think my 16 yo daughter would have fun on this tour? She likes to snorkel...WAs there enough to do on the beach to keep her happy? Thanks!

[jewel1]

Thanks for your advice. I have narrowed our choices down to snorkeling with Stuart Cove or the Sea Island trip to Rose Island. Although I know I would enjoy the Stuart Cove trip, I am not sure my 9 year old daughter would be happy just snorkeling. I think she might enjoy the beach more.

Was Rose Island crowded?

[jewel1]

StPauli, I just saw your comment about it not being crowded. Sorry :rolleyes:.

I am not sure if we can make a 9:30 pick up, so that might be a problem for us.

[MTcruiser]

We did the catamaran snorkel excursion off the wonder last year. The wife and i had a great time, saw lots of fish. On the way back they serve rum punch too. After we got back we had time to shop around Nassau, eat lunch on the ship, then take a taxi to Atlantis to look around.

[jewel1]

I have also been thinking of just sticking with one of the Disney excursions, either the catamaran snorkel or the Caribbean Queen snorkel. It seems it may be easier to go with the excursions offered instead of doing it myself. MTcruiser, how many people were on the catamaran excursion, and how long did you have to snorkel?

[MTcruiser]

i would say there were around 30 people on the boat and we had around 45 mins in the water i think.

[StPauli]

Sorry I didn't check back sooner, but your daughter should have a very fun time on this tour. There were all ages onboard. They had a treasure hunt snorkel contest, which everyone seemed to enjoy. A big plus is there are so many fish to see with so little effort. If you go, dont forget the underwater camera. I hope my picture with the sea turtle came out.

 

We almost booked the Stuart Cove tour. Seeing the sharks sounded interesting, tho I'm not sure I would've gone thru with it. Maybe next time.

[Blackangus]

Hello, Anyone had a recent trip with Sea Island Adventures? Where do you get picked up or do you have to go to where they are located. If so what is the best way to get to them. Thanks for the help

[StPauli]

They send you an email confirmation after you book telling you where to go. In our case it was the Sir Milo Butler statue across the street from the cruise terminal. It was a little tricky because the statue is across the street from the first set of doors you encounter. However they lock these doors to make you walk the whole terminal and visit the shops.

 

A bus then takes you to the yacht harbor and where you board the boat. But I guess you should go where your email tells you to go.