Excursion or Shopping??

[SunshneNC]

I will be cruising on the Elation in November. Our three ports are Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Grand Turks, Caicos. Out of the three ports which one would be the best for an excursion and which one is the best for souvenier shopping (tshirts, jewelry, etc.)? Also which ports do you have to tender at? Thanks!

[SunshneNC]

Okay so there's no one out there that can give me some advice on this subject....?? Please...........

[angelkisses]

We are on this cruise with you. We have been to both Nassau and Half Moon. I Love Half Moon .....infact it was one of our reasons for choosing the Elation. We will tender at Half Moon but will probably be the only ship there. There is an island store but probably you want find anything more than what you would onboard the ship. Also your ship board card should work for purchases on the island. If you can afford the cabanna rental .... it's awesome. Kinda pricy at around $200 but we really enjoyed it. Beach mats, snorkling gear, lounge chairs are all included. You will have food and beverages in the refrigerator when you arrive. Love the misting showers attached to the cabin. When we were on HAL, you could pay extra for Butler service on the island but we did not choose that as an option. The butlers by the way were some of the waiters from the ship. Even though we did not choose the butler service we were given that convenience. I'm sure the butler/waiter realized he would make a good tip if he provided us with that same service. They have a picnic on the island but the butler brought the food to us and every 30 minutes or so, he would stop by to see if we needed any drinks, food, etc.. Not sure if we will go that route this time as DD(13) really wants to go Horseback riding and I would love to try Parasailing so we got to stretch those dollars just a little. It's been a couple years since we were at HMC and it looks like alot of beach activities have been added since our visit.

 

When we visited Nassau we went to the straw market but I was not overly impressed as it was so crowded. Be prepared for a lot of haggling over prices if you go to the straw market. Some of the shops were nice in the port area but nothing real spectacular. Still there's probably more to offer as far as shopping in Nassau than the other ports we will visit and within walking distance of the ship. This time, we will probably do an excursion in Nassau but we have not decided on which one to do yet.

 

Grand Turk .... I don't know much about this island. My son and I are both Jimmy Buffet fans so we will probably just spend our day at the Margaritaville pool and beach area and grab us a souvenier T-Shirt from there.

 

Do you have your cabin assignment yet?

 

By the way, we live about 30 miles west of Charlotte NC

 

 

Robin

[swom]

I will be cruising on the Elation in November. Our three ports are Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Grand Turks, Caicos. Out of the three ports which one would be the best for an excursion and which one is the best for souvenier shopping (tshirts, jewelry, etc.)? Also which ports do you have to tender at? Thanks!

I've only been to Nassau and Half Moon Cay......but I would choose Nassau for souveniers out of the two. Half Moon Cay is a place to go and just RELAX and enjoy the beautiful beach. It's wonderful there. I wish I could spend a whole week lying on the beach and enjoying the beauty of it all.....The shops on HMC are not that great and not a large selection of things, but the beach is wonderful.

Hope that helps a little.

[Zeno]

I will be cruising on the Elation in November. Our three ports are Nassau, Half Moon Cay and Grand Turks, Caicos. Out of the three ports which one would be the best for an excursion and which one is the best for souvenier shopping (tshirts, jewelry, etc.)? Also which ports do you have to tender at? Thanks!

Nassau - shopping

Grand Turk - beach and snorkeling (Governor's beach is very nice.)

[joand452]

We thought the straw market was a little scary--women grabbing your arm to get you to come look at their things. There are other stores there as well.

 

We took a water taxi over to Paradise Island and spent a few hours at the Atlantis. It was a ship excursion that included their aquarium. You could do it on your own for less $$, of course. The resort was beautiful, and we had lunch there after spending time at the Dig Site. There's also a large casino.