Staying on-board in Nassau?

[buccikulju]

Thank you all for your helpful input thus far :). We are sailing on the Sovereign of the Seas on Feb. 19. I wonder about staying on-board in Nassau. Pros/Cons? I'm leaning towards not getting off the boat. What do you think? Thanks. :p

 

Patty

[cruisinfanatic]

Thank you all for your helpful input thus far :). We are sailing on the Sovereign of the Seas on Feb. 19. I wonder about staying on-board in Nassau. Pros/Cons? I'm leaning towards not getting off the boat. What do you think? Thanks. :p

 

Patty

Why not get off? The beach is beautiful there.

[truffles2]

Every time we stop at Nassau we say we are not going to get off--and if we change our minds and do get off, we always say, "now I remember why we weren't going to get off". If you are port intensive, it is a good day to enjoy the ship!

[Geema]

I agree with Truffles2 - stay on the ship.

[whyrlygig]

We have stayed on board in Nassua twice! It is great to have the ship to ourselves. :)

[RoofingPrincess]

from what one of my travelling companions has researched, there will be a LOT of ships in port on the day we get to Nassau. Plus, I'm not a beach person, and I've heard a lot of negative comments about the on-shore experience lately. So I'm thinking of staying on the ship as well.

[Nitra]

I agree, stay on board. You will have a nice empty ship, it is quiet and peaceful, they still have activities for those that choose not to get off, if you want to get off and walk around, be prepared. I heard so much about the straw market and how great it was, NOT!

 

Personal opinions of course, many like the beaches, I figure I can stay on board and enjoy the sun without getting sand in my ... you understand. If I want to swim in salt water, I can get in pool, I can use clean bathrooms too.

 

Enjoy the day, relax, have an umbrella drink, listen to the music, and enjoy your prime seat by the pool.

[cb at sea]

We've been there several times--wasn't impressed at all! Now, I stay at the pool, where I'm treated like a VIP, since there are very few of us, and hubby goes ashore to walk through the marketplace for an hour or so. The way I see it, it's the ship and it's amenities that I've paid for, so I would like to get as much use of them as possible! If I REALLY wanted to go to a particular port, I'd just fly there and make that my vacation!

[nlcentralchmps03]

I also vote for staying on the ship.

 

There is always senor frogs, but other than that Nassau doesn't impress me at all.

[derrick22]

I have to agree about staying on board. Went last spring and walked around a little and then our son went back onboard and we went to Atlantis. While the hotel is nice looking and the aquarium was okay nothing to write home about.

We made it back on board for a late lunch and had the pool to ourselves.

Not missing anything in my opinion.

Denise

[bigsky]

If this is your first time to this port, I say get off. Everything is subjective. YOU may like it. We've been many times. Last time we went to Atlantis..it's beautiful there. YOu may want to go downtown and do some shopping or go to the beach. I would at least check it out. If it's not for you, then go back to the ship and enjoy the quiet.

If you don't, you may regret it. This is part of cruising it going to different ports.

What one person may not like, another may.

[truffles2]

I would agree with bigsky....if this is your first time there. My earlier response was based on having been there many times and its just not one of my favorite places. We usually take a city/island tour when we first visit a new place and I would recommend that to anyone. You did not say if this was your first visit or not--I kind of read into your remarks that it was not...is it?

[digital_curator]

We went to Nassau on our first cruise.

 

We didn't see any excursions that really interested us, so we did a walking tour (on our own) that we got from fromers.com.

 

We were glad we went to see Nassau once but have no interest in doing it again- next time we will stay on the ship.

 

But, if it is your first time I would say get off and look around- you might love it....

 

Cheers,

[DonnaC1]

My sis and I went to Nassau on our first cruise (w/ Disney) and we spent the day by the ship's pool and then got off the ship once the sun was too low, and only walked around the port area for 20 minutes. We weren't at all impressed with Nassau, so we decided that for our RCCL cruise that we just returned from, we'd stay on the ship. Well, the hubbies hadn't been to Nassau before, so we compromised, spent the early part of the day on the ship, and walked around the port area with them for less than an hour. We all agreed that next time, we are staying on the ship!

 

Donna

[mommabean]

I find the Bahamians to be very interesting and entertaining.

 

On Mother's Day last year we saw a street preacher. We watched little boys dive for coins. We talked to an obese woman who was working in the straw market. She told us all about why it's healthier to drink soda with sugar in it instead of diet soda. :)

 

And we took the number 10 jitney to the Fish Fry for lunch. That was a nice ride with the locals. The driver was playing a radio station which had a local church service on. Interesting! Then at the Fish Fry which wasn't hopping yet, we found a place open for brunch and got to hear the owner tell some REALLY interesting stories. Her little boy was very shy and was our server. He had big round eyes like saucers peering over the counter when he wasn't working. He walked very slowly and carried everything one at a time. It was funny to watch.

 

When we're in Nassau in February I intend to have lunch at the fish fry again but I'll wait until noon to catch the jitney. The local people don't show up for lunch until after church. In fact, my husband says we are going to go to church with the Bahamians on the island before lunch. That should be...an experience. They aren't always easy to understand.

 

Don't do something too touristy and you might be glad you got off the ship. Even striking up a conversation in the straw market can be fun. You can find a lady in there who will sew your name on a cheap something or other which is a good way to get a chance to talk.

[Mugga]

This is why I would stay on the ship.

There were two more ship that you cannot even see in the picture.

This was taken from the Navagator of the Seas in Nassua, September 2006.

[latravel]

We were in Nassau a couple of weeks ago on the Jewel. If you've been before, remember that there is some great duty free and tax free shopping there. I bought an amazing Fendi purse from the Fendi store, duty free and tax free! I wish I had more time to check out the other stores on Bay Street (I think). This last time we had a day pass to the British Colonial Hilton, which is walking distance from the ship. We had a great time. We must have seen at least 5 or 6 weddings that day (it was a Saturday) and it was very interesting to see some of the Bahamian culture.

[Bobba22]

We will be in Nassau on the Voyager of the Seas on Apr. 1 from 7AM until only 1PM. We really aren't interested in any of the excursions listed so we will probably stay on board and use that day to do a couples Spa treatment. Does anyone know if the Spa runs specials on Port Days??

[KtBarker]

Atlantis is a great destination in Nassau. Use a discount website and book the cheapest room available to gain access to the pools/waterslides/the Dig etc (even some of the other hotels allow access to all Atlantis has to offer I believe). Probably about a $10 cab ride each way. You can put up to 4 in a hotel room which = 4 wrist bands for towels, pool access etc. Well worth it if you enjoy pools/waterslides. The beach is beautiful, but drops off rather quickly so it's not great for young kids.

[barbarah33]

We are also going there on the Sovereign next month. I have never stayed on board a ship while in a port on 28 cruises but I think this may be the one. (Right now the two of us are saying we will stay aboard and enjoy the ship.) I have been to Nassau on a ship plenty of times and last year we actually vacationed at Atlantis so I feel as though I have seen what Nassau has to offer. Everyone is correct - if it's your first time there you should get off and at least look around: why not check out a new place?

 

Of course you are also on the Sovereign and she stays there until well into the night and this may be where we also run into trouble. If a ship is in port then the casino isn't open nor do they put on any big shows or anything. So, while we are both happy to stay on board I think we could end up getting off at night and taking a cab to Atlantis for a drink or two and some gambling.

 

You also don't know who you might meet on the ship and what they have planned that might interest you. I would keep an open mind and then decide once you get there, see the weather, what you're in the mood for, etc.

[teajak]

Every time we stop at Nassau we say we are not going to get off--and if we change our minds and do get off, we always say, "now I remember why we weren't going to get off". If you are port intensive, it is a good day to enjoy the ship!

Sounds just like us, Nassau has no redeeming qualities and a ship with most of the other passengers gone is great. Have fun

[Sheik]

Book a tour and enjoy your day in Nassau.

[cruisegal40]

KtBarker, I am in just down/up the road from you. Do you have kids? Did you like Atlantis. We are only there from 7-1 in April and wanted someone views on it. Kids want to go at least just for the aquar. Please let me know.

[cruisegal40]

KtBarker, I am in just down/up the road from you. Do you have kids? Did you like Atlantis. We are only there from 7-1 in April and wanted someone views on it. Kids want to go at least just for the aquar. Please let me know.

[ColeandAbby]

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