Shore Excursions/ Nassau

[brown28]

Taking a cruise to the Bahamas in August...looking for fun things to do. I feel like I want to get the most of this visit, see the island, take lots of pictures, etc, so I wanna get my moneys worth out of whatever excursion we do.

 

Out of the available shore excursions from Carnival, what are everyones favorites?

 

Thanks to all!

[FlashbackAlternatives]

Taking a cruise to the Bahamas in August...looking for fun things to do. I feel like I want to get the most of this visit, see the island, take lots of pictures, etc, so I wanna get my moneys worth out of whatever excursion we do.

 

Out of the available shore excursions from Carnival, what are everyones favorites?

 

Thanks to all!

 

How long will you be in port?

 

Carnival's (as with all cruise lines) excursions are expensive. If you are comfortable in doing so, you may be better off planning things on your own.

[Fergus]

We just booked the Blue Lagoon dolphin swim thru the ship. We researched doing it on our own (would be about $20-25 cheaper) then decided it was worth the $$ to do it thru the ship........we're supposed to dock at 8:00 and that's the time listed for the excursion, so we should be given priority to get off, taken directly there and directly back afterward. Otherwise, we'd wait to get off the ship, have to locate the ferry dock, get a water taxi, probably wait for other ship-excursion pax to do their swim, get our own transport back. We figured this way would save us time and energy, and we'd still have time to explore and shop afterward.

[bobsfamily]

Sometimes it is wise to book thru the ship.

[Trainman-2]

Here is a view of Nassau taken recently from the Sovereign of the Seas.

 

 

It is a good walk from the ship to the shore but there is a free shuttle (A Golf Cart with several trailers) that runs every 10-15 minutes.

 

If you have pre-booked a shore excursion, there will probably be a place to meet up on the pier next to the ship and your excursion guide will lead you all along the pier to your bus or whatever on shore.

 

Everyone who goes ashore in Nassau is routed through this building.

 

 

When you first enter the building, you are looking almost directly an an information desk. The staff there will provide you with some really nice free maps and answer any questions you might have about what is where.

 

There are a number of nice small shops inside the building with typical souvenir stuff.

 

When you exit the building you will find taxi and carriage drivers waiting for you.

 

Everything in Nassau is within a few blocks. We like to rent a horse drawn carriage and have the driver take us around and show us the historical and tourist sites.

 

When we rent a carriage, we have the driver take us to the top of the hill overlooking the town. We go up the old water tower in the elevator and admire the view. There is a small straw market at the base of the tower. From there, we walk down the Queen's Staircase and meet our driver again and then have him show us around. Each driver has his own favorite places to show us so each trip is different. We do enjoy the Pirate's Museum which is nicely done and interesting.

 

If you have never been to Nassau, this is a good way to explore the town.

[bobsfamily]

Trainman - good comments.

 

The one time we took a carriage ride it was nothing like yours. It was a indy 500 run around the center of town! lol... He did a 30min. tour in about 12-15 min. The carriage was a rockin, we were holding on for dear life. When we got back to the shed we jumped off and started laughing... that was to keep us from kissing the ground. It was a unique experience and I must say we talk about but whew what a ride.

[Alvida]

I just got back from Nassau on Sunday and I had the best experience with the people at paradise ocean sports. If you want to do all the water stuff (parasailing, jet skiing, snorkeling, stc) then they provide a package deal that allows you to do all of them plus lunch is provided. They tend to be bad at returnign emails and you need to make sure you have all your details taken care of (ie. have their phone number with you and know exactly where they will pick you up) because the jerk at the ministry of tourism is snide and obnoxious!

 

the guys running it know what their doing and we had the best fun of our lives!!! :)

[brown28]

Thank you very much Trainman and Alvida!

 

(everyone else too)

 

Josh

[brown28]

With the cruise package, what was the average age of folks in your package? And how many people? Were you able to get a lot of good photo opportunities?

 

Thanks! Josh

[Browneyes43]

Here is a view of Nassau taken recently from the Sovereign of the Seas.

 

 

It is a good walk from the ship to the shore but there is a free shuttle (A Golf Cart with several trailers) that runs every 10-15 minutes.

 

If you have pre-booked a shore excursion, there will probably be a place to meet up on the pier next to the ship and your excursion guide will lead you all along the pier to your bus or whatever on shore.

 

Everyone who goes ashore in Nassau is routed through this building.

 

 

When you first enter the building, you are looking almost directly an an information desk. The staff there will provide you with some really nice free maps and answer any questions you might have about what is where.

 

There are a number of nice small shops inside the building with typical souvenir stuff.

 

When you exit the building you will find taxi and carriage drivers waiting for you.

 

Everything in Nassau is within a few blocks. We like to rent a horse drawn carriage and have the driver take us around and show us the historical and tourist sites.

 

When we rent a carriage, we have the driver take us to the top of the hill overlooking the town. We go up the old water tower in the elevator and admire the view. There is a small straw market at the base of the tower. From there, we walk down the Queen's Staircase and meet our driver again and then have him show us around. Each driver has his own favorite places to show us so each trip is different. We do enjoy the Pirate's Museum which is nicely done and interesting.

 

If you have never been to Nassau, this is a good way to explore the town.

 

Could you give me an idea about how much this will cost. Is it a significant savings from booking through the ship? Also, is it safe? I'm taking my daughters (1st time cruisers and it's only my 2nd time) but we will be 3 women alone and I want to make sure it's safe. Thanks in advance.

[bobsfamily]

Could you give me an idea about how much this will cost. Is it a significant savings from booking through the ship? Also, is it safe? I'm taking my daughters (1st time cruisers and it's only my 2nd time) but we will be 3 women alone and I want to make sure it's safe. Thanks in advance.

 

Carriage rides are like the taxis... not really posted. I would think the kind of trip trainman took would be around $25pp but may be more. Any of the taxis right out the door can give you a nice "tour" for around the same. Do not take the first price. Some of the drivers are "dressed" up and some are more relaxed but all right outside are trusted. They do not want to be removed from being able to come thru the gates. If going on an excursion being that it is 3 women you might want to just relax and go with the ship. My 2 cents worth.

[Browneyes43]

Carriage rides are like the taxis... not really posted. I would think the kind of trip trainman took would be around $25pp but may be more. Any of the taxis right out the door can give you a nice "tour" for around the same. Do not take the first price. Some of the drivers are "dressed" up and some are more relaxed but all right outside are trusted. They do not want to be removed from being able to come thru the gates. If going on an excursion being that it is 3 women you might want to just relax and go with the ship. My 2 cents worth.

 

I'm thinking you might be right. It's probably ore important to be safe than to save a buck or two. Thanks for your 2 cents. It's worth a lot more

[bobsfamily]

I'm thinking you might be right. It's probably ore important to be safe than to save a buck or two. Thanks for your 2 cents. It's worth a lot more

 

Thanks... one thing people forget when trying to do something on their own is that the cruise line has checked out the vendors. They may not do it every time in port but at some point the excursion vendors had to be "vetted" and show they could perform every time. It does cost more thru the ship but you are pretty much guaranteed that you will get back on the ship or they will fly you to the next stop... which they do not want to do. I usually do ship tours the first time I go to a port I have never been to(either on a ship or flying )... although I did one on my own in Grand Cayman. We made the last tender by about 5 min... whew! and then saw another tender going back because a ship excursion had run long and they were being picked up.

 

I am not saying the only way to go is thru the ship. I am saying with 3 women it might be best... remember always you are not in the US.