Nassau....... Haven't Been There for a Long Time.

[sail7seas]

Funny..... I was reading another BB and mention was made of cruising to Nassau.

 

Made me realize how long it has been since we have stopped there on a cruise.

 

After they built that new terminal that forced everyone to pass through all those shops, it became really annoying IMO

 

HAL has Nassau on hardly any itineraries now. One can only guess the reason is lots of cruisers rated it low on the 'enjoyment' scale.

 

Anyone know why HAL hardly stops there now?

[jtl513]

Anyone know why HAL hardly stops there now?

Maybe it doesn't fit in well with a stop at HMC on every (or nearly every?) eastern or southern Caribbean itinerary. Did the regular stops at Nassau end around the time HMC was acquired?

 

We to Nassau on our 3-night Eurodam cruise last October. We enjoyed it. Went to Ardastra Gardens and ate at a restaurant nearby. The other day was at HMC. :)

[sail7seas]

No, John. We sometimes stopped at Nassau going and HMC coming back to FLL or vice versa.

 

I'm sure we have been in Nassau long after HAL (Carnival) acquired HMC.

 

 

[mszula]

We are going to Nassau next April. It appears to have been substituted for HMC. I'm thinking that HMC must have been too busy that day so they made a change. We're not thrilled; but we will be in the sun and will probably pretty much consider it another "at sea day". I can live with that. :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

It has been a few years since we had an itinerary where we stopped at Nassau.

And then it was only for a few hours.

Often we stopped there on a Sunday and only a few stores were open for a couple of hours.

Really wasn't worth the stop there.

[GatorV]

We have been to Nassau 4 times over the years from the 70's when as soon as you got off the ship drug (pot) dealers approached (no more) to last yr

BUT it is a miseralby hot unpleasant place to visit in the summer and our last trip on another line stopped there so off we went to see what had changed The Staw Market is a mess now, closed in, hot and rank.

We decided to get out of Dodge so headed to the Atlantis Casino and hotel...what a show place that is!!!! we wandered the grounds enjoying the streams running all through with fish, rays even small sharks. The aquarium inside is one of the most fantastic i have ever seen...its all at eye level and the fish swim right past as you stroll. There are Dale Chihuly glass sculptures all over the hotel and in the casinos hanging as lighting....they are eye catching and we stood there just admiring them for several minuets.

We took a water taxi back to the terminal, which was also very nice and very cheap...loved this trip because I was out of the terminal area by miles...but it will be years before I go again, and never would be a destination trip.

[catl331]

too crowded for me!!!!!!:(

[Krazy Kruizers]

The original straw market burned down years ago.

[norcal2]

We were there and opted to take the horse buggy ride around the town and we both really enjoyed it. Our friends went to the Atlantis and they loved it as well. I actually enjoyed Nassau very much. It was an substitute stop when the line could not get to their private Island due to weather. I loved the buildings. Here are some of our photos which show some of them and also the market and Atlantis:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/570437694pChpmC

[Krazy Kruizers]

You were lucky -- whenever we have missed HMC -- nothing was substituted -- we just cruised around until it was time to head into Ft Lauderdale.

OR -- if HMC was our first port stop and we had to miss it, we just sailed onto the next port.

We don't mind Nassau when we were able to spend more than a few hours there.

[suse]

I heard Atlantis is really, really nice. The straw market. Well, you could shop till you drop but then you'd better wash your hands. It's filthy. Yick. Some people might like it if you are into fake designer bags. I'm not.

[sail7seas]

Through the years, we've been to Nassau at least a dozen times of maybe more and don't really care whether to return or not.

 

 

My only reason for commenting is that I just then noticed how little HAL stops there and wondered if anyone knew of a specific reason. Nassau used to be included in many Caribbean itineraries even after acquiring HMC.

 

[norcal2]

You were lucky -- whenever we have missed HMC -- nothing was substituted -- we just cruised around until it was time to head into Ft Lauderdale.

 

OR -- if HMC was our first port stop and we had to miss it, we just sailed onto the next port.

 

We don't mind Nassau when we were able to spend more than a few hours there.

 

I absolutely prefer Nassau over just cruising around if an island is missed. I really loved the architecture in Nassau and just looking around. That shopping area had really narrow walkways and too many people to navigate so I didn't shop there for to long. Nice to *see* you again. I am getting my travel bug nagging at me again. It would be lovely to see you on another cruise one day. We're going to Beijing next year so may miss a cruise.

[jtl513]

I heard Atlantis is really, really nice. The straw market. Well, you could shop till you drop but then you'd better wash your hands. It's filthy. Yick. Some people might like it if you are into fake designer bags. I'm not.

Yes, the Atlantis hotel and aquarium is worth seeing once! :)

[K&RCurt]

I believe the reason is twofold.

 

1) There are many people who feel the same way about Nassau as many have expressed. I know when we stopped there on our Westerdam cruise one of the comments I left was "Don't bother stopping at Nassau". I imaging a lot of other folks told HAL the same thing. How nasty it was sure was the topic of discussion at our dinner table.

 

2) Carnival Corp's development of the cruise terminal on Grand Turk. Most of the itineraries that used to stop at Nassau now stop at Grand Turk.

 

I think the Grand Turk development was brilliant by Carnival. They eliminated a stop that many people didn't like anyway and added one where the majority of the on-shore revenue goes to them.

 

I have yet to stop at Grand Turk...Will be there in October, so the jury is still out for me if the execution is a good as the theory!

[catl331]

I bet it has to do with $$$$--NOT PROFITABLE. Probably many Mariners have been there enough anyway.:o

[Krazy Kruizers]

I absolutely prefer Nassau over just cruising around if an island is missed. I really loved the architecture in Nassau and just looking around. That shopping area had really narrow walkways and too many people to navigate so I didn't shop there for to long. Nice to *see* you again. I am getting my travel bug nagging at me again. It would be lovely to see you on another cruise one day. We're going to Beijing next year so may miss a cruise.

 

HI!!

Going to Beijing -- I am envious!!

have a great time.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I believe the reason is twofold.

 

1) There are many people who feel the same way about Nassau as many have expressed. I know when we stopped there on our Westerdam cruise one of the comments I left was "Don't bother stopping at Nassau". I imaging a lot of other folks told HAL the same thing. How nasty it was sure was the topic of discussion at our dinner table.

 

2) Carnival Corp's development of the cruise terminal on Grand Turk. Most of the itineraries that used to stop at Nassau now stop at Grand Turk.

 

I think the Grand Turk development was brilliant by Carnival. They eliminated a stop that many people didn't like anyway and added one where the majority of the on-shore revenue goes to them.

 

I have yet to stop at Grand Turk...Will be there in October, so the jury is still out for me if the execution is a good as the theory!

 

We enjoyed Grand Turk -- even though we were there a couple of months after the nurricane.

I like the idea that we spent more time at Grand Turk than we did in Nassau.

[sail7seas]

I believe the reason is twofold.

 

1) There are many people who feel the same way about Nassau as many have expressed. I know when we stopped there on our Westerdam cruise one of the comments I left was "Don't bother stopping at Nassau". I imaging a lot of other folks told HAL the same thing. How nasty it was sure was the topic of discussion at our dinner table.

 

2) Carnival Corp's development of the cruise terminal on Grand Turk. Most of the itineraries that used to stop at Nassau now stop at Grand Turk.

 

I think the Grand Turk development was brilliant by Carnival. They eliminated a stop that many people didn't like anyway and added one where the majority of the on-shore revenue goes to them.

 

I have yet to stop at Grand Turk...Will be there in October, so the jury is still out for me if the execution is a good as the theory!

 

 

 

That's it.

 

What you say makes sense and I think you're probably right.

 

Thanks.