Bahama shore excursions

[robandkelly13]

DH, DD(5), and I are cruising to the bahamas for the first time this June. We were thinking of NOT doing a shore excursion and walking around the stores near the port. We also thought we may get a cab to Atlantis and check out that resort and the area. Are we making a mistake not doing an excursion? We want to be able to look around since it's our first trip and all of the excursions seem so long that they'd take up our whole day + we have early dinner seating and we don't want to miss that.

Any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[NancyIL]

On my first visit to Nassau, I booked the 2.5-hour city tour. On my next two visits, we took the water taxi to Paradise Island and walked around Atlantis. That was fun for a few hours, and then we returned to the ship in time for lunch. There are no excursions in Nassau that I consider a must-do.

 

[robandkelly13]

Is the water taxi something you booked through Disney or did you do it on your own once you got there? Thanks!

 

[robandkelly13]

After looking again at the excursions, we're thinking about doing the sea lion excursion in Nassau. Has anyone done this? Do they have 2 times during the day available? The description states that the 12:45 excursion may have people returning late for early seating...

 

[NancyIL]

Is the water taxi something you booked through Disney or did you do it on your own once you got there? Thanks!

I bought tickets after I got off the ship @ $6 pp roundtrip. For a family it would probably be cheaper (and faster) to take a taxi.

 

[ty_n_cy]

My wife and I would like to visit Atlantis, but we aren't really interested in visiting the beach, etc. We'd rather do something like visit the aquarium and possibly the casino. If we take the water taxi there, can we purchase a pass to the aquarium and then visit some of the other things there (shops, casino, etc)?

CY

 

[S'sMom]

DH, DD(5), and I are cruising to the bahamas for the first time this June. We were thinking of NOT doing a shore excursion and walking around the stores near the port. We also thought we may get a cab to Atlantis and check out that resort and the area. Are we making a mistake not doing an excursion? We want to be able to look around since it's our first trip and all of the excursions seem so long that they'd take up our whole day + we have early dinner seating and we don't want to miss that.

Any input would be greatly appreciated

When dd was 5, we too decided against doing an excursion on one of our trips. We walked around and the night before (while over priced) we bought the $20 coupon book thingy while on board and used some of those coupons to obtain the "Free" trinkets that the local jewelry stores, etc were offering. It was a nice walk and not too stressful It took maybe an hour and a half and we took pictures, and enjoyed the sites. If you Google "walking tour" of Bahamas. There are plenty of how to's and will display where to walk etc. I do remember buying that cool nail polish that turned colors in the sunlight. I loved it and will be making another purchase.

This time we are considering doing the submarine excursion via Disney. Nto sure yet. We can make our ressies 3/5 so I will know by then or at least have an idea.

BTW, we have done the Atlantis aquarium on another occasion and we loved that.

 

[NancyIL]

My wife and I would like to visit Atlantis, but we aren't really interested in visiting the beach, etc. We'd rather do something like visit the aquarium and possibly the casino. If we take the water taxi there, can we purchase a pass to the aquarium and then visit some of the other things there (shops, casino, etc)?

CY

You can go to the shops and casino without spending any money. You can also see a little bit of the Aquarium from inside the resort without buying a ticket.

 

[tjbole71]

After looking again at the excursions, we're thinking about doing the sea lion excursion in Nassau. Has anyone done this? Do they have 2 times during the day available? The description states that the 12:45 excursion may have people returning late for early seating...

I would definitely do the earlier one, as everything tends to run on "island time" (AKA late). We loved the sea lion tour and liked it better than the swim with the dolphins we did previosuly. You get more time with the sea lions and they are much more expressive and interactive than the dolphins.

 

[Kimmy]

We took a taxi to Atlantis & then walked to Cabbage Beach. The beach is very nice. It is clean.