Favorite Nassau Excursion

[Miss Poppins]

We really enjoyed it. It was a short walk from the ship. I thought it was really well done for a wax museum. It was on the dark side and full of ambiance. There's a gift shop and pub attached. Out back they had some cut outs where you could stick your heads in for some funny pirate pictures. We had a group of 10 (2 years old to 75) and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We be pirate folk so this was right up our alley!

Thank you so much. We'll definitely come off the ship for the morning and go back for lunch and swimming.

Did you have to book in advance?

 

[Corryn]

I'm sorry to tag along to this post, what why is everyone saying "stay onboard"? Is Nassau really that bad?

No, it's not bad - that's what we're all saying

 

[LCTsMom]

Thank you so much. We'll definitely come off the ship for the morning and go back for lunch and swimming.

Did you have to book in advance?

No, we didn't book in advance (didn't think of it, actually). We just strolled over and found it very easily. We dodged a short rain shower on our way by ducking into a Dunkin Donuts.

 

[TravelinGal]

I agree that Nassau is getting a bad rap. We really enjoyed it and that's the whole part of taking a cruise - being an adventurer and enjoying different Ports Of Call.
One small detail I loved was seeing the residents all dressed up, just for a regular day. I saw more men in nice shirts and slacks, even the ones driving the taxi's, and the women all had shirts/blouses and skirts. I don't recall observing any residents looking shabby, and we drove all around the island.
What a shame it would be for you to stay on the boat while in Nassau.
Disney Cruise Line is not going to pull up into a port where its customers would be put in harms way.
...
Remember, you only live once! Have a great time

I agree. While I would stay on the ship (I've been to Nassau 3 times already) I think it is an interesting port and worthy of at least one visit to make your own decision about it. I would never skip a port I had not previously visited. But DH and I are not big shoppers, so places like the straw market etc hold very little appeal to us.

TIP - use caution if someone offers to braid your hair. Look to see if/how they sanitize their combs etc. I don't think there are any regulations on that and it's a quick way to get a bad case of head lice. (this is true for any port - not just Nassau)

 

[joanie123]

Hey, 'rellas fan, how did you book the Dolphin swim on your own? Is there a website I can go to? I would love to do this as it is my daughter's birthday the day we are in Nassau, and I thought this would be special.

 

[DisneylandMommy]

We did the Stingray adventure and enjoyed it. It was like having your own private island for the entire day. My son was scared of the stingrays, but had a great time playing on the beach and in the beautiful water.

Leslie

 

[SNicksed]

As promised, I am reporting back on the Wyndham:

We just came off the 2/21 Wonder. After reading many comments about the Wyndham, we decided to try it.

It was AWESOME!

We went to the taxi area after we got off the ship and they wanted $20 one way to the resort. I had also read about the Jitney's and to take the #10 to get to Cable Beach. We wandered a few blocks into town and found where the #10 picks up (Maybe about 6 blocks from the ship) We felt completely safe walking the streets and people were helpful pointing us in the right direction.

The buses were clean and air conditioned. Much better than the open air taxis or buses at St Thomas and St Maarten and the cost was $1 per person each way. We felt completely safe on the bus and it dropped us off and picked us up directly in front of the resort.

The resort is beautiful. They have a large pool with a huge slide. They have a tiki bar with two or 3 bartenders on hand and have a reasonably priced lunch menu. ($6-$9 items) Walk down a few steps of stairs to their beautiful beach. There were wave runners, banana boats, and water trikes on the beach to rent.

The cost of the day pass is $15 per person. We got the wrist bands at the check in desk. The cost for children is apparently 7.50. (The woman at the desk did not charge us for ds 9.)

We really enjoyed our day here and plan to vacation at the resort, hopefully next year.

Here are some pics:

This big rock thing is the slide.

 

[Eeyore's Tailfinder]

I am also a bit torn...

I really, really want to do the Atlantis Aquaventure since I've always wanted to visit the resort and the slides there seem so cool. However, DBF understandably isn't keen on the $150pp price tag, and we wouldn't save that much by getting a Comfort Suites room as there are only 2 of us. I'm also worried there will be huge lines all day and we won't get to go on anything much. $150pp is a LOT for what essentially is a water park.

Unless the pros outweight the cons, then we will probably do the Atlantis beach day

We don't really have an interest in going to the straw market, etc...

 

[dredick]

We walked to the pirate museum ( http://www.pirates-of-nassau.com/ ), then hit the Straw Market on the way back. DS15 (at the time) loved the Straw Market. My mom picked up a huge knockoff Lous Vuitton bag at a good price.

(Click the thumbnail for my Pirate Museum pictures)

great pics..we are taking DS 8&11 there in Sept. Can't wait!

 

[LCTsMom]

great pics..we are taking DS 8&11 there in Sept. Can't wait!

Thanks! Have a great time!

 

[NJFabFour]

My 5 year old and I just took a four night cruise to Nassau on Royal Carribean. We had a great time. I booked the dolphin encounter on my own, not through the ship and it was $85 per person, and in my opinion worth every penny. We took a cab for $4 per person to the ferry terminal which is located right at the entrance to Atlantis. The ferry took us to Blue Lagoon (where the dolphin encounter was). We stood on a platform and were waist deep in the water and hugged, kissed, danced with,fed and pet the dolphin. We wandered around a little after, had a snack and then the ferry took us back to the ferry terminal. We checked out some of Atlantis and then took the water taxi back to the ship ($3 per person). The ship was about a 10 minute walk back from where the water taxi dropped us off so as we were walking back we walked right by the Hard Rock so stopped in for a drink and some quesadillas. Would definitely do it again.

Thanks rella's fan! This is a great detailed description! We're booked for the Dolphin Swim in August and I was kind of wondering about the details! Sooo excited!

 

[StinkerbellsMom]

Hmmm, I didn't know about the Pirates Museum. Thanks LCTsMom!

I know they are usually cheesy, overpriced and hokey - but hey - I'm a NYer, I have lived amongst (and successfully avoided) all the tourist traps for years, so I must pay my dues! LOL

We went to a Pirate Museum in Cape Cod and the kids loved it! Looking at the pics, I can say it was pretty similar, so why not! And if it's within walking distance we'll definitely do it. Is the straw market near there too? I figure we'll do that too and then head back to the ship and plug the kids in somewhere while hubby and I do some Martini Tasting! YUMMM Every good pirate must have their grog! arrrrrr

 

[QJ411]

SNicksed:: Thanks for the report! The pics look great. I think this might be the choice since they offer the Wave Runner rentals (DH would really enjoy that, he booked the Eco Tour at CC but since it's guided, it's not 'as fun')...can you give me any info on the jet ski rentals? Thanks!