Get off or stay on in Nassau on 3-day?

[afcgirl]

My husband, two pre-schoolers and I will be doing the 4-day land and 3-day sea package in July. I have read that a lot of people don't like Nassau and choose to stay on the ship. Since we are only doing the 3-day cruise, should we stay on the ship in Nassau to partake in the ship activities and only get off the next day for Castaway Cay? What is it that people dislike about Nassau? Or should we do the Blue Lagoon beach day excursion in Nassau?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[feenie]

my DH and I stayed on the ship and enjoyed the spa.
My Grandmother and Aunt when to the Atlantis resort for alittle while, but said they would not get off the ship if they were to do it again. They said that the mercants were really pushy!

 

[disneyholic family]

we also were only on the 3 day cruise....
since it's such a short cruise, you really don't get that much time to enjoy the ship.....for that reason i think i would stay on the ship if my kids would let me..
however, my kids won't....but they were 15 and 18 when we sailed (and will be 16 and 20 when we sail this summer)....
we went to the atlantis to swim in the swimming pools (we rented a room so that we could have access to the pools)...
we arrived at the pools at about 10 AM and we were already on our way back to the ship by about 1 PM....
my kids were starving by that point....i would have bought them lunch at the hotel but the place was so packed the lines for food were about a half hour long....and it was so expensive we figured we'd go back to the ship for lunch....
on the ship we went to the special afternoon showing of lilo and stitch (which had just recently been released)...

bottom line, we spent a total of 5 hours off the ship...
i'm sure i would have enjoyed staying on the ship more...
traveling with preschoolers isn't easy...i would stick with the ship if i were you...
you'll be at the beach on the castaway cay day....

but maybe you like beaches....

 

[TiggerPU88]

... on the ship and let your pre-schoolers have fun in the club or in Founder's Reef for part of the day.

Note that there are characters right off the gangway, though, so you might want to go out there to see them. You'll get a greta beach day at Castaway Cay.

-- Adrienne : )

 

[swandiverpatt]

If I had small children, I'd stay on the ship. But I don't, and I wouldn't miss the chance of seeing a new town/country for anything! I've enjoyed being in Nassau both times I've been there.

 

[DisneyKids]

We stay on, for the most part, but have gotten off in the past. It's different and exciting but for us, just a quick walk through town (an hour or 2) is plenty. Then, we get back on. It's nice to enjoy the ship when it's less crowded. But I understand there are plenty of fun excursions, too. I think you'll have fun either way!

 

[disneyfanzz]

We got back from the 3 day on December 14th. We have a 7 year old and 2 year old triplets. We had them off in Nassau for about 40 minutes. The place just feels a little scary to me. People are yelling at you to take a carriage ride or braid your hair and some people came up while I was waiting for my mom outside a shop and kept trying to talk to the kids. I just wanted to go back. We took them back and my husband and Mom looked around while I entertained the kids on the ship, then I went out and looked around with my mom while hubby stayed on the ship with the kids. It doesn't bother me being in Nassau without my kids, but I really felt protective when they were out there. Just my opinion.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

we went in july on our 3 day and the people dont like to here you say no. get off only if you want to get some pictures of the ship. in july it will be so hot and humid we could handle it for 4 hrs. so if you like people to ask you over and over and over and they dont like NO as an answer then please stay on the ship and enjoy all the activitys. thanks

 

[Luckymommyx2]

We didn't get off the ship in Nassau either. It was not worth the hassle with our little ones plus we got to enjoy a less-crowded ship although I think more and more people are starting to stay on the ship. Maybe that's due to the repeat cruisers. Hey DCL...how 'bout skipping Nassau altogether and giving us an extra day at Castaway Cay or I'd settle for another sea day!

 

[afcgirl]

I think we will stay on the ship, my kids will probably enjoy it more anyway. Athough I would like to see a little bit of Nassau, I had enough of pushy vendors and hair braiders when I cruised to Jamaica over the summer. I have long hair and when I told the braiders no thanks, they became pretty vicious. I definitely wouldn't want my kids witnessing it, they would get scared. Once is enough for that kind of treatment!

I didn't realize Nassau had the same issues.