Get off or stay on the ship?

[Garyjames220]

Well, I can't speak for everyone; I can't even speak first-hand. I've never gone into the city myself. Again, what I saw from the Dream's Deck 12 didn't really call to me.

But from what I have read on this board, what I've heard on several podcasts (including The DIS Unplugged), and what I've read in both Passporter's and the Unofficial Guide, the city is primarily either a.) super "tourist-trap"-y; or b.) rather squalid. My impression is that there isn't much in the way of a category "c".

That's not to say there isn't a lot of beauty to be found on the island of New Providence, or the Bahamas as a whole. It just seems like you don't get a lot of it at the port.

As for why Disney keeps going there? I can only guess. It's relatively close to both Castaway Cay and Port Canaveral, so maybe it's a cheap and convenient waypoint? Maybe Nassau is just a traditional "mainstay" port that people expect to be offered on a Bahamian cruise? Maybe the Commonwealth and its tourism industry offers attractive incentives (i.e., easy and cheap ship registry) to cruise lines to stop there?

Or maybe a large majority of passengers find the port to be perfectly fine, and we haters are a very small minority.

I am sure there are others reading this thread who have more informed insight than me.

Thanks anyway. Very interesting as I would never of thought that

 

[squirk]

Thanks anyway. Very interesting as I would never of thought that

Well, I could be 100% wrong in my guesses. But whatever the reasons, it seems like the negative opinions and comments about Nassau in the DCL community far outweigh the positive.

 

[MUN]

Am from Scotland

And I thought the behamas is meant to be stunning. Am I missing something

Much of the Bahamas, including Nassau, are beautiful.

 

[MUN]

What's up with nassau ?

And if it's that bad why is Disney not going to a better place in the Bahamas ?

What better stop do you suggest. I contend that Nassau is not that bad, especially compared to other Caribbean stops. DCL offers several popular excursions in Nassau and many cruise ship visitors have a wonderful time on their own. Many cruise ship ports have tourist trap feels to them including Alaska and many other DCL stops.

 

[hardis5]

We've more recently stayed on-board while in in Nassau as we've been there and done that and even though the ship does seem to get busier each time as more and more do the same, we much more enjoy the ship than the port or any of its excursions. If doing a 4-day + the ship will still be a lot less busy than a sea day and we much more enjoy Castaway for our beach day than any of the more reasonably priced beach excursions in Nassau.

 

[bbel]

What's up with nassau ?

And if it's that bad why is Disney not going to a better place in the Bahamas ?

Nassau's not all that bad, yes it's probably my least favourite port (after maybe Ensenada...). But that's coming from someone who used to go to Nassau twice a week at times.
Although I have to say that I once visited the dream when we docked with it in Nassau and I honestly thought that was worse than Nassau...the crowds of people by the pool, the queues for food, just the business and people everywhere...
I used to always get off in Nassau when I could, find some free wifi and decent food, walk down the street for an ice cream (sometimes on my own too and felt perfectly safe).
These days long enough breaks to get off in Nassau are rare, due to people not wanting to get off at all...

 

[Lulubelle17]

We just got off the Dream and we did a stop in Nassau. We had been to Atlantis the last time we were there, so we decided not to do an excursion this time and just go with the flow. We really enjoyed, the Pirate Museum, our kids are 9 and 6. It's nothing fancy, but it was fun. We walked around a bit, went through the market and got back on the ship for lunch. We had planned a lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, but we were still full from breakfast, so we skipped it. We bought a Bahamas mug at Starbucks, stopped by John Bull for Pandora and went back to the ship.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks.
Have you been?

We intended to our first time there but the immediate port area was so icky and intense, and we were trying to take a walking tour on our own but then the street signs stopped, and we just went back to the ship. Second time we were there we did the chocolate factory excursion through dcl and that took us right back to the ship. Third time we stayed onboard and I sat in the sauna in the rainforest room instead.

For other ideas I highly recommend the Ports of Call section on the cruisecritic.com message boards.


Port towns in the Bahamas/Caribbean aren't pretty and our initial impression is full of people trying to make a living. This means they bombard you with offers and attempts to sell things. For this introvert I end up exhausted with just that 5 minutes of saying "no" or just ignoring them. And Nassau seems worst than most. Though our recent visit to st kitts did nearly rival Nassau!

Am from Scotland

And I thought the behamas is meant to be stunning. Am I missing something

When the initial impression of the port area is like i described above it can be had to see the beauty. The beauty for me is seen from the ship or if I can push through the vendors to get in to my preplanned day.

Though the beauty in the islands is a bit rougher than what we might be used to. The buildings tend to be run down by economics and constant weather, and its just a different standard of living. We had to seek out the beauty in that, to re-set our expectations.

It was actually the chocolate factory tour that helped with that for us. The shuttle takes you on a bit of a tour, and they pointed out the governors mansion. It was rundown and just kind of crummy from my standpoint.

Then we got to Greycliff, which is a 4 star place, and as the staff led us to the restrooms (which were smelly and damp and subject to tropical heat) which were off the dining room (which wasn't as grand as I expected), the tour guide mentioned that Beyoncé and Jay-Z used to go there often before they had Blue Ivy. So this is a fancy place. But it didn't feel fancy at all. That helped me reset my "fanciness" expectations for the Bahamas.

 

[tigger536]

I've taken many land vacations to Nassau/ Paradise Island in the past. I've stayed on both Cable Beach and Paradise Island. There is much more to it than what you see right where the ships dock. Shopping in town is fun. Atlantis is a gorgeous resort, with an aquarium, water park, beaches, and a casino if that floats your boat. Great shopping there too. Atlantis also offers swimming with the dolphins (as a non-resort guest you may need to book this as ship excurion though). There is also snorkling/ scuba diving (check out Stuart's Cove, Cable Beach area). In between Cable Beach and town there is the fish fry, also fun to check out.

There is a lot to do if you care to venture off boat! This will actually be my first time coming to Nassau via cruise as opposed to land vacation. I really love Greycliff Restaurant, so I've booked that excursion. If I didn't want to eat there, I would have just opted to wander around on my own. You don't really need an excursion for Nassau unless its an experience you can't get booking on your own.

 

[jk and ek]

haven't gotten off the ship in nassau and probably never will. my MIL who is game for anything/an eternal optimist has been off the boat there and even she thinks its a dump. we've enjoyed specialty dining and spa visits on the ship during nassau days with great success and zero regrets.

we all very much look forward to leaving the ship on our next cruise that stops in tortola and st.thomas/st. john, however!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Are you beach people? Have you tried one of the private beaches in Nassau (which mostly belong to hotels)? Not recommending either way, just asking if you've considered the beach. Also, have you done the waterpark at Atlantis?

Beaches are a possibility...Not sure we will do the water park DS is just working on becoming a strong swimmer.

It sounds like you and your spouse cruise frequently. If so, I am wondering if there are other ports you will visit on a future cruise that are worthier of your time than Nassau.

If this is your son's first time on a DCL cruise, he might find the ship to be a destination unto itself, especially if on one of the shorter Bahamian itineraries. I have never been on one of those 3-day cruises, but it seems like a common complaint about them is that they are too short, and you don't get to experience everything the ship has to offer, especially if you spend a half-day or more in Nassau.

If you really want to say he set foot on foreign soil on this cruise, technically, Castaway Cay is a part of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Squirk...Not as frequently as we would like. The purpose of only doing 3 days it to make sure the kid can handle it. He is good in a car and a plane, and small boats. We don't want to get stuck on a ship with a puking kid for any long duration. Hoping once we break him in we can do longer cruises...In fact, DH and I both agree that 3 days is much too short and then in the same breath worry how DS will handle the motion.

Good point on CC.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We did enjoy a resort day at the Colonial Hilton Resort. We booked through the hotel. The pool was nicer than on the ship, there was a beach and the included lunch was delicious.

 

[squirk]

Squirk...Not as frequently as we would like. The purpose of only doing 3 days it to make sure the kid can handle it. He is good in a car and a plane, and small boats. We don't want to get stuck on a ship with a puking kid for any long duration. Hoping once we break him in we can do longer cruises...In fact, DH and I both agree that 3 days is much too short and then in the same breath worry how DS will handle the motion.

Good point on CC.

I'm thinking that if the motion sickness turns out to be a non-issue, he's not going to want to leave the ship once he gets a look at the Oceaneer Club/Lab and Nemo's Reef.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

We did enjoy a resort day at the Colonial Hilton Resort. We booked through the hotel. The pool was nicer than on the ship, there was a beach and the included lunch was delicious.

Oh! and lunch included...Score!

I'm thinking that if the motion sickness turns out to be a non-issue, he's not going to want to leave the ship once he gets a look at the Oceaneer Club/Lab and Nemo's Reef.

My guess is that motion sickness won't be an issue (never had a problem front or rear facing in a car seat, reads and watches movies while in the car, and never had a problem with a plane...With that said...During our first cruise, the captain came on the loud speaker and said that the seas were going to be rough. On the way to dinner, I had to take my heals off, and the hallway looked like a college dorm after the football team just took home a win...Will this happen for DS's first cruise-probably not...but who knows...practice makes perfect right?

As for the kids club, yeah he's going to get there and never want to leave. I'm certain of it. LOL