Nassau Excursions - Skip or No?

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi all. Family of four here (kids 15 and 11), relatively limited DCL experience (Wonder/Alaska a few years ago, Wish last year). Cruising is tough with our ever-increasingly complex life schedule, so limited to short opportunities.

We’re back on the Wish for a four night cruise in March. Last year our Wish cruise was a three nighter and we stayed on the ship in Nassau - main reasons were the already short length of the cruise and nothing seemed particularly appealing. To be honest my wife and I both had Nassau/Bahamas/Atlantis experiences back in our ‘spring break years’ so had a bit of a ‘been there/done that’ attitude about Nassau, but admittedly that was a long time ago.

This year we were leaning towards the same thing - stay on the ship. All of us love just being on the ship and seem to have no problem finding ways to spend the time.

But just curious of others opinions/experiences if we’re being short-sighted and should get out and explore or plan something? We’re an active family - we like water parks and being active, so maybe I should rethink Atlantis or the Blue Lagoon? The other days on our cruise are CC and a day at sea, FWIW.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Maxie86]

We stay on the ship in Nassau. We got off on our first cruise when DS was little before DCL, it was the Big Red Boat then. They had a place called Coral World and that was very nice. I don't think its there any more. If it is its a nice excursion. We walked over to the straw market Nope not for us...got back on the ship and that's where we still stay. Haven't been to Atlantis or Blue Lagoon so can't comment on them. We also don't have kids with us. There may be other nice places to explore but I was so creeped out by the experience in the straw market that we just stay on the ship. Of course things may have changed that was a long time ago. It's a short cruise and we enjoy just relaxing on the ship so feel no need to explore the area.

 

[OKW Lover]

We stay on the ship in Nassau. If you've never stopped there before then go ahead and explore the island. But it's one and done for us.

 

[bakerworld]

We disembark about half the time at Nassau. DH doesn't care for the Nassau 'heckling' as he calls it but sometimes I just like to stretch my legs. I've always wanted to do the Fort/100 steps (forget the actual name) excursion. That might be active and interesting for the kids, plus 'learning' if needed for school. Mostly I use port days for the discount offered at the Spa.

 

[Liastaob]

We've done both Atlantis and Blue Lagoon; Blue Lagoon is beautiful but a boat ride to get to. Also, it's not much different than Castaway Cay, TBH. The Lagoon itself is very shallow which is great for young kids.

Atlantis was kind of fun, but very busy and also an annoyingly long walk through the hotel/casino to get to.

This next cruise we're just planning on staying on the ship, maybe heading outside to the market. Although, from previous experiences and as an introvert the market is not really my thing...

 

[Mommb]

If your kids have already visited countries beyond the US and Canada (and Disney’s private islands), then staying on the ship in Nassau and enjoying the somewhat less crowded ship makes sense.

There is value in seeing how different countries look and feel different, so if your kids haven’t done that, a brief trip in port might be useful in broadening their view of the world.

 

[Joanna71985]

I've only gotten off at Nassau once because of a short excursion. But the rest of the cruises I've stayed on the ship

 

[mjkacmom]

We always got off, we’ve done Atlantis twice, the Hilton day pass, RIU day pass, and melia day pass (all independently). Atlantis is pretty cool (we have 5 kids) and the beaches are gorgeous. The state market has recently been renovated.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

But just curious of others opinions/experiences if we’re being short-sighted and should get out and explore or plan something?

Our philosophy when traveling is - the first time we're in a specific location (country/city) we look to take a tour that teaches us a little about the history/sights in the area. Subsequent visits we can either just visit on our own, or take some other in depth tour of a specific item/place of interest. Or just stay on the ship, if we want.

 

[Marthasor]

That's a tough one. I've stayed at Atlantis twice, did the dolphin excursion once and also did a Blue Lagoon excursion a few years ago. I was not impressed with Blue Lagoon and was less impressed with their food. If I had to choose between the two, I would probably pick Atlantis. Have you considered the Baha Mar excursion just for something a little different than Atlantis. I, too, did not like the long walk to get to our Atlantis excursion.

I think since you have a sea day and you've been on the Wish before, I would choose something to do off the ship. We opted to stay on the ship in Nassau when we cruised on the Wish and I kind of regretted it.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

I would lean towards staying on the boat, but that's just our preference for Nassau.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Because of the ages of your kids, you might want to look at Atlantis. The waterslides and lazy river are a lot of fun. It's pricey, though. Depending on what you like to do on the ship, it could be a nice day on the ship.

 

[bobbiwoz]

As a family, with grandchildren, we have enjoyed snorkeling excursions in Nassau many times. These are behind us now, due to age, but we have many memories!

 

[hardcorestitch]

Hi all. Family of four here (kids 15 and 11), relatively limited DCL experience (Wonder/Alaska a few years ago, Wish last year). Cruising is tough with our ever-increasingly complex life schedule, so limited to short opportunities.

We’re back on the Wish for a four night cruise in March. Last year our Wish cruise was a three nighter and we stayed on the ship in Nassau - main reasons were the already short length of the cruise and nothing seemed particularly appealing. To be honest my wife and I both had Nassau/Bahamas/Atlantis experiences back in our ‘spring break years’ so had a bit of a ‘been there/done that’ attitude about Nassau, but admittedly that was a long time ago.

This year we were leaning towards the same thing - stay on the ship. All of us love just being on the ship and seem to have no problem finding ways to spend the time.

But just curious of others opinions/experiences if we’re being short-sighted and should get out and explore or plan something? We’re an active family - we like water parks and being active, so maybe I should rethink Atlantis or the Blue Lagoon? The other days on our cruise are CC and a day at sea, FWIW.

Thanks for any input!

I’d go ashore! There’s plenty to do in Nassau. If you can squeeze in Atlantis, I’d do that.

 

[knewton64]

The only reason I will be off the Disney Fantasy come April 15th and onto the shores of Nassau is to go to Baha Mar Resorts and Casino for the day & have some fun there.
Other than that, my vote would be to stay on the ship -


Good luck in your decision!