Nassau-no excursions booked

[EddieK76]

First time cruisers! We are set for the Wish on 9/5 and my wife wants to get off at Nassau and just walk around the town. is this safe? Personally I'd rather stay on the ship and explore the Wish but happy wife happy life.....

Any thoughts on this walking around thought process and if we do that what should we do specifically?

 

[lanejudy]

We did the same thing on our first cruise -- we got off for an hour or so in Nassau to walk around. We didn't go far, as I recall we walked up to the Straw Market and through a couple streets of shops. We were back on the ship well before lunch and then had the afternoon onboard (we were on the Dream so it was AquaDuck and pool time).

 

[Calantha]

We did the chocolate tour and then when we got back, I wanted to walk around, but DS (7) wanted to go to the pool (not surprised), so we didn't. I would have walked around with him given the opportunity, but I would not have left the immediate port area just outside the gates.

 

[mzspaz]

We did Nassau without any excursions booked on our first cruise in March 2020 (right before the shut down). The original plan was to just stay on board and explore the ship, but when we docked we decided that we wanted to explore a little bit. We ended up getting off and walking through the market and down to Junaknoo Beach just to dip our toes in the water. I don't remember feeling unsafe at any point because there was a large group of people also walking that way. We did get surprised when we rounded a corner and a woman popped out and tied a bracelet on my son's wrist (he was 12 at the time and had jumped a few steps ahead of us), then followed us until we gave her a "donation". I just told my son that was his souvenir from Nassau. We didn't stay at the beach long and walked back through the Straw Market where we did some browsing.

I'm glad that we did see a bit of Nassau, but if that is ever one of our port stops again, I don't imagine we would get off to explore. We would either stay on the ship or do an excursion to Atlantis.

 

[HeatherLassell]

Walk to the Queens staircase and then up the stairs to the old port that's up there. It's not that far from the cruise port either. Then just shop if you want. We always get off in Nassau and have a good time. Just say "no thank you" to the groups at the edge of the cruise port. Once you get away from there it isn't that bad. There is also a pirates museum some people like to visit.

 

[auntlynne]

I have walked around Nassau a few times over the course of 15 years. I have never had the feeling of being unsafe.

It does give you a sense of life in a British Caribbean port town. I remember the traffic Police on a podium in the middle of the intersection (saw the same thing in Shanghai). I think the main shopping street had typical colorful colonial buildings.

I am pretty sure we climbed the Queen’s staircase (internet photos make me question my memory - or my sanity). And somewhere nearby we visited an Anglican cathedral.

You can have it all (happy wife and ship time) if you get off the ship in the morning, wander around for an hour or two and return before lunch for an afternoon on what will probably be a not-empty ship.

 

[auntlynne]

Photos from a walk-around in Nov 2012:

A side street:


A nearby beach:

 

[Suzabella]

The worst part of getting off the boat in Nassau was running the gauntlet of taxi drivers and tour operators yelling at the passengers arriving through the port exit. It was overwhelming.

We didn't do any excursions any of the 5 times we've sailed there. Mostly walked around the shops but one time we booked a room at the Comfort Inn right across from Atlantis. You get full privileges at Atlantis as they own...or used to...the hotel. We checked in and out upon arrival. They're used to people doing that. They gave us our towels and wrist bands and across a narrow street we went.

Spent the day doing the water park area at a fraction of the cost of the excursion. Taxi to and from was easy and inexpensive. Not sure if this is still an option but Atlantis is an amazing place to visit. Some nice shops there and it's beautiful. Food was pricey, though.

 

[Rob1872]

The worst part of getting off the boat in Nassau was running the gauntlet of taxi drivers and tour operators yelling at the passengers arriving through the port exit. It was overwhelming.

Might be a case of the timing of when you get off; my DS and I went back out after the Chocolate Factory tour to walk over to the Queen's Staircase and didn't have any throng of people to go through. Maybe the independent tour operators give up after an hour or two of the ship being in port. It was calm and quiet.

In any case, we felt perfectly safe with a decent police presence in the area between the ship and the Queen's Staircase. There are some areas a little further off that I wouldn't casually walk in but you find areas like that in any large city.

One bonus of walking off on your own is that the passport control office is right at the end of the pier so you can get a Bahamas stamp in your passport if you like that type of souvenir.

 

[Suzabella]

Might be a case of the timing of when you get off; my DS and I went back out after the Chocolate Factory tour to walk over to the Queen's Staircase and didn't have any throng of people to go through. Maybe the independent tour operators give up after an hour or two of the ship being in port. It was calm and quiet.

I'm sure it was. We were off the ship within an hour of docking since the ship was only in port until 4pm. We wanted to make the most of our time there. 5th time, we didn't get off the ship.

 

[BrokeMack]

The US state department sometimes issues travel advisories about Nassau. Usually they say to stay on that main tourist street and don't go wandering. Watch out for pickpockets and scam tours. Basically stay in that main area and you're fine.

https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Bahamas.html

 

[Southern Pirate]

My wife says I have a mean face and coworkers say that until they got to know me they thought I could be a serial killer. I am a really nice guy so don't judge a book by it's cover. I think that is why we don't really get hit with all the buy this/do this at the ports. That being said, we have done the Pirate Museum (very cool), we have done the stairs (lots of walking), we have walked the city (that is how we found the pirate museum), the chocolate tour (ok), We took a carriage ride (highly recommended), and of course the shopping. Most of the time it is a Hennisey White shopping trip for friends. The next excursion booked is an offshore fishing expedition.

 

[BrokeMack]

My wife says I have a mean face and coworkers say that until they got to know me they thought I could be a serial killer. I am a really nice guy so don't judge a book by it's cover. I think that is why we don't really get hit with all the buy this/do this at the ports. That being said, we have done the Pirate Museum (very cool), we have done the stairs (lots of walking), we have walked the city (that is how we found the pirate museum), the chocolate tour (ok), We took a carriage ride (highly recommended), and of course the shopping. Most of the time it is a Hennisey White shopping trip for friends. The next excursion booked is an offshore fishing expedition.

+1 for the pirate museum.

 

[vakamalua]

For a first visit, try the Nassau Food Tour. Great combination of walking tour & good food in a group! We really enjoyed it. Sure beats just wandering around or staying on a ship when there's a cultural experience to be had.

https://www.trubahamianfoodtours.com

 

[DisneyConvert]

We got off once and we're convinced to do a short'ish horse-drawn carriage tour. It was touristy; it wasn't awful.
Had a yucky snack/lunch at a bar, then walked back to the flea, I mean, straw market. Good to see . . . once.

Once I emailed the Bahama Tourist Board wondering where I could play tennis, and they weren't much help.

So mostly we stay on the ship.