Not too Excited about Nassau Day on Wonder

[hAm53]

Please convince me that the Nassau Day is all its cracked up to be. I'm just not interested in any of the excursions, and waling around the "mall" i read about doesn't do anything for me. since we're only on a 3 day, i'd rather hang out on the boat, and go exploring on the ship. departure day will be rushed, as we're only leaving from WDW at about 10 or so that morning. and my fiance says that we're already spending every possible moment at castaway cay. which really only leaves the Nassau day free.
how close is that mall place anyway? i'm worried that if we walk somewhere we'll get totally lost. IS there someplace within walking distance to wander about for an hour or two, then head back to the ship?
thanks!

 

[donmil723]

We walked to the Queen's Staircase which was built in the 1790s by slaves and to Fort Fincastle which is the highest point in Nassau. Fort Fincastle is built in the shape of a steamboat. It's less than a half mile from the ship and the views of the port with the ships and of Atlantis on Paradise Island were neat. Nothing too spectacular but made for an interesting walk. We spent about an hour and then another hour exploring the shopping area before getting back on board the Wonder for lunch.

Donna

 

[WDWLVR]

Our strategy for Nassau day on our last two 4 days has been to get off the ship soon after they give clearence and take a taxi over to Altantis. Then we tour the grounds and the DIG (you need to buy a wristband for this). After 2-3 hours take a cab back and head back to the ship for lunch. We then spend the rest of the day on the ship. I've never been that impressed with downtown Nassau.

 

[hmneal]

We enjoyed walking to the Pirates museum then the straw market. We were back on the ship by lunch time and then enjoyed the rest of the day at the pool!

 

[inkkognito]

After visited Nassau 30-something times, I for one am not going to try to convince you that it's anything exciting. My advice is to stay on the ship! It's okay to see if you've never been there before, but it's your typical "tourist port." We stay on the ship and pretend it's a sea day, but without the crowds.
Barb

 

[gshoemate]

On our first cruise we went into Nassau but didn't do any excursions. We walked through the stores and we were back on the ship in 2 hours. I am glad we did it, it was interesting. But on our cruise in September we plan on staying on the ship and exploring.

 

[westjones]

We just stay on the ship. It is nice for the kids to use the pools while so many are off of the ship. So we liked Nassau day, but only because it helped to reduce the number of kids in the pool. It is a 'day onboard' for us!
DJ

 

[webray]

Do you not like to travel...don't be worried about getting lost.
The bahamian people are lovely and very helpful. We really enjoyed talking with them, and we loved our day in Nassau.
Me, hubby and daughter 22.

We started with the historic city tour excursion..two hours..cab..lets you out at all the famous places to look around and take pics, etc. It was excellent.

Then we came back..asked the cab driver for a restaurant recommendation for lunch..he gave us what turned out to be a great recommendation..Conch Fritters. Very close to dock, about a block from straw market. The food was wonderful, very laid back and relaxed. Upstairs..big open air windows.

We stopped at Senor Frogs for pics and souveniers. Checked out the straw market..great place to get souveniers for all your friends and family back home. Just remember..if buying tshirts..get the largest size..lol, they shrink..but for 4 or 5 for 10bucks, what more do you want..lol. We headed to hard rock cafe for souveniers. Checked out some of the other local shops.
went to the pharmacy to purchase postcards and stamps, mailboxes are large and red..and one is located very close to pharmacy.

Checked out the liqour stores..found a larger one that you could test the locallly made rums and such. Very good. Made our purchases.

As we were heading back to the ship to drop off all our packages, we noticed a filipino restaurant..had to stop for lumpia. OMG..it was delicious. Wish we would have had more time..but, we had a Palo reservation that evening.

We will have to go back again, as we didn't have a chance to head over to Atlantis or do some of the other things we wanted to do.

Nassau is a lot of fun. We had no trouble at all, very easy to navigate on foot. Don't rent a car or scooter, traffic is horrible...lol.

Why take a trip to a great island and not explore???

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm interested in an excursion because I want to snorkel. DH wants to chill out on the ship. I searched but couldn't find references to just what sort of activites, if any, are scheduled on the ship during the 3 day cruise while the ship is in Nassau. Would this be a time that someone is available if you wanted to rebook?

Bobbi

 

[ROEDISNEY]

YOUR BETTER OFF STAYING ON THE BOAT.WE DIDN'T WANT TO GET OFF EITHER.THEN THE LAST MINUTE WE DID.DIDN'T WANT TO WASTE AN MONEY ON THE EXCURSIONS.THEY JST SEEM THAT GREAT.SO WE DECIDED TO GET OFF AND TAKE A FAST WALK AROUND TO CK.THINGS OUT.WELL AS SOON AS YOU GET OUT THERE THEY HOUND YOU.IT WAS TERRIABLE.WELL I HAD MY 4 TEENAGE DS'S WITH ME AND MY DH.TALK US INTO RENTING THE MOTOR SCOOTERS ANG I WAS ALMOST KILLED ON ONE.DUE TO THERE NEGELCT TO KEEP UP & MAINTAIN THEM.SO I SPENT MY DAY IN A BAHAMA PUBLIC HOSP.NOT MUCH FUN.IT WAS BAD.BUT I WON'T GO INTO EVERYTHING ON THE BOARDS.WELL WERE GOING AGAIN NEXT AUGUST.I STAYING PUT THIS TIME. NO MORE SCOOTERS FOR ANY OF US.ENJOY THE BOAT IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
MY SAYING NOW IS IF YOU WANT TO VISIST ANOTHER COUNTRY.
TAKE A WALK AROUND EPCOT.LOL
ENJOY YOUR TRIP.

 

[crisi]

You probably aren't cruising to see the islands. Don't feel guilty if you don't want to. Its a great time to use the pools. There is programming going on. A ton of stuff to do if you don't want to get off the ship.

We took our 4 and 5 year old up to the Pirate Museum and had a good time, but you don't HAVE to get off the ship.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

When we did the cruise I went to the "talk " they had the night before we docked in Nassau and they talked about some of the stores etc. We got off the boat and walked to several stores. Although we were not going to buy jewelery we visited many of the nice jewelery stores to window shop and see the beautiful gems and we went to Del Sol ( a great store for shirts that change color etc) the kids loved this store. DD got a t-shirt and finger nail polish that changed color. I got a big bag.We went back to the ship for lunch and wandered around the boat the rest of the day. I am glad we got off and wandered a bit but we definitly did not need to spend the whole day in Nassau.

 

[floridaminnie]

I"ve done the following excursion and reccomend it. Snorkeling was breathtaking and it was first class all the way.


Catamaran Sail & Reef Snorkeling (3.5 - 4 hours)

This tour offers the ideal combination of the best sailing and snorkeling in Nassau. After a short stroll you'll board your catamaran featuring a shaded lounge and spacious deck area, for a cruise through historic Nassau Harbor. You will sail to a lush, tropical reef for some amazing snorkeling. During your cruise, you will receive your snorkel gear and instructions by the knowledgeable crew who will also accompany you into the water to ensure your safety and enjoyment.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I can't vouch for this because I only wrote it down when reading someone else's trip report. But we might give it a try for a short trip off the ship that gets us back in time for lunch (I really don't even remember where I originally read it)...

Free Public Beach in Nassau: "Exit ship, go right, through Visitor's Center, take Main St., go past British Colonial Hotel and Senior Frogs. It's a 7 minute walk, you can sit on a decent beach and have a nice view of the ship".

Last year we did stay on the ship in Nassau and it was nice to have the whole ship practically to ourselves! This time we might venture off but don't want to rush, be on any particular schedule -or miss lunch LOL. If anyone tries it let us know if it's any good!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I can't vouch for this because I only wrote it down when reading someone else's trip report. But we might give it a try for a short trip off the ship that gets us back in time for lunch (I really don't even remember where I originally read it)...

Free Public Beach in Nassau: "Exit ship, go right, through Visitor's Center, take Main St., go past British Colonial Hotel and Senior Frogs. It's a 7 minute walk, you can sit on a decent beach and have a nice view of the ship".

Last year we did stay on the ship in Nassau and it was nice to have the whole ship practically to ourselves! This time we might venture off but don't want to rush, be on any particular schedule -or miss lunch LOL. If anyone tries it let us know if it's any good!

 

[RJake1]

Sorry to read about the other person's misfortune on scooter. I rented one and had a blast touring the island, Paradise, etc.
Traffic is bad but if you're careful you should be fine.

We also took a carriage ride which turned out to be highlight for 7 year old DD.

There's also a bunch of tours you can take....glass bottom boats, snorkel, rum runners, etc.

Overall Nasau is a very impoverished area which is too bad. With all the tourism dollars that come in more should trickle down to the residents.

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Originally posted by ROEDISNEY
MY DH.TALK US INTO RENTING THE MOTOR SCOOTERS ANG I WAS ALMOST KILLED ON ONE.DUE TO THERE NEGELCT TO KEEP UP & MAINTAIN THEM.

Oh my goodness, this brings back memories!!! When I was 17, we cruised to Bermuda. For some reason, my normally overprotective parents let my sister and I rent motorscooters and drive them around the island. We were with a couple of other kids our age and we weren't allowed to go far. I accidentally went off the side of the road, flipped off the scooter, and ended up getting pretty well banged up. The scooter was ruined. We walked it back to the rental office (have no idea if my parents ended up having to pay for the damage), and as we were walking back to the ship, some of the crewmen from down below started making comments to me about having "road rash." I guess it must be common from the tourists to wreck on those things. To this day (30 years later), I can still see the scars on my elbows...a lovely reminder of our cruise to Bermuda!

 

[musicgirl]

Bobbi,

I agree with floridaminnie. We did that as well and had a great time. We were back on the ship by 1-1:30. Pleny of time to enjoy the ship!!

We did end up going back into Nassau though. The shopping is very close. In fact, there is an air conditioned "mall" right as you go though their checkpoint. There is a great booth that sells jewelry, ornaments made out of conch shells. It is my favorite souvenir from that trip. I hope it is still there.

Lots of shops and the Straw market are right there.

Lorie

 

[hAm53]

thanks for all the advice.
i think that we'll probably walk around for a couple hours, then head back to the boat around lunch. then again, i might just sleep really late. and by that i mean grab one of those big blue chairs on deck 4 after breakfast, and grab a nap.

 

[kristen821]

Has anyone done the pirates museum. How is it? What is the best way to get there? Also how are the carriage rides?