please help w/ Wonder excursions!

[daltonsdodisney]

My husband and I, 2 daughters ages 8 and 6, and my parents (in their 50's) are cruising the last week in May. I'm trying to get all this good info off the boards so that everything runs smoothly and we don't miss anything, yet can still have a relaxing time. Anyway, we have a day at Nassau. I've read a lot of various opinions, but here is my situation. I don't want to spend a lot of money to get a room at Atlantis, Comfort Suites, etc..., but I would like to get off the ship, if to just say I've visited the Bahamas. I was thinking maybe we'd do whatever at Nassau for half a day and then spend the rest on the ship, public beach, etc.. That's basically my whole plan unless I get some specifics on what to do in Nassau on our own.
Two other questions:
Are children allowed in the casino area?
Also, is there any way to golf? My dad would be interested.
Thanks

 

[Flyrfan]

They have three golf courses in Nassau. Two are public from what I can tell(Cable Beach Golf Course and South Ocean Golf Course) and the other is for the guests of the Atlantis.

Check out Bahams.com and click on activities.

 

[mouseclick1]

Bumping up...I am also wondering if kids are allowed in the casinos?

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

No, kids under 18 are not allowed in the casinos.

 

[DisneyCrazy123]

When we cruised last March we got off the ship in Nassau and thought we would just walk to the beach. Bad idea. The public beach was far and very dirty. Have an idea of what you want to do and where you want to go. Winging it did not work out well for us.

 

[markºoº]

The Magical Disney Cruise Guide has a whole section devoted to information on Nassau including Disney and non-Disney excursions and activities. The website is http://hometown.aol.com/entropym/pages/index.htm

BWT, there is a wealth of other information there if you have not already checked it out!

 

[daltonsdodisney]

Thanks for the links, but I was hoping to find someone who has experienced it themselves and can give me some tips on what worked and didn't, maybe how you'd do it differently, etc... I read someone's reply about their bad experience at the public beach, so now I'm not really sure what would work best for us. Is there anything to see at Nassau? Are the straw markets still operating? So we can't check out the casino with kids in tow?
Thanks for your input!

 

[jaysmom4285]

I've been on exactly one cruise (two weeks ago). We did the Atlantis tour excursion - not the long one that gives you beach privileges, but the shorter one (about two hours) that is a tour of the grounds and aquarium. We enjoyed it very much, and your kids would probably like the aquarium, which is larger and more impressive than you can imagine. It's a recreation of the mythical lost city of Atlantis and goes on for room after room. It is a lot of walking - not difficult hiking, just a long trek, but you get to see a lot of the resort. It begins with a short boat ride around Nassau harbor. A couple at our dining table said they tried to find a public beach and had no luck until they asked one of the Atlantis employees and were directed to what they said was a very lovely public beach. They cautioned that they got the info from a lower-echelon employee (cleaning person or something like that). The tour guides and such apparently told they there was no public beach! We walked around a little in the downtown area that is close to the boat dock and found it a little disappointing - sort of tacky and grimy, with lots of cheap souvenir stores. The straw market is operating, but we didnt' go there. Apparently they had to move due to a fire in their previous location, but the new location is very close to the old one. We were told by others on the cruise that the tour of historial sites was interesting and showed a different face to the city that what you can see close to the boat. Hope this helps a little

 

[jaysmom4285]

sorry - I thought of this right after I posted. The tour of Atlantis that we took lets you walk through the casino, which you can do with kids, as there were several on our tour. You really can't hang around in there if you're on the tour, but they didn't rush us through, either. There are some impressive glass sculptures in the casino. Also, the wristbands that you are issued for the tour allow you to stay around the property after the tour is over and explore on your own. I don't think they give you access to their beach, though.

 

[jdm]

I was at Childrens Hospital last week and was chatting with someone in the waiting room who had just gotten back from Atlantis (no cruise, flew in). He said his kids went right in the casino with him and they were ages 9 & 5. I thought it was a little strange.... but it is a different country.

Dave always has the right answer so I'd go with him, but I'd be curious also to see what others have experienced.

Now, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't want to spend hours sitting in the casino with kids and tow but I did think it might be fun to lose a fast $20 (what do ya think, 60 seconds:~) on the slots. Course, hubby and I could always trade off!!

Jenn

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by Dave_from_Marietta

No, kids under 18 are not allowed in the casinos.

Originally posted by jdm

I was... chatting with someone... who had just gotten back from Atlantis. He said his kids went right in the casino with him and they were ages 9 & 5. I thought it was a little strange.... but it is a different country.

Go figure. They don't allow citizens of the Bahamas into the casinos... only tourists. And they definitely do not allow kids in the casinos at St Maarten... even to look around. I gotta think, though, that kids are not actually allowed at Atlantis, but they didn't enforce that rule in the case of this guy. I suppose if the kids tried to actually play some of the games they might have gotten a different response.

 

[inkkognito]

I'm not sure about the public beach in Nassau within walking distance of the ship, but there is one on Paradise Island that is not bad at all. You have to take a taxi (well, I supposed you could walk, but you would be exhausted by the time you got there and it would take a loooog time). The ride is $4 to $5 per person each way and it is pretty decent and not usually too overly crowded. It's mostly tourists, and there are some vendors there, but they're not too pushy if you politely say "No." I did buy one of their coconut drinks once...not too sure how sanitary it was, but it was YUMMY.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com