GrnMtnMan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2008
- Messages
- 2,407
I’ve been visiting Nassau and Atlantis nearly annually for almost 20 years. Staying at one of Nassau’s resorts for a night or two is nothing like being a cruiser on an excursion. On the two Disney cruises I’ve been on with stops in Nassau, I didn’t get off the ship. But I love my annual vacation to Atlantis, and I bring friends and/or family along nearly every trip. Here are some tips if you’ve only been to Nassau as a cruiser on an excursion.
Flights:
Pre-covid, American, Delta, United, Southwest, and JetBlue generally ran flights from their major hubs on weekdays. On weekends, they’ll offer a few more non-stops from other cities during busy times. Plus a few other smaller a or international line :https://nassaulpia.com/flight-info/airlines-serving-lpia/.
Most flights from the U.S. arrive in Nassau between 11 AM and 2 PM, and then those planes then turnaround and head back to their origin city about an hour later (so the bulk of flight departures are usually between noon and 3). There are a few early/late exceptions to this, generally with connections in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, which is a 45ish minute flight.
Its also worth noting that the flight back to the U.S. is a lot more expensive than the flight from. This is because both the U.S. and the Bahamian collect a lot of taxes and fees on this leg of the flights…on my upcoming one-way flight home taxes and fees (US arrival CBP fees and Bahamian Departure taxes) are $128, plus airfare of $125.
Nassau’s airport is a nice modern airport. If you were there 10ish years ago, it was pretty dumpy. The old one is gone, and the new one is modern and typical of a small/medium sized U.S. city. The Bahamian arrival customs and immigration hall, and the baggage claim area has plenty of space and porters to help with luggage.
The departures gate area has nice shopping and dining. There’s a food court, a dunkin donuts, and numerous little shops. This is a huge improvement from the old days when the departures area was single room with one tiny gift shop and an unappetizing food venue. Especially because you might be waiting there a while, because:
YOU GO THROUGH U.S. CUSTOMS IN NASSAU’S AIRPORT. This has pros and cons. The pro is you arrive in the U.S. as a domestic passenger and go to the regular baggage claims, then get on your way. The con is you have to get to the airport 3 hours ahead of departure because you have the extra step of U.S. customs and immigration before your flight. In recent years this has become a non-issue, as the U.S. CBP station in Nassau has plenty of automated kiosks, but there were times in the past it took us 90 minutes to get though this line (and this was the U.S.’s fault, not the Bahamian. They did not have enough CBP agents, and the line got enormous. We got Global Entry the next year – there are Global Entry Kiosks). Even though this step has become more efficient, they still recommend a arriving 3 hours before departure.
Transportation from the Airport:
There is no uber or Lyft in the Bahamas. There are taxis and shuttles. A taxi is usually the best choice for a group over two people. Most taxis are vans that can handle groups of 5-10. Limos are available for a higher price.
Nassau has a taxi zone system with regulated fares. Only licensed taxis are allowed to pick up at the airport, and the hotels are generally the same. Expect to pay $40ish for a family of 4 to Bahamar or $50ish to Atlantis. Cash only, and tips are customary. There are a few taxi companies you can pre-arrange payment with a credit card, but these companies usually ask for a higher fare. The fees and fares can be found here: https://nassaulpia.com/to-from/#local-taxi-rates.
Hotels:
Bahamar and Atlantis are the major resorts in Nassau. There’s one business hotel downtown (British Colonial Hilton). Then there are a few smaller hotels.
I would advise against Air BnB in Nassau. Most tourist are at their resorts in the evening, and once the cruise ships leave in the afternoon, the downtown area gets pretty quiet. There are a few off-resort restaurants that stay open for dinner, but people take a taxi to them….there’s not a lively downtown or boardwalk area to stroll in the evening (other than at Atlantis and possibly at Bahamar).
As for using loyalty points, there’s a Hyatt at Bahamar, you can use Marriott Bonvoy points at Atlantis, and you can use Choice Hotel points at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island (which also get you access to Atlantis’ grounds and Aquaventure).
I said in a prior post that I expect RCCL’s check-in will be done at either Atlantis or Bahamar. When there more clarity on how the embarkation process will go, I’ll update my suggestions.
I’m happy to answer questions.
ETA: See post #16 below for my experience getting the Bahamas travel health visa. I expect part of the health visa process will be different for visitors getting on a cruise.
Flights:
Pre-covid, American, Delta, United, Southwest, and JetBlue generally ran flights from their major hubs on weekdays. On weekends, they’ll offer a few more non-stops from other cities during busy times. Plus a few other smaller a or international line :https://nassaulpia.com/flight-info/airlines-serving-lpia/.
Most flights from the U.S. arrive in Nassau between 11 AM and 2 PM, and then those planes then turnaround and head back to their origin city about an hour later (so the bulk of flight departures are usually between noon and 3). There are a few early/late exceptions to this, generally with connections in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, which is a 45ish minute flight.
Its also worth noting that the flight back to the U.S. is a lot more expensive than the flight from. This is because both the U.S. and the Bahamian collect a lot of taxes and fees on this leg of the flights…on my upcoming one-way flight home taxes and fees (US arrival CBP fees and Bahamian Departure taxes) are $128, plus airfare of $125.
Nassau’s airport is a nice modern airport. If you were there 10ish years ago, it was pretty dumpy. The old one is gone, and the new one is modern and typical of a small/medium sized U.S. city. The Bahamian arrival customs and immigration hall, and the baggage claim area has plenty of space and porters to help with luggage.
The departures gate area has nice shopping and dining. There’s a food court, a dunkin donuts, and numerous little shops. This is a huge improvement from the old days when the departures area was single room with one tiny gift shop and an unappetizing food venue. Especially because you might be waiting there a while, because:
YOU GO THROUGH U.S. CUSTOMS IN NASSAU’S AIRPORT. This has pros and cons. The pro is you arrive in the U.S. as a domestic passenger and go to the regular baggage claims, then get on your way. The con is you have to get to the airport 3 hours ahead of departure because you have the extra step of U.S. customs and immigration before your flight. In recent years this has become a non-issue, as the U.S. CBP station in Nassau has plenty of automated kiosks, but there were times in the past it took us 90 minutes to get though this line (and this was the U.S.’s fault, not the Bahamian. They did not have enough CBP agents, and the line got enormous. We got Global Entry the next year – there are Global Entry Kiosks). Even though this step has become more efficient, they still recommend a arriving 3 hours before departure.
Transportation from the Airport:
There is no uber or Lyft in the Bahamas. There are taxis and shuttles. A taxi is usually the best choice for a group over two people. Most taxis are vans that can handle groups of 5-10. Limos are available for a higher price.
Nassau has a taxi zone system with regulated fares. Only licensed taxis are allowed to pick up at the airport, and the hotels are generally the same. Expect to pay $40ish for a family of 4 to Bahamar or $50ish to Atlantis. Cash only, and tips are customary. There are a few taxi companies you can pre-arrange payment with a credit card, but these companies usually ask for a higher fare. The fees and fares can be found here: https://nassaulpia.com/to-from/#local-taxi-rates.
Hotels:
Bahamar and Atlantis are the major resorts in Nassau. There’s one business hotel downtown (British Colonial Hilton). Then there are a few smaller hotels.
I would advise against Air BnB in Nassau. Most tourist are at their resorts in the evening, and once the cruise ships leave in the afternoon, the downtown area gets pretty quiet. There are a few off-resort restaurants that stay open for dinner, but people take a taxi to them….there’s not a lively downtown or boardwalk area to stroll in the evening (other than at Atlantis and possibly at Bahamar).
As for using loyalty points, there’s a Hyatt at Bahamar, you can use Marriott Bonvoy points at Atlantis, and you can use Choice Hotel points at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island (which also get you access to Atlantis’ grounds and Aquaventure).
I said in a prior post that I expect RCCL’s check-in will be done at either Atlantis or Bahamar. When there more clarity on how the embarkation process will go, I’ll update my suggestions.
I’m happy to answer questions.
ETA: See post #16 below for my experience getting the Bahamas travel health visa. I expect part of the health visa process will be different for visitors getting on a cruise.
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Our flight was expensive but not outrageous - 571 dollars from Minneapolis thru Atlanta, landing at 4:30 day before the cruise. Very excited!!
. I'll post an update on how the process goes.
