Safety tips for Nassau

[mevelandry]

You may be able to get an identification card from the province/territory for a nominal fee. Usually issued by the same place that issues a DL. As far as I know all provinces/territories have them. What I don;t know if is they are WHTI compliant or not.

SW

I think Quebec is the only province who doesn't give that kind of option. Our RAMQ (medical insurance) card has a picture on it and considered an official ID. Other than that, Passport and driver's license but that's it. That being said, I'm glad to know my Nexus card could be used to get back on the ship. I wasn't a fan of bringing my passport with me in Nassau for obvious reasons.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I haven't been to Nassau by cruise but have been to Atlantis twice and plan on returning again next year. I LOVE the people there. I never felt unsafe except for the way the taxi drivers drive but never in any dangerously threatening way.

We left the resort to go to the straw market and walked to the Pirate Museum from there. Never ever felt threatened or unsafe - didn't think twice about having anything stolen. Did I have my guard up? Sure, but I do in ANY big city. Going to the Lakers' game in L.A. the other day I had my guard up. It's just what I do in big cities. Nassau was no different to me.

 

[dmunsil]

My tip: get some temporary prison-style tattoos. No one's going to mess with you when you look like you may have shanked a guy over a pack of cigarettes. Of course, this may not work as well for your 4-year-old...

Edit: I was kidding about this, but Amazon actually sells these. Hmmm.... http://amzn.com/B012XW0SBI

 

[DHSbutcher]

Never felt unsafe there, even visiting as a child, teenager, and now as an adult. We usually stay on the ship when there though and treat it as a sea day just due to the itinerary of 3/4 night sailings that do stop in Nassau- you never get enough time onboard! We do enjoy walking the back streets and finding out about their culture though, as well as grabbing a bit to eat sometimes. We've been there at least 10 times now.

 

[mevelandry]

My tip: get some temporary prison-style tattoos. No one's going to mess with you when you look like you may have shanked a guy over a pack of cigarettes. Of course, this may not work as well for your 4-year-old...

Edit: I was kidding about this, but Amazon actually sells these. Hmmm.... http://amzn.com/B012XW0SBI

LOL ... This is hilarious. Well, I got six tattoos but they don't look violent enough I think. My husband looks mean when he doesn't smile. I'll ask him to put on his "bad" face.

 

[Imahikergirl]

You may be able to get an identification card from the province/territory for a nominal fee. Usually issued by the same place that issues a DL. As far as I know all provinces/territories have them. What I don;t know if is they are WHTI compliant or not.

SW

In Alberta we could only get the provincial ID if we didn't have a DL. Nexus cards really are awesome, they're good for 5 years and when I was set up for mine, they also set me up for Global Entry at the same time.

 

[mevelandry]

In Alberta we could only get the provincial ID if we didn't have a DL. Nexus cards really are awesome, they're good for 5 years and when I was set up for mine, they also set me up for Global Entry at the same time.

Same here + no wait at the airport. Love it!

 

[Starwind]

Same here + no wait at the airport. Love it!

I likewise really like my Nexus card. Minimal waits and faster Customs screening.

SW

 

[Starwind]

I think Quebec is the only province who doesn't give that kind of option. Our RAMQ (medical insurance) card has a picture on it and considered an official ID. Other than that, Passport and driver's license but that's it. That being said, I'm glad to know my Nexus card could be used to get back on the ship. I wasn't a fan of bringing my passport with me in Nassau for obvious reasons.

Yes, apparently Quebec is the only one without an official ID for non-drivers. Note that in a number of provinces, including Quebec and Ontario, it is illegal due to privacy laws for anyone other than healthcare providers to ask to see the health card -- though in at least Ontario and Quebec if the person whose card it is voluntarily offers it as ID it can be accepted (but the number is not allowed to be written down). it is unfortunate they do not offer a photo ID option like everyone else does -- makes it so much easier for non-drivers to have a card as ID instead of a passport to lugg around.

This DCL page gives info about the documentation needed for boarding the ship, but unfortunately doesn't talk about when one is getting off and on at a port:

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/passport-travel-documentation/

SW

 

[Starwind]

For Nassau we take only essential items with us.

Our first cruise to Nassau we did the DCL Atlantis Aquaventure port adventure. We rented a locker at Atlantis and put most of our stuff into it (this actually became a really good in the afternoon when there were torrential downpours... our stuff was dry even though we were not ) - I think the cost was around $10 or so and it was a good sized locker. At Atlantis and on the bus there and back we felt fine, but I did not like the brief walk outside the gates when we got back to the port. Fortunately it was really short. One nice thing with doing the excursion through DCL is that lunch was included, so we did not have to bring any $ for that.

Our second cruise to Nassau we just walked over to the Starbucks (which is very close to the docks) and then back to the ship. We were comfortable walking and it felt very different (in a positive way) than the first cruise we had done. We stopped and asked a couple police officers for directions at one point and they were very nice and helpful. After Starbucks we headed directly back to the boat, though there was a long long line to stand in inside the gates to actually board. The rest of the day we treated as a sea day and enjoyed the ship.

Our third cruise (part 2 of a B2B) we did the Blue Lagoon beach day, spending about 3 hours there before coming back. We enjoyed it. I didn't find lockers, so we just made sure once we found a couple really nice sheltered hammocks that we always had one of us stay with them -- it worked fine for the two of us. At lunch we just brought out bags with us, and we headed back to the ship soon after lunch anyway.

For future cruises we woulld just stay on the ship, or maybe take the walk to Starbucks. A note for Starbucks: you cannot use a USA/Canada Starbucks gift card there, nor the Starbucks App to pay. Credit card or cash.

SW

 

[TiszBear]

Just got back from my cruise 2 weeks ago and I have to say never felt unsafe at Nassau (Antigua is another story). I booked our excursion thru Disney, had no problems at all even walking out of the secured area to the bus. We only took one zipped tote with us that contained our lanyards, drivers licenses (passports stayed on ship in the safe) and only brought enough cash that was necessary. According to our driver/tour guide, Nassau is really trying to change the rules on Spring Breakers and are trying to make Nassau safer. After we got back and walked back to the Welcome Center to enter the port, we wandered thru the vendors in the gated area and talked to some very nice people. We ended up getting a history lesson on the islands of the Bahamas and Nassau in general at two locations during the day.

Jennifer