to Nassau or not to Nassau?

[Marcelyry]

We're going to do an excursion at Atlantis.

I was looking at those too. Thanks!

 

[Marcelyry]

Thank you everyone for your tips and suggestions. We had done a few of the touristy things about 15 years ago, but might venture down to Atlantis or Greycliff this time with the kids.

 

[tnshsms]

For me its less about Nassau and more about the short nature of the trip. For a 3 day cruise I'd say stay on just so you can enjoy the ship and all it has to offer with about half the crowd. But if its a 4 day then I can see maybe a quick trip to the island but for me its more about enjoying the Disney ship than it is Nassau because I never felt like Nassau was anything to write home about.

 

[ElenaRN]

We walked to Junkanoo on our trip and had a VERY different experience than PP. We prob were walking over about 11-1130. It was warm but not unbearable. This was Oct though and not Aug. Not sure how much variance in temp if any Nassau has. We walked lesuirely as we had 2 5yo and a 2 year old with us. It took us maybe 30 min but we stopped and took some pics & looked at some stands. It could've been quicker for sure.

When we got to the beach I thought it was really nice. It was very clean- the sand & water. We rented some chairs and were planning on only staying 2 hours. We stayed over 3. We ordered food and drinks -yummy jerk chicken baskets. The kids enjoyed some frozen virgin pina coladas & we had a really nice afternoon.

 

[Narnia_girl]

We also walked over to the beach during our last cruise. It was very hot and I was concerned about safety. Not from criminal activity, but actually afraid one of us would hurt ourselves on the sidewalks. We noticed that several parts of the sidewalk near port were breaking apart, so that you could see rebar sticking straight out. That was easy enough to avoid by walking on other side.
However, when we headed to the beach we noticed large grates at intervals along the sidewalks. These were big enough that a person could fall through, which was not a concern at first, but the longer we walked we noticed these grates were filling with water. At one point the grates were completely submerged and we had no idea how deep the water was or whether the grate was still there. Add to this people walking in both directions on that sidewalk and cars whizzing by on the street, literally a few feet from us. Several tourists stopped to negotiate a flooded section when a local man clucked his tongue at us, asking what the problem with water was. Normally I would agree, but when you can't see the bottom and have no way of knowing if there is a bottom, it is a problem.

 

[mevelandry]

It's very personal: I'm not a fan in Nassau. I do not feel safe there. Totally out of my comfort zone so I would recommend an excursion with the cruise line.

 

[mevelandry]

I was in Nassau with my family back in June of this year. I never once felt unsafe, or that the area I was in was crime ridden. I went there with a mind set that Nassau was not nice at all, but was some what surprised, however, it is still not anything to write home about and all my family and I did was walk around. We did go to the run cake factory and purchase some rum, which is delicious, but there wasn't really anything we wanted to do.

I also want to say that I currently go to school in one of the worse neighborhoods in Philadelphia and my wife works in Camden, NJ so we are used to dangerous neighborhoods. Nassau did not once make my wife or I nervous.

Wow, I just googled Camden, NJ and took a look at some of the pictures. I honestly had no idea that there was poor neighborhoods (like that) in North America. (because I could not find a crying emoticon).

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Wow, I just googled Camden, NJ and took a look at some of the pictures. I honestly had no idea that there was poor neighborhoods (like that) in North America. (because I could not find a crying emoticon).

I.could rattle off 13 cities identical to Camden I've personally been to. There is no shortage of poverty stricken areas in North America.

 

[mevelandry]

I.could rattle off 13 cities identical to Camden I've personally been to. There is no shortage of poverty stricken areas in North America.

I honestly had no idea it could be that bad.

I live in the province of Quebec (Canada) I have to say that I have never encountered anything that resembles that here (from the time I owned a car) although I have heard some reserves have it pretty bad...

And I don't travel much on the road when I visit the USA...

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I honestly had no idea it could be that bad.

I live in the province of Quebec (Canada) I have to say that I have never encountered anything that resembles that here (from the time I owned a car) although I have heard some reserves have it pretty bad...

And I don't travel much on the road when I visit the USA...

Ah, okay, Yes, it's sadly a reality for many.

 

[cmph]

The above posts are really driving home how different our perspectives can be! I went to college in Baltimore in the late 90s and shuttled to med school facilities in east Baltimore regularly. I'm sure that has a lot to do with my relative comfort in Nassau. (Baltimore is a lot more spruced up now, trust me!)

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Ah, okay, Yes, it's sadly a reality for many.

And yet I've done day trips into Camden and other such cities with my family and felt perfectly safe. Then again, I went college in Newark in the late 80s (when it was MUCH worst than today) so as cmph said, everything is relative.

If you stick to well-traveled areas and keep your wits about you, you should be fine. Or you could be mugged even in a "safe" city. Rare events do happen.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

And yet I've done day trips into Camden and other such cities with my family and felt perfectly safe. Then again, I went college in Newark in the late 80s (when it was MUCH worst than today) so as cmph said, everything is relative.

If you stick to well-traveled areas and keep your wits about you, you should be fine. Or you could be mugged even in a "safe" city. Rare events do happen.

Yep. All relative. I've lived in not the best areas of Philadelphia and PGH. Traveled solo to NYC, SF, NOLA, Chicago, Baltimore, Camden. Seen a lot of areas both good and bad, some with kids in tow Lots of great things to see even if a city is deemed unsafe. Just depends on your comfort level.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We've been multiple times, most recently in Feb. This last time, we did a walking tour up the Queen Anne's steps to Fort Fincastle, swung by the (enormous) post office to post Post Cards, walked by Trinity Church, ate at a local restaurant, hit the Pirate Museum and finished up with a Bay Street run. Were not accosted once and most people we met on the street were very friendly. Stay on the main roads, out of the alleys and you'll be fine. I've been to far worse places on this big blue marble, but the Bahamas are not the US. It's not full on 3rd world country, but it's not San Francisco either.

 

[ludari]

On my last cruise to Nassau which was last year I had a wonderful time on the excursion. I went scuba diving and they where only three of us from he ship including the ship's security officer. It was one of the best dives I have done and I look forward to the next time I'm back in Nassau.

 

[mevelandry]

We've been multiple times, most recently in Feb. This last time, we did a walking tour up the Queen Anne's steps to Fort Fincastle, swung by the (enormous) post office to post Post Cards, walked by Trinity Church, ate at a local restaurant, hit the Pirate Museum and finished up with a Bay Street run. Were not accosted once and most people we met on the street were very friendly. Stay on the main roads, out of the alleys and you'll be fine. I've been to far worse places on this big blue marble, but the Bahamas are not the US. It's not full on 3rd world country, but it's not San Francisco either.

Well, technically the Bahamas are 3rd world...