Search the Community

I'll be in Nassau with my wife later this month on a Saturday port stop (9/28). We've walked the areas near the port (shops, Queen's Staircase, Junkanoo Beach, Wattlings, Graycliffe, etc.) and were thinking of heading over to Paradise Island to check out that area. We like to explore. Any thoughts or recommendations? Taxi vs Ferry? Things to see / do? We weren't planning to do the water park or beach as we'll be at Coco Cay the next day.

Hello My wife and I are booked on the 2/2/20 Explorer out of Miami and the first stop is at Nassau. I've bought the VIP beach day at Blue Lagoon as a placeholder excursion, but I'm really confused about the reviews I've read on both the island, and the VIP experience. I'm wondering if anyone has real world experience with the package. Ideally I want a quiet place to lay around and ensure that I'm in an advanced state of refreshment. The idea of an adults only area is appealing, but again, the reviews I've read have a disjointed nature to them that ranges from "the best thing ever" to "complete rip off". It also seems like different cruise lines have VIP access to different areas of the island, with the best section reserved for Carnival? At the same time, if folks know of a stellar beach day in Nassau, I'd gladly give you a virtual internet high five for the info. Thanks in advance.

I apologize if this has been posted before! My husband and I are going to Nassau next January. None of the shore excursions look particularly interesting to us, and after doing some research it looks like we would be interested in visiting John Watling's Distillery and Junkanoo Beach. I have a few questions regarding these activities: 1. Would it be possible to walk to both locations? I see that some people note safety concerns, while others do not. Would a taxi be recommended? 2. Are there any companies that do shore excursions that we could customize that others have used in the past? 3. Would you recommend just doing a RC shore excursion instead? If so, which would you do? I appreciate any information in advance! Thanks!

TLDR; This is a very subjective subject, but curious on people’s opinions. What would YOU do in Nassau from noon to midnight? My 9 y/o has been begging to go to Atlantis. I’ve never been, mostly because I can’t justify spending that money. I ended up booking a room at the hotel next door (Comfort Inn?) that gives you full access to Atlantis. With taxes and fees, it’s a little over $300 for 3 of us. Not terrible compared to buying the Aquaventure passes at $160 each. But, I forgot we don’t arrive until noon, and I think I read the waterpark closes at 6. Realistically, by the time we get off ship, get a cab, check into hotel and all that fun stuff, I doubt we would get to Atlantis before 2pm. That leaves 4 hours, lame! ?? I have been openly anti Thrill Waterpark at CocoCay since the announcement, but now I’m debating doing the waterpark there (as a “compromise” with our 9 y/o). It will cost half the $ and we have the full day. I am so torn! If you have been to Atlantis, did you find it worth it? Especially from a kids perspective. And if we don’t do Atlantis, any suggestions for Nassau for this time frame besides staying on the ship?

Just back from a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas on Enchantment OTS. Some highlights and lowlights... Highlights The Key has it's benefits. We got from the car to Chops in record time for a great lunch. I had the branzino (Friday in Lent) and my wife had the filet. It was excellent! We were asked 3 separate times to make reservations for dinner at 20% off and since it was a special weekend we went for it. Nassau - we booked a TruBahamian food tour (not an RC excursion) that was great! You get lots of cultural information and stop at 6 different spots for food and drink. We had a great time! When we got back on the ship and to our cabin we had a nice bowl of fruit waiting for us with The Key logo with it. An unexpected perk. We ate in the MDR twice and had Aries and Mark as our waiter and assistant. They were excellent. They gave my wife a discount on the surf & turf without an explanation.... Disappointed that we wouldn't make it to CocoCay, we booked the "Family Beach Escapeause we wanted a beach and chairs. This was the only excursion that listed chairs and was all my wife wanted for this cruise was a beach and a chair. Food was okay... fruity drinks (non-alcoholic) were refreshing. There was plenty to do (jet-ski's, parasail, floating mats, etc.) It was Bahamas Adventures over near Lucaya Lowlights When we called Chops on Sunday around 5:00 to confirm our dinner reservation we learned it was never recorded. Turn out we had no reservation and couldn't get one before 8:00. We passed on dinner and ate in the MDR. On the beach adventure we were told we had to be back on the bus at 1:30. Apparently there were later buses going back to Freeport since there was another ship (Grand Celebration - Bahamas Paradise) that had an excursion here. We could have stayed at the beach another hour or two. Only issue we had with The Key was with our luggage. You get special tags to put your luggage out the night before. We got up early and had our breakfast in the MDR (complimets of The Key). We got off the ship and to where the luggage should have been a little before 8:00. I re-read the fine print on the letter that was with the tags and it did say luggage would be available at 8:15 - my bad! Luggage was there around 8:25. Windjammer on Enchantment was subpar. Maybe we were spoiled with WJ on Brilliance and Radiance. It was smaller, more cramped and the layout made it hard to maneuver. Update: and food not nearly as good as Brilliance and Radiance. All-in-all we had a great trip. Good enough that my wife booked another junior suite on Mariner next February going to Nassau and CocoCay! Another non-cruise highlight was a short trip to Merritt Island where I went bird watching. It was absolutely incredible So many birds, so little time! Couple Updates: The RC "Family Beach Escape" was with Bahamas Adventure. Trip Advisor has this page for all of their excursions (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147420-d8728057-Reviews-Bahamas_Adventures-Freeport_Grand_Bahama_Island_Bahamas.html ) and only 3 reviews, including mine when it gets approved (https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductDetail-g147420-d12939450-Family_Beach_Escape-Freeport_Grand_Bahama_Island_Bahamas.html?from_tpa=true ) Here is the Trip Advisor link for the TruBahamian Food Tours: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147416-d3701058-Reviews-Tru_Bahamian_Food_Tours-Nassau_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html

Forgive me if this is already out there. I searched and couldn't find any answers. I'm not a fan of Nassau and have already seen Atlantis. I'm thinking about doing the beach break, but would like to know if it is worth the money. Also, one of them said you can rent snorkel gear for an extra fee... does anyone know what kind of prices they are? I'm sailing in October and need to make a decision pretty quick!

Just saw a Tweet from James Van Fleet ..... The September 8th sailing (tomorrow) is now going to Nassau instead of Bermuda for the 5-nighter.

We are sailing on the July 15th cruise. In Bahamas my wife and I are interested in an excursion through Tru Bahamian where you cook a three course meal with the chef at Graycliff. We have done their other walking tour and want to try this one. Issue is price is very high for just two people. If we get 6 more more very affordable for what they offer. Please DM is anyone is interested to join on Monday, June 16th.

Hello, My wife and I are taking our first cruise in October and we are very excited. The 3 ports being visited are Nassau, St Thomas, and St Maarten. I am very inquisitive and I want to make sure the excursions we are looking at are quality or not. Being our first time being on a cruise and first time leaving the US other than trips into Canada we have decided to stick with Royal Caribbean promoted excursions. I tried searching this site but couldn't accurately say the reviews i found were for the exact excursion we are looking at. Any help from some more seasoned crusiers would be greatly appreciated. Nassau - Balmoral Island Beach and Kayak Adventure St Thomas - 5 Star Island Tour St Maarten - Pinel Island Eco Escape Thanks for your help

Hello All, I am looking/contemplating doing the Blue Lagoon Island Deluxe Beach Break excursion in Nassau. I have been to Nassau numerous times including staying at Atlantis (fully paid for work trip). My boyfriend has never been to Nassau. Since we only have 3 days I was considering not doing any excursions and just getting off to explore Nassau and see the queens stairs and then get back on the ship to explore the rest of the day. Right now I've been offered 20% off the Blue Lagoon excursion which peaks my interest. Has anyone done it? If so worth the money or should we stay on the ship?

Our family would like to do a variety activities including a visit to a beach with parasailing/jet ski rentals, a catamaran snorkel excurion and an island tour with beach stop. Our stops are Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Any advice on which activity I should plan for each port?

Hi all! My husband and I are going to Nassau on a RC cruise in March and we were wondering if it is better to go to Balmoral Island or Blue Lagoon? Pros and cons of both? Thanks!!

Hi y'all! My husband and I will be traveling to Nassau on an RCL cruise in March (my first cruise ever - so excited!) We have been to Nassau before for our honeymoon but never got a chance to visit the infamous Señor Frogs. I was just wondering how expensive the drinks are there? I can not find a menu listing food and drink prices except for on dated in 2012 so I'm not sure how accurate that is. Thanks!!! RCL - 3/12/18 - 4 night from Miami to Nassau, CoCoCay and Key West

My other half, MIL & FIL and I are taking the Majesty to Nassau & Coco Cay over Christmas. I went ahead and snagged the Sea World Explorer semi-submersible for the 4 of us while it was on sale yesterday for a few dollars off ($47 per person). It sounded like a good opportunity to watch the sea life, but I've been looking at reviews online about it and they're pretty mixed. Anyone here done that? MIL also thought the Land & Sea tour sounded interesting ($71 per person right now), which is a boat and bus tour that ends up at the Atlantis lobby but doesn't include any of the admission-required stuff. The boat part sounds fun, I don't really care about the bus part but it's their first time on the island and lets them see the major points of interest, so it might be worthwhile. What are the opinions of the folks here?

My mom and I are sailing on the Enchantment in just a few weeks. I'm 45, Mom is ... old enough to be my Mom. Anyway, a crappy accident this summer left mom with a broken hip that was replaced in July. She's in outpatient PT and doing well, but still a slow/cautious walker. She might still be using a cane when we go. I booked the cruise for us because I'm looking for a summery vacation at a no-pressure pace. In Coco Cay we rented the 2 loungers with sunshade for a relaxing beach day. In Key West we are doing the Conch Train hop-on/hop-off tour so we can do Key West at our own pace. Which leaves Nassau. Initially, I didn't book anything for us because all of the non-strenuous excursions take us away from the ship for a long period of time or put us at the mercy of a tour bus. We planned on staying on the ship and chilling by the pool or on the deck. Maybe bingo, some fruity drinks, etc. But now I'm staring at this ALL-DAY stop and feeling like we're just going to be parked there and wondering what easy things we can do on our own if the mood strikes us. The Straw Market looks okay. Paradise Island looks to be an easy ferry away. Senor Frogs? ;) Basically, I'm looking for suggestions from the easy-going crowd, or reassurance that we won't regret just relaxing on the ship all day. Thanks!

This will be our first cruise with our kids (ages 12 & 16). My husband and I went on our first and only cruise 18 years ago for our honeymoon. We're doing the bungalow beach day at Coco Cay, but wanted to do something different in Nassau as my hubby isn't a lay on the beach all day kind of guy. There are so many excursions to choose from and I really don't want to spend more than $250. So I want to make it count. Any suggestions? Or should we just stay on the ship this day and do spa treatments :) FYI - We're on Majesty in August...

TIA for any recommendations! We are cruising on Anthem of the Seas and we are looking to spend the day in Nassau relaxing on a pretty beach. There seem to be so many choices. Does anyone have feedback on their best beach excursion? thank you!

I will be sailing on the Harmony of the Seas on Feb 18, 2017 Join and follow my live blog of my trip and I explore the ship and Ports of Call Nassau, St Thomas and St Marten

Hi all We dock in Nassau at 7am is 815am too early to organise an excursion? Many thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ0zW-f91n8 In this video you'll see the entertainment offered on board, a look around the cruise ship, a peak that each island has to offer, and some excursions. Let me know if you have any questions about the Majesty of the Seas! I'm happy to help and would give it a 10/10.

Tiki Bikini Hut is #1 on Trip Advisor? Pros and Cons PLEASE!!!!! Drinks and/or food?

I will be on the Allure in a few weeks on the Eastern Caribbean cruise. I will be visiting St. Maarten, Nassau, and St. Thomas. I have been researching excursions for the ports and just wondered if anyone who has been to these ports had any "can't miss" suggestions on things to do? I don't snorkel. I am thinking about Maho Beach in St. Maarten so that I can see the planes land but I don't know if I want that to be an all day excursion. I have also read on Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic that 'Bernard's Tours' in St. Maarten is pretty good. Has anyone used them? Also, if anyone has any suggestions about Nassau (was thinking of the Paradise Island waterslide and lazy river package. Is it worth the money?) and also St. Thomas, I would appreciate any and all feedback.