Things to do in Nassau

I will be on the Divina in July 2016. We stop in Nassau and have no excursions planned. We were thinking of a day of shopping and going to the beach. Is that possible? Are beaches right there by the port.walking distance etc. Any suggestions ?

I have a suggestion....stay on the boat! As you can tell I'm not a fan of Nassau. There is a public beach very close to the pier (you will be able to see it from the boat). Or there are some hotels that are close to the pier that have beach access for a price.

I will be on the Divina in July 2016. We stop in Nassau and have no excursions planned. We were thinking of a day of shopping and going to the beach. Is that possible? Are beaches right there by the port.walking distance etc. Any suggestions ?

Junkanoo Beach is within walking distance,,,here is the link to Maureen's live report from 2 weeks ago,,,towards the bottom of the thread she describes how to get there,,,http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2352075&page=19

Another vote for staying on the ship.

Vote # 3 for staying on the ship. Nassau is, IMHO, the second worst cruise port after Freeport.

we took a private excursion in nassau - best day of the whole cruise! we went with captain carl on his speed boat to tour atlantis and to go on rose island, where we where practically alone, saw sea turtles and a lot of beautiful fish. next time we are in nassau we will go with cc again!!!!

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Last time I got off to get cracked conch & conch salad, use the Internet free and got back on the ship and ate my conch in Top Sail- much better atmosphere... Nassau not so much.

We have always gone to Atlantis. We've done the water park, swam with dolphins, gone through the aquarium, or just been lazy on their beach.

I also like Sharky's right by the pier for people watching on the deck and enjoying conch fritters and Bahamas Mamas.

SNJCruisers, I have to say Freeport is my hands down favorite port, but that's because we do amazing tours with Calabash Eco Tours and have gone swimming in blue holes, diving, and enjoyed gorgeous beaches! It's a bit of a ride to get out past the industrial section, but he comes to pick us up!

Honestly, every port has something amazing to do. You just have to do a bit of research.

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I actually like Freeport, but I don't get off the boat in Nassau. It's just an unappealing place IMO. It's also nice to experience the ship with few guests on board.

One of my favorite excursions in the entire Caribbean is offered in Nassau. Admittedly, it's not for everyone: Swim with the sharks experience from Stuarts cove. You can either dive with the sharks, or snorkel above them (I snorkeled). They are well fed Caribbean reef sharks, so not nearly as dangerous as one may think :). n. Here's a link to the web page: http://www.stuartcove.com/DiveBahamasMgmt.aspx?id=3&pageId=17

Admittedly, I'm still a thrill seeker to some extent and this was a great trip to get your Adrenalin on :)

We have done a food tour in Nassau, and it was excellent. Met up by the Pirate Museum, and went to 5 or 6 different restaurants, shops, chocolate store etc. Besides the food, learned a lot of history of the area.

We found it on Tripadvisor.

Gail :)

We enjoyed Adastra Garden when we were there earlier this month.

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You might want to check out the "Ports of Call" board for Bahamas. Click Here to get there.

As for us (after 3 times there) the favorite thing to do is stay on the ship.

Charlie

We have done a food tour in Nassau, and it was excellent. Met up by the Pirate Museum, and went to 5 or 6 different restaurants, shops, chocolate store etc. Besides the food, learned a lot of history of the area.

We found it on Tripadvisor.

 

Gail :)

We really enjoyed the food tour too. Went last November.

Not sure why people hate Nassau so much. I like this stop. I am a solo traveler and have been to Nassau maybe about 10 times going on my own.

Many times I walked to Ardastra zoo and Gardens. Very easy to get there, on the way there you will pass the Jankanoo Beach with is free.

Just get a free map and go have fun.

I will be on the Divina in July 2016. We stop in Nassau and have no excursions planned. We were thinking of a day of shopping and going to the beach. Is that possible? Are beaches right there by the port.walking distance etc. Any suggestions ?

If you want a inexpensive way, walk to closeby town & take the bus to cable beach that runs very frequently & can get off at whatever beach area you desire. Bus located on a side street, forgot the #, just ask locals.

Nassau isn't great. But if you haven't been there yet, by all means, go ashore. Can't help you with the beach. Atlantis is a cheap cab ride. It has Beverly Hill$ type $hopping, a casino, and water park. The stores are a block or two from the ship on Bay street. The Straw market is a little off to the right of the pier. The folks in the straw market can be pushy, but I didn't feel unsafe or threatened. They start talking to you, and bank on the fact that you won't be rude and just walk away, which is of course what you need to do. I speak a little German, so I just responded to them in German, and no one bugged me because they didn't speak it.

Try this: Ich kannst (pronounced like Con, not can) du nicht verstehen (fer-sctay-en) "I can't understand you."

Or you can keep it simple "Das dink ist nicht for gefingerpoken" German sounding gibberish. ;)

Nassau is a dump, but we just sailed there because the fares for this 7 night cruise were just too good to pass up.

Looking for something different to do, we took the Balmoral Island and Stingray Encounter excursion and had an absolutely fantastic time. You board a boat a few feet from the cruise ship and then you sail along the north coast of New Providence for about 30 minutes. Balmoral Island is located right across from Cable Beach and it actually shares the same island with Sandals but they are separated. It's a beautiful and serene setup with pools, beach loungers and white umbrellas. There are some very nice crystal clear beaches and a different section where you do the stingray encounter. They also offer a dolphin swim experience which you can purchase on the spot if you didn't do it in advance. There's also a pavilion that sells overpriced food and drinks (we just bought a few sodas and water bottles at $5 each). Your boat will then take you back to the ship and drop you off outside of the gated area of the cruise welcome center which was about the only part that we didn't enjoy. We were back about an hour before the ship's departure and the line to get back inside the welcome center snaked outside in the scorching heat with nowhere to get some shade.

Otherwise it was a very pleasant and enjoyable experience and a great option to get away from the insane crowds and overly commercialized downtown and Paradise Island areas.

Nassau isn't great. But if you haven't been there yet, by all means, go ashore. Can't help you with the beach. Atlantis is a cheap cab ride. It has Beverly Hill$ type $hopping, a casino, and water park. The stores are a block or two from the ship on Bay street. The Straw market is a little off to the right of the pier. The folks in the straw market can be pushy, but I didn't feel unsafe or threatened. They start talking to you, and bank on the fact that you won't be rude and just walk away, which is of course what you need to do. I speak a little German, so I just responded to them in German, and no one bugged me because they didn't speak it.

 

Try this: Ich kannst (pronounced like Con, not can) du nicht verstehen (fer-sctay-en) "I can't understand you."

 

Or you can keep it simple "Das dink ist nicht for gefingerpoken" German sounding gibberish. ;)

HI Steve, Danke for your comment. It's funny that you mentioned German. I happen to speak fluent German and have used it on many occasions to get out of a tough situation!!! LOL Lived in AUSTRIA for 15 years and there I used to use english when someone would approach me and ask me questions etc. A second language does come in handy. I only hope that if I use it the other party doesn't speak it also! LOL