What to do OR where to go in Freeport?

Anyone have a recommendation about what to do or where to go in Freeport? I'm pretty much set with Nassau, but have no idea about what to do in Freeport. Any ideas?

Ditto --- have my day planned at Nassau but have not idea what to do in Freeport. Heard the city was more industrial than Nassau so not sure if there is sightseeing.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

We are going to Paradise Cove. Booked through them. We are looking for a relaxed beach day and light fun so this worked.

They are picking us up at 11 and we will return to the ship at 3.

Its the port that is industrial

Port Lucaya Marketplace for shops and food - the International Bazaar is not as nice as it used to be and half empty.

But.....I second the Paradise Cove/Deadman's Reef suggestion. Very nice beach, great snorkeling and reasonably priced food and drinks. Clean bathrooms and a small gift shop.

Just being nosey, what are you doing in Nassau? We are on same cruise, but not sure about excursions. We are thinking about doing the Snorkeling/Sailing then just walk around and shop before heading back to ship.

Just being nosey, what are you doing in Nassau? We are on same cruise, but not sure about excursions. We are thinking about doing the Snorkeling/Sailing then just walk around and shop before heading back to ship.

In Nassau, we have a taxi driver taking us around the island for a tour and then going to the Sheraton for our beach experience. He will take us back to the ship for lunch. After lunch, we thought we'd shop Bay Street, see the Queen's Staircase and if we wanted, to visit the Atlantis (probably by bus or taxi). We decided not to take a tour offered by Carnival (almost a first for us). Our taxi tour is 2 hours, beach for 2 or so hours. If you would like to see the Queen's Staircase or shop with us, let us know!

It just depends on what you want to do. Have you looked at the various ship excursions to get an idea of what's available? I tend to NOT do excursions through the ship, but if it's a port that's new for me, sometimes I do.

Usually, for a new port, I'll book some sort of island tour (independently, if possible). That gives me an idea of the island/area so that if/when I return, I'll know what I'd like to investigate more in-depth.

The "don't get off the ship" comments I read all the time about both Freeport and Nassau make me nuts. There's plenty to do. You just have to be willing to get away from the ship! I seriously do not understand why people want to cruise and then just hang around the port in a tourist-trap bar/restaurant/shopping area. But obviously plenty of people want that.

I cruise specifically to get to the islands and I want to get out there and explore them. And if the locals are poor and the neighborhoods are run down, that's fine. I want to know how the locals live and what they do. I don't care one bit about seeing the wealthy celebrities' winter homes! :(

OK, sorry for the little rant. :o

Anyway, peruse the ship excursions to get an idea. Spend some time on this board looking for threads about Freeport (sometimes hard to find with the dozens and dozens about Atlantis).

Also check out Island Marketing's offerings for Freeport.

Since I've been to Freeport a couple of times (1st time did an island tour with shopping and beach stops; 2nd time just took the shared taxi vans to Lucaya Marketplace area and just wandered around, had lunch and a drink); and I'm solo this time, I've booked the vonHumboldt sailing excursion through Carnival. It's new and is getting rave reviews.

definitely in Freeport, we do NOTHING through cruise ships any longer, always private tours... well worth it

Nina

I too was wondering what the best thing to do in Freeport was. I have been but its been 14 years ago and we stayed on the island. We stayed at the Sheraton and it was nice way back then but the reviews on the beach day were horrible. I know Port Lucaya Marketplace but anything else especially fun with 10 month old and a 2 yr old

As a follow-up and since I sail starting Sunday (less than 48 hours away from now), I thought I would share what was decided. I went the Paradise Cove route. Booked the excursion through their own website and was given the information needed to meet them when we arrive. Cost is cheaper than almost anything my cruise line was offering (and to my mind, "better" than anything they were offering). We wanted a snorkel opportunity, a relaxing time and something "decent" to eat. This site offfered that. I'll know if they delivered on that Monday! Once I have completed my cruise, sometime within a couple of days, I'll share my opinion. Thanks to everyone who commented and shared. Finding information about Freeport was much harder than finding out things about Nassau. I'm really looking forward to my cruise! In 2 days time, I'm by the swimming pool on deck! :D

I am booked on this cruise in Nov. 30, out of New York City.. so could you please post what you liked the most and if you found anything good on Freeport ! also if you find that there is anything that we sould bring that you may have forgot to bring ...

Thank You

As a follow-up and since I sail starting Sunday (less than 48 hours away from now), I thought I would share what was decided. I went the Paradise Cove route. Booked the excursion through their own website and was given the information needed to meet them when we arrive. :D

I'll be waiting to see what you think about Paradise Cove. We sail in Aug and still need to book Freeport as well.

Can't wait to hear you opinion on Paradise Cove too. We will be there in August and most likely will be going there the day we are in port. Thanks

We were going to go to Paradise Cove, but we changed ships and itineraries, so now I'll be in Freeport on my solo leg, so I decided on something else.

There was a thread with someone ranting about how the Paradise Cove people never picked them up at the pier and the man at the Tourist booth drove them out there.

Will be interesting to see what OP says when they return.

This will be the first time we will be in the Bahamas. We are newbies to cruising. The cruise ship excursions are very expensive and mostly get bad reviews. Where do I find non cruise excursions or packages from reputable companies? Anyone have any suggestions or websites they have used??

Thanks

Before I found Cruise Critic, I always booked ship excursions. I was sure that I'd be left behind if I didn't.

Then I discovered this place. I'm a planner, so I spend a ridiculous amount of time on these boards reading. I mean, I've been to Nassau about 8 times already, and I'm still over here reading threads trying to decide what I want to do on both days I'm there on my B2B in October! :p

There are a few websites. I always look at Island Marketing to see what they offer. But, really, the best thing to do is what you're currently doing.

Read threads. See what others are planning.

Go to the cruiseline board and read recent reviews. It doesn't have to be the ship you're on, but any of them that called on the ports on your itinerary.

Google "cruise ship excursions in portname" and see what comes up.

The ship excursions will give you a good idea of what's available. Sometimes there are independent operators who offer something similar for less. Sometimes, the thing you want to do is only offered by the cruiseline, so you have to just bite the bullet and book with them. I'm doing the von Humboldt sailing in Freeport, which is only offered through Carnival. In Nassau, I'm off on my own both days.

A lot of people will go to the cruiseline board and ask "what are the best excursions for these ports" as a general question. I don't find those helpful at all. "Best" is entirely too subjective. Often, what others think is best doesn't appeal to me in the least. Like Atlantis!

Just do your reading, get an idea of what's available, decide what appeals to you, then ask specific questions about the vendors. I would never just get off the ship and go off with someone holding a sign. Some people do it all the time. I want to be sure that whomever is reputable and has received good reviews.

This will be the first time we will be in the Bahamas. We are newbies to cruising. The cruise ship excursions are very expensive and mostly get bad reviews. Where do I find non cruise excursions or packages from reputable companies? Anyone have any suggestions or websites they have used??

 

Thanks

Usually when researching independent cruise excursions, I start by looking at what the cruise ship offers, just to get a sense of what different kinds of things I might do in each port. For example, the cruise company might offer sailing, horseback riding, snorkeling, an island tour, etc. Once I have an idea of some of the choices and what I might want to do, I forget about the cruise company entirely and launch into independent research. Chances are, if the cruise ship is offering it, you can do the same thing for MUCH less money on your own.

I usually go to Trip Advisor first and poke around at the "Things to Do" and "Attractions" pages for each port. If it's a popular cruise port, many of the people on Trip Advisor who are writing reviews will also be cruise ship passengers, so you get a pretty good sense of how companies accomodate cruisers (or not). That helps me narrow down the choices to a few companies or experiences I'm interested in.

For specific, targeted questions, I come back to CC. Folks here are great, especially with specific questions. And they may be able to suggest tour companies or operators specific to local areas that aren't on trip advisor.

So first, think about what you're interested in. Second, see what kinds of places are recommended by others. Third, ask targeted questions to get any lingering issues resolved. Fourth, Book it and have fun!

I just got back today from Freeport (July 30) and Nassau (July 31). In Freeport, I went to Paradise Cove. Arrangement was to be picked up at 11 AM and be returned to the vessel about 3 PM. My Carnival ship (Sensation) was scheduled to leave at 5 PM from Freeport. I arranged my excursion from Paradise Cove's website ($41 for adults with lunch or $35 without lunch). Not sure of the child's price (since we didn't take our children on this trip). Was picked up by Nathan about 15 minutes early. Everyone already there and we left. Got a flat tire on the way (it happens...) Very professional...he made sure that we took a taxi to Paradise Cove (we were probably 2-3 miles or so from our destination). Loss of time concerning the flat tire about 30 minutes total (but remember, we were picked up 15 minutes early, so only a 15 minute loss of "real" time). When we arrived, they said "sorry" and we were able to sign in and pay, get our equipment, listen to the short lecture about what NOT to touch and then left on our own to snorkle.

Paradise Cove is NOT a million dollar resort. If you want that, see the Atlantis in Nassau. It IS rustic. Restroom is fairly small, not neat, but fairly clean (I've seen bathrooms a LOT worse!). The equipment was fine; no problems with mine. Enjoyed the snorkling. You're pretty much "on your own" while snorkling. Someone does watch (from the shore), but not sure how much they pay attention. If you have children, watch them closely!!!

The food was ok; certainly nothing worth writing about. Hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken sandwiches (not chicken strips). Chips and a soft drink round out the "meal" portion of the pre-bought food. They do offer other food for a price (fries, conch fritters, etc). Again, food is ok, not "bad" really, but nothing special.

Cost was well worth the price. Snorkeling was nice. Rocks in the water was slippery (duh!). Go with water shoes (or flippers). Since there is no changing facilities, you need to go with your swimsuit under your clothes. BRING A TOWEL! You can rent them (but not sure of the cost or availability).

We were returned to the ship without any problem. Van was air conditioned (both ways, even in the flat tire one). Would I do this trip again? YES. Would I recommend it? YES! I doubt they get a flat tire with every tour. It happens. My wife and I enjoyed the tour along with others from our cruise that also went on this tour. If you're looking for something to do in Freeport besides shopping (which we didn't do there), and want to snorkel, try this place. I enjoyed it anyway. Hope you guys who read this post enjoy your cruise vacation also. We had a blast. Happy sailing!

For the record: the ship did NOT leave at 5:00 as scheduled. It left about 5:45 or so. No worries! :D

Just got home from a wonderful cruise. Freeport info for thiose who asked--Paradise Cove was nice. There were 14 of us from the ship. We were picked up at about 10:45 and the driver gave us some information about the island as we traveled to Paradise Cove. (We did get a flat tire on the way, but the driver got us on a taxi and we arrived a few minutes later than we planned.)

Paradise cove was nice. They gave you instructions on what not to touch, how to walk in fins, how to wear the mask correctly, andthen pointed out the areas to swim. My husband has a mustache and the mask leaked because he couldn't get a good seal. He didn't go out as far as we did. Most of the others swam out and went around the back of the rocks. They saw a turtle and had a blast. My daughter is 10 and she got tired so we just went half as far as the rest. We really enjoyed the day. If you want swimming this is not a good place. The water is shallow in the swimming area, but the snorkeling was super.