Hotel Day Passes

[IT_GUY]

I am cruising on the Carnival Dream on 7/31 and will be in the Bahamas on 8/1. I am traveling with my family 4 adults 2 kids (9yo and 9 mnths)...

 

I wanted to do a day pass mostly because of my infant daughter so she can go to the pool with my wife and my older daughter and my parents can enjoy the beach.... And ultimately no one is complaining so I can relax!!! :) We have been on many cruises before this is our first with an infant.

 

I have a few concerns:

• Going to have a Stroller so making sure mode of transporation can deal with that...(Not sure on size of stroller not an umbrella but not the Cadi either).
  
• The resort not allowing the baby in the pool.
  
• No official policy on the hotel websites that can confirm that they sell day passes.(taking my little troup across the island only to find out sorry we dont do that would be frustrating and ultimately end my "relaxed state")
  
• Limit? Do they limit the number of these passes?(Repeat of above concern regarding treking over for nothing and result to my "relaxed state".
  
• Cost not primary concern if "relaxed state" is achieved :) however looking at cruise excursions $125 to swim at the beach and use the pool would ruin my "relaxed state":mad:
  

I have seen people talk about how much fun they had at Atlantis. Maybe i'm spoiled living in FL 10 mins from the beach with a pool in the back yard and having visited "wet and wild" and "Adventure island" water parks I can't imagine how this hotel could match the amount of rides wither of them have justifying $125 per head .

 

Anyway any advice would be appreciated. Especially with the understanding of the infant situation..

 

Thanks

[scubagirrl]

I am cruising on the Carnival Dream on 7/31 and will be in the Bahamas on 8/1. I am traveling with my family 4 adults 2 kids (9yo and 9 mnths)...

 

I wanted to do a day pass mostly because of my infant daughter so she can go to the pool with my wife and my older daughter and my parents can enjoy the beach.... And ultimately no one is complaining so I can relax!!! :) We have been on many cruises before this is our first with an infant.

 

 

I have a few concerns:

• Going to have a Stroller so making sure mode of transporation can deal with that...(Not sure on size of stroller not an umbrella but not the Cadi either).
  
• The resort not allowing the baby in the pool.
  
• No official policy on the hotel websites that can confirm that they sell day passes.(taking my little troup across the island only to find out sorry we dont do that would be frustrating and ultimately end my "relaxed state")
  
• Limit? Do they limit the number of these passes?(Repeat of above concern regarding treking over for nothing and result to my "relaxed state".
  
• Cost not primary concern if "relaxed state" is achieved :) however looking at cruise excursions $125 to swim at the beach and use the pool would ruin my "relaxed state":mad:
  

I have seen people talk about how much fun they had at Atlantis. Maybe i'm spoiled living in FL 10 mins from the beach with a pool in the back yard and having visited "wet and wild" and "Adventure island" water parks I can't imagine how this hotel could match the amount of rides wither of them have justifying $125 per head .

 

Anyway any advice would be appreciated. Especially with the understanding of the infant situation..

 

Thanks

 

Can't help with the stroller issue. It's been along time since I've pushed one. Downtown Nassau get's pretty crowded when the ships are in, and sidewalks are not all "friendly". So the smaller and lightest you can get that your child will be comfortable would be my recommendation. And make sure there is some sun shade.

 

As for infants in pools.. again, I don't know the policy, but honestly, what happens when you infant poops in a public pool??? Answer... it get's closed down for the day until it can get cleaned and in balance again.

 

I would think the beach would be a better option. But that's just me.

 

Or at least go to a place where there is more than one pool, so if they have to shut it down, there are still other choices. Sheraton would be my choice. It's $25 pp. Free for the baby. There's quite a bit of information on this board about it. Beach, pool, snorkeling, bar and grill, restrooms, lifeguards etc.

 

Sheraton DOES advertise day passes, but all day passes, except the Hilton and those the cruiseships sell, are availabe based on the days occupancy rate. Most places do not sell out except during holiday season and spring break.

 

As far as your "relaxed state".. Atlantis would be the farthest from acheiving that. Especially when school is out.

 

Check into the sheraton, I think that may be a good fit.

[spleenstomper]

Where is the 25.00 pp rate? I'm looking on the Sheraton website and it says the day pass is 99.00 pp. and that is for 2 adults in the room. Thanks.

[scubagirrl]

Where is the 25.00 pp rate? I'm looking on the Sheraton website and it says the day pass is 99.00 pp. and that is for 2 adults in the room. Thanks.

 

i don't believe it's posted anywhere on the website. Day passes are available same day only. Based on occupancy.

[spleenstomper]

Scubagirl, what does that mean that the Wyndham has a small lagoon beach? Is it worth splashing around in? If we went to BCH, will we be harassed if we walk to it? We are Hilton Honors VIP, so I'm interested in BCH, and technically I could use points and get a room for the day, but I'm worried about the safety issue, etc, of just getting there from the pier.

 

Assuming we can't go to Sheraton (I was looking to book through Carnival for the easy of the experience, but they only offer the Wyndham), which has a better pool AND beach? Wyndham or BCH?

 

I have three kids... 13, 11, 11 and they are laid back and easy to deal with.... we just want to chillax and have family time. I checked Tripadvisor and BCH is rated higher, but I can't really get a feel for the photos. I'm going to check Youtube and see if I can get a better idea.

 

Thanks so much for your help.

[mjkacmom]

We went to the BCH, and felt very safe. There is no way to avoid people trying to sell you stuff - it's a bit of a walk to any transportation. The hotel was nice and relaxing. This time, we're going to get a day room at the Sheraton, and day passes for the kids who aren't on the room. I think I've heard you can use both beaches. We've never paid for excursions before, because we do close ones (we've done cocoa beach in orlando and Atlantis though a CS room). The prices on the ship are insane!

[spleenstomper]

Yeah, the prices are insane, but I was thinking: out of the country, high crime, pushy locals... etc... and a possible wait in line at the front desk. I was assuming if we book through carnival, the bus/van would be right there and we would get armbands without having to wait in line. Some of those line waits (even for VIP which sometimes they don't have enough people working front desk to have someone tend to VIP) are horrendous!

[scubagirrl]

Scubagirl, what does that mean that the Wyndham has a small lagoon beach? Is it worth splashing around in?

 

The beach itself is very nice, but the lagoon get pretty dirty, and at low tide it's almost non-existent. It's easy to just go to the other side of the beach and take a dunk in the water at the sheraton.. i always do.

 

If we went to BCH, will we be harassed if we walk to it?

 

Just stepping outside of the cruise terminal you will be met with vendors, locals and school kids trying to sell you something.. just say no and keep walking. there's nothing to fear or get upset about.

 

 

We are Hilton Honors VIP, so I'm interested in BCH, and technically I could use points and get a room for the day, but I'm worried about the safety issue, etc, of just getting there from the pier.

 

There's no safety issue in getting to the BCH or being on the property. Downtown is crawling with police and security .

 

Assuming we can't go to Sheraton (I was looking to book through Carnival for the easy of the experience, but they only offer the Wyndham), which has a better pool AND beach? Wyndham or BCH?

 

I'd still chose the wyndham for kids. The pool is great.. a nice slide, DJ, etc.. and the Sheraton beach is just steps away. BCH is a small quite pool, no bigger than most backyard ingrounds. And they have a no splashing rule. No horseing around. Kids would have more fun at Wyndham.

 

I have three kids... 13, 11, 11 and they are laid back and easy to deal with.... we just want to chillax and have family time. I checked Tripadvisor and BCH is rated higher, but I can't really get a feel for the photos. I'm going to check Youtube and see if I can get a better idea.

 

Thanks so much for your help.

 

Hope this helps

[spleenstomper]

Thank you, yes that settles it. I'm going to do Wyndham.

 

Thanks again! The comment about just using the beach next to the Sheraton helped seal it.

[scubagirrl]

Thank you, yes that settles it. I'm going to do Wyndham.

 

Thanks again! The comment about just using the beach next to the Sheraton helped seal it.

 

 

Here's a video of the Wyndham property that I just uploaded to youtube.

 

 

It's not a great quality video, but you can see at the onset, the lagoon, then as I pann to the left edge of the property, the sheraton beach is just at the treeline and in the frames as I get a more close up view.

 

It's really not a big beach.. easy to move from place to place.

[spleenstomper]

Thanks so much! Going to watch it... but one more question: I notice that booking a room at the wyndham would be a lot cheaper than booking the excursion through the ship. Is there any reason why I can't book one night and then not stay the night? (like 179.00 a night vs. almost 400.00 for the five of us for the excursion...)

 

OK... going to watch the video...

[spleenstomper]

Love the video! That's exactly what I want...

[scubagirrl]

Thanks so much! Going to watch it... but one more question: I notice that booking a room at the wyndham would be a lot cheaper than booking the excursion through the ship. Is there any reason why I can't book one night and then not stay the night? (like 179.00 a night vs. almost 400.00 for the five of us for the excursion...)

 

OK... going to watch the video...

 

First off. The room rate does not include taxes and all the surcharges. They add up quickly, plus.. they only allow 4 ppl to a room.. so that's going to be an issue.

 

You don't need to book this from the cruiseship. The passes are $40pp. and include a buffet lunch. That's only $200. $1.25 pp travel ($2.50 round trip) on the jitney. That's far below the $400 the cruise ship charges.

 

Even if you took a cab, it would still be less than the cruiselines.. and you'd have to add this fee if you booked a room.. pushing the $$ even higher.

 

Just take the #10 jitney from downtown.. It's VERY easy.. just tell the driver where you want to get off and pay as you leave. (exact $$ they don't make change).. and then reverse on the way back.

 

Ask anyone as you leave the port to point you in the right direction.. Jitney's run every few minutes from 6am - 7pm

[spleenstomper]

OK... I think I can handle that. Is the 1.25 USD? But the 40.00 a person I won't know until the day of if they have availability, right?

[scubagirrl]

OK... I think I can handle that. Is the 1.25 USD? But the 40.00 a person I won't know until the day of if they have availability, right?

 

There shouldn't be any problem this season.

 

Wyndham is closing for several weeks from late August - Oct.. so there will be no passes. The only other times I've ever heard of them turning people away is during spring break and xmas.

 

I wouldn't be concerned.

[spleenstomper]

Thank you so much for your time. Just for fun, I tried comfort suites for the Atlantis thing (I don't think I would care for Atlantis... just wanted to see the options), but nothing is available for my dates (july 27/28).

 

Again, thank you so much.

[minniemom]

thanks for you help. I was enjoying the read too. Never been to the bahamas before. Don't want to go to casinos, and I really didn't want to spend the money on the Atlantis. Our baby is 6'3" and 18 and he is going with mom and dad.. The last of 6 kids, I think either the Sheraton or the Wyndam sounds good. You say you buy the ticket the day of at the hotel? One included lunch? And the pools are nice to swim or lounge around? So was it 90. for 2 at Sheraton?

[Mommy2Brielle]

We are just off the NCL Jewel. We traveled with two small children 3 and almost 5.

 

 

Booked day passed in advance at British Colonial Hilton. A true CC find that turned out to be fantastic. We booked it before the increase in price. My kids were free of charge. $80 for my husband and I and it included $60 in food and drink credits. We were able to walk there from the ship. Glad we had the strollers for our kids though. IT would have been too much for them, and they actually both fell asleep in the strollers on the walk back to the ship. There were five ships in port when we were there. BCH is a beautiful hotel. It reminded me of a hotel we stayed at in Hawaii.

Upon check in, we were asked for our reservation slip. Make sure you have that!

They gave us two vouchers: one for towels, one for our $60 food credit.

We arrived at about 10:30 on a Wednesday. We went to the pool. At the time there was only one other family at the pool. (also with children). The pool was clean, nice. The bathroom facilities were fine as well.

There were floats available to use at the pool. We headed down to the beach a while later. We found chairs and an umbrella very easily. Kids had a great time! IT was perfect! There were kayaks to use and shovels and pails for my kids.

We were able to feed all four of us lunch, a few drinks for my husband and myself. At the end of our meal, I handed the waiter our voucher. He then stapled it to our bill. We went over by $2, we gave the difference and that was that. SO we had absolutely no problems as was previously reported by some others, but we did not run a “tab”, just used our entire credit on the one meal. They provide beach chairs and huts, towels, floats and beach toys for the kids. IT was a great, relaxing, fun way to spend the day. Some of the commenters on the Bahamas boards state that this is “Business Hotel”. Although there are no big water slides, or resort type activities, I found it mostly vacationers not business people when we were there. Although it may very well be used for business meetings on a regular basis, it was not apparent the day we were there. We felt completely comfortable there. There were five ships in port, and although most of the chairs were taken on the beach, it was definitely comfortable, not crowded and I highly recommend it.

Thanks for everyone on this board that provided all of the information! Made for a great day!

[Mommy2Brielle]

There is a kids menu for the kids. It is not on the regular menu, but the waiter told us the choices, and they are all very reasonably priced as well.

(approx $5 or $6)/piece. And they gave us no problem putting those meals towards our credit even though we did not pay for them to get in!

I thought that was very generous!

[marym933]

Did you book this through Island Marketing?

[Mommy2Brielle]

Yes

[marym933]

Thanks!

[BamaCruiser20]

Was that $80 for the two of you or $80 each? That is a lot more than we paid last time I was in Nassau, but that has been a few years. However, if you get $60 in food and drinks...it will be worth it!

[Mommy2Brielle]

40each but the price has now increased

[Love 2B Cruisin]

Thanks for the information. We are sailing on the Jewel on June 26th and may consider this. Did you book directly with them, online?