New to this site...saying hello

[Peaches166]

Hi All,

 

I just located this site and I'm really excited about it. I've never "cruised" before but there is a first time for everything. I booked a cruise on Carnival's Sensation for Dec 12th of this year for my husband's birthday. We are going to Nassau Bahamas..yeah!:D I can't wait.

I wanted to know about scheduling tours. Should I arrange this thru Carnival or can I locate another tour co. The reason I'm asking is because we are interested in going on the Power boat. It looks like fun. We are really interested in snorkling and since we are going to be at port until the next am we are trying to find things to do.

Any suggestions would be great!

[rrraydon]

Welcome aboard!

 

You'll get mixed opinions on wether you should book excursions through the cruise line (so you won't miss the boat in the event of delays getting back) or whether to book excursions through outside vendors (to save money).

 

Whichever you do, have a great cruise!!!

[Delta Dear]

Welcome and a warning ! This board is SO addicting ! LOL, you will read so much and enjoy it SO much that you will hardly be able to stand it. LOL.

 

Every question you could ever think of has an answer from some expert on here. I don't have an answer to your questions, but there are many tours available at each port. Read the Ports of Call for Nassau and see what tours others have taken and recommend. We've only been on two cruises, one very short one to a wedding, so no tours planned. The second, we did two independent tours based on what I found on the Ports of Call board and we were extremely happy with what we did.

 

Have fun, see you on these boards.

[*Mach*]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

We're thrilled to have you aboard!!!

In short order you'll be hooked just like the rest of us and you'll be a cruiser for the rest of your life!

Regarding the excursion in Nassau, please try the Bahamas board in our Ports of Call section for a TON of information about a wide variety of activities. Just browse about or post a question!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

 

 

:)

[jtm22372]

welcome . just a small note of a couple of free things you can do in nassau . check out ft. fincastle and the queens staircase . we were there in jan had a good time and enjoy your cruise.:D

[WISH84]

Welcome aboard!! Always love to see new cruisers check out this site. Beware of one thing: ADDICTION!!:o

[mcfam5]

Welcome to the boards! How exciting to be planning your first cruise! You will love it I am sure, :) I agree, you will get mixed opinions on how to book. You can get better deals if you book through a different source, but if booking through Carnival you are guaranteed not to be left behind. We always make out arrangements independently and are just careful of our timing.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[momof4boys]

Welcome! The Bahamas was our first cruise! What fun! The best piece of advice I will give you is to relax and jsut go with the flow. Some things will be perfect and others will not. Don't let little things ruin it for you.

 

Heck....our first cruise was diverted from Belize and Mexico two nights before departure due to a hurricane.....

 

Our second cruise we visited Grand Cayman and Stingray City and our little boat caught fire......

 

Our third cruise we outran a tornado on the way home... (driving across Oklahoma)

 

Our fourth cruise we celebrated our third son's 21st birthday with an "icing" at 7am and cakes at dinner!

 

All of those experiences were wonderful/hilarious/adventurous/crazy and the cause of some great memories!

 

Some people on some of those trips complained the whole time about "the situation" but we honestly laughed, and hopefully taught our children about flexibility and looking on the bright side.

 

Enjoy your next few months of reading and getting to know us!

Happy Sailing!

[SkyMaster]

Welcome aboard Peaches! (Love that name!) You'll find really nice, well informed folks here, and I have no doubt that you'll become addicted to cruising, just like all the rest of us. I personally can't tell you much about the tours in Nassau, as I usually just stay aboard the ship and make sure it's O.K. until all the others return. :p I have no doubt that someone will give you the straight answer to your query however.

Once again,,,,Great to have you here.

 

"SKY"

[okwriter]

The Sensation was my first cruise in January, and it was a blast!

I went with two friends, and we didn't book any excursions ahead of time.

We did end up doing a Carnival excursion that we booked on board; it was the catamaran snorkeling/beach excursion.

We were new to snorkeling, and it was great!

Rode a catamaran a short distance to a place where we snorkeled, then it took us to a beach for a short visit.

I think the cost was about $50 each.

ENJOY your first cruise!

[Peaches166]

Thank you so much for the kind words of advice. I really can't wait and I can see how this website can become addicting.....LOL...

[gail811]

Welcome "neighbor"! My first cruise was before I found this site, and I only wish I had known about it then. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and the search engine on here is a pretty good tool too. Enjoy preparing for your first cruise and have a great time!

[jennmaybe]

Welcome to CC and congrats on your upcoming cruise!

 

I'm sure you will love Nassau, especially since this is your 1st cruise. I will say that we were not impressed with it. My DH did snorkeling, but said the water was so choppy, that it wasn't that great. It may have been the area they were in, but there were 3 cruise ships in that day, so I'm sure that didn't help.

 

We did go over to the Atlantis Resort. That was amazing! Not sure I would ever go back to Nassau via cruise, but everyone should go at least once and enjoy just being there.

 

If you go to the market, which I did because you can get great deals, just beware--the locals, like most of the islands, will hound you to get you to buy from them. Don't feel obligated to buy if it's not something you want.

 

Anyway, just enjoy your cruise and make sure you let us know how you enjoyed everything!:)

[bcs819]

welcome aboard!

[sparkscruiser]

Welcome Aboard Peaches! You are gonna be hooked!