Need Bahamas Advice

[kennyo1]

I will be sailing on Carnival in a few weeks. Will stop in Key West, Nassau and Freeport. I was planning on doing one excursion and going to the beach and shopping in the remaining ports. I have already swam with the Dolphins and did the catamaran and snorkel in Cozumel.

 

What port has the better beach and shopping? Which port has the better excursions. I will be traveling with my wife and daughter so I want to stay in safe areas. I don't want my wife and daughter bothered by any undesirables.

 

I have read about the straw market in Nassau. Is that a good lace to shop? Is is mostly t-shirts and tourist trinkets? Running out of time I need advice quick. Booked a few days ago without doing much research.

[NJBill]

I will be sailing on Carnival in a few weeks. Will stop in Key West, Nassau and Freeport. I was planning on doing one excursion and going to the beach and shopping in the remaining ports. I have already swam with the Dolphins and did the catamaran and snorkel in Cozumel.

 

What port has the better beach and shopping? Which port has the better excursions. I will be traveling with my wife and daughter so I want to stay in safe areas. I don't want my wife and daughter bothered by any undesirables.

 

I have read about the straw market in Nassau. Is that a good lace to shop? Is is mostly t-shirts and tourist trinkets? Running out of time I need advice quick. Booked a few days ago without doing much research.

 

I have been to Nassau several times with my wife and kids. We usually get off the ship, spend an hour or two at the local free beach and then do some shopping in the straw market and in the center of town. We have never had any negative experiences. The horse carriage ride is fun to do also. There is also a pirate museum for the kids.

 

In Freeport, we took a taxi to Our Lucaya Marketplace and went across the road to the Beach in front of the Sheraton Hotel (free) for a few hours. Kids had a great time.

Hope this helps.Have a great trip.

[SteelerCruiser]

We like to go to Our Lucaya in Freeport and we were just there last week and we decided to rent Jetskis right off the beach. It cost us $70 for My Wife and I for 30 minutes. Had a Blast!!!

[STARFISH*4]

Key West is a fun port...lots of shopping...we didnt have enough time...take the trolley ride --check out the KEY WEST board for further info!

the Straw Market in Nassau is junky and has a lot of 'cheap' stuff in it and is very closed in crowded...a new one is suppose to open but hasnt yet.

there is a local beach Junkanoo that seems to be the place people are going now...FREE...its just a short walk from the dock.

see recent threads on this to read up about it.

ENJOY!

[hancogran]

We were in Nassau last week and spent a few hours at Junkanoo Beach which is free. We went into the straw market but got out pretty quickly.. most of the stalls sell the same thing and the heat inside that tent was unbearable. Yes, it's the usual t-shirts, baseball caps, straw purses, etc. We headed back to the ship mid afternoon and had a shower, changed then took the water taxi over to Atlantis since we wanted to see it.

 

In Freeport, we took the $10 per person (return) shuttle to Our Lucaya and spent a few hours on the beach. After that we walked around the marketplace for a few souvenirs. It was very hot that day so we spent the last half hour inside the air conditioned casino while we waited for our shuttle driver to pick us up at 12:30.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[gobucks_43228]

We were in Nassau last week and spent a few hours at Junkanoo Beach which is free. We went into the straw market but got out pretty quickly.. most of the stalls sell the same thing and the heat inside that tent was unbearable. Yes, it's the usual t-shirts, baseball caps, straw purses, etc. We headed back to the ship mid afternoon and had a shower, changed then took the water taxi over to Atlantis since we wanted to see it.

 

In Freeport, we took the $10 per person (return) shuttle to Our Lucaya and spent a few hours on the beach. After that we walked around the marketplace for a few souvenirs. It was very hot that day so we spent the last half hour inside the air conditioned casino while we waited for our shuttle driver to pick us up at 12:30.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Was the beach in walking distance or did you take a cab? Nassau will be our last stop on our 8 day cruise. I have only been once. I'm thinking by day 7 we will just want to relax at the beach or stay on the ship. Are there nice beaches close to ship?

Thanks

[hancogran]

Was the beach in walking distance or did you take a cab? Nassau will be our last stop on our 8 day cruise. I have only been once. I'm thinking by day 7 we will just want to relax at the beach or stay on the ship. Are there nice beaches close to ship?

Thanks

 

Junkanoo Beach was a short walk from the port.. I'd say about 12 - 15 minutes depending on how fast you walk. I know many of the hotels in that area offer day passes to their beaches (Hilton, Sheraton, etc) but we didn't want to fork out the money for a pass when we were only planning on spending a few hours at the beach. Junkanoo had everything we wanted.. sand, clear water, drinks, etc. so we were happy. ;)

[gobucks_43228]

Junkanoo Beach was a short walk from the port.. I'd say about 12 - 15 minutes depending on how fast you walk. I know many of the hotels in that area offer day passes to their beaches (Hilton, Sheraton, etc) but we didn't want to fork out the money for a pass when we were only planning on spending a few hours at the beach. Junkanoo had everything we wanted.. sand, clear water, drinks, etc. so we were happy. ;)

 

That's exactly what we want so it sounds perfect! Thanks :D

[mathdad]

I would suggest the Pirates Museum in Nassau. It does not require an excursion, but there is a charge.