Fantasy to the Bahamas-any worthwhile excursions?

[NC Fred]

We (party of 6 adults in 60's) recently booked a Feb trip to the Bahamas out of Charleston. We chose this cruise due to the very reasonable price and close-by port, enabling us to drive in 2 hours. In reviewing the shore excursions, it appears most have to do with the beach or dolphin encounters. Since we live on the coast of NC, neither appeals to us, as we can do that here. Any suggestions of worthwhile activities in either Freeport or Nassau? Sightseeing, history, local culture etc would be of interest. Is the casino in Freeport worth the trip? None of us are big gamblers but it might be an option.

[Cigar Dude]

Well...???

 

The beaches are nothing like ours on the Carolina coast. The water colors are the main difference. They're beautiful and that's why we are Caribbean beach people. You might want to check them out when you're there.

 

There is a casino in Freeport, which is also close to the beach.

 

In Nassau you can walk around the town and get a feel for life in the Bahamas. There used to be a party boat which left out of Nassau but I'm not sure if it's still there. If any of your bunch are cigar lovers I suggest going to the Graycliff Hotel. It's actually worth a trip if you don't smoke cigars. Very big, old hotel on a high point in Nassau. They roll their own cigars onsite.

[fromthebus]

Try the ports of call section under Bahammas. Lots of great ideas there. Also there are two reviews in the links below with pictures you might enjoy.

[Pinkfloydfan]

We (party of 6 adults in 60's) recently booked a Feb trip to the Bahamas out of Charleston. We chose this cruise due to the very reasonable price and close-by port, enabling us to drive in 2 hours. In reviewing the shore excursions, it appears most have to do with the beach or dolphin encounters. Since we live on the coast of NC, neither appeals to us, as we can do that here. Any suggestions of worthwhile activities in either Freeport or Nassau? Sightseeing, history, local culture etc would be of interest. Is the casino in Freeport worth the trip? None of us are big gamblers but it might be an option.

stiggywell, My wife and I cruise on the Fantasy also because its close (3 hrs from home in NC) and inexpensive. Also like the staff and crew. The waters there are a great deal nicer than where we live near the Cape Fear. We go to the casino in Freeport. Sometimes I go to the straw market or the beach. We have a 5 day booked on the Fantasy next Feb 28th I also highly recommend you read the reviews that fromthebus is talking about. Many good photos.:) Pink

[jpg1747]

We're a group of the same age cruising from Baltimore next month. We're not beach people either. In Nassau we doing the Frommer's self-guided walking tour. Here's a link:

 

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/newprovidence/0251010008.html

 

The other place that caught my eye was the Ardastra Gardens/Zoo:

 

http://www.ardastra.com/directions.html

 

I have no idea what we're doing in Freeport, but because port time is so limited, we'll either just walk around close to the ship or take a ship's tour of the island.

[yogimax]

To save money, wait until you get off the ship Nassau. There will be countless taxi and van drivers willing to give you a basic island tour at a reasonable price.

 

To be honest, we found Freeport to have very little of interest.

[fromthebus]

To save money, wait until you get off the ship Nassau. There will be countless taxi and van drivers willing to give you a basic island tour at a reasonable price.

 

To be honest, we found Freeport to have very little of interest.

 

There are pleanty of things to do in freeport. Don't go with a closef mind as the people above did. There are many beautiful uninhabited beaches ans sights to see. Gold rock is one that comes to mind. Check the Bahammas board.

[yogimax]

There are pleanty of things to do in freeport. Don't go with a closef mind as the people above did. There are many beautiful uninhabited beaches ans sights to see. Gold rock is one that comes to mind. Check the Bahammas board.

 

The OP said the beach has no appeal for them.

[nybumpkin]

When we were on Fantasy last year we did the Alexander von Humboldt tall ship excursion in Freeport. It's a bit pricey ($95 pp when we did it), but it's a really nice sail off the coast of Grand Bahama. The crew lets you help with the sails if you'd like; I got to take the helm for a few minutes.:cool:

[lola61]

In Nassau take the water taxi to Paradise Island I think $3 each way walk around Atlantis, cheap day.

[fromthebus]

The OP said the beach has no appeal for them.

 

Still no reason to stay on the ship. Hire a taxi for a tour of the island. There is also a park on the island. Nice for a walk. Or the casino Pink spoke of.

[nlktx49]

Back in February we were in the Bahamas. In Nassau we got off the ship and found a man rounding up people for a tour, so we did that, $20 pp. Took us around to different points of interest, drove us out to Atlantis and left us for 45 minutes to gamble, since the casino is about the only place you have access to without paying a fee. Took about 3 hours.

 

In Freeport we took a taxi van out to Our Lucaya for $10 pp round trip. Did a little shopping in the market area there, then walked across the street to the resort and went in their casino, played slots for an hour or so.

 

At least we got off the ship both places! We aren't into beaches or water sports, either, so it was kind of hard to find something else to do.

[MSRussell]

When I was in Nassau, I did the Segway Excursion and LOVED it. We rode downtown, on the sidewalk by the beach, and to tour operator even had us pose and she took pictures of us with our cameras.

Have great memories of that time.