Stingray Excursion in Nassau

[Mr & Mrs Happy]

On our last cruise, one of the stops was to Nassau and the hubster was not impressed. A lot had changed since my first time there as well. However, we had a great time in Freeport.

 

I was looking at excursions for Nassau and the stingray encounter is offered. Is it worth the money? It's $59.99 per person. Should we do Atlantis? On my first cruise, I did the tour of Atlantis and then a tour around Nassau.

 

I'm so praying that there are no issues that would prevent us from stopping at Half Moon Cay. That place looks beau-ti-ful.

[katcas]

I have never been to Nassau but went swimming with the Stingrays in Grand Cayman. It is but far one of the best excursions we have ever done. My kids loved it. Research the company you are looking at, try trip advisor too. If they look good, do it. You will not regret it!

[Yazoo cruiser]

Have not done the stingrays in Nassau but my son and his family did. They said it was nice but nothing compared to the one in Grand Cayman. We have 80+ cruises and the stingrays excursion in Grand Caymans is far and away our favorite excursion. I believe I woud try the one in Nassau because the rays are so beautiful and friendly.

[gatormom108]

I debated, but went with the sea lions instead! Lol We leave in two weeks! I will update you then!

[gatormom108]

As promised, here is the update. We did the Sea Lion Encounter, which is at the same place as the Stingrays and dolphin. Our scheduled pick up was 8:15 am. We were told the return boats we every hour in the afternoon - 1,2,3 and 4. I thought that would give us plenty of time to enjoy the encounter and the beach time. We arrived in Nassau on schedule and with beautiful weather. Our alarm was set for 6 am so we could all be ready on time. At 8am, just as we were ready to leave our cabin, we received a message under the door - "Delayed until 10:30" WOMP . I was not happy, but I wasn't going to let it ruin my day either. We took the boat from the pier (short walking distance) to the boat. There was standing room only. A woman, disabled, in tears because there were no seats. We gave up our seats for her and her daughter. Beautiful boat ride, but it is 20 minutes or so of standing. We arrived at the encounter at about 11:15. There was a dry portion (photos) with the Sea Lions and then in the water. NOTE: the ramp is hot and slippery. Wear some sort of water shoe or flip flop. There are plenty of small lockers for your belongings. Needless to say, being up close and personal with the Sea Lions was a once in a lifetime experience. Photos and video are all taken at this point as well. We loved it! It was now time for the beach. It is now after 12pm and we are told that we must take the 2pm boat back. There will be no 3pm boat and the 4pm will be too late for us. This leaves us 1.5 hours to "enjoy" the beach, eat lunch, walk all the back and wait 45 minutes for pictures. :( The small beach was beautiful. You can see the stingray pool and Dolphins right from the pier (walkway). You can pay $16 per person to go to the other part of the beach that has inflatable trampolines, slides, etc. You can take a walk and go to the ocean side of the beach as well. We didn't even know this until we were on the boat back to the ship. We never bothered to eat lunch, just so we could enjoy the water. The line was too long. My husband found a soda at the gift shop instead. The kids took a Segway tour ($50 each) which was very cool. They had to cut it short by 15 minutes to get back to the boat on time. If you wanted a picture with a dolphin or sea lion, you can add that to any excursion for an additional $20. We were told to get in line at 1:45 for the boat. Well, what a fiasco. The line was ridiculous, people were trying to pick up their pictures and make their way to the boat. I felt like a salmon swimming upstream! The boat ride back was smooth and we were back on the ship by 2:30. The pictures are pricey, so be prepared. Ours were $139 - 4 pics and USB video. Overall, yes, I would do it again. I am very disappointed about the boat times. I feel a bit deceived as there was no explanation or compensation. That was an expensive excursion and we were rushed.