Tell me about Freeport, Nassau and Key West.

[Orchidlover12]

I am sailing on the Dream Jan 2019, with my 9 & 11 yr old grandsons. I would like to hear from those who have been to these ports. What are must see, eat, book excursions with the ship, book privately and so on.

 

 

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[Miller_KC]

It's pricey but your grandsons would really enjoy the Atlantis water park excursion in Nassau. Especially the water slide through the shark tank, the lazy river with rapids, waves, and slides, and the large aquariums. Put on lots of sun screen often and take break out of the sun.

[lostsoulcruiser]

Did this trip in 2009 so my info is a bit dated:

 

Key West: The Hemmingway museum.

Freeport: No real development around port at that time so we stayed at ship. My wife had a bad leg at the time.

Nassau: Got a wheelchair from the ship & we walked ( &wheeled) around town. Interesting architecture, very colorful, ran into friendly people.

[Miller_KC]

Key West is a fun town to visit and a lot of interesting places to see but it may not be a great attraction to the youngsters. Maybe try some key lime pie on a stick and see the pirate museum. We did the glass bottom boat with our nieces but the trip out and back was long. I still haven't seen the 6 toed cats at Hemingway's house.

[Miller_KC]

Freeport is a hard one. There are some restaurants at the port and a straw market will pop up but you have to take a bus or taxi to see anything else. Might be a good day to book one of the beach packages at the nearby resorts.

[gottaluvcruises12]

I can only speak for Nassau and Freeport

 

2015

Freeport: we took either a bus or tax to Junkanoo Beach and had the time of our lives using water sports equipment and hanging out at the beach.

Nassau: We went to the Junkanoo Beach there as well. We didn't do the water sports this go round but we had a good time relaxing.

 

I actually look forward to going on another cruise to Freeport.

[CBuick]

Though I stayed on the ship last time in Nassau. I did enjoy Atlantis. If u can't go for the water park at least do the quick tour. My first tour I had a great guide that took her time.

 

The sculptures in the casino and the aquarium are very nice. I haven't been to Freeport in some time, but I did a good beach excursion. (I wish I had the name)

[swodog94]

Key West: Hemingway House, southern-most point in the US, Coast Guard Cutter Ingham museum, Fort Zachary Taylor. BTW, the kids are going to see boobs at some point that day...it's going to happen, so don't sweat it.

 

Nassau: Atlantis, Cable Beach. We did the British Colonial Hilton for $65pp. That allows you to use their private beach, pool, changing rooms, showers, etc. $45 of that is a food voucher, and waiters come to your chairs on the beach to take orders. There are plenty of covered chairs and even some palm frond palapas to sit under. The beach is inside the harbor, so the water is very calm. For the adults we did Watlings Rum distillery and Grey Cliff chocolate and cigar factories - both walkable from the port.

 

Freeport: There's not much for the kiddies at the port (Senor Frogs). Concur with booking a beach resort day pass. It's only half a day there anyway, so it might be better to just stay on the ship and enjoy un-crowded access to pools and chairs.

[mediccruzin]

Hemmingway House, or the pirate musem, do not venture too far up Duvall street. Key Lime pie, and the Key West Pink shrimp are must haves. Myself i would never get off the ship in Bahamas.

[SurferJoe57]

Key West with your grandchildren? There's an Aquarium right next to the Custom House Museum. The ship probably has an advertised excursion that comes with the Conch Train (really a jitney) hop on & off tour; and museum & aquarium passes.

- Definitely get the Conch Train for Key West as it'll take you to all the places everyone else has mentioned: Hemingway House, KeyLime Pie shop, the "Southern-most USA" spot marker, and you won't have to walk or get lost!

Nassau might have an interesting tour, but whenever we've been there, we went to the beach - best thing there is a hotel day pass. Freeport's got beach excursions as well; however, you have to either take a ship sponsored beach break or get adventurous, as it's an industrial port (shipyard) and nowhere near fun stuff.

[A&Jfamily]

Key West with your grandchildren? There's an Aquarium right next to the Custom House Museum. The ship probably has an advertised excursion that comes with the Conch Train (really a jitney) hop on & off tour; and museum & aquarium passes.

- Definitely get the Conch Train for Key West as it'll take you to all the places everyone else has mentioned: Hemingway House, KeyLime Pie shop, the "Southern-most USA" spot marker, and you won't have to walk or get lost!

Nassau might have an interesting tour, but whenever we've been there, we went to the beach - best thing there is a hotel day pass. Freeport's got beach excursions as well; however, you have to either take a ship sponsored beach break or get adventurous, as it's an industrial port (shipyard) and nowhere near fun stuff.

 

This is the best answer IMHO.

 

Key West: Use the hop on/off trolley; its open air and fun. Very easy to reserve independently and the southern most point, butterfly house, hemmingway house and various other things are within walking distance of the stops. As noted the aquarium and pirate museums are small but cute and entertaining for kids.

 

Nassau: if you don't want to spend big money in Atlantis, then either spend minimal and go toward Arawak Caye - the far end of Junkanoo beach where there is food. Another great option if you is Adastra Gardens (really a small zoo)/Fort. They are not too far off the bus (jitney) or you can take a cab if you aren't up for climbing in with locals.

 

Freeport: book an excursion through the cruise ship. They took some storm damage last year and some of the private providers are not up and running. Yes it is an industrial port but it is a nice island once you get out onto it and interact with the people.

[Essiesmom]

The best part of Nassau is the harbor/arrival. Many times the ship sails in, spins 180 and backs into the slip. But if there are ships following you, watching them come in, spin, and dock is fascinating. EM

[imridingdolphins]

Can only speak to Key West. Been many times since my brother used to live there. Too bad you will be with kids as it is an adult playland! Are you only in port until 1:30pm? Doesn't leave much time. Probably your best bet is what others have mentioned, the conch tour train. It will drive you by all the main tourist spots and kids may like it. Plenty of shopping right off mallory square where you dock but it will be a madhouse sea of people. Still kinda fun. Can pretty much walk to everything. We always like eating lunch at Turtle Kraals. It is an ok place. If you want some good Bahamian food, try Blue Heaven. It is expensive and will probably be overrun with cruisers though. Would talk about the bars and pubs but you know......kids. ;)

[Orchidlover12]

Can only speak to Key West. Been many times since my brother used to live there. Too bad you will be with kids as it is an adult playland! Are you only in port until 1:30pm? Doesn't leave much time. Probably your best bet is what others have mentioned, the conch tour train. It will drive you by all the main tourist spots and kids may like it. Plenty of shopping right off mallory square where you dock but it will be a madhouse sea of people. Still kinda fun. Can pretty much walk to everything. We always like eating lunch at Turtle Kraals. It is an ok place. If you want some good Bahamian food, try Blue Heaven. It is expensive and will probably be overrun with cruisers though. Would talk about the bars and pubs but you know......kids. ;)

 

 

 

Well it is sounding like the boys would have more fun staying on the ship and I can have fun in town :)

 

 

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[tef43]

Nassau and Freeport: Stay on the ship.

[LabRat33470]

In a couple of weeks.we will be at Nassau - we're just planning a trip to the straw market and the Pirate s Museum of Nassau. In a previous cruise we liked the straw.market, and the Museum is reasonably priced compared to the excursions ($13 adult, $6.50 children).

 

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[Pellaz]

Atlantis at Nassau is a must-see at some point and your kids would really enjoy it, BUT it is quite pricey and there are no refunds if they close it for a bad thunderstorm. (They don't close just for rain, but they DO for lightning.)

Also, it's large enough that you probably won't get to see everything during an afternoon ship visit.

 

If you want to go there, check around for discounted day passes that could save you a lot of money over Carnival's excursion prices; they are usually available online (probably can't post the site here).

 

Booking a room "for the day" at the Comfort Suites Paradise Island is also an option, since guests who "stay" there get free access to Atlantis, which is a three-minute walk up the entrance road.

 

If not Atlantis, then maybe Junkanoo Beach? It's walkable from the Nassau docks and you'll see it to the right as the ship enters the bay. The Tiki Bar there has some amazing drink specials and was, last I checked, the #1 Attraction in Nassau on TripAdvisor. :)

[haply]

We have now gone to Blue Lagoon twice in Nassau. It is a small island about a 30-minute boat/ferry ride out of Nassau. The water is beautiful and calm (they do provide floats). They have a large ocean bouncy/float play area ($15 per person extra) that my kids really loved (also close to the beach, and not a long swim out like some other places). You can also rent kayaks, paddle boards and large ocean bikes. They do not have a pool however if that is what you are looking for. They do have dolphin, stingray, seal encounter areas on one side of the island (extra $$), that you can add on if wanted. It does include a basic lunch and a cash bar (drinks are good). There were only two ships in port the first time we went, and the place was pretty empty. There were 5 ships in port this time and it was more crowded but still fun. It was pretty disorganized going through the Carnival excursion. We waited around a long time while they got everybody ready and did not get to the island until about 11:30. If the cruise ship docks early, I would recommend booking directly through Blue Lagoon. You would need to take a short (5-minute) taxi ride to their ferry dock, but you could catch the 8:30 ferry and have much more time on the island. The price is better doing it that way also.

We did the dolphin encounter in Freeport (Unexo contracts through Carnival). You will have to take about a 20-minute bus ride across the island to their facility. Unexo was a good company. We had initially booked the snorkeling and dolphin package, but the snorkeling was cancelled due to rough waters. The water looked beautiful and they had a couple of really nice-looking beaches on the other side of the island. I will definitely try to book a snorkeling and beach day the next time we go.

[Krisco]

Freeport - many say nothing to do, but if you like snorkeling go to deadmansreef.com for snorkeling at Paradise Cove. This was kids 10 and 12 first snorkeling experience and they loved it. Snorkeling from shore. Bus from port was easy and people were so nice. The owner has started building a man made reef and talked to the kids about coral reefs and marine life. There is a little restaurant with conch fritters and good prices for lunch and bar. Very laid back and wasn't too busy. people can rent chairs and just lounge but the snorkeling was good. Highly recommend.