New excursion with no ratings OR older excursion with recent cruddy ratings?

[Florida Glamazon]

Hello wonderful Cruisers!!! Husband & I are going to celebrate our anniversary with our 1st cruise soon. We both have varying reasons to book our excursion in Nassau via our cruise line, Carnival.

I booked the "Top 10 best of Nassau" since we both love history. BUT- several recent poor reviews on this one have me looking at a new excursion called "Nassau 360 & Beach".

Questions:

• Has anyone done this tour-or been to their private "Balmoral Island"??Any advice on either?
  
  

 

• Does the bus portion of this "Nassau 360 & beach" tour allow you to get out of the bus and take pictures of the sights?
  

• They are vague in their description, but here is the listing: Discover as a native this picturesque capital . A short walk from the pier takes you to your coach where your quest of Nassau will begin. In the early 18th century, Bahamas was conquer by pirates and declared a “Pirate Republic”, which then attracted other shady characters such as the famous, Edward “Blackbeard” Mansions, Cathedrals and fortresses have been beautifully preserved, so do bring your camera for the perfect snapshots of this jewel of the Caribbean. Then take a short ride to our secluded private Balmoral Island, greeted by our friendly staff, relax and create your own perfect story. Stretch out on your included lounge chair and umbrella. Enjoy the panoramic view of Cable Beach on our pristine beach and crystalline waters. Additional non-motorized water activities including snorkel gear, kayaks and paddle boards are available for rent.
  

 

Thanks in advance and happy sailing!!!!

 

[sanger727]

I would do neither and check trip advisor for a well rated local tour company.

 

 

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[Keith1010]

You might also want to post on the Cruise Critic Ports of Call board at:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=58

 

Keith

[Underwatr]

Balmoral Island, Bahamas: http://www.balmoralisland.com

TripAdvisor review.

 

Either you or Carnival appear to have omitted some words in the tour description - Blackbeard's last name is Teach or Thatch.

[mjkacmom]

Nassau is so easy to do on your own with a taxi or private tour. I’ve seen mixed results for the island, I think I’d stick with a resort day pass.

[Florida Glamazon]

You might also want to post on the Cruise Critic Ports of Call board at:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=58

 

Keith

Great idea, thanks!!!

[Florida Glamazon]

Thanks everyone, we are still feeling like the description from Carnival is vague. I looked around and saw mainly Ok reviews for Balmoral, so this might be a lot better than the other excursion. We are 1st time cruisers and need to make this as stress-free as possible, so that is why we are only booking through Carnival.

[sanger727]

Thanks everyone, we are still feeling like the description from Carnival is vague. I looked around and saw mainly Ok reviews for Balmoral, so this might be a lot better than the other excursion. We are 1st time cruisers and need to make this as stress-free as possible, so that is why we are only booking through Carnival.

 

 

 

In my experience the cruise line excursion descriptions tend to be vague and the reviews aren’t worth much. They are selling a product and controlling the reviews so they can remove any reviews they don’t like.

 

Balmoral Island is a place that exists on its own and it appears carnival is just providing transportation. Can check out its reviews on trip advisor to see if you would like to go there. The main complaints seem to be about food and drink costs.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147416-d6456513-Reviews-Balmoral_Island-Nassau_New_Providence_Island_Bahamas.html

 

The rest of the excursion appears to be a city tour. Just my 2 cents, we have been to Nassau and there wasn’t that much worth seeing. But I also don’t particularly care for city tours.

 

It really comes down to what you want to do but if I was looking for a beach-y day I would look for an all inclusive option to make it more relaxing. A lot of boat trips include food and drinks if those are available.