Why does everyone hate Nassau so much?

[QueenofKrakatoa]

I'm genuinely curious - so many people seem to hate this port. What is your reasoning? Is it crime? Not enough to do? Repetitive activities?

[CruiseGal999]

I'm sure this is one reason ... 

[lazydayz]

Believe it or not, some of us actually like Nassau. I like the weather, the people, the beach, Atlantis, shopping. Sure there is crime, but that is true everywhere. If you look for the good or bad, you will find it. 

[A&L_Ont]

Been there too many times to count on the ship. The best time we had was the last time we were there because we had almost a full day, not just the normal 7-2 port stop. 

 

That being said, we stayed there for a week at Sandals and had a great time. 

[Trinam2]

I like it and really enjoy going to Atlantis. I think a lot of people that cruise regularly have just been there a lot. 

[The Fun Researcher]

Yes

[mugtech]

Just saw a CC article The Seven Worst Ports to visit a second time, Nassau was at the top of the list.

[kruise runner]

Nassau,

     You basically said it all in your question. On top of that been there to many times Now the ship is our destination in that port. This just our opinion.

  kruise runner

[Iamcruzin]

Nassau is a beach day and if you have Cocoa Cay or Labadee on your itinerary it could be redundant. With that said I would rather go to Nassau than Jamaica. 

[cementhands]

8 hours ago, QueenofKrakatoa said:

I'm genuinely curious - so many people seem to hate this port. What is your reasoning? Is it crime? Not enough to do? Repetitive activities?

While not our favorite because of pushy vendors. We’ve found decent beach opportunities Junkanoo or cable for the day. During thanksgiving Atlantis has big time basketball tournament. A couple years ago we saw Kansas Tennessee and many other top ranked teams. 

A few years ago my sister was asked about buying some pot with her twins age 7 holding her hands. A school teacher she was more than frightened. Happened in the straw market.

Stay in a group. Use TripAdvisor yelp and cruise critic for info. The Beaches are quite nice. But you’re going to have to say No Thank You to a few vendors.

Cab to Junkanoo beach and walking back was quite nice this past October.

[Iamcruzin]

3 minutes ago, cementhands said:

While not our favorite because of pushy vendors.

 

A few years ago my sister was asked about buying some pot with her twins age 7 holding her hands. A school teacher she was more than frightened. Happened in the straw market.

New York City has more panhandlers, and solicitors at every corner, people openly smoking weed in Union Square in the presence of uniformed police officers and yet millions come from all over the world to visit. Go figure.

[pstone1]

8 hours ago, lazydayz said:

Believe it or not, some of us actually like Nassau. I like the weather, the people, the beach, Atlantis, shopping. Sure there is crime, but that is true everywhere. If you look for the good or bad, you will find it. 

 

This!  Great local restaurants too (not talking about the Fish Fry)!

[drneal]

For me it begins when the taxi drivers start yelling at one another over which van you are going to go in.

It doesn’t exactly exude the “welcome to Nassau” vibe.

Once you’re there it’s fine.  I like to go to paradise Island and find a beach.

There was not much to do after sunset.

I’ve been several times and always have such low expectations that anything is better than what I expected.

[Snit13]

Nassau like Cozumel.....been there done that.....over and over.  Great for someone who is new to cruising but for many of us we have just been there to many times.

[cltnccruisers]

We were there a couple of months ago.  We found the town itself not to be very enjoyable.  It seems most folks who like the stop go to Atlantis or a favorite beach as some of our table mates did - others just stayed on the ship.  So should we ever return we'll likely do something away from town.

[marco]

We don't "Hate" it, it's just that because of it's proximity to Fla, many 10 day cruises stop there on the last day of the cruise.  We've been there many times..... seen it, done it and we'd rather just stay on the ship and enjoy the amenities with they other folks who have been there too many times and don't get off, either. 

[cindivan]

We were there yesterday and and there were 5 ships there - total passenger capacity between them was a little less than 20,000.   

 

City was very crowded and traffic was very slow if you tried to take a taxi anywhere.   That’s just too many passengers to dump into one port, especially for such short days which they usually are.  

[Joebucks]

Because the internet is cool and hates anything "mainstream or common". We really enjoy the Sandals there with the private island. Always a great time.

 

Nassau is no worse than any other island as far as any cons. The only thing I agree with others on is the frequency at which cruises stop there. I can appreciate wanting to see different ports. Nassau is too frequent.

[dogs4fun]

I certainly do not hate Nassau. Can't say that I hate any of the ports that I have been fortunate enough to visit.

[Hlitner]

We do not "hate" Nassau but we would be very happy if we never saw the place again....EVER!  It is a matter of degrees and comparison...and there are just so many nicer places to visit on earth.

 

Hank

[RickinStl]

My wife and I were in Nassau on our last cruise.. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it.. I like to find less touristy things to do. With that being said I feel as though Nassau is nothing more than a flea market with a beach.. 

[mom says]

We don't hate Nassau. We just like other ports more. I'd rather stay on the ship.

[bonsai3s]

Back in the day, Nassau was nice.  (Been there on cruises and stayed for a week.)  The Straw Market was a fun place to walk through and buy souvenirs.  Not much traffic. Beaches almost empty and the water was one of the clearest we've ever seen. Everyone genuinely friendly.  Not many ships. (Note: There are other places you can visit other than just downtown Nassau or Paradise Island.....Cable Beach is nice.)

 

Fast forward to today...wow! We were there last month (after not visiting for many years)...the Straw Market was pretty much like a ghost town...traffic was horrendous...not many cruise passengers walking around downtown...most passengers simply stayed within the port shops or go straight to Paradise Island...seemingly a gazillion taxis and chaos at the port...overpriced souvenirs...it's unfortunate, but Nassau went from a once quiet little port/downtown to an extremely congested tourist trap. 

 

We don't "hate" Nassau...perhaps the question is: How did it become this way?  My answer is: (As one other poster said), with 5 ships docked, with approximately 20,000 cruise passenger descending on Nassau...almost every week.......sigh...

 

 

[MCC retired]

Not really hate it , just hate that it is a stop on sooooo many itineraries .

if you cruise a lot from Florida , Nassau becomes an annoying , congested stop on 

the way to the Caribbean .

[Elaine5715]

When people say they dislike Nassau, I believe they are referring to the downtown area.  Nassau isn't a poor port city but it sure looks that way.  The shops seem more irritated than pleased to see paying customers.  The Straw Market has become the same crappy stall after crappy stall.  The streets and sidewalks aren't conductive to walking around.