Questions and requests for feedback about Nassau

[islacruzer]

We got off the Disney Dream and docked at Nassau on Aug 10. It wasn't our first time but I had a few questions about our experience and was looking for comments:

 

1. We took DCL shore excursion to tour Nassau. Tour guide mentioned that Conch has been banned for harvesting for the next 12 years? Is this true? Does anyone know if this affects the price of conch? I am not seeing much online about this. 
2. Due to time constraints, we decided to eat in downtown Nassau and went to Sharkey's, where our tour guide suggested to go to get Conch Salad. Although we had intended to go to the Fish Fry or somewhere more local, this had to do. Several questions about Sharkey's if you have dined there: 
   • Has anyone had their Credit Cards declined here due to fraudulent activity reported? This is what happened to me, and according to our CC Company, they said the decline was due to other people reporting fraud at that location. 
   • What was the wait time on your visit? Took about an hour for our order to get to the table. Just wondering if this is a normal thing. Me and my family are islanders ourselves, so there's such a thing as "island time" where everything takes a while, but wasn't sure if this applied to restaurants in Nassau as well. 
3. If we ever go to Nassau again, we're DEFINITELY planning to go to somewhere local, BUT just in case that it doesn't work out again, where could I get Conch Salad in the tourist district in Nassau? 
4. I wanted to get some Cuban Rum (as well as Bahamian Rum) and on a separate thread here, someone mentioned a liquor store named 700 wine and spirits, which I did find, but they stated they hadn't carried Cuban Rum in some time. Can anyone make a recommendation where to get some? To be clear, this was 700 wine and spirits located closest to the port (I noticed there was a location that wasn't so close to the port on google maps). I was able to get some Bahamanian rum (Ricardo and Ole Nassau) but would have been nice to get some Cuban rum as well. 
5. Can someone recommend a cigar place in Nassau? I asked around, and believe it or not, people were directing me to a "tall and skinny guy standing in the street two blocks down." I saw a humidor at the liquor store (700 wine and spirts) but they stated it wasn't for sale (odd I thought). 

 

Other than that, we had a good time. This was our second time to Nassau. 

[CruisinCrow]

2. Restaurants in Nassau tend to be on Island Time.  We've never been to Sharkey's but we've experienced long waits at a couple of Fish Fry restaurants.  You have to plan accordingly.

3.  If you want to stay in town, Bahamian Cookin' has great local food. http://bahamiancookin.com/

 

5. Graycliff hotel has a cigar factory where you can see them roll the cigars.  My husband has bought a few cigars from their shop.  While you're there, also visit the chocolate store.  Yum!

[cruiseapril]

Our relatives really liked the cigar place at Graycliff.

[CILCIANRQTS]

Conch restrictions have been a topic of discussion for a long time, but the issue seems to be of more urgency now.

Appears no ban yet, but many locals rely on conch gathering for a living, so perhaps greater export restrictions will be the first limitation.

 

https://ewnews.com/survey-shows-strong-public-support-for-closed-conch-season