Just got home. Thanks Scubagirl and zydecocruiser!!!

[bguppies]

zydecocruiser,

Many thanks for the link to the walking tour and the great pictures.

 

My Wife and I just got home from our cruise to Nassau and we did the tour right off the ship and it was great.

 

We were luckily the first ship in port and were able to get off the ship a half hour early and were able to hit everything up to the Queen's Staircase before anyone else got off our boat or the 2 RCCL ships that arrived within minutes of our ship.

 

The first excursion we ran into was at Fort Fincastle.

 

I recommend letting the local guides stationed at the Queen's Staircase (great local named Phillip) and at the Fort give you a tour for a buck or two tip. Great information.

 

We also stopped in the Graycliff and took the free tour of the cigar factory and were then let to wander the private grounds and take pictures of their gorgeous pools and grounds.

 

We wound up taking Scubagirl's recommendation and when the tour got to the British Colonial Hilton, we got a day pass for $15 and enjoyed their beach and pool facilities for the day. (with only 2 couples from another ship, 10 British vacationers from the hotel and the dancers from our ship)

 

The best $30 we spent on the trip and we are definitely taking advantage of the deal everytime we stop in Nassau. (next September)

 

Thanks to both of you for the amazing tips and information.

My Wife and I loved our stay in Nassau and had a much better time thanks to your help.

 

Bill

[bguppies]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=7804191#post7804191

 

Here is the link to my review of our day in Nassau.

 

Again thanks to everyone (especially zydecocruiser and scubagirl) for all their reviews, information and suggestions, who made our day in Nassau so wonderful.

 

I only hope I can help others as they helped us.

 

We can't wait to return on the Glory next September.

 

Bill

[scubagirrl]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=7804191#post7804191

 

Here is the link to my review of our day in Nassau.

 

Again thanks to everyone (especially zydecocruiser and scubagirl) for all their reviews, information and suggestions, who made our day in Nassau so wonderful.

 

I only hope I can help others as they helped us.

 

We can't wait to return on the Glory next September.

 

Bill

 

 

Glad you had a great time.. my pleasure helping out..

[CaWino]

Bill,

I enjoyed your walking tour and your trip reports. Thanks for sharing your trip. I am leaving this Saturday, on the Carnival Celebration, for 5 days with stops in Key West and Nassau.

I have to admit, I wasn't too excited about Nassau, as all I had heard about was the Atlantis and trash and trinket shopping. I now am looking forward to my long day in Nassau and am going to explore most of what you two did.

Just one question....How many steps and how steep is the Queen's Staircase? I have a bum ankle and can do most things, however a looooooong staircase might do in my ankle.

Thanks again for sharing

[zydecocruiser]

Youre welcome.

 

This is Queen's Staircase. There are a couple of landings where you can pause or you can pretty much pause anywhere along the way. There is more than one, though...

 

 

Here is a different route you can take to get to Fort Fincastle. This one has some benches along the way where you can sit down. I still recommend taking along water to drink as you walk.

 

[bguppies]

65 steps as Phillip on top happily informed us...

 

Honestly, I kept walking up a few steps and stopping for more photos, then moving up a few more steps, so I couldn't give an honest assesment of the stress level.

 

My Wife kept marveling at the Bahamian woman using the steps for her morning workout in the cool of the tree cover.

She was walking the steps the entire time we were wandering around inside and heading up and was still there after we toured the Fort, got our history lesson and decided to head back down. (probably at least an hour and a half up and down.)

 

I am a bit overweight (which WILL be rectified by next September) and I didn't struglle at all.

Now the hike up hill all the way from the docks to the Staircase and a bit more uphill from there to the Government House was a bit of an exertion for me.

 

I'd say if the hike might bother your ankle, maybe catch a cab to the Staircase.

But definitely don't miss it it.

It was so peaceful and beautiful.

 

Bill

[CaWino]

Thanks for your feedback

I appreciate it

[walkergirl]

Thanks for such an awesome review! I look forward to seeing your photos. We leave on the Sensation on Nov 19th (it's a b-day cruise) and we can't wait!!

 

Do you remember how long the walking tour took? My husband wants to book an excursion and I want to do the walking tour. We dock from 7am-7am so I am assuming we could do both.

 

The tour he is interested in is Blackbeards treasure beach.

 

Thanks again!

[cruisy-suzy]

Walkergirl,

We did the Stingray tour to Blackbeard's Cay and it was wonderful. The stingrays were very friendly. The beach was clean and not crowded at all. You will really enjoy Blackbeard's Cay if you go.

 

Suzy

[walkergirl]

Thanks Suzy. Can you let me know what time your tour departed and how long it was for? Do you have any photos?

 

I'm trying to determine how much we can pack into one day ;)

Our record was 3 excursions while in Alaska although we were zonked once we got back to the ship and missed dinner.

[cruisy-suzy]

Walkergirl,

Email me and I will send you some pictures of Blackbeard's Cay: suzybruner@aol.com.

 

Our tour was from 9 am to noon. We didn't leave on time and got back around 1 though.

 

People from a Disney boat were brought in about 10:30, and then when the boat came to shuttle us back to Nassau, it brought a bunch of folks from another Carnival ship.

 

Happy cruising,

Suzy

[bguppies]

Thanks for such an awesome review! I look forward to seeing your photos. We leave on the Sensation on Nov 19th (it's a b-day cruise) and we can't wait!!

 

Do you remember how long the walking tour took? My husband wants to book an excursion and I want to do the walking tour. We dock from 7am-7am so I am assuming we could do both.

 

The tour he is interested in is Blackbeards treasure beach.

 

Thanks again!

We had the same 7AM-7AM stop scheduled.

 

We were supposed to arrive at 7AM, but we actually got in early, around 6AM.

They were supposed to start debarking at 8AM (I hadn't really thought about it beforehand that 7AM arrival, didn't mean 7AM debarking), but since we got in early, we ate breakfast and headed down to wait to get off and the doors were already open at 7:25AM.

We did the tour with extended stops at the Queen's Staircase and at the Graycliff (since after I bought my cigars, they let us wander the grounds) and wound up at the British Colonial Hilton (right next to the dock) at 10:30-10:45AM.

 

Hope that helps gauge your time.

I can't imagine with a 24 hour stop, that you couldn't do the walking tour and 2 or 3 other activities.

 

Bill

[jrmende63]

Thanks Suzy. Can you let me know what time your tour departed and how long it was for? Do you have any photos?

 

I'm trying to determine how much we can pack into one day ;)

Our record was 3 excursions while in Alaska although we were zonked once we got back to the ship and missed dinner.

Have fun Julie!

[walkergirl]

Thanks everyone!!!

Julie have you booked your excusions yet?