This worked for us!

[goLC]

I had taken a cotton black cardigan and never wore it. On the deck at night was great - lots of dancing, so I guess I worked up some heat, but one of my group never danced and she was always fine without a wrap or anything. I either had on a sundress or similar, and one night I had on shorts and a short-sleeved top (summery.) I don't think I'd take anything major, but you might take a lightweight sweater just in case. Save your luggage space for fun stuff! Some have said that the public rooms are cold, but I never found that to be true for me. I was always comfy in sundresses or shorts. You can go to weather.com and check the weather for Nassau; it will give you an idea of what the forecast is.

 

I hope your cruise is awesome - I'm excited for you! Oh - I remember you said your bf didn't like slow dining room service - ours was slow, so one of the last nights we ate at the windjammer and another at Johnny Rockets - it beats 2 hours in the dining room. And if you wanted, if you're docked in Nassau 'til midnight like we were, you could even get off and go to Senor Frogs - that was a fun place, walking distance to the pier, so it wouldn't be a big deal to get off and eat there.

[beachykeen22]

GoLC: We got to do the tour with Otis and we absolutely loved him... only problem was, he charged us more than he charged you!! We paid $20 a person. But, I can say I didn't complain too much because he was worth it, plus some. So informative just as you said and he also pointed us in the right direction of other places we wanted to visit after our tour was gone... Thanks for such a great tip!

[bashton55]

Beachy,

I thought that GoLC did say it was $20. We are going next week. Hope we can find Ottis!

BTW I work in Lakeland.

[tigerdadky]

Beachy,

I thought that GoLC did say it was $20. We are going next week. Hope we can find Ottis!

BTW I work in Lakeland.

We paid $20 a person and I gave him a generous tip at the conclusion of the tour. He was worth every penny of it.

[goLC]

Too lazy and busy to go back and re-read, but I thought I'd said it was $20 pp - so how was your cruise, beachy? Did BF love it or hate it? My life is wildly hectic now - I'm in need of some cruise relief! One of our foursome is now pregnant, so I'm already searching for a 4th so we can go next fall break, too! I should be doing housework or school work right now, but decided I needed a quick dose of cruise critic! So far I've been on for an hour trying to catch up!

[Stuart Suss]

At the dock I requested Otis. The port staff telephoned Otis and told him he had a customer waiting.

 

Otis' tour lasted three hours. We started with a stop to purchase beer or soda. He took us to the Government buildings downtown, the hotel district in Cable Beach, then to residential neighborhoods - upper class, middle class and lower class. We then visited Fort Fincastle for shopping or climbing the Queen's Staircase. (At the top of the Queen's Staircase, Philip, a gentleman in a wheel chair, will tell you stories about the Queen's Staircase which may or may not be true, but are entertaining.) Finally, Otis gave us a tour of the Atlantis complex, or at least the public areas of it, including the public part of the aquarium.

 

Otis was well informed as to the history, economics and politics of the island. He also was pleasant and entertaining. His fee was less than $25.

 

Otis has asked me to inform readers on this board that he may not necessarily be present when the ship docks as he takes care of his family before heading to the port. As I mentioned, when I asked one of the uniformed port officials for Otis, she contacted him by telephone.

 

Rpmljm, I related the story you told about being handed off to another driver. Otis appeared to remember this event. His version was that he was concerned that you had been waiting too long and he referred you to a reputable and competent guide. He now realizes that when people ask for him, they expect for him to be the tour guide. Otis conveys his apologies to you.

[SoonerOne]

Wow, this Otis fellow sounds great! We are leaving this Saturday and we plan to use him when we get to Nassau. Thanks for all the great posts recommending him:)

 

Donna

[WNcruiser]

Yes, it is still $20, however like most others we gave $30/pp and he was worth every penny. Otis takes his kids to school so usually gets to the pier about 9:15.

 

If you cant find him, just ask any of the drivers. One of them called him for us and was there in about 10 mins. He went and got 3 more people (we had 3) and we were off. His van holds 10 but he takes less so everyone is comfortable. Probably the best tour for the money I have ever had. Otis is extremely professional, friendly, knowledgable and full of information.

[macy115]

Yes, it is still $20, however like most others we gave $30/pp and he was worth every penny. Otis takes his kids to school so usually gets to the pier about 9:15.

 

If you cant find him, just ask any of the drivers. One of them called him for us and was there in about 10 mins. He went and got 3 more people (we had 3) and we were off. His van holds 10 but he takes less so everyone is comfortable. Probably the best tour for the money I have ever had. Otis is extremely professional, friendly, knowledgable and full of information.

Otis is great. We had a hard time finding him because when you would ask another driver if he was there, they would try to get you to go with them. We finally found him and are glad we did. He gets there a little after 9am. Look for a White van with licence plate #NP345

[amyanb]

Hello all! We just got back from Nassau, and I used everyone's advice and asked for Otis.

 

He was WONDERFUL!! We had 3 kids and one disabled person, so needless to say our group was slower at getting around the forts and Atlantis, but he never complained. He took his time and showed us so much.

 

My husband and I have already taken this tour on one of our previous trips to Nassau, but Otis showed/told us about things that we did not see or learn about before.

 

I highly recommend him, and I do have his contact information to set up tours ahead of time. I don't know about the posting rules on contact information, so if anyone wants it just email me or PM me.

 

amyanb@msn.com

[annettandsebastien]

Does Otis tour take you to any lunch places? How long does the tour last?

What would be the best way to spend the remaining time in Nassau in yoru opinion?

[RET P3 FE]

Just back from Nassau today,managed to hook up with Otis by following the advice posted here (try to find him around 9:30).It was worth the effort to track him down as the tour was very interesting and relaxed. Once you reach the "gauntlet" of drivers outside the welcome center just ask for "Otis" and they will go out of their way to hook you up. If you go with Otis be sure to ask him about his alias "sodaman"

[seashell64]

We don't get into port until noon - has anyone looked up and hired Otis at that time? I'm really on the fence as to what to do in Nassau - we are there from noon until 6am the next day - we have been to Nassau once about 13 years ago (Atlantis wasn't there yet lol) - I want to see Atlantis,but don't know if I want to spend a lot of money to be there for the day - we aren't water park people. this tour sounds fun and something we haven't done, but again, we won't even dock until noon.

[RET P3 FE]

If you get there at noon anyone of the cab guys outside the terminal will call Otis,if you want go back throught the post on this thread and contact the poster who has Otis's cell number

 

For the poster before my last post there is only one place to eat non tourist food in Nassau and that is "Fish Fry" aka Arawak Cay.Try Twin Brothers or Goldies

[WhoDat]

We don't get into port until noon - has anyone looked up and hired Otis at that time? I'm really on the fence as to what to do in Nassau - we are there from noon until 6am the next day - we have been to Nassau once about 13 years ago (Atlantis wasn't there yet lol) - I want to see Atlantis,but don't know if I want to spend a lot of money to be there for the day - we aren't water park people. this tour sounds fun and something we haven't done, but again, we won't even dock until noon.

 

 

Us too! We don't arrive until Noon. I would think with so many asking for him, there would be more than 1 tour a day. Especially since most say it's anywhere from a 2 - 3 hour tour. We'll be there this weekend, and will let you know on our return.:)

[PurrSusan]

Hey Who Dat--hope you have a great trip. Some friends of mine took a tour with a guy named Freeman (they think) & they had a card with his e-mail address on it. Well, apparently they lost it. So... if you see a guy named Freeman or, if you have a really good guide, could you see if you could get an e-mail address from them? We dock around 11:00am when we go in Oct so I'm sure our situation will be like yours. I hope things work out for you! Thanks!

[seashell64]

Us too! We don't arrive until Noon. I would think with so many asking for him, there would be more than 1 tour a day. Especially since most say it's anywhere from a 2 - 3 hour tour. We'll be there this weekend, and will let you know on our return.:)

 

 

Were you able to hook up with Otis?

[WhoDat]

Were you able to hook up with Otis?

 

No, we did not. We got off the ship about 12:15 ish. We asked a guard, and he said we just missed him. He'd come looking for 2 more people, got them and left.

 

We just walked around town. Watched a parade. Had a beer at the Hard Rock.

 

We hope to catch him next time, though!