Staying on board the ship at Nassau--any thoughts? - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Staying on board the ship at Nassau--any thoughts?
We'll be taking the 4 day land 3 day sea trip to Disney. After 4 hectic days in the world I'm wondering if staying on the ship at Nassau and relaxing wouldn't be a good idea. I've heard Nassau isn't one of the nicer ports and that the excursions aren't all their cracked up to be. Any thoughts from anyone? If you stay on the ship are there things to do? Are the pools open? Spa? Eating places? Do many people stay on the ship?
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I stayed on board at Nassau. I think it's a great choice, especially on the 3-day. The ship was relatively empty and I explored, took photos, fell asleep in the Rainforest Room, had lunch at Triton's, read by the pool (there were only a few others at the adult pool).
I have been wondering the same thing. We are sailing on the Wonder for a 3 day cruise in December. I was considering going to Atlantis since DH has not seen it before. However, I think the DDs would prefer the pool time. I am definitely not planning on visiting the straw market area. I am interested to hear the comments from other cruisers.
Stay on the ship? Always in Nassau! Things to do? Absolutely! Movies, games and more! Pools open? Yes, and not very crowded in the morning. Spa? Spa is open and may offer "in port" specials on selected treatments Eating places? All open on their standard schedule. Buffet available at Beach Blanket for breakfast, lunch and dinner (with table service at dinner). Triton's should be open for lunch. Do many people stay on the ship? You'll find more repeat cruisers staying on-board. "Been there, done that, don't need to go back" is a popular motto for Nassau.
There's much to like and dislike about Nassau and you have to take everyone's opinion with a grain of salt. Some of the excursion run by Disney are very enjoyable. The Straw Market is either loved or hated by people - it's hard to say what someone else would find interesting or enjoyable.
A funny side story - when sailing last March with two new cruisers, they wanted to visit Nassau. I made my points for staying on board and we compromised with staying on in the morning (we took advantage of spa time, quiet pool time and drink-in-hand deck chair time) and the left the ship after 2 pm. We avoided most of the gaunlet of hair braiders, tour guides and taxi drivers by waiting until afternoon.
They lasted until the Straw Market and then desperately wanted to go back "home" to the Wonder. When we gave our Key to the World cards to the crew member at the gangway, I asked if she could tell how long we had been ashore...
48 minutes.
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Yes, I am a Disney Addict... and I'd rather be cruising!.
Last edited by OffKilter_Lynn; 01-22-2008 at 05:57 PM..
Thank you for the information! It was very helpful! Our group has 11 in it ages 3-65 and we're going in May. Only a couple of us have ever flown and none of us have been on a cruise or to Disney World. Needless to say we are very excited!
Thank you for the information! It was very helpful! Our group has 11 in it ages 3-65 and we're going in May. Only a couple of us have ever flown and none of us have been on a cruise or to Disney World. Needless to say we are very excited!
Have a fantastic time! It'll be a challenge herding a group that size around DWD, especially for first timers, so you'll really appreciate the relaxation of the cruise.
Let us know how it goes!
We did the 4-day Land, 3-day Sea package and took the Glass Bottom Boat trip in Nassau. If I hadn't already paid for it, I'd have stayed on the ship! After four intense days at WDW, a day to unwind would have been appreciated! Next time I'll know better
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We got off the ship and went to Atlantis, but that was a big disappointment (the aquarium and it was raining). The next time we'll definitely be staying on the ship
We got off the ship and went to Atlantis, but that was a big disappointment (the aquarium and it was raining). The next time we'll definitely be staying on the ship
We went over to Atlantis too and were also very disappointed...funny, it was raining for us as well. The place is just so vast and I thought the aquarium was really overrated.
This last time we hit Nassau we did get off the ship but it was only because my Daughter wanted to do the Blue Lagoon dolphin excursion. It was really nice.
But next time we will stay on the ship!
One exception might be to do the Atlantis excursion that includes their pools and water slides. I, personally, have never done this excursion, but I'm sure there are passporters with good advice on that!
On a RCCL trip in September that my Husband and I went on alone we went over to Atlantis' casino. STAY AWAY!! Research on my part after the fact: I could not find a single person who won anything at that casino!!!! hahah
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Being from Iowa, I have never seen the ocean or a coral reef setting other than in an aquarium. I would like to go on a glass bottom boat tour and I have been looking through the excursions and both Nassua and Castaway Cay have them. I am wondering if one of the tours is better than the other. Does anyone have an opinion? Also we will be traveling with my 14 month old niece. My sister and I are trying to figure out if she would be allowed on the tour for free or if because of her age she would to be unable to go on the excursion.
We just got back from the Wonder. We spent he morning walking around a bit, went into the Pirate Museum which was so-so. Our friends dragged us through the Straw Market which I really didn't want to do. But we did buy these interesting hand made toy turtles made out of a coconut shell(?) I'm not sure what, with a little head and tail that bobbled and a string through the top that made it "walk". My 5 year old DD loved it and I bought 2 for $5 each. It was cute. Then we walked along the water back to the ship in time for lunch and a massage!!! That was enough for me.
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We almost always stay on the ship in Nassau. We got off one year for about 20 minutes only b/c DH had seen them selling huge conch shells right from their boats as he walked along the pier. Took the kids down and bought one conch shell and one sand dollar for $5 each (way too much for the sand dollar). I've done the straw market before and once you've seen it there's no need to go back. I've also done the Dave Marx walking tour of Nassau on the MouseFest cruise. Those are the only times I've gotten off the ship in Nassau.
There is usually no one at the Mickey pool and my kids love the chance to swim and go down the slide without waiting. We are doing back to back 3nt/4nt cruises this summer and will most likely stay on the ship both times we are in Nassau.
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We went on the Atlantis excursion when we did the three night cruise and really enjoyed seeing the resort. Having said that, if we did that itinerary again, I would happily stay on board - and I know a lot of other people did as well.
Thanks for asking this! We're planning to do the 3 night cruise in Nov. and wondered how much time we should spend off the boat on the Nassau day. We both agree that we want to get off long enough to see something and be somewhere we've never been before and then spend the majority of the time on the boat. What do you recommend doing if you get off for, let's say an hour at the most? I really like what Lynn said about waiting until the afternoon to go...
We're planning to do the 3 night cruise in Nov. and wondered how much time we should spend off the boat on the Nassau day. We both agree that we want to get off long enough to see something and be somewhere we've never been before and then spend the majority of the time on the boat. What do you recommend doing if you get off for, let's say an hour at the most?
An hour doesn't leave you a whole lot of time.
Allowing travel time of 15 minutes each way to get to Atlantis by taxi, you'd have about a half-hour on premises - not much time for either sightseeing, touring the aquarium, or gambling.
Taxi ride from the pier to Fort Fincastle/Queen's Staircase, and back. You get a nice view of Nassau from the Fort, can do a bit of shopping with the locals if you wish, look at/walk the very impressive staircase, and head back to the ship. That'd work in an hour.
Visit the shopping mall right inside the cruise terminal. It's a pleasant experience, filled with attractive "shacks" housing small shops. And you don't have to run the gauntlet of hair braiders and taxi drivers outside the terminal.
Taxi ride to Ardastra Gardens, home to the famous marching flamingos (good if you enjoy botanical gardens, otherwise...).
Walk along Bay Street, the port's major shopping street (one block inland from waterfront). Turn right, visit/walk past the shops, and about four blocks down you'll come to the Straw Market on your right (a big, tent-like structure). If you're a shopper, you can probably fill the entire hour. If you like striking bargains, the Straw Market is the place to do it. If you're not interested in bargaining, you may get uncomfortable very quickly and want to head back to the ship.
Note that the town shuts down entirely at around 5:00pm, so don't wait too long to venture out from the ship.
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