Bahama Bound!

trojangal · #1 03-16-2006, 03:54 AM

So....Mr. Trojangal, myself, and our daughter are going to the Bahamas on a cruise next week....

Any advice from the experienced cruisers? Special tips?

Things we need to know?

USCTKE · #2 03-16-2006, 04:36 AM

have fun...drinks on the boat are expensive though

FSUZeta · #3 03-16-2006, 08:14 AM

sunscreen, sunscreen and sunscreen!!

bamabelle99 · #4 03-16-2006, 09:59 AM

What cruiseline? We just got back from a cruise in January to the Bahamas - spent WAY too much money on the boat - drinks are very expensive. Went to Freeport and Naussau. I could've done without Freeport but Naussau was beautiful.

AlphaFrog · #5 03-16-2006, 10:11 AM

Freeport is the ghetto of the Bahamas. Avoid "Glass Bottom Boat" Tours, unless you're in the mood for nasty food and cheap liquor.

DeltAlum · #6 03-16-2006, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AlphaFrog
Freeport is the ghetto of the Bahamas. Avoid "Glass Bottom Boat" Tours, unless you're in the mood for nasty food and cheap liquor.

Good point.

I echo, and slightly expand on the posts above. Liquor is expensive on the ship.

Beyond that, the way cruises and tours make extra money is on what I call the "side" tours -- like the glass bottom boat, or nature walks, etc.

Just be cognizant of how much money you're spending on "other" stuff. They make it real easy to spend extra money.

trojangal · #7 03-17-2006, 05:44 AM

We are going on Royal Carribbean's "Sovereign of the Seas". We'll be in Nassau most of the time for the trip.

We've heard about the jacked up prices for alcohol and the tours. The only excursion we only cared for was the swimming with the stingrays. We've heard a lot of people have really enjoyed that!

Although Mr. Trojangal really wants to check out Atlantis as well..

pinkyphimu · #8 03-20-2006, 08:47 PM

i went on a 3day cruise to nassau just last week. i was on a carnival boat, but i did see your ship. we were docked right next to it.

carnival offered a card which allowed you to get as much soda as you wanted...i think it was $16 for the weekend. none of us purchased that. the alchoholic beverages were not any more expensive than at a bar and they were not stingy with the alcohol. they do immediately add a 15% gratuity to every purchase tho.

as far as the excursions...my friends took the historical tour and HATED it. they basically rode around in a van for 2 hours. apparently there were 2 different tour guides and the other group really got a lot of info about the island. we also did the tour of the everglades when we docked back in miami. it was great! the best part is that the cost of the excursion was the same as the cost of a taxi ride to the airport!

the town of nassau really doesn't have much to offer. there are lots of shops, but they mainly sold jewerly and perfume. on the ship, they gave a shopping talk...and all they talked about was diamonds. my friend and i wandered around nassau while everyone else was on the historical tour and we were not impressed one bit.

we spent the afternoon on the beach at the atlantis. it was amazing. we did not go in the resort, but other friends of ours did and said it was great. the water was a little cold at first, but you got used to it right away.

i was with 4 other friends and we all had a great time! i am sure your family will, too!

enjoy...and don't forget the sunscreen. i did....and i am still peeling from my burn.

Buttonz · #9 03-20-2006, 09:57 PM

Royal Carribean is the best cruise line IMO.

They offer a soda package, buy one for you daughter and as long as she doesn't get two drinks at once, you can all use it, and the chidlrens one is less expensive. In the dining room thoug hthat might be an issue, but shouldn't be.

Alochol gets expensive, so just make sure you watch how much your drinking.

Pack light...there isn't a lot of room in the cabins.

If you forget sunscreen, you can buy it in the ship store, make sure you do or else you will all come back with burns. Make sure you take Aloe with you also (or buy at the ships store) because even with sun screen you may need it.

macallan25 · #10 03-21-2006, 01:05 AM

only acceptable if you are staying at The Atlantis.

trojangal · #11 04-02-2006, 05:42 PM

Thanks for all of the great advice!

We had a blast on the cruise, with a few ups and downs. Mr. Trojangal sprained his neck, and it bothered him for a few days, but got better.

We really enjoyed the whole trip...we laughed about Coco Cay, which is Royal Carribbean's "private island"--DH said that CC- "cash cow" for RC. However, it was nice to spend the day on the beach.

Our day in Nassau was fabulous--we did the stingray excursion, where we got to pet the stingrays and feed them. We went to the straw market, but they didn't have anything there except a lot of "junk"--stuff made in India (!) etc. We took a short tour by taxi around Nassau, and that was neat for historical information. We did, however, get to purchase some lovely rum cakes from the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory, and I got Mr. Trojangal a Harley Davidson shirt from Nassau for him to add to his collection. I looked at the jewelry, and didn't find anything that struck my fancy. I did, however, find some artwork that I liked on the ship, and am having it sent home.

DH and Melody didn't get burned..thank goodness. I picked up a littel color and a tiny burn. Our day in Nassau, I forgot to wear a hat, and got burnt on my scalp, but no big deal.

I will agree with Buttonz about the cruise...hands down, some of the best service I've ever encountered. If you are a parent, and want to cruise with your children without doing Disney Cruises, the children's activities were fantastic! They had programs for kids starting at age 3 up to age 17, and Melody wanted to spend more time there than with us! It was not just a "drop off the kids" --they had computers, scheduled activities, arts and crafts, science experiments, etc. At the end of the cruise, Melody got a certificate for her participation. It was more like a summer camp! What was really cool was for late at night..from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. they offered babysitting in the children's program area for $5 an hour so that parents could do the late evening activities/shows. etc.

We will be going back and cruising with them again!

Buttonz · #12 04-02-2006, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by trojangal

I will agree with Buttonz about the cruise...hands down, some of the best service I've ever encountered. If you are a parent, and want to cruise with your children without doing Disney Cruises, the children's activities were fantastic! They had programs for kids starting at age 3 up to age 17, and Melody wanted to spend more time there than with us! It was not just a "drop off the kids" --they had computers, scheduled activities, arts and crafts, science experiments, etc. At the end of the cruise, Melody got a certificate for her participation. It was more like a summer camp! What was really cool was for late at night..from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. they offered babysitting in the children's program area for $5 an hour so that parents could do the late evening activities/shows. etc.

Glad you had a great time...and that you agree with me about RC

ADqtPiMel · #13 03-09-2007, 12:37 AM

Bumping this...we're heading to the Bahamas in July and we're staying at the Atlantis. My parents have stayed there a few times and at the Ocean Club once, they really liked both.

Any opinions, advice, etc?

angelic1 · #14 03-09-2007, 11:09 AM

I went a few years back now and had a lot of fun.

One of the only casinos where I have come out with money afterwards ever.

The one thing I agree on is the food, the cost were very high and some of it not as good as the prices. We did the whole venturing out to find food, which was good in some cases, but bad in others. Some people came back with a "bug" of some sorts from eating some of the more local food.

APhi Sailorgirl · #15 09-07-2007, 11:47 AM

Bumping this for some advice.

It has been 10 years since I went on a cruise and the last was with my Girl Scout troop. In November I'm going with my mom on a Royal Caribbean cruise, but it's actually a scrapbooking cruise from Baltimore to Bermuda.

Since I am going on this cruise now my boyfriend wants to go on one. We are thinking for my birthday in January. Royal Caribbean is probably what we will go on since it's the cheapest and we can turn in cc points for money off. Anyways my main question is it's a Cape Canaveral to Bahamas 4 day/3 night cruise. Is that a good trip to get him acquanted with cruising? This way if he hates it we've spent less than $1000 for both of us including airfare, but we did get some warm weather in the winter.