Nassau Help

[Rob1872]

We did the day pass at the Colonial Hilton this past spring. It was an easy walk and felt safe. Decent beach, pool and food. I would do it again.

How much was the day pass?

 

[mocodis]

we were just on the wonder at Nassau last week. we waited for the morning of to book the excursion, we wanted to see what the weather would be. we booked n05, tour of Atlantis. about a 20 minute bus ride to the Atlantis. it was cold and cloudy, so we did the walking tour about an hour and saw the dig, casino, aquariums, sharks, turtles, ... it was nice. Buses back to the ship left every 30 minutes. probably not do Atlantis again. nice to do it the one time.

 

[dcassetta]

How much was the day pass?

You can book directly with Hilton, but Resort for a Day is a little cheaper. https://www.resortforaday.com/British-Colonial-Hilton-Day-pass-p/nsnabcha.htm

 

[KSkywalker17]

Has anyone done the Paradise Island Comfort Suites work-around for Atlantis recently? It looks like a room for the night we’re in Nassau is $330ish. For our family of 5 (one is under 3), an Atlantis excursion is about $600. I’m wondering if going to the hotel first and getting the Atlantis passes/checking-in as well as arranging transportation is going to be a pain.

 

[dcassetta]

Has anyone done the Paradise Island Comfort Suites work-around for Atlantis recently? It looks like a room for the night we’re in Nassau is $330ish. For our family of 5 (one is under 3), an Atlantis excursion is about $600. I’m wondering if going to the hotel first and getting the Atlantis passes/checking-in as well as arranging transportation is going to be a pain.

The process has been the same for years. This thread may help - https://www.disboards.com/threads/atlantis-using-the-comfort-suites-trick-it-works.3662215/

 

[KashasMom]

I will add to this because I have a similar question.

We were thinking about taking the walk to the Queens Stairway and fort. Seems like YouTube videos show this as a well-traveled route from the cruise terminal. Has anyone had experience on this little “on-your-own” activity?

We did this walking tour on our own - https://www.frommers.com/destinations/new-providence/walking-tours - when our daughter was 3 or 4. We had a blast - easy to follow and no hassles.

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

If you've spent any time living or working in a big city then Nassau won't phase you at all. Stick to the tourist areas and you'll be just fine. We've been to Blue Lagoon a couple of times -- once for a dolphin encounter and once for the sea lions -- and we stayed afterward for beach time. The ferry ride was fun and the beach experience was very nice, but I'm never sure how to feel about seeing multimillion dollar homes and yachts on one side of the ferry, and substandard housing and rusty fishing boats on the other. I can never decide if I'm bolstering the economy or helping to maintain social inequality.

 

[Shir Kahn]

Our experience with Junkanoo beach wasn't great unfortunately. I picked up a full handfull of glass from the sand in the first few minutes we were there. We had people trying to sell us stuff while we were attempting to relax on the beach as well. But it could have just been a bad day, maybe some rowdies happened to be partying it up before we got there. I know we won't be heading back there during our spring cruise, we'll probably head to Blue Lagoon or Atlantis, but you may of course have a completely different experience than us, like some others in this thread. One thing we really didn't like about Nassau was the condition of the poor horses near the port. I felt really bad for them, they looked so skinny and sad.

 

[Frozen2014]

If you've spent any time living or working in a big city then Nassau won't phase you at all. Stick to the tourist areas and you'll be just fine. We've been to Blue Lagoon a couple of times -- once for a dolphin encounter and once for the sea lions -- and we stayed afterward for beach time. The ferry ride was fun and the beach experience was very nice, but I'm never sure how to feel about seeing multimillion dollar homes and yachts on one side of the ferry, and substandard housing and rusty fishing boats on the other. I can never decide if I'm bolstering the economy or helping to maintain social inequality.

We enjoyed Blue Lagoon as well (but just did beach time). The ferry is better than a car ride and a nice way to get there (and yeah, some pretty fancy homes along the way). Have heard good things about the dolphin encounter and we just walked over and watched for a bit.

 

[KSkywalker17]

The process has been the same for years. This thread may help - https://www.disboards.com/threads/atlantis-using-the-comfort-suites-trick-it-works.3662215/

Thanks, that was a great help! Just booked it!

 

[Southern Pirate]

I will add to this because I have a similar question.

We were thinking about taking the walk to the Queens Stairway and fort. Seems like YouTube videos show this as a well-traveled route from the cruise terminal. Has anyone had experience on this little “on-your-own” activity?

September of this year is when my wife and I were last at Nassau. We went for a walk around town and found the Pirate Museum. It was a great find and loved it. If you have questions about where to safely go, check on the U.S. State Department's website. They have the current crime areas on that site. Nassau is like every other city, it has good places and bad places.

 

[mevelandry]

Our experience with Junkanoo beach wasn't great unfortunately. I picked up a full handfull of glass from the sand in the first few minutes we were there. We had people trying to sell us stuff while we were attempting to relax on the beach as well. But it could have just been a bad day, maybe some rowdies happened to be partying it up before we got there. I know we won't be heading back there during our spring cruise, we'll probably head to Blue Lagoon or Atlantis, but you may of course have a completely different experience than us, like some others in this thread. One thing we really didn't like about Nassau was the condition of the poor horses near the port. I felt really bad for them, they looked so skinny and sad.

Yeah. Those poor horses.

 

[kelly radebaugh]

We also did the British Colonial Hilton day pass and really enjoyed it. It was an easy walk there with our 5 and 8 year olds. We felt safe. We held both boys hands and just walked with purpose to discourage lots of street peddling. We are planning to do it again on our next cruise in March. The day pass also includes a food credit. It was a nice relaxing day. They have some beach toys that are first come first serve. My boys also loved getting to just swim in a pool that wasn't crowded like the ships.

 

[sfbntpc]

If you only want a beach day: Blue Lagoon is great. (it's an excursion)

I’ve seen mixed reviews on this place. I really like the pictures, beach and water toys, we really aren’t interested in the encounters. It’s about half and half on Google reviews. One reviewer even said he waited an hour and half just to get on the boat to get there. Of course none of the reviews posted the time of year they traveled or the time of day the went to and from the island

 

[oumagic]

We will be in Nassau December 30 and we are doing a DCL excursion: Catamaran Sail and Reef Snorkeling (N14) and I plan to give some feedback on the forums since I have not seen too much online. I was interested in Atlantis, but the teens were lukewarm on the idea and the only way we would have spent that money is if they felt it was something they just absolutely had to do.

We really did enjoy ourselves on the tour. The boat was a little more crowded than I thought it would be, but it was fine. They supply the equipment and motored us out to Angel Reef (I think that was the name?) We snorkeled an hour and then got back onboard. They offered complimentary drinks on the return trip (rum punch or soda/non-alcoholic punch for kids). I would snorkel in Nassau again if I had a chance.

We did have a not so pleasant experience on the way back to the ship where I felt we were taken advantage of and over charged by someone doing hair braiding. That had nothing to do with the excursion, just Nassau in general you need to be careful. I let it go and continued on with my vacation with the thought that them taking advantage of my wife and daughter was a necessity to put food on their table.

 

[lmstrong]

We also did the British Colonial Hilton day pass and really enjoyed it. It was an easy walk there with our 5 and 8 year olds. We felt safe. We held both boys hands and just walked with purpose to discourage lots of street peddling. We are planning to do it again on our next cruise in March. The day pass also includes a food credit. It was a nice relaxing day. They have some beach toys that are first come first serve. My boys also loved getting to just swim in a pool that wasn't crowded like the ships.

The pool at the Colonial Hilton is chlorinated, correct? Website only describes it as a "freshwater pool," and both my kids have a tendency to develop swimmer's ear, so I just want to confirm. Thanks.

 

[starvenger]

Correct - it’s a chlorinated pool.

 

[Lovewinnie]

I was torn as well when we did our cruise to Nassau. Planned to stay on ship but had friends who did this a few months before our cruise and advised against it- thought ship was very crowded and were disappointed in the pools and feel of the crowds still onboard. We went to Atlantis and did the aquadventure pass- booked from DCL. It was expensive but we had a great time. My kids were almost 6 and 9. They are begging to go back to Atlantis to stay there longer. We did not feel unsafe at any time during our time off the ship

 

[Pooh93]

Our family is sailing on the Dream the week of 8/5/19. We are doing a DCL excursion: Catamaran Sail and Reef Snorkeling (N14) and I plan to give some feedback on the forums when we return from our trip.

 

[TheBigErn]

We did the Atlantis beach day on our last cruise. Never again. Overpriced. Beach is crowded. There are hucksters trying to sell you crap every 15 seconds. We're going in the fall and staying on the ship.