Bahamas alone with kids

[flashy09]

I am taking my two girls, just turned 4 and 6, on a 3 night Bahamas cruise. What are the best beach excursions for me at the Nassau port where I am ok handling both alone? My choices are Balmoral ,Blue Lagoon, or Atlantis - which one is best for little kids? Thank you! I hope I am not crazy for doing this!

 

[volfan1978]

I'll give you my $0.02...I'd stay on the ship, or at most take them to the "Welcome to Nassau" sign for a photo op just so you can say you were there and then head back to the ship. It has nothing to do with safety (because I think most people's fear of Nassau is overblown, you'd be safe on any excursion) and everything to do with the kids' enjoyment. My experience has been that kids at that age have no interest in Nassau, and they're probably too young to do any of the dolphin/stingray activities that are offered. They will have a much better time enjoying activities on the ship, especially since your time will be limited on a 3 night cruise. They'll get plenty of beach time on Castaway Cay.

Whatever you decide to do...enjoy your cruise!!!

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

I am taking my two girls, just turned 4 and 6, on a 3 night Bahamas cruise. What are the best beach excursions for me at the Nassau port where I am ok handling both alone? My choices are Balmoral ,Blue Lagoon, or Atlantis - which one is best for little kids? Thank you! I hope I am not crazy for doing this!

You are not crazy. A cruise is one of the easiest places to take younger children by yourself. They might enjoy the kids clubs, and even if they don't it is a relatively small space. No huge walks, no piling in and out of cars. You can always get a table at your "restaurant" and no need to cook your own meals. And most of the character photos are indoors with reasonably short lines. Plus, at that age most kids like "the hotel" more than the sites anyway, so I agree with @volfan1978, you don't really have to do much off the ship.

Having said that, if they like swimming pools, be advised that the ones on the ship are small and often crowded. My kids are older, but what we did was book one night at a hotel after the cruise that had a really nice pool with long hours. I therefore told them that they would get a whole day of pool time after the cruise, so they didn't have to try to squeeze in to the crowded pool on the ship, since they knew their pool time was coming.

 

[cmph]

Do the kids like beaches? or have they only been to pools? Sounds like a weird question, but the sand can be an issue for some kids, and the "unknowns" in the non-pool water can be problematic for others. Over the years, we've inevitably ended up with one child who wants to stay on the beach and build sand-whatevers, and the other who only wants to be in the water. And they take turns as they grow older with their preferences, just to keep us sharp, ha! With a 4yo and 6yo, they have to both be ok doing the same thing b/c you'll all have to be together the entire time. I took my kids to pools (with lifeguards close at hand) at that age alone, but beaches would have made me nervous, to be honest. Even if they're manned by lifeguards, they may not be close by. Also, both my kids had taken swim lessons by those ages, so they knew some water safety in a pool setting, but all bets are off in a beach setting. Just some things to think about.

The rest of your trip alone is going to be a cake walk, though!

 

[hanscarlet]

I would go with Blue Lagoon, if the kids aren't loving it then take one of the earlier shuttles back but my guess it will be a great, low key, food included, fun day for you and your little ones. Atlantis seems to busy for your kids ages, better for the older crew.

 

[anna08]

Having done both, I would absolutely recommend Blue Lagoon over Atlantis.

 

[cariann77]

Since you're only doing a 3-night, maybe consider staying on the ship in Nassau. It goes by so fast and there is so much to do. We did the aquarium tour at Atlantis and we didn't enjoy it. Wished that we would have stayed on the ship. We went to Blue Lagoon years ago and enjoyed it though.

 

[aliceinvunderland]

I took my four kids on a Bahamas cruise last year, and we stayed on the ship when it docked in Nassau. (We’ve been to Nassau and done Atlantis, so we weren’t interested in getting off.) We enjoyed the pool, kids clubs, and the ship with fewer people on board. Our table mates for dinner were a single mom and her two young daughters (close to the ages of your children), and they were EXHAUSTED after a day of Blue Lagoon. She told me it took a lot of time to get there and back, and even though the beach was nice, she wouldn’t do it again. I was so happy we didn’t attempt an excursion that day! I’d suggest staying on the ship in Nassau and then enjoying the beach at Castaway Cay the next day.

 

[Quellman]

I'll give you my $0.02...I'd stay on the ship, or at most take them to the "Welcome to Nassau" sign for a photo op just so you can say you were there and then head back to the ship. It has nothing to do with safety (because I think most people's fear of Nassau is overblown, you'd be safe on any excursion) and everything to do with the kids' enjoyment. My experience has been that kids at that age have no interest in Nassau, and they're probably too young to do any of the dolphin/stingray activities that are offered. They will have a much better time enjoying activities on the ship, especially since your time will be limited on a 3 night cruise. They'll get plenty of beach time on Castaway Cay.

Whatever you decide to do...enjoy your cruise!!!

My recommendation would be to be aware of the weather. If it looks like it could be rain at Castaway Cay, I would want an option in Nassau, especially if the kids really want to go to a beach.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I took DS6 on a 3-night last March. We stayed on the ship at Nassau. It gave us our only real opportunity to explore all the ship has to offer. Though the Aquaduck was closed due to winds, he swam, we played mini-golf and Midship Detective Agency, we made a craft and spent the day hanging out doing whatever it was we felt like doing. A 3-night is really only 2 days and if you plan to spend the day on Castaway (we did!), Nassau day is your only chance to enjoy the ship, especially if you've not sailed the Dream before.