I’m so torn - excursion in Nassau or stay on the ship?

[Ben E N]

Is Tim Hortons memorable? Because I go pretty much every single day of my life. Had I known I would have taken pictures!

The one I went to could have actually been a Dunkin' Donuts with a different sign slapped its roof.

 

[mevelandry]

The one I went to could have actually been a Dunkin' Donuts with a different sign slapped its roof.

Yeah. I can imagine. Although fresh donuts from Tim's (in the morning) are pretty good.

 

[sptfr97]

I think it depends on what you're into and what you like to see when you travel.
Granted, I don't have kids, so I'll probably get some eye-rolls - I'm sure I'm one of those who doesn't understand what 3.5 year olds are like - but I like to relax on vacation. I went to Nassau ONCE, was not a fan, have no desire to go back. I wouldn't say I hated it, but I didn't really see anything that made getting off the ship worth it. I'm sure Atlantis is cool, and if you're into it, great. But this ship is also super cool. I'd rather sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast after everyone else has hustled off the ship.

But, again... no kids.

Edit:

I view it as the Detroit of the Bahamas.

DETROIT OF THE BAHAMAS...

 

[Bethany10]

Is Tim Hortons memorable?

It is when you have no access to one and depend on Amazon for their coffee.

 

[mkh531]

Keep in mind that by the time you go on the cruise your child will probably be a completely different personality (based on my two kids, 3 year olds are jerks, 4 year olds are just awesome) and be potty trained. I have both stayed on the ship and gone on a Nassau excursion. Our Nassau excursion at the Atlantis was a ton of fun but extremely expensive to basically just use a beach and see a hotel with an aquarium. It also was a lot of walking around the Atlantis in boiling hot weather before we could actually use the beach. Should we take a future 4 night Bahamian cruise, we will stay on the ship. The time we stayed on the ship while at Nassau we swam, ate, went to Bibbisi Bobbidi Boutique, and we were all gussied up for dinner.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

Does Detroit Airport style have that "musical corridor" with the light show ?

Yes it does. Between the main concourse and the B/C concourse. Always reminded me of Space Mountain.

 

[mevelandry]

Yes it does. Between the main concourse and the B/C concourse. Always reminded me of Space Mountain.

*still (not style). Stupid autocorrect.

Thanks. My husband and I liked that very much.

 

[lizzyb]

I was not a fan of Nassau so I would stay on the ship.

 

[cadien]

Since you say she adores the water and won’t be able to use the pool, a beach day seems like the way to go. If you’re spending the day n chain hotel property, the pluses and minuses of Nassau become irrelevant. You’re on a beach.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

As was said and then demonstrated on a different thread here, three months between now and your cruise is a HUGE amount of time in the potty training life of a child. If the potty training doesn't happen by then, no huge deal, but it may well be that your child "gets it" in that time.

All the best!

As for Nassau, my own opinion is that it isn't THAT bad. A lot of people have just been there a bunch of times so it holds no appeal for them. I think a day trip to one of the hotels mentioned might be your best bet. Doesn't have to be directly through DCL. That said, there are plenty of places near the ship to get a flavor of the place, but then go back to the ship as soon as your three YO is tired out. (Or has tired you out.)

 

[nutshell]

Nassau is garbage. Stay on the ship.

 

[smd8z]

We just got back, and we stayed on the ship in Nassau (kids age 14,12,6, and 6). We were contemplating getting off the ship for a day at the beach but since it was just a 4 night cruise, and we were already stopping in CC, we decided to stay on the ship. Just be warned, most of the other people on the ship had the same idea! Our Nassau day was the most crowded at the pool. The AquaDuck line was long and the pools were packed.

 

[owensamo]

We've done both, and I think it really depends on how the cruise is going and the weather (the ship tends to be more crowded when it's rainy since people don't want to go to the beach in the rain). What's interesting is that, while I know we stayed on the ship in Nassau at least once, I couldn't tell you what we did or what cruise it was. It wasn't really memorable, though I'm sure we enjoyed our days.

What I do remember is the 2 times we got *off* the ship in Nassau. Once we walked to Del Sol and back. That was our first visit, and our daughter's first time out of the country. Since we had grandparents with us as well, we didn't want to do to much. It was fine, the area is clean and did not feel unsafe. We spent maybe a couple of hours on land shopping, then headed back to the ship. Our daughter wore her Del Sol Bahamas shirts for years afterwards!

Our other - and more memorable - day in Nassau we did the Discover Atlantis tour through DCL. It's not a beach/pool day - it's essentially just transportation to/from Atlantis, plus a guided tour through the hotel, casino and aquarium. But because you get a wristband, you can spend the rest of the day hanging out at Atlantis (not the pools/water park, but the rest of the resort and the aquarium is open). We did the tour, had lunch, then toured the aquarium again - and it was a blast! It was a bit rainy on and off, though - so we saw a lot of people heading back to the ship when the rain started up. We headed back to the ship around 2pm, the bus back was half-empty, and our daughter was exhausted, but it was a fun day.

 

[froggy flo]

Hi,
I'm a Platinium member, I first sailed on the Magic back to year 2000.

Last time I sailed, in February 2018, I decided to stay in board in Nassau in order to enjoy the pools and the Aquaduck. The weather was great…
Unfortunately, since there were less people on board, DCL decided to do some maintenance on the pools, so that only one pool was opened and the Aquaduck was only opened after 12, we waited 2 hours for it, they postponed the opening 3 times… I was very disappointed, maybe I should have gone ashore after all...

 

[ddeakin]

When my kids were 3 and 8 we took a taxi to Ardastra Gardens and Zoo and they both loved it. It is a neat little zoo that has a flamingo show. We were back on the ship in time for a late lunch and to enjoy a less crowded afternoon on the ship.

 

[tigerchic89]

We've gone to Nassau a few times. We've never done a full long day or super expensive excursion there. We've done Balmoral island.. which was ok but was a way to get a few hours of sand and ocean. We've done the Greyfield (??) Chocolate making, kids and grandmother loved that and the ride there allowed us to see some of the area... and we've also stayed on the ship.

I will say that restocking beer and wine and picking up cheap souviners is super easy in Nassau

 

[Lmichele]

For all those that say Atlantis ... there are no excursions listed for Atlantis that would allow a 3 year old. ??

We are on the Dream in December with our 3 year old (she'll actually be just shy of 4) and when I looked at the excursions the choices for those with a toddler are VERY limited.

DH has been to Nassau before, I haven't and while I would like to get off the ship to say I've been there - with limited excursion options and the fact that our little one still takes naps I think we are staying on the ship. She is fully potty trained and so pool time sounds good to us. Maybe DH and I will take turns on Aqua Duck, too.

 

[Twitterpaited]

On th DCL website, most of the excursions to Atlantis include 3 year olds.

 

[Lmichele]

On th DCL website, most of the excursions to Atlantis include 3 year olds.

Not that I see. When I click on Port Adventures under My Plans this is what I see....nothing under 4 years old.

 

[RedVines2001]

We sailed to Nassau back in May. The DD turned 5 the day we were in Nassau and DS was 6 days shy of 3. Similar situation with DS; not potty trained and too young to go to the kids club (they were strict about the 3 year old age limit). We did the Atlantis excursion for the aquarium. it was decent, saw some pretty unique sea life. You can wander around the resort for as long as you want afterwards. The place reminds me of the shopping area at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Got some birthday ice cream for DD there that was really good. Wife got a pair of sunglasses for cheap (at least that's what she said). Occupied us for a good two-ish hours there before taking a bus back to the port area. Think the excursion was about sixty bucks per person.

Wife wanted to wander around and explore but after a couple blocks we went back to the ship. The straw market by the port is really touristy and i wasn't too interested and the streets gets questionable once you leave the tourist areas, definitely not something i feel like dealing with on vacation and with kids.

Hope this helps.