Newbie cruiser questions on booking activities, etc.

[bks9581]

Hi all,

We are frequent parks visitors, but will be doing our very first cruise on the Wish in March (4 nights.) Since it's our first ever cruise, we didn't feel the need to book a lot of extras and plan to just enjoy everything that is new to us. I did book a snorkeling with stingrays time on our Castaway Cay day, but that's all I was planning to book. I have heard that the day in Nassau is a bit of a disappointment and that many choose to stay on the ship. For people that have never been, would you recommend getting off the ship in Nassau? And if you do get off the ship, are you able to return any any time or is it a fixed return time?
Any other tips you wish you knew on your first cruise? Or good resources for me to check out? Kids will be 12 and 7...

Thanks in advance!

 

[NEGeekymama]

You'll get multiple opinions on Nassau. We've been there three times now; the first time it was just hubs and I, and we did a private island beach day. The second was on a 3 day Disney cruise, and we elected to stay on the ship that day. The third was back in 2018, and we splurged on Atlantis with the dolphin encounter; absolutely and totally worth it! If you do plan to stay on the ship, just don't anticipate an "empty" ship as many others also choose to stay on the ship.

When you get off ship, you can come back whenever you want. The only thing that's set is the absolute latest you can be on board before it sails away.

 

[missapril82]

You can go back and forth as much as you want from the ship to port, until it's time to be back on the ship.

 

[Travel60]

I'm one of those who now stays on the boat in Nassau. But, if you want to get off the boat, the straw market (local touristy trading market) is an easy walk. It is probably safe for a woman alone (I've done it) but especially for a couple of people. Just know the vendors are pushy and the market is crowded. Wear your purse/wallet in front and look alert.

 

[CamColt]

My rule when we would cruise as a family throughout the years was, if we go to a new port we will get off to see it. Even if we just did something quick to check out the port area, or 1 place to go to explore for a couple hours.

With that said, after I don't know how many stops in Nassau, I stay on the ship now.

 

[auntlynne]

Other than the water park excursion at Atlantis, I have not found a good reason to go into Nassau. (I have used free WiFI off the boat.).

Since both a Disney cruise and Atlantis are not inexpensive, I would stick with enjoying the ship.

Other thought - If you would like your children to see a cruise port in the Caribbean, you could get off, wander around, and go back to the ship. I enjoyed seeing a traffic policeman directing traffic from a stand in the middle of the road. And the buildings on the shopping street were a good representation of Colonial British influence. It’s a good lesson in how life is different (and the same - Starbuck’s, McD’s…) around the world.

Of various ports, this is one I feel safe enough to walk around in populated areas.

Congratulations on your first cruise. So different than the parks (in a good way, in my opinion).

 

[bks9581]

Thank you all for the info and tips! We are really excited to go on our first cruise!

 

[NEGeekymama]

Since both a Disney cruise and Atlantis are not inexpensive, I would stick with enjoying the ship.

In the grand scheme of shore excursions, the Atlantis and/or Atlantis with dolphin encounter isn't the most expensive I've ever seen. Granted this was on a different cruise line (Carnival) but it was $205.99/person when we did it, and absolutely worth it.

 

[Anna131517]

There is so much to do on a DCL cruise. We’re going on our second this year and are skipping Nassau because we did port excursions at every stop last cruise and I left wishing we had explored the ship more. You really don’t need to do any extras to have fun on a DCL cruise. There’s always so much going on in the ship!

 

[Cheburashka]

I did Atlantis Aquaventure last fall and it was wonderful. It was very uncrowded due to Covid, so I don't know how much crowding changes the experience. It was also cheaper than it is now, due to Covid. I'd be willing to give it another try during normal times, though, just because it was such a nice experience.

 

[auntlynne]

In the grand scheme of shore excursions, the Atlantis and/or Atlantis with dolphin encounter isn't the most expensive I've ever seen. Granted this was on a different cruise line (Carnival) but it was $205.99/person when we did it, and absolutely worth it.

Compared to doing Alaskan excursions, Atlantis is a decent price for a shore excursion.

My problem is that I have a WDW ticket from a decade+ ago with the water park add-on. It makes the cost of a Disney water park $5 for a day. Then I compare it to 2-4 of us going to Atlantis. Yikes.

I have done Atlantis twice and really enjoyed it, but also know that I can have a great time just hanging out on the ship.

Veteran cruiser vs newbie. Never want to discourage people from trying things at least once if that’s what they want; Nassau is an example of that. So many of us don’t bother getting off there, but I imagine most of us have at least once.

 

[Lizgistix]

The more I hear about the port area and market in Nassau, the more inclined I am to stay on the ship.

 

[kiford]

Kind of depends on what you like to do. We did a couple of tours around Nassau the first time we went. One other time we did a three-course wine-paired lunch at Greycliffs Estates - right to the hotel from the ship then back to the ship right afterwards (really amazing food!). We've not gotten off at Nassau since. We're hoping to sail on the Wish shortly and will not bother to get off at Nassau. But we're not beach people and Atlantis holds no appeal for me. Our rule is to get off at a new port at least once and see something historical or unique. But it may be a one-and-done for us. We've been to Grand Cayman three times I think but only got off once. A friend of ours has kids, and they like beaches so they get off at all islands and always go to a beach. Really depends on what you like.

 

[loislane]

Everyone is different in what they are hoping to get out of their cruise/vacation. We have gotten off both times we were in Nassau. First time was just on our own and the hubs and I walked around for a few hours - hit up the straw market and some other shops, walked up to the governor's mansion - amazing view from there. This last time, we did the chocolate tour - which wasn't so much of a tour but we had fun making our own chocolate bars. I wouldn't do it again, but it was a fun one-and-done. Both times, we were back on the ship in time for lunch, but were happy that we got to see a little bit of Nassau.

 

[minniemouse1]

We are on a cruise stopping in Nassau in February.
Any suggestions for beaches to go to? My kids are older (22,21,18,14) and want to go to a beach.
I personally would rather just walk around the straw market and hit up the pirate museum but have been outvoted.