Category Archives: Bahamas Cruise

The final stop of the cruise was at Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island.  It was a fantastic, relaxing way to finish the cruise.

There were tons of beach chairs, and as we took the tender boat over around 9 am we had our pick of chairs and were among the first people in the water.  We spent a few hours swimming, relaxing in the sun, and exploring the little island a bit.  At lunch time, a very nice buffet was set up with plenty of fruit and salads, grilled hamburgers and chicken and hot dogs, plus some sweets.  We also took some time for some pictures.

The afternoon delivered an awful lot more people coming over from the ship, and we decided to head back and spend the rest of the day at the (now empty) pool onboard the ship.

On Wednesday morning we arrived in Nassau.

We were docked along with 3 other cruise ships, the Norwegian Gem and two Royal Caribbean ships.  With 4 large cruise ships in port, the town was a bit of a mad house.  We took some time to walk around Nassau in the morning, met back for lunch on the ship, and then headed out for our shore excursion in the afternoon – a 4X4 Jeep tour of the island.

There were about 22 people in our group, and we piled into the jeeps in teams of four.  The Kings took one of the jeeps in front of us, and Justin and I paired up with a couple vacationing from New Jersey.  We were happy to let them take turns driving, and we sat back and enjoyed the scenery.

Our tour guide was in the front jeep and each jeep had a radio in it that he was able to talk through and guide us around the island with a fun mix of facts and humor.  We were really glad we chose this tour.  We were able to see so much more of the island than if we had stayed on foot.

Plus, we learned some history and current events, some things about people that visit the island, as well as about all the International banks that are in Nassau.  Add some beach time in, and it was a fantastic afternoon.

As we were heading back to our starting spot, we passed a tour group on Segways.  This was actually the tour we had originally signed up for, but it had been overbooked and we got bumped off the tour.  After seeing the protective gear they all had to wear, we were not overly disappointed with missing it!

Overall, it was a great day in Nassau!

 

The first port we visited was Freeport, Grand Bahama Island.

Freeport itself was in a pretty industrial area with a few buildings containing a touristy straw market right off the dock.  For the most part, everyone gets in lines for taxis to be taken to other spots on the island.  We were looking forward to a beach day, so we piled into the taxi we were directed to (which turned out to be a limousine!) and drove for about 15-20 minutes to Port Lucaya.

The beach wasn’t too crowded yet, so we dropped our towels and bags on the sand and waded into the beautifully clear, though a bit cool, ocean waters.  It didn’t take Justin and I long to dive in, and we had to tease the King family a bit as they stayed in the shallow water longer.

It was a perfect day.  Warm and sunny, gorgeous and soft white sand.  Madie worked at creating a sandcastle that wouldn’t keep getting washed away by waves…

and Maureen took some time to get her hair braided by a Bahamian woman.

The beach got more and more crowded as the afternoon approached, so after a couple of hours we chose to pack up and find a spot for lunch.  There was also a development of shops and restaurants near the beach, so we found a local restaurant where we were able to enjoy some fried conch and conch fritters, and walked around a bit before getting a ride back to the ship.