Nassau

[lostsheep]

Well, I get to take a ride on a boat. A BIG boat.
I've been leased to my company for 10 (actually 11) accident free years, and for an 'atta boy' they gave me a 4 day cruise to Nassau on the Carnival Imagination. They provide me with airfare, a motel in Miami for one night, the cruise and airfare back home.

I'm not looking forward to the grope job from the TSA, but I reckon I'll grit my teeth and pretend they're Raquel. The cruise has an activity planner, but I'm not really planning on doing any touristy stuff. My plan is to head to the marina and look for some Liveaboards or Cruisers.
So, anyone in Nassau on the week of 17JAN2013, lets break bread and have some adult beverages!

I know Nassau is supposed to be a tourist pit, but I figure that the folks on here could come up with a plan for me!

[GaryMayo]

Wink a lot at the TSA agents before they grope you, maybe they will pass you through quicker. Lol

[MarkJ]

What grope job?

I have been patted down and its really not invasive at all. Its not embarrassing, its not dirty, its not intimate. Its just a quick pat down. You really need to act like Osama to get get strip searched.

Nassau is a fine town. I am stuffed if i know why so many cruisers knock it!
The cruise ship terminal is surrounded by TC (tourist crap) however right on the waterfront is an old style, locals supermarket. Go in there and browse the shelves. Its gives a good idea of how the locals shop and what they eat. Its an easy cultural experience, for fre and right next to the ship.

On the main road ask a Tourist Ambassador (white pith helmets!) for the bus that goes to the shopping mall. Jump on that for a wonderful excursion throughh the suberbs to the other side of town. Look through the mall, there aint a tourist in sight. Then the bus back takes a completly different rout, and is much quicker, arrives back at the cruise ship terminal.

Atlantas Casino: an absolute eye opener of hideousness... But the Aquarium is one of the worlds best and its FREE! Just go into the Casino and in the middle of the playing tables there is an enternace to the interior walk through the aquarium.
Watch the bar prices in the Casino and surrounds. They may give a heart attack.

The marina at the Casino is $5 to $7 per foot per night so you wont find cruisers there.
The marinas are spread along the road and not really conducive to dockwalking, but you can try.
Also look in the Chandleries and see what you can not buy, and the orices for what you can. Then you will see what you need to bring to these sort of places on a boat.

Crusing to me is more than sailing. Its tourism. And that means seeing and learning about a culture. Nassau is the only community thats big enough in the Bahamas to have a rich diversity. Its great to see and experience and begin to understand.

Mark

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Good to have you here.
kind regards,

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

---
Nassau is the only community thats big enough in the Bahamas to have a rich diversity. ----

True enough, but it's also the only community in the Bahamas that's big enough to have a functioning criminal element. Want an adventure? Walk around after dark wearing lots of gold. Want to slow down your trip? Leave your dinghy unlocked.
There are a lot of great people in Nassau, and a lot of neat places, cuisine, etc. -- BUT it's a big city.
Going to Nassau to see the Bahamas is like going to Miami to see Florida.

[onestepcsy37]

lostsheep -

nassau can be an interesting town during daylight hours. there is something of a big city criminal element that comes out at night but since most cruise ships only spend a day there you probably won't be around to encounter it.

skip the free lunch on board while you're in nassau. walk out to bay street (the main drag) and take the bus east towards potter cay dock. bus number 1 definitely stops there, but ask any driver if he makes that stop and he'll take you or put you on the right bus. you don't pay, by the way, until you get off the bus - think it's now $1.50. be sure to say 'good morning' or whatever to everyone on the bus - locals think it's impolite not too. ask the driver to let you off at potter cay dock. this is the main commercial dock that services the 'out islands' and is where fresh fish and vegetables are brought in by the mail boats and all kinds of stuff is shipped out by mail boat to the islands. you can get a free lesson in how to clean fish the bahamian way just by hanging around the dock. observe the cargo being loaded on to the mail boats and you'll get to see what is a disappearing way of life in the islands. the dock is directly under the potter cay bridge, which was once the only bridge to paradise island. there is now a second one closer to 'downtown', which you would have passed on your way there.

but the big attraction is the dozen or more little kiosks where the locals come for lunch. sit yourself down at any one that appeals to you and order a cracked conch lunch and kalik beer. or maybe conch fritters or a conch salad. or a fried fish lunch. will set you back about $10 but no 'free' meal on your cruise ship will come with as much ambience. the locals love to have you and will greet you with a smile. when you've had enough keep walking east along bay street about 1/4 mile and you'll arrive at nassau yacht haven. still probably the most important marina in nassau. since you look like a yachtie the guard probably won't hassle you if you just walk out on to the docks and check out the boats. there are also a few marine stores nearby to browse through.

now walk back to potter cay dock. you can continue walking all the way back to the cruise ship docks - it's less than a mile - and see some of the waterfront that most tourists never see - or you can wait for the bus again. this time ask the driver if he's going back near the cruise ship docks (prince george dock). he usually is, but not directly. for another $1.50 you'll get a tour of the inner workings of the island from the comfort of the bus and eventually wind up in the 'tourist' area where you can get off and walk back to the ship.

or if you have time, walk along the tourist section of bay street, stopping in all the liquor stores to sample their rum drinks. my wife got a good buzz on just from sampling the mango rum in each shop. (we had to take the bus back to nassau yacht haven where we were docked).

it is with great sadness that i must report on markj's advice to see the aquarium at atlantis. you can't anymore. not for free, anyway. up until last year you could just walk into the main lobby and stroll around and see about half the aquarium, which is pretty big, by the way. unfortunately, there is now a substantial charge for viewing. you'll have to make that decision on your own.

just one more question you'll have to ask yourself. if, while you're walking around nassau yacht haven and some captain asks if you want to help him take his classic bermuda 40 to the turks and caicos, will you be ready?

[lostsheep]

Wow!
I knew I asked the right folks for information!
I probably don't look like a yachtie, more like the truck driver I am. I tend to wear jeans, boots, western shirts, that type of stuff. 6ft &195lbs. Been accused of looking like Wild Bill Hickock. I'll probably skip the boots, and wear some tennis shoes (thats what we used to call 'em).
If some Capt wants me to crew, and is willing to put up with a landlubber that wants to learn, I'm up for it!