Nassau - Day Passes

The night before our cruise we found out (thanks to Cruise Critic) that our itinerary changed. Royal Caribbean’s private island, Cococay, was damaged during Hurricane Irene so we went to Nassau instead. I researched Cruise Critic to plan our day in Nassau. I found all the information we needed for a great day.

We walked from the cruise terminal to the bus stop for the number 10 bus. It was an interesting ride and the driver stopped for gas which is not something that happens on city buses where we live. The bus driver let us out right in front of the Sheraton. It was $1.25 per person and Lydia and Josiah were free.

Inside the Sheraton, we went to the check-in desk and asked for day passes. It was $25 each for Chris and me, $12.50 for Wesley, and Lydia and Josiah were free. This fee included use of the pools, beach chairs, towels, and all non-motorized water sports – trampoline, kayaks, snorkeling, and aquabike.

Wesley practiced snorkeling in our community pool this summer. He was eager to try it in the ocean but he didn't want to swim very far. It took a long time to convince him he could swim out to a group of rocks with me. He did it but he was very nervous so I let him put on a lifevest. The vest greatly increased his confidence and we just let him use it the rest of the day.

It wasn't the best area for snorkeling but we did see a lot of fish around the rounds.
Josiah liked the warm water.

We made sure everyone ate a large breakfast on the ship so we wouldn't have to buy lunch. We knew we were splurging on an excursion later in the week so we didn't want to spend too much money in Nassau.

I carried three individual boxes of Fruit Loops off the ship for the kids to have as a snack. Josiah really liked his. Wesley didn't eat anything until we were ready to leave; he was having too much fun to be hungry.

Chris took Wesley and Lydia out in a kayak.

Then I went out with just Lydia. She didn't want to come back to shore. I think she would have been happy if I had paddled her around for hours.

Chris took Wesley out on the three wheeler aqua bike.

Everyone but Josiah had a turn on the trampoline. It was hard to climb up on it and I don't know if we could have just handed him up there or not.

Here are a couple of videos of the trampoline.








Who needs a sand bucket when there is an empty coconut shell available?

After the beach activities we tried out the pool before changing clothes and heading back to the ship. I've always wanted to sit at a pool bar and have a drink but I didn't take advantage of the opportunity. We did take advantage of the free cups of ice water.

As we were walking out of the Sheraton toward the bus stop, we saw a bus pull away. We thought it would be a 10-15 minute wait for another bus but there was only about a two minute wait. There was more traffic going back to port but we had given ourselves enough time so it wasn't a problem.

We walked from the bus stop back to the ship.

I wonder if this policeman is annoyed when tourists stop in the middle of the road to take his picture?

It was a great day! I love the beach and this was a beautiful place to spend the day. Once we were back on the ship, I asked Chris, "Did today make you more interested in an all-inclusive beach resort?" He replied, "No. It was great for four hours but I don't think I want several days like that." It sounds like we will be sticking with cruising. I'm not complaining!