Day 4: On Shore at Nassau in the Bahamas

We went to the Gym on the Norwegian Sky this morning and the treadmills were looking out over the Port of Nassau. Rather than running and looking out at it we decided to get off the ship and run through it!

Running Through Nassau

Most people hadn’t disembarked yet so the streets were still pretty – at least from pedestrian traffic. The roads were a different story. There seems to be little to no traffic laws here. The vehicles look like they are held together with wire. 

The weather was beautiful for a run. The streets are filled with mostly old, run down buildings, but every now and then we passed a bank that looked brand new.

I nearly got hit by a bus coming around a corner. Make sure you cross the road very carefully if you’re visiting Nassau.

We ran back to the our ship, the Norwegian Sky to get changed and eat some more.

As you get off the ship in Nassau, it is overwhelming. There are a lot of hagglers trying to get your business. We met a girl in the elevator on the ship who was on her way back to her room because she’d just been sold a  bunch of stuff from locals. Danielle and I had been approached by one lady saying, “Free bracelet, everybody gets one.” Then as she ties it to your wrist she says, “We just ask for a donation, maybe $20.” We came across this a lot in Nassau. It seems like there is a lot of poverty there.

Paradise Island

We wanted to go to Paradise island for the day as we’d heard that Cabbage Beach was worth a visit. I also wanted to check out Atlantis – a massive resort (insert google figure for how much Atlantis cost). The taxi ride was $8 to the island while the Ferry was $4 each so we opted for the Ferry. 

It was a short ride across the water to Paradise Island. There is a guy who will narrate the voyage as you go. There will also be a forced tip (if you don’t tip there is some public shaming involved). 

Atlantis

We had intended to go to Cabbage Beach first but found ourselves in The Coral Towers at Atlantis. Somehow we ended up poolside (usually you have to pay to go into Atlantis, even as a day visitor – we assume it’s because the towels we had from our ship were exactly the same as Atlantis’ towels). We lay out by the pool for a while before going in search of the beach.

Atlantis is a massive resort so it takes quite some time to walk through. They have aquariums, you can swim with dolphins and there’s even a water theme park. We eventually walked our whole way though Atlantis and found our way out to Cabbage Beach.

Cabbage Beach

The water was beautiful, blue and so inviting but the waves were intense. People were getting washed off the beach and losing there items. There was literally nowhere to put down your stuff. After walking back and forth for 5 minutes and nearly getting washed away by the waves we decided to head back to the calm poolside of Atlantis.

We laid out and swam and just enjoyed the beautiful Bahamian sun. With all that sun, we got thirsty but unfortunately the bars only take a room charge or credit card, and we only had cash. That said, we did end up finding a cafe toward the main lobby that took cash and enjoyed a Pecan Pie, Chocolate Croissant and a bottle of water for about $20.

We walked through the Atlantis main lobby on the way to catch our taxi back to the port. The lobby is impressive to say the least. It has a massive dome ceiling with giant murals, then as you walk forward you can go down a staircase in front of an aquarium.

The cost for taking a taxi back to the port was $4 each – it would have been about double if we hadn’t been sharing with another couple. 

The Queen’s Staircase

From the Port we walked 10-15 minutes to the Queen’s Staircase. The Queen’s Staircase is 66 steps carved into limestone by slaves between 1793-94. As you walk towards the steps you enter a man made chasm, lush and green like a rainforest. A waterfall runs down beside the steps. The day we were there there was a local man playing his guitar. He was a fisherman who was without a boat. He took a photo of us below the falls then we walked up the staircase. 

At the top of the staircase and to the right you’ll find Fort Fincastle. This Fort looks out over Nassau and it’s Harbor. We didn’t go on a tour of the fort but walked around the outside before heading back to the ship.

Danielle was keen for some Conch Fritters so we stopped at Frozen Paradise for a quick snack before getting some ice cream and boarding the ship.

It was incredible watching from the top deck as we left Nassau. This bustling little island built on so much history where on one side of the harbor you have so much poverty but on the other, an island getaway for the rich and famous.

That night after dinner we enjoyed a comedy show with Jon Stringer. This was a family show so it was good, clean comedy and I could relate to a bunch of what he had to say.

It has been a massive day so we were ready to get some rest. We want to make the most out of Grand Bahama tomorrow.