Booked a cruise to the Bahamas - need ideas

[hoosierdoc]

Buy wine. Drink wine. Clean bottle. Fill with liquor. Sink cork back in. Drip wax seal onto cork. Bring corkscrew. Bon voyage!

Cruisecritic.com

 

[atvdave]

Buy wine. Drink wine. Clean bottle. Fill with liquor. Sink cork back in. Drip wax seal onto cork. Bring corkscrew. Bon voyage!

Cruisecritic.com

Done this.. Filled with rum.. They looked at the case of coke's I brought on more than the fake bottles of wine.

 

[Hammer]

Buy wine. Drink wine. Clean bottle. Fill with liquor. Sink cork back in. Drip wax seal onto cork. Bring corkscrew. Bon voyage!

Cruisecritic.com

Sneak alcohol

they work.

 

[rockhopper46038]

If there's one of these, I'd try it...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im1iNq02Kz0[/ame]

 

[hornadylnl]

I haven't flown commercially since before 9/11. My flight leaves Indy at 5:10 am. Well get a room in Indy the night before. What time will I need to get to the airport to make my flight?

 

[mconley]

Go to atlantus but dont get caught outside tourist areas after dark

 

[Hammer]

I haven't flown commercially since before 9/11. My flight leaves Indy at 5:10 am. Well get a room in Indy the night before. What time will I need to get to the airport to make my flight?

I'd suggest 2 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart.

Oh, and check the TSA website to find out what you can pack in your carry on.

 

[hornadylnl]

I'd suggest 2 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart.

Oh, and check the TSA website to find out what you can pack in your carry on.

Ok, will do. I didn't really want to fly out that early. Boarding time for the ship is 4:30 pm and all the flights that will put us in Miami on time leave between 5 and 6 and get to Miami anywhere from 9:30 and noon. I figured we'd go ahead and get there at 9:30 and have some time in Miami before we board.

 

[hoosierdoc]

At 5:10a In Indy you don't need to be there two hours early. If you get there 30 mins before boarding you'll likely be fine. You can walk in from long-term parking in about 5 mins (super discount lot you'll want the bus).

 

[Ahgo]

The dress up dining room can be nice pants and a polo except for the dress up night. The food is definitely worth it in the dining room. Make sure that you try the chocolate melting cake at least one of the evenings you are there.

As far as excursions, we just got back from a Carnival trip to the Keys and the Bahamas and had a great time. We did 2 excursions. Kayaking in the Keys - okay, and snorkeling in the Bahamas - a blast. The snorkeling was amazing. You go out on a catamaran and while you are getting to the dive place, they give you your gear. The water is crystal clear. Make sure that you take an underwater camera. On the way back, they give you free rum punch with about a 50 - 50 ratio of rum and punch. Overall, it was a very fun vacation. Have a great trip.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

(Caveat: I've not done a cruise)

Don't be afraid to book your excursions separate from the cruise line. You CAN and WILL find better deals for the same (and better) stuff elsewhere.

Tripadvisor.com is your friend.

Flying out of Indy that early - 2 hours is overkill.

I'd shoot for 1 hour.

-J-

 

[gregkl]

(Caveat: I've not done a cruise)

Don't be afraid to book your excursions separate from the cruise line. You CAN and WILL find better deals for the same (and better) stuff elsewhere.

Tripadvisor.com is your friend.

Flying out of Indy that early - 2 hours is overkill.

I'd shoot for 1 hour.

-J-

Last cruise i did,i booked all my excursions direct with the company putting on the excursion and saved a bunch of money. Paid $25 for one activity and someone from our ship on the same excursion paid something like $80 or so.

 

[hornadylnl]

I've looked for excursions outside of Royal Caribbean. One appeared to be a third party and looked kind of shady. I'd hate to book something and find out its a scam. Do you guys know the names of actual businesses and their sites?

 

[gregkl]

I've looked for excursions outside of Royal Caribbean. One appeared to be a third party and looked kind of shady. I'd hate to book something and find out its a scam. Do you guys know the names of actual businesses and their sites?

When is your cruise? I can get some info for you and PM you in the next couple of days. You are smart in being careful. When you book outside of the cruise line, you have no recourse if something is not legit. I was able to book with the same companies that the cruise lines worked with so I was okay. I have some friends that are avid cruisers and they know a lot of people.

 

[22rssix]

We went last year to Nassau and Cocoa Cay.

I wasnt impressed with Nassau. we avoided the straw market, the others in our group did not and the locals hounded them to buy stuff. The public beaches creaped me out. It seemed like the locals were checking out bags and belongings. The beach wasnt all that clean. The beaches you have to pay to get into are better from what I heard. We went to hard rock and it was expensive as expected, 8 bucks for a draft kalik. The beer and food was colder and cheaper at the port market building.

The kids selling the trinkets and toys right out side of the port/market builder were fun to haggle with. We walked away with some souvenirs for a really low price compared to what they were asking.

As for Cocoa Cay. That was a lot of fun. I would suggest renting a clam shell or cabana on the private beach area.

CON's: You had no water access and had to go over to the other beach. It wasnt that far of a walk.

The PRO's: The private beach depending on what you get clam shell or cabana, you get the snorkling gear and a fruit plate. You also get your own buffet(better selection of food) and private bar. The only people you have to deal with is the others who rent the clam shells or cabanas. (the other bars and buffet lines were crazy waits from what it looked like)

We had 20 people in our group, so we took over that and it was great!

We ended up swimming and snorkling for almost 3 hours, seeing the different fish and staged underwater scenes were fun to swim around.

It was well woth the extra price.


One of the guys who went with us on the cruise was from Trinidad and a lot of the cruise ship employees were from there as well. So we made friends with a lot of people and they all hooked us up on food and drink while on the boat. We even got the executive chef to cook us traditional trinidad dishes for one of the formal dinners. It was way better than the menu selections.

 

[atvdave]

(Caveat: I've not done a cruise)

Don't be afraid to book your excursions separate from the cruise line. You CAN and WILL find better deals for the same (and better) stuff elsewhere.

Tripadvisor.com is your friend.

I'd be very careful of doing this... If you book your excursion through the cruise line and that excursion is running late (after the ships departure time) the ship must wait on you to get back, or pay for your transportation to get back on the ship at the next port, but if you go through a 3rd party vendor not sponsored through the cruise line and it is running late, your SOL.. You must provide for you own transportation to get back on the ship.. the ship will not wait for you..

 

[hornadylnl]

I'd be very careful of doing this... If you book your excursion through the cruise line and that excursion is running late (after the ships departure time) the ship must wait on you to get back, or pay for your transportation to get back on the ship at the next port, but if you go through a 3rd party vendor not sponsored through the cruise line and it is running late, your SOL.. You must provide for you own transportation to get back on the ship.. the ship will not wait for you..

That's something that I hadn't thought of. If I book excursions through the cruise line, will they provide transportation to the excursion?

 

[atvdave]

That's something that I hadn't thought of. If I book excursions through the cruise line, will they provide transportation to the excursion?

Yes.. 99.9% will pick you up right outside the dock, or landing. and to be honest most of the non-ship sponsored excursions will also pick you up there as well. But if your late with a excursion booked through the cruise line than the ship will wait for you..

It happed on the cruise I was on.. and I have seen others who did the 3rd party, or just went out on there own and got left behind..

It's kinda of the thing to do when on-board, around the time of ship departure time. A lot of people go top side too look at who will make it or not.. Not always, but some times there a few that just don't make it.

Look on youtube.. there lots of video there of people who didn't make it.. One guy even took off his shoes and hurled it at the ship as it was pulling out..

 

[bass pro]

The last time i was in the bahamas, my wife and i walked the shops in Freeport. Each Liquior store you pass will want you to sample their rum. Buy a coke ,walk the shops and have a good time.

 

[atvdave]

Also a tip..

If your ship is in port from say... 8am to 5pm.. Book your excursion early like at 8am or 9am.. That way if the excursion only lasts 4 hours.. then you will have plenty of time to get back on the ship..


That way you can price the 3rd party excursions as well and feel safe that even with a delay, you can still get back to the ship on time..