Nassau, CocoCay, Key West... CRUISE!

[JustAGirl]

WAHOO, so I've got four weeks till I fly down to Miami, FL to leave on Aug 28th to go on a Royal Caribbean cruise (Majesty of the Seas) till Sept 1st (five days).

I'm sooo excited. This is my b/f's and my first cruise ever.

Just wondering if anyone has been to Nassau, CocoCay, or Key West that would have any ideas or suggestions or advice for a 'virgin' cruiser.

:)

[LostMyMind]

Royal is a great cruise line. While nassau and cococay I haven't been to, other islands I have.

Island tours that the cruise offer are nice (alittle on the expensive side), however a nice taxi driver (just get the final price for the entire tour "trip" from the driver) on some islands are alot better than tours. Cruise ships do not wait for you, always plan to get back earlier than the ship "leaving" time.

And don't ever be on a diet while on a cruise, it's impossible to stick to any diet. And bring lots of whatever soda (small plastic bottle type) you like with you as part of your luggage. Drinks of all kind are expensive and you really shouldn't drink the water ;)

Oh, and bring twice as much clothes as you need (that includes the "special" stuff ye females need)

(was not speaking of key west, I know it's a island but you can drive there so it don't really count :lol:)

[JustAGirl]

Oh, and bring twice as much clothes as you need (that includes the "special" stuff ye females need

lol

oh dear don't tell b/f that! he commented on how much stuff I brought when we went to Miami/Key West two years ago!...

[LostMyMind]

The reason is simple, you out on water. While it don't happen often, sometimes the cruise have to take a detour or change where they're going to.

I had both detour and change of direction happen on my cruise. They had to change which island we went to because the one we were scheduled to go to had a hurricane in the way. :lol:

Just be prepared, your 5 days could turn into a 7 day or longer cruise for weather or ship problems.

[JustAGirl]

Thanks for the tidbits LMM! :)

[Byronthebanker]

Gotta love cruising!!

Key West - how long wll you be there? The boat will dock on the gulf side near an area called Mallory square. If you are there for sunset, Mallory Square is the place to be. There are street performers, artists, and a celebration every night. The main street that goes east to west is called Duval street. It is about 1 mile long and goes from the gulf (where you are) to the ocean. You can get a cab or a pedicab to go down there if you want. My favorite way to see Key West is by bicycle. They rent cheap, probably less than $20 for the time you are there, and you can get to a lot of places in good time - the Hemingway house, Sloppy Joes and Captain Tony's bars, Fisher museum. Everyone in Key West is laid back and friendly. Since it is in the US, although the southernmost point, it is the most expensive of the islands (tax, etc).

Coco Cay - this island is owned by the cruise line - so you and your fellow cruisers will be the only ones on it. There are hammocks and picnic places all around, some bars, some shops, and then the water to swim, raft, snorkel in. A very nice relaxing day - and your food for lunch is provided in the middle. The drink of the island is called coco loco (there will be strolling venders - you charge it to your ship card) . .they are a nice cold ice cream based drink. When I was there, I took the kayaking which the water was calm. The guide took you a few places and showed you some of the sea life.

Oh .and Nassau - on my first trip there I took a tour around the island . .12 of us I think in a Toyota Van . . probably not worth the value. The touristy distict is right along the waterfront . .a few blocks into town you can see how the natives live. A short taxi to Atlantis takes you to a resort with a nice casino, a huge fish tank, and lots of nice shopping. ($4 a person when we went) Cab drivers drive the craziest I've ever seen. Shopping in the tourist district is "bargain as you go" . that is the way they do it - on everything from grass skirts to jewelry. The official money of the Bahamas is the Bahamian dollar, but American Dollars are accepted everywhere at the same rate.
Note: the cruise line will say they take your alcohol when you get back on board, if you bought some in the islands, and then give it back with your luggage at the end . but Royal didn't do that the time I went. Had a bottle of Mango Rum in the room for a couple of days (till it was gone)

Enjoy cruising

[NightAngel]

Cruises are great fun! Yea!:D

My advice is to remember that Dramamine is your friend. You may think you'll be fine if you've been out on boats before but trust me there is a definate difference. If you don't need it great! Better safe than sorry though.
Or you can probably get it from the ship's doctor.

Of course, the one cruise I went on the seas were so choppy the entire back end of the ship was coming up out of the water. Spent the first night of my honeymoon laying on the bathroom floor whimpering. :puke:

[LostMyMind]

:lol: you must have went during hurricane season too.

My first cruise the ship went through really rocky waves. I slept through those rocky rides, it's weird must have been the room position on the ship (it was closer to the middle of the ship). The person I was with was in the same boat you were.

But you're correct, I forgot to have that on that short list of must have. The sea sickness meds are a must have.

[JustAGirl]

Oh yes, drammamine will be one of the first things I pack!! I dunno how i'll be on a cruiseliner (I've been on little boats before though where ya feel it more and have had no problems) but that'll be brought, as well as some headache stuff and pepto bismol!

Thanks for all the advice/suggestions, I'm also perusing all the cruise review sites I can find.

My expectations are that I will be in a tiny cabin (interior stateroom), that I don't plan on staying in, especially with pools/spa/shore excursions/etc.

We have two planned shore excursions. In Nassau (8am-11:55pm Tuesday) will be the SUB Bahamas adventure (anyone been on that?) almost right when we get there (I'm totally freaking we will miss it, ship docks around 8 the SE is at 8:30am). I plan on being accosted at the straw market as well. We might try to find a tour to go on for the last half of our time there before trudging back to the boat.

I am hoping the weather is good for us to go to CocoCay (8am?-5pm? Wednesday). I'm itching to snorkel there (first time snorkeler too!) and hang out on the beach soaking up the rays.

In Key West (10:30am-6pm Thursday) we are doing the Crazy Boat, a superfast boat that will take us on 360 degree turns without pause and keepin going. That's at 1pm, we dock around 10:30am. We've been to KW before, walking all over Duvall Street and checking out the "miles to cuba" tourist attraction. I'm hoping to rent scooters or something, perhaps take a trolley tour so we aren't on our feet the whole time.

We wanted to do parasailing on CocoCay, but our combined wait is a li'l more than the limit allowed :(

We are getting down there the day before to stay with my b/f's aunts, they live on Miami Beach (WOOHOO). They are taking us to the pier :)

WOOOOo I can't wait.

[Jester]

Just wondering if anyone has been to Nassau, CocoCay, or Key West that would have any ideas or suggestions or advice for a 'virgin' cruiser.

Never been to the first two, but I DO live in Key West, as does ReformedWaitress. I have been here almost 8 years (she's been here only since March), so if you have any questions about what to do for your short time here, feel free to send me (or her) a private message. Hell, feel free to come visit us. (The bar we work at AND her other job are both within stumbling distance of Mallory Square and the cruise ship dockage....)

(was not speaking of key west, I know it's a island but you can drive there so it don't really count :lol:)

The water goes all the way around it. It has palm trees and beaches. The weather is warm, and the residents are laid back. It's a tropical island, the Overseas Highway be damned. :D

The boat will dock on the gulf side near an area called Mallory square. If you are there for sunset, Mallory Square is the place to be. There are street performers, artists, and a celebration every night.

1. They won't be there for sunset, as they leave at 6.
2. If they were there, sunset wouldn't be that great at Mallory Square, as there would be this....giant....boat....in....the....way......

[JustAGirl]

Oh wow, I forgot about this thread!

WELP, we didn't go to Nassau, KW or CocoCay.

No thanks to Tropical Storm Ernesto we got diverted to Cozumel, Mexico. So we were at sea more than we were on land. :( BUT we had a blast, went snorkeling, got engaged, saw the ruins, and sweated like crazy.

Jester, I'll have to give you a shout if we plan on going to KW some time in the future :)

[Dips]

Holy cow! This thread title happens to be the itinerary of the cruise I'm taking with my husband next week to celebrate our 20th anniversary.

For a split second I thought I'd started a thread and didn't remember doing it. :p

It sound like you had a good time, despite the diversion, JustAGirl. Mr. Dips and I know better than to carve our plans in stone during hurricane season. No matter what, a good time will be had. :)

Jester, do you know if the Key West graveyard allows people to take rubbings? Mr. Dips likes to collect them to display at a local fundraiser every Halloween and you mentioned some really cool ones in a previous post. If you don't know, no worries; we'll figure it out another way. :)

[JustAGirl]

Yeah, we knew that it might happen, so weren't surprised about it. After being pouty for a bit we got a new list of excursions and joined the crowd to book 'em.

[Dips]

Yeah, we knew that it might happen, so weren't surprised about it. After being pouty for a bit we got a new list of excursions and joined the crowd to book 'em.

Did you say you got to the Tulum ruins? They're kind of a long trip from Cozumel, but worth it. Such a spectacular setting.

[JustAGirl]

Yup it was quite a bus trip there. We passed by Xel-Ha on the way to Tulum and hit it on the way back.