Woosah…
The Smith family took a much needed vacation to the Bahamas and a felt a bit guilty about only wanting to chill, sleep and watch TV during our four-night cruise on Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas.
But relaxing is OK and I had to tell myself that many times. However, when you decide to a vacation with your kids — and for me it was FOUR kids — I have to remember that the vacation is more for them then it is for me. No, I take that back. The vacation was very much for me and I had to figure out how to fit them in so they would enjoy it too.
So with that said, And it was a great trip in a lot of ways. I got to relax; the kids enjoyed many of the amenities of Royal Caribbean and it was great family time together. We were truly smooth sailing but if you’re planning a trip to the Bahamas here are my suggestions for taking a Royal Caribbean cruise to Nassau.
Which Cruiseline to Choose?
We choose Royal Caribbean through a travel agent BookIt. For one, don’t use Bookit! We were charged a lot of fees that I didn’t know were coming. It’s best to go to the cruisline website and book directly from there. Secondly Royal Caribbean Enchantment of the Seas is NOT the best cruiseline if you have kids. My travel agent from BookIt should have told me that but he was all about getting my money so…
Don’t get me wrong, we had a nice time. On a scale of 1 to 10 it was a 6 for me. Meaning it was terribly bad but it could have been a whole lot better. There were shows on the cruise, family games, movie nights and lots to do. However, I was looking for ANOTHER level of entertainment that perhaps only I can find on a Disney cruise. So if you can, plan for a Disney cruise or seek out another cruiseline that TRULY caters more to kids. And again, don’t use Bookit!
Watch Out For Cruiseline hidden fees!
Yes you’ll have to pay for gratuities on your cruise but it can get a little out of hand. For instance, the person who cleaned our room is supposed to get tipped. However he cleaned our room TWICE a day (which was not needed) and he cleaned our 3 cabins which totaled about $300 in gratuities by the end of the cruise. What the EFF? I paid TOO much for us to go on this cruise and the fees to BookIt to have to pay ANOTHER $300. That wasn’t happening! I made the cruiseline remove those ridiculous charges and I left a cash tip. Don’t let the housekeeper clean your cabin twice a day. Instead, to keep them out, put the Do not disturb sign on your door and that way they can’t enter. Other than that they will try to make a fool of you and your money.
Excursions
This is where you want to spend your money. There are so many excursions to take part of when you’re in Nassau. you can go snorkling, visit Atlantis, rent jetskis or motorbikes and tour the town OR do like we did and take a taxi tour around the city. When you get off the cruiseline in Nassau the locals kind of “attack” you and constantly try to get you to buy a tour. I talked my husband into it and it was really great and well worth the money! Make sure you negotiate the price though. We took a VIP tour of the city and got to see historic sites like Queen’s Staircase, the Rum Cake factory, Junkanoo Beach, and so much more. It was a really thorough tour throughout the city and we learned a lot of the city’s history. (I am working on a video to show you.) I was really very happy after touring. I highly recommend it.
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However, I would say PASS on Atlantis or seriously plan for it. It’s very expensive and they don’t offer discounts during the peak season when everybody typically goes on vacation!
Beaches
We were able to visit two beaches Coco Cay and in Nassau there were numerous beaches and we visited one that was near Atlantis. (I can’t remember the name.)
I can say this: I fell in love with the Coco! Coco Cay is a private beach owned by Royal Caribbean and what was so great was the fact that they has a free barbecue for us too with all kinds of foof: Hamburgers, hotdogs, ribs chicken, you name it! That was a plus. The kids loved playing in the water and I loved lying on the beach!
Check out the video of our trip!
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