From the MSC Seashore

Greetings Blog

Bahamas Day 3 Nassau

 

Today we arrived in Nassau, Bahamas. Nassau is one of the 700 islands that make up the Bahamas, and as the capital, it’s home to nearly 70% of the country’s population. It’s undeniably beautiful, with turquoise water and colorful buildings, but it also attracts a lot of tourists. As soon as the ships dock, crowds spill onto the main street, eager to browse the duty‑free shops, diamond boutiques, and luxury stores in hopes of scoring a deal. Good luck with that.

 

We’ve been to Nassau a few times before during quick cruise stopovers, but years ago we spent two full weeks in Freeport—a wonderfully laid‑back, sun‑drenched island where the biggest daily decision was “beach now or beach later.” It was blissfully stress‑free… right up until the morning we woke to find our bedroom floor has a couple inches of water thanks to a burst water pipe. The landlords moved us, of course, but let’s just say the new place had a lot less “island charm” but at least it was dry.

 

On past visits to Nassau, we always remembered the white‑gloved traffic policemen standing proudly in their little wooden booths, blowing whistles like they were conducting a symphony and directing cars with impressively crisp hand signals. But on today’s walkabout, that whole charming tradition seems to have disappeared, replaced by modern traffic lights doing the job with far less flair. Things always seem to change, don’t they.

 

We skipped the organized tours today and decided to explore at our own pace. Today’s walkabout we deliberately stepped out of the tourist bubble, venturing into the real Nassau, the part behind the curtain. There the streets were old, crumbling worn down and clearly in need of help. We know from our travels every destination has two sides, the one polished for the visitor with the diamonds and Gucci bags and the one shaped by the people who actually live there. The truth of a place probably is the one found in the cracks.  Speaking of cracks, the city center is walkable, until you wander past it. Then you are walking on rubble and on narrow roads. We had to hold our breath for passing buses and politely step over and around napping dogs.

 

On an earlier trip here, we went to the Atlantis resort which is much more than a hotel and casino. It is a massive, over‑the‑top tropical playground, complete with pink towers, lagoons, and a sprawling water park.  It was on that trip we went snorkeling in the warm, clear waters and took a boat ride past the homes of Oprah Winfrey and Nicolas Cage. Unsurprisingly, neither of them popped out to wave.

We’re not big souvenir shoppers, so we didn’t return to the ship with diamonds or fancy straw bags. But we did snag a slice of rum cake from a free sample tray—hard to resist, especially since the Bahamas are famous for it. Our other must‑do stop was a beachfront café, where we sipped a Bahama Mama and soaked in the ocean view. The drink mixes rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and grenadine, and it was named after Dottie Lee Anderson, a Bahamian calypso dancer who rose to popularity in the 1930s.

 

Back on the ship, for dinner we headed to the specialty Mexican restaurant, HOLA! Tacos & Cantina. Specialty is code for you pay extra for it. It was a bright, casual spot that had a reputation of serving ‘delish’ Mexican and Latin American street‑food favorites—tacos, nachos, quesadillas, churros, and of course, margaritas.  We didn’t think the meal was all that ‘delish’, although impressed by the selection of hot sauces which were definitely needed to spice things up.

 

After finishing our guacamole and carne asada tacos, we headed to the theatre to see “Encore”. This show featured Broadway style hits from big musicals like Westside Story, Phantom of the Opera, Cats and more. And don’t worry, I made sure to choose a seat far, far away from the Diva singing in my ear last night. I don’t know what she would have done if they sang “Do you hear the people Sing”, a voluntary anthem from Les Miserable that is a rallying cry for the people who feel oppressed and want to rise up together.

 

After the show we grabbed a nightcap at the Yacht Club bar and listened to a few great piano tunes. Returning to our cabin there was an invitation inviting us to a special officer’s cocktail party tomorrow morning at 11AM. Seriously, who throws a cocktail party at 11AM? Makes you wonder who’s steering the ship and how many Bloody Mary’s they have had. But hey, we like Bloody Mary’s so maybe we will go.