No matter how many people you ask beforehand, you'll never have a true experience of the world's largest cruiseship until, well, you actually get on the ship and experience it for yourself.
Ater 2 missed flights and over 12 hours of delay due to a lovely North American snowstorm, my friends and I caught the ship at the first call port of the itinerary - Nassau, Bahamas. When I first laid my eyes on the Oasis of the Seas, my first thought was, "man, she's a monster". The ships next to it is not comparable to the Oasis at all.
The Nassau port is not a large port. When you leave the pier, you will walk directly in to Rawson Square. From here on, you have several options:
- find the meet up location of your pre-arranged exursions/tours
- catch a local land/water taxi to the local attractions/resorts
- get your hair braided
- do a self-guided walking tour
My friends and I decided on the last option as there wasn't much to see or do in Nassau (per our research), and we didn't want to splurg all of our money at the first port. Moreover, because of the shorter time we have at this port (7am-3pm; by the time we checked in, put down our bags and got off the ship it was near 11am), it's easier for us to manage the time to be back at the pier before we have to be back by 2:30pm. *One thing to note, when you disembark and go on local tours (not organized by the cruiseline) or go off on your own, be aware of the "ship time" vs the "local time", as there may be a timezone difference. If you are on tours organized by the cruiseline, you have the guarantee that the ship will wait for you if the tour is late. HOWEVER, if you are with a local tour or traveling on your own, the ship is not obligated to wait for you for departure.* That aside, here is a map of the walking tour we did:
Quite a few stores were actually closed on the day we arrived, since it was a Sunday. Following the map, we passed by 1) the statue is of Sir Milo Butler, the first Bahamian governor of the islands after it became an independent nation in 1973, 2) the local government buildings, 3) a public library/museum, which then brings us to 4) the Queen's Staircase.
Walking through the Queen's Staircase makes me feel like I'm at a movie set, in a jungle or a rainforest-type scene. You are surrounded by sandstone cliffs on either side, and at the end there is a small waterfall and 66-steps of stairs. At the top of the stairs, you are greeted by 5) Bennett's Hill, with a water tower that offers a view of the city at its highest point, and the old Fort Fincastle with its 5 cannons. There are also some souvenir stalls around, but if you're not in a hurry to shop, just wait until you reach the Straw Market by the pier.
After that, we retraced our original path back towards the hospital, and walked down Shirley St. since we did not want to wander too far away from the pier. Our next stop was 13) the Straw Market. Many of the stores sell similar items - carved wooden decor, t-shirts, handbags, etc. For myself, I fell in love at first sight with a drum, which I bargained from $80 to $50. It wasn't the cheapest, but let's just say I was pretty set on bringing it home. The guys at customs were even playing with the drum! At one point I thought they were checking whether the inside was hollow, if I was smuggling something! :)
Before we left for the port, we went to the Tortuga store, where they sell the delicious rum cakes! You are free to buy it here and carry it back to the ship. They also sold it on the Oasis, but I believe it was only a couple dollars more. If you haven't tried it before, it's worth a try and a good souvenir to bring home. I've heard that in Canada, Longo's actually sell the original flavour as well. I bought a 6-pack myself, with original golden, chocolate, coconut, banana, pineapple and lime. If you prefer orange-flavoured, you have the option to buy that at the end of your trip at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (unfortunately not at Nassau).
