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Vacation Report, Part 3
Feb. 28th, 2024 08:42 amThe Cruise – Part 2
I had no burning desire to visit Nassau, Bahamas, but thanks to the Jones Act, cruise lines must visit a foreign port and have an opportunity to discharge or take on passengers, so a Nassau-ing we went. Situated on the island of Providence, the approximately 292,000 people living there represent 74% of the nation’s population. My formal shore excursion was a tour ride on a “vintage Model T.”
I put that in quotes because the “Model T” vehicles in question were electric golf carts that had been modified to look more-or-less like a Model T. Still, our tour guide was interesting, and there were only three guests in my vehicle, so it wasn’t the usual herd of people one gets for a shore excursion. Nassau is a typical Caribbean country, specifically poor towns with nice beaches. We visited Paradise Cove, setting for a couple of James Bond movies, and drove by the Bahamian Houses of Parliament, which are a trio of smallish pink buildings. It was an interesting tour but not something I’d do again.
I bummed around a bit at the pier complex, which is right in the middle of the downtown retail district, but not being into shopping I packed it in and had lunch on the ship, then camped out by the pool. When we pulled in, we were the fourth cruise ship in the harbor, and by the time I got back from my tour a fifth ship arrived. None of these were small or empty, so the downtown was packed with tourists.
Speaking of tourists, a word about my fellow passengers. On my previous trip on Liberty, out of Galveston, the passengers were heavily southern and midwestern Americans. This cruise felt a lot more diverse – I heard a lot of Spanish and other languages in the hallways.
I had no burning desire to visit Nassau, Bahamas, but thanks to the Jones Act, cruise lines must visit a foreign port and have an opportunity to discharge or take on passengers, so a Nassau-ing we went. Situated on the island of Providence, the approximately 292,000 people living there represent 74% of the nation’s population. My formal shore excursion was a tour ride on a “vintage Model T.”
I put that in quotes because the “Model T” vehicles in question were electric golf carts that had been modified to look more-or-less like a Model T. Still, our tour guide was interesting, and there were only three guests in my vehicle, so it wasn’t the usual herd of people one gets for a shore excursion. Nassau is a typical Caribbean country, specifically poor towns with nice beaches. We visited Paradise Cove, setting for a couple of James Bond movies, and drove by the Bahamian Houses of Parliament, which are a trio of smallish pink buildings. It was an interesting tour but not something I’d do again.
I bummed around a bit at the pier complex, which is right in the middle of the downtown retail district, but not being into shopping I packed it in and had lunch on the ship, then camped out by the pool. When we pulled in, we were the fourth cruise ship in the harbor, and by the time I got back from my tour a fifth ship arrived. None of these were small or empty, so the downtown was packed with tourists.
Speaking of tourists, a word about my fellow passengers. On my previous trip on Liberty, out of Galveston, the passengers were heavily southern and midwestern Americans. This cruise felt a lot more diverse – I heard a lot of Spanish and other languages in the hallways.
