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Subject: My "Free Trip" to The Bahamas...and tips I learned

Posted by: Ryan
Host: acs-24-239-57-24.zoominternet.net
IP #: 24.239.57.24
E-mail: <RllngRckBrw33@yahoo.com>
Date Posted: May 27, 2004 at 13:24:36
Subject: My "Free Trip" to The Bahamas...and tips I learned

Message:

I realize that this is lengthy so I tried to organize it the best I could. If
you have any other questions please feel free to email me at
RllngRckBrw33@yahoo.com or IM me (JunScooby). IM is faster and easier because
it may be a day or 2 for me to respond to your email. I am by no means an
expert, but I did see much of the island and many of the hotels, and can try
to answer as many questions as I can about my experiences. I had a ton of
questions before I went and this message board helped me greatly. I just want
to try and help others that have the same questions that I did.

First, realize that this is not free. What you are given is a cruise from Ft.
Lauderdale and a avg. hotel on the island. You are still required to pay port
taxes, hotel taxes, flights, hotels in Ft. Lauderdale, food, entertainment,
etc. It is however a cheaper way to go to the island than if you are to do it
on your own.

Cruise:
This is by no means a Carnival cruise liner. it is a decent way to spend the 6
hour cruise though. There is plenty of entertainment and food on the ship
along with the duty free booze and casinos, one you hit international waters.
Realize that this is not a top of the line cruise but still fun none the less.
Food is free unless you want to upgrade your meal, but the buffet is adequate.
The only things you must pay for on the ship is a cabin, if you want one (but
for a 6 hr trip I am not sure why you want one) and they run $50 and up, any
gambling expenses, and booze.

Hotels:
We stayed at the Island Palm in Freeport. This was our free option (the hotel
tax was $15 a night per person though) It was your avg. hotel. The one issue
we did have though was that there is next to nothing within walking distance
of the hotel. Shuttles do run to the beach every hour and a half or so. There
is a schedule you get when you check in. The shuttle takes you to the Island
Seas resort on the beach, where you are free to use all of their facilities,
pool, etc. plus beach access. The one big advantage to this hotel that I found
was that they have a woman that sets up activities and answers questions for
the guests. Take advantage of this. Of course she is going to try to get you
to pay for some activities, and some are really cool, but use her for anything
you may need, activities, bookings, questions about the island etc. If you
need to cancel or change the times of something, let her do it for you, the
other staff seem more receptive to her than if you call yourself.
If you want to upgrade your hotel, you usually get a cheaper price than if you
were to book it yourself, but you may only save $15 or $20 a night. But from
what I saw of the upgrade hotels available to us, they were worth the price,
if that is what you are interested in, its all a matter of what kind of budget
you want to stay on for your vacation.

Travel:
If you are not near very much on the island there are many ways to get around
the island. Car rentals are available (I have no ideas about prices though).
You can rent scooters for about $40 a day. There is taxi service that runs
everywhere all day, but it is quite pricey. Expect to pay at least $20 a trip.
I strongly suggest learning and using the bus service. Basically it is a
glorified taxi service. There is no set schedule, but the pass the bus stops
about every 5 min. or so. Be sure to tell the driver where you are going, and
most of the time they will drop you off right in front of your destination or
will at the very least the closest bus stop and tell you how to get where you
are going. The cost for this is $1 for any distance, and it runs most of the
day.

Entertainment:
From what I saw there is something for everyone to do, you can load your
vacation up with many activities as possible or spend the time at the pool and
beach, it is up to you. There is plenty to do for all tastes, but I will let
you know some of the stuff we did.
Island Tour:
The first morning there we did a tour of the island. I think it cost us 30 a
person, and lasted about 4 hours. It took us all across the island and
informed us of the history of the island, points of interest etc. The places
we stopped were The Garden of the Groves, a botanical garden. this place was
gorgeous, but small. It did contain a few animals, alligators, parrots, which
you can feed, (that was kinda cool) turtles, etc.
Next we went to a restaurant for lunch I cant remember the name any more, but
it was on the beach and had excellent Bahamian food. I definitely recommend
anything Conch especially fritters (I'll get to that later). This restaurant
was cool because it was secluded and if I had not done the tour I would have
never found it on my own.
From there we went to a local market, the duty free liquor store, for a free
taste test of local flavored rum, and ended up at the International Bazaar
where you can find allot of cheap jewelry, other duty free items, and local
merchants. I feel that this and Port Lucya are the two best places to shop.
We were then dropped off at our hotel. This experience was neat, but it would
be the only thing on the trip that I could have done without.
Dolphin Close Encounter:
We did this the second day. We did the cheapest of the options, and while it
was very cool, don’t get your expectations to high. For $60 you get basically
a personal dolphin show, much like you would see at Sea World, but without the
crowd. Also, you get to get in the water and pet the dolphins and get a kiss
from them (which they try to sell you a picture of later). If you do this I
recommend a waterproof camera because even just sitting on the side you will
get soaked. I did manage to sneak a peak at the group swimming with the
dolphins; I think this was around $160 a person. (Expensive, I know.) but they
were able to get in and actually swim with the dolphins. They were also taught
hand signals and instructed the dolphins. From the people I talked to about it
they said it was well worth the money, but if you are on a budget and want to
interact with the dolphins the close encounter will suffice. The entire thing
took us about 2 and a half hours.
Bonfire:
This was the last activity that we did and I highly suggest this. It is an all
you can eat all you can drink evening. The menu was rice, corn on the cob,
chicken, and ribs. The food was pretty god but nothing to brag about. The only
free drinks are Bahama Mamas, and Kamikazes. For those who don’t want any
booze your only option is fruit punch. The bar is open for any other drinks
but again you must pay. After everyone has eaten the entertainment starts and
there is a fire dancer, limbo contest, local dance lesson, and dance contest.
It sounds really cheesy, but is actually allot of fun, especially after a few
drinks. The cost for this is $50 per person and it lasts about 3 and a half
hours.
By no means am I advocating these activities, and I am aware that there are
many others on the island to do, but I am just informing you about the things
I did while I was there.

Nightlife:
I did not go out to any clubs while I was there, but the only information I
gained was that this is not the party island that Nassau is. There are
nightclubs on the island and the casinos are open 24 hours a day but it is by
no means the craziest party scene out there. From what I was told the parties
really start in the clubs after midnight. Most Bahamians go out around
midnight and stay out till the sun comes up. Again, if you are looking for
advice on nightlife, I may not be the best person to ask.

Food:
The one thing that surprised me was that there are not tons of American
seafood places on the island; don’t expect to see a seafood buffet on every
corner like you may see on many of the East coast beaches.
Their most popular seafood is conch, and definitely try this if you have never
had it before. It is of the clam/muscle family. It is not quite as chewy or
fishy as a clam, but tastes similar. They use the conch meat in everything,
from chowders to fritters. I highly recommend trying the fritters. Also if you
like beer, try Kalik it is brewed in the Bahamas and is pretty good, but it is
also one of the cheapest beers on the island. If ordering mixed drinks, many
places make them quite strong, so be prepared for this, there is no doubt that
the Bahamians can drink and I have found that most tourists cant always keep
up. I cant say that there is one particular restaurant that is a must try, but
just ask the locals what they recommend for your tastes, they are usually
right.
Also, be sure to check your bill because most of the places already include a
gratuity, so 9 times out of 10 you don’t need to leave a tip.

Shopping:
As I mentioned before the 2 places to go are the International Bazaar and Port
Lucya. Here you can find much of what the island has to offer as well as local
shops. When talking to local merchants, don’t be afraid to barter. Most of the
time you will get a discount with minimal negotiation.

Overall, the trip was great. The one thing that I do suggest is that if you
don’t know something, ask. The locals are extremely friendly and quite
informative.

As I said I a not an expert on the island, but I am interested in being a help
to anyone that may have any questions. Everything I say is strictly based on
my experiences, so don’t take everything I say totally to heart as preferences
vary from person to person.

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