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Freeport
Subject: Re: My

Posted by: Carrie
Host: mtr53-uas-4-209197136072.3web.net
IP #: 209.197.136.72
E-mail: <carriek5@hotmail.com>
Date Posted: May 27, 2004 at 15:12:43
Subject: Re: My

Message:

Hi Ryan,

I enjoyed reading your report. I'm sure your information will be helpful to
people.

best regards

Carrie
carriek5@hotmail.com

: 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.