Exploring the Nassau, Bahamas Cruise Port: Beaches, Taxis, & Safety

Almost every seasoned cruiser has sailed at least once to Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas, as it’s one of the busiest cruise ports in the world, and you’ll likely find fewer cruise ports that invite more controversy. Just do a search for Nassau, and you’ll see popular hits like “is Nassau worth visiting?” and “is Nassau dangerous?” and my answer to this is “yes” and “no”, respectively. Regarding the safety issue, check out my post “Is Nassau Safe for Tourists”, and in terms of whether it’s worth visiting, I’ll share with you in a moment some of the top things to do in Nassau.

Is Nassau Safe?

But first, let me touch upon why Nassau gets such a bad rap. I first visited here in 2018, and like many cruisers, was put off by the unappealing, dirty port area and super aggressive vendors. But with the recent $300M renovation unveiled in May 2023, the experience now is like night-and-day. The new port area is huge, gorgeous, and clean, and it’s well regulated, meaning no pushy vendors. Now, you will still encounter some of this when you immediately exit the port, but it’s not bad. Due to the size of this port, it can be very crowded, especially when it’s at capacity with six ships, and the pier is quite long, so a tram runs periodically for cruisers with mobility issues.

Things to Do in Nassau

Some cruisers opt to stay on the ship and skip Nassau entirely as a cruise port of call, which always saddens me, because I find this to be a beautiful location filled with great culture. I encourage all cruisers to visit, and here are my top recommendations of things to do in Nassau if you choose an independent excursion:

• Many cruisers opt to enjoy a beach day and save on excursions by visiting one of the public beaches like Cabbage Bezach, or Junkanoo Beach, which is walkable from port, but I discourage this because these tend to be overcrowded and filled with pushy vendors.
• My personal go-to is a day pass at Margaritaville, which provides private access to Junkanoo Beach, and a whole host of other great amenities… and they provide towels! Plus, it’s walkable (just hang a right straight out of port and you can’t miss it).
• If you’re okay with springing for a taxi over to Paradise Island, you can visit the famous Atlantis, which you can explore some of on foot at no cost, or buy a day pass for the park. In my opinion, though, this is not worth the cost unless you’re really into water slides.
• If you want to get around and explore, especially if you’re concerned with safety in Nassau, I highly recommend hiring a private driver for the day. There are lots of great drivers listed here on Viator, but I personally used Clement Stanley, and he was outstanding. You can message him on WhatsApp at +1-242-477-3095.
• You can walk, or take a taxi or use a driver to great stops like Queen’s Staircase (which is free) and Fort Fincastle, and sample rum cakes. My absolute favorite Nassau rum cake is the Bahamas Rum Cake Factory, where their cakes are made fresh in-house, and they offer free samples.
• Swimming with the pigs is a bucket list goal for many, and while I’ve done it and loved it at CocoCay, I’ve heard from many that Nassau isn’t the best spot for this.

Nassau Time Zone

Keeping track of time zones can get complicated when cruising, especially for itineraries where there can be multiple time zone changes on one sailing. Your captain will make announcements during the cruise to update you of these changes, but it’s good to be aware of these differences ahead of time when making plans for your stop at port, especially for excursions.

Most cruise lines operate on “ship time” set to the time of its departing port, so for sailings off the eastern coast the US, this is Eastern Standard Time (EST). The Bahamas operates on Eastern Standard Time across all islands. From the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, The Bahamas recognizes Daylight Saving Time, in conjunction with the U.S.