We chose this cruise because it had 2 ports we'd never been to before. It was absolutely the right choice!
Our ports were Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove, DR. Nassau is Nassau...been there several times. We didn't book an excursion this time, though, and just went to Junkanoo Beach and it was amazing!
Half Moon Cay was great as well. We just pulled up some chairs on the beach and sat and swam all day in the sun!
Great cabin, laid out well, and our room steward, Mohammed, was excellent! A/C worked OK and no physical plant problems. A nice, comfortable home base for our vacation!
It's not a bad port...but it's not as fancy as the other cruise terminals. Also, the new process with the keys is hard to understand for people who haven't done it before. I needed to add cash to my account, but without a traditional check in I didn't know where to do it. The lady I asked told me guest services, which I assumed meant on the ship, but then a fellow traveler pointed out that there's also a guest services desk in the terminal. This process just needs to be laid out better up front.
Nassau is Nassau. Loud, close, and pushy. We walked to Junkanoo Beach, which was a great free day of beach and swimming.
Loved HMC! We just grabbed some beach chairs and swam all day - with a little detour to walk around the island on the running track. Beautiful beaches and clear water.
As always, a beautiful port. We actually went to Governor's Beach instead, and there were only 2 other people there besides us. Just be warned if you do this that the infrastructure over there hasn't been rebuilt since the hurricane so no bathrooms, vendors, etc....
We took a taxi to town not knowing how the system works, but it turned out great! Your taxi driver stays with you all day. He'll recommend places to take you and waits for you at every stop. Our one worry about going to Puerta Playa was how to get back to the port, but this makes it easy! Cost the four of us about $80 total for the entire day!