Visiting the Bahamas was a pleasure and I will certainly go again, but there's literally no chance we'll ever cruise with Norwegian again.

We didn't pay the inflated Norwegian excursion prices and instead worked directly with locals. For Nassau we visited the Atlantis water park and picked up a taxi across the bridge both ways for local transport, paying $4/person each way. Atlantis water park was a discounted $99/person when we paid at the hotel. Picking up the taxi was a breeze, and the water park was perfect for our daughter despite the crowds picking up after lunch. The water rapids were particularly fun and we literally spent hours bobbing along and falling out of our tubes. Great memories there.

The Grand Bahamas island was gorgeous. We caught a local taxi and went straight to gorgeous Lacaya Beach, a 20-minute cab ride from the cruise port. The water was heavenly and we rented a Hobie catamaran to sail along the coast. The sand was sugary soft and the waters stunning. While not a great spot for snorkeling, it was perfect for flying our sport kite, swimming, and lounging around. There were some local shacks for food and drinks. It felt great getting away from Norwegian and mingling with the locals. Read more