Nassau was a fairly clean city with friendly people. We got off of the ship fairly quickly and early. The first thing we did was walk through what I believe used to be the "Straw Market." The stalls were crammed very close together. Many of the items were the same from stall to stall, but there was some variation. The saleswomen (and men) would engage you briefly in conversation but were not at all pushy. There were not prices on ANYTHING. You could bargain if you really wanted to. 

We found the Hilton Hotel, where we had been told by friends back home that you could access a little beach for snorkeling. When my husband asked about this, he was told by a worker there that the cost was $55 per person. I think that this may not be totally true, because I've read something about all beaches being public in Nassau. However, you'll need to do your own research on that! We walked a little further, and discovered Junkanoo Public Beach. The beach is just over 1 mile from the ship and you walk on sidewalks the entire time to get there. Unfortunately, we had not brought swim gear, so we walked back toward the ship. On the way back, we came across the Banana Bay store, where they had a huge selection of items...hats, jewelry, clothes, etc. The prices were actually better here than at the Straw Market, so our children happily spent most of their allotted money in this shop. 

After lunch on the ship, we felt refreshed and headed out to the beach. On the way to the beach, we stopped at a cute ice cream shop where we all got bottled drinks for $1.50 a piece...not too bad. The beach access is free. There are chairs to rent, which we did not use, since we had a straw mat and our RCI towels from the ship. We sat on the more shaded section, which is closer to the parking lot by the Hilton. The beach is fairly clean. There was a little bit of trash here and there but there are cans for trash which I saw people use. There are decent and clean restrooms there, along with a shower. In addition, there was a snack shack type place with a few little tables, if you were hungry or thirsty. A young local guy came over who introduced himself and told us that he worked there. We thought he was going to tell us that we needed to pay a fee to be there, but instead, he just let us know what services they had in case we needed anything. It was really a pleasant surprise. We did find a good bit of broken glass that had washed up. Most of it was worn down, but a couple of pieces I found could have cut someone's foot. The view from here, if you look straight across, is great. However, know that, over to one side (it's not close to you or anything) you see what looks like a rather industrial area where goods are shipped in then moved by truck. On the other side is a parking lot, beyond a fenced grassy area. My husband and son enjoyed the snorkeling. They saw a few good sized barracuda, as well as some other interesting fish. The kids loved playing in the soft sand and the weather was PERFECT, so it was really a surprisingly lovely time.

Nassau

We have stayed for an extended period of time in Key West. The fishing is great and there are some nice beaches. Personally, I like the historic homes. It's really a lovely town and our first stop was, of course Mallory square. We took a self guided tour using a tour I had found on oirf.org (Old Island Restoration Foundation). It took a good two hours, but we saw many lovely homes (and a few not so lovely ones) and learned a good bit of history. This tour did NOT take us to the southernmost point and only had you on Duval Street for a brief period of time. However, we saw a lot of very pretty yards, homes and lots of lovely foliage.

If you are thirsty as you walk around, just find a little convenience store and you can grab a cold drink. Duval Street is where it is all happening, but Duval Street is WAY too busy and crazy for my taste.

Key West

very small room; in a very quiet corridor off of the main hallway

Only one of the four main singers was very good, and even he had only a limited range.There was a little pop up table between the beds, a small desk with drawers and one side on the top with little shelves.

Majesty of the Seas Review

Thankful for this Thanksgiving Cruise!

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