Bahamas: The HUB of the Caribbean
I have visited the Bahama’s twice, both were via cruise. The first time was via a Real World/Road Rules cruise and another on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Both were drastically different trips. My first trip was the Real World/Road Rules cruise my Junior year spring break in college. We boarded the ship full of the Real World crew from different seasons. We docked at Freeport where there were several events, yacht parties, DJ parties at the port where Snoop Dog made a special appearance. We really got to see the “local” part of the island as we ventured out to local bars and restaurants like naive teenagers. We also got to enjoy Taino Beach where we relaxed and took in the sun and the natural sound of the waves as it jived with the carribean tunes.
During my second visit to the Bahamas, we visited three islands: Nassau, Freeport and Coco Cay. I have a little more recollection of my experience of this trip as we used our time at each island to explore just a little more. Nassau was a full day where we snorkeled, parasailed and partied at Senor Frogs. In freeport we went shopping near the port at local street vendors and bought unique, handmade items that you couldn’t find anywhere else. In Coco Cay, we enjoyed the sun and relaxed before we sailed off to return back to Miami. Since I did visit the Bahamas twice by cruise I didn’t get to really see it like I would normally if I would have flown in direct. This is where my regret lies which warrants another visit. When you visit places by cruise, you have a great time and you get to say you have visited several places but have you really? You don’t have time to immerse yourself in the culture of the location, visit local sites, explore the different foods and truly get to know the location. You spend most of your time at sea on the boat (which is still very entertaining) which prevents you to explore a new location. I don’t have anything against cruises but if you are like me and want to explore and taste, cruises are not for you. I hope to visit the Bahamas a third time and really explore deeper what the Hub of the Caribbean has to offer.
