If You Have Been to the Bahammas, Step Inside
 

My gf just got back from the Disney Cruise. She said that once you get off the boat, the locals are popping out like Jack in the Box to offer you drugs, rides, tours, and anything you can think of more a less.

She said that she had heard most of the Carri bean is like this.

True?

yes
...

:Oh crap

Where the cruise ship stop in Nassau that is where you will find a lot of the local market places and such. That's how a lot of locals make their money off the tourists. However if you go and are staying over at Paradise Island as say Atlantis or the RIU etc, you will usually only notice them outside on the public beach area offering you jetski's, pina coladas, and such. We simply said no and kept walking and never had a problem.

Went last year for 5 nights - stayed at Atlantis and it was fucking awesome. Beach was great. Water was so warm. Amazing snorkeling right off the beach. Dinner at some nice high end restaurants like Nobu.....paradise.

Can't wait to go back.

Yeah, she said around the ship was almost unbearable. She was all offended when her daughter, and her bf were offered reefer and drugs a number of times. LOL>

Go to Belize...You get the atmosphere of the caribbean without yellow eyed locals staring you down and begging the shit out of you.

If you're white and travelling in less affluent black countries, you're going to be viewed as rich no matter what you do.....And the downside is that no matter what you do, you can't blend in and will always stick out like a sore thumb.

Yes, I did the same thing and 100% loved it. We did however make the mistake of taking a taxi over the bridge to the "straw market". That is the biggest scam going, locals begging for money, chasing after you putting bracelets on your wrist saying you bought it, $10, etc. One guy even punched me in the back of the head. But the Atlantis is just amazing, you really never need to leave it. The weed is easy to find, but its HORRIBLE. But then again $5 an oz, what would you expect.

Yeah Straw Market is where we went one afternoon. About 10 min there and it's enough lol. Hoped on the little taxi boat deal and went back to the RIU. I'd head back there in a second it was great.

Jamaica especially is not a place to take a girlfriend or wife [more for a party of guys]. But all the islands have their hustlers.

very true. and most of the places are horribly poor and slummy. prolly 10% is nice condos, real estate, shops, hotels, rest is kinda ghetto.

Yes Jamaica can be tough for people that aren't used to that type of hustle. I cruise the Caribbean once a year and find that most of the islands have its share of beggars and hustlers but that's to be expected in the tourist areas.

Definitely some good feedback.

Anyone been to Puerto Rico or Cuba by contrast?

Is it the same kinda madness??

you said your gf just got back, but then you say her b/f and her were offered... :Oh crap

so does your g/f have another b/f?

or is this one of those "i'm a flaming gay guy so when i say g/f i actually mean a friend who's a girl"..?


i'd really like to get this resolved asap as i have other threads to be an asshole in...

thanks for your prompt attention into this matter..

love,

marketsmart

:1orglaugh

Most the poorer world is like that once you step outside of the friendly and safe USA :)

Re-read.

Start there.

He's talking about the b/f oh his g/f's daughter :2 cents:

Good to know I don't have to try and smuggle some buds when I visit.

i guess you meant her daughters b/f...

please try to make your stories clearer in the future..

this is really not a productive use of my time, going around and correcting you and what not.. :2 cents:

I've cruised to Nassau three times. I was never offered drugs...

Once you get off the boat you go through the customs terminal which is also a minature flea market - immediately you are inundated with people offering you crafts, bike rentals, taxis, etc. It's not too bad, it just takes about 5 minutes to make your way through if it's crowded. Surrounding the terminal there are tons of shops in Nassau. I've always had a decent shopping experience - except for maybe a few kids asking for change. I always take a taxi and head to the beach near Atlantis. Walking on the beach, you'll once again get inundated with offers for Jet Ski rentals, hair braiding, pina coladas, etc. Sometimes it gets a little annoying. If you make it to the beach on the Atlantis property, locals are forbidden to bother you, so it's alot more relaxing there. Go to the casino, lose as much money as possible. At night get a taxi and drive around town looking for bars and clubs, get drunk, have fun, no problems... Also make sure to hit Senior Frogs by the terminal. I suggest making the boat on time, otherwise the terminal area is locked down and you have to jump the sharp arrow tipped fence, which is hard to do while being drunk! Most cruise lines also have private islands that they visit, which are pretty quiet and relaxing.

Jamaica on the other hand is nothing but drug dealers, prostitutes, beggars, etc.

I stayed at the Four Seasons in Great Exuma this past summer... There was no riff raff there... It was like utopia.

Yes. I hate interrupting your lube and Zing moments.

I was in the Dom Rep. last August and the only time I got hassled was from the "looky looky" men on the beach. They kept coming up to us to try sell us stuff.

Then one day when we did want to buy stuff, we picked out 5 items and he tried to get us to pay him $160 LOL. I told him to go away.

You already know that I lived in Puerto Rico in 06-07....Of course they don't have that kind of madness there....It's a good chance that they won't even say anything except a polite hello to you.

Went on a 4 country tour this summer. Belize was the worst by far with the beggers. :2 cents:

Just hang in the casinos, locals aren't allowed. Only if they are working.

Bullshit.......Where in Belize were you?

Have you been to Mexico? Its about as bad as that.

The nice thing is if you want to go shopping you just step 6 inches off resort property and everything you could ever want to buy there comes to you. :)

I heard its nice there, but the cost to fly there from Ny is just insane, not to mention the time it takes to get there. I have heard really nice things if you like to do water stuff there.:thumbsup

yes, every beach I went to I had people walking up to me and asking me for $ or trying to get me to buy their crappy stuff. But it was very beautiful there and I still had a blast.. But I prefer Bermuda's pink sand beaches :)

Fuck, go to Negril, Jamaica. You can buy ANYTING MON! Seriously, it's frickin crazy when you will get offered just walking down the beach.

Atlantis is the bomb! Was there in '06 and can't wait to go back.

i just got back from DC

some guy tried to sell me some obama condoms

Right after Christmas 07, my sons and I spent 7 nights in a rented private beachfront home on South Andros, then 3 nights in Nassau following that.

It was heavenly, and we weren't bothered by anyone anywhere.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

yes Halimah was confused why a gfyer would date anyone over the age of 21 anyway?

Anyone ever hit Bora Bora?

I live on and off in The Bahamas, so this convo is quite interesting.

For one, it's not a poor country. The dollar is on par with the US and Bahamians are a very proud people.

As for the cruise ship experience, what has occurred in recent years is that local "straw market" vendors have become more entrepreneurial and instead of working the stalls themselves, they are hiring immigrants from other southern Caribbean islands (Jamaica and Haiti). This, combined with local riff raff that no country can avoid, accounts for some of the bad behavior encountered. Programs have been implemented to retrain those who work in the Tourism industry and a special tourism police force program was implemented. (The entire hierarchy of the Bahamian police force was recently changed to eliminate corruption.)

The Ministry of Tourism loves to deal with complaints like these, so your feedback is appreciated.

For the most part, it's a matter of doing your research when visiting as the experience differs based on the type of vacation. The Bahamas is a chain of islands and each one offers a different and unique experience.

I can say that I found South Andros to be much more enjoyable than Nassau, but I wanted an island getaway, not tons of people, traffic, duty free shopping, etc.

SA was so peaceful that when we landed in Nassau for our stay there I thought I was going to literally pass out on the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel. It was too much sensory overload, in a car whipping around on the wrong side of the road :winkwink: blasting his horn at everyone. He wasn't a bad cabbie, he seemed par for the course based on every other car in sight.

I thought that most of the locals, especially on Andros, were exceedingly polite.

If I ever return to Nassau, I'd be happiest staying in one of the resorts, and not leaving. Not that the town is a bad place, just that I saw it, and it wasn't my style.

This is my style.

This is what you saw on the beach of our rental house when you turned to the right:

http://xxxkinkypics.com/vacation/vac-5.jpg

and this is what you saw when you turned to the left:

http://xxxkinkypics.com/vacation/vac-4.jpg

If you dont like agressive vendors then dont go to egypt.