The Bahamas were great, traveling there was not so great.

free2beme

Just got back about 2AM from the Bahamas. It was awesome and the Atlantis was an amazing place to stay and play. We spent a few days just hanging out at the resort, riding slides and exploring all it offered. We did a Booze Cruise one day, which is basically a traveling party that takes you to a place on a boat to snorkel, feeds you and then travels up and down the island as a drinking party. We also did a underwater self-sub ride. Which basically is when you take a individual sub and drive it around a reef to see fish. Here is the website for the place we went.

http://stuartcove.com/

It was an amazing experience and I have snorkeled Cancun, Cozumel and several other tropical locations. I would rate this experience the best of what I have seen. Since party of the function was companies sponsored, we did spend a lot of late nights at company beach parties and dances. We had some amazing food and the over all trip was great. Except my one big gripe. AIR TRAVEL!!!!

Has anyone flown lately? I have flown many times in my life and can not believe how down hill it has come. Less flights, but the ones that exist are extremely full. Hardly anyone working the airports, and problems at each stop. We were suppose to leave last Sunday evening and go to San Francisco on one flight, then Philadelphia, then Nassau. When we arrived at the airport, there was one guy working the check in, unloading the planes and boarding the planes ... one guy for all. Our flight time came and went and no one came out to say anything. We tracked down this guy and he refused to come out and announce that the flight was late, as he did not know how late. Finally it was to late to make our connection, we we forced this guy to reroute us and got sent to Portland, then Chicago and then Washington DC and arrived in Nassau four hours late. Our luggage arrived eights hours after that. We did not let it get to us, as we always keep the first days clothing in our carry-on and they delivered everything to the hotel. So we figured the way home would be better. We ended up in line at the Nassau airport for 4 hours, and thought getting their four hours before our flight would be enough. We ended up running on to the plane and barely making it. Our connection going home was in Charlotte NC and we had a 1 hour lay over, we ended up being on the tarmac in Nassau for 45 minutes and when we got to North Carolina we were in a dead run to the next flight and could not get anything to eat, no time. We got on the plane as it was in last call and the attendants told us that they had food for the flight, but we had to buy it. We did not care, figured that at least we had food and the flight to San Francisco was 6 hours. We get into the air and they run out of food before getting past row 10. We were in row 25 of 30. So we land San Francisco starving and run to get something to eat, but we did have 90 minutes until we had to connect the flight to home. Well we get to that gate and the flight is delayed 2 hours. So we finally arrive home at 2AM, and our luggage actually made it too.

So other then the worst airline service in the world to begin and end the trip, everything in the middle was extremely fun.

misspeaches

Sounds like an amazing place but your airlines sound terrible! I can't believe how disorganised they are. That's appalling. What a horrible way to start and end an otherwise amazing break!

RubaDub

I fly at least once a month (usually more) and yes, flying continues to deteriorate every year.

When I took my first flight about 25 years ago after high school, it was great. The service was good, there was real food, etc.

Now, flying is little more than taking a bus. I have to admit, traveling on business, I really don't give a rats ass what the plane is like as long as it gets me there on time. For me, the less time in the air is better. The only two airlines that I can tolerate now are Southwest and JetBlue (for different reasons, but I wont get into that here).

Apparently you were flying on USAir since you were in the hub cities of Philadelphia and Charlotte. UsAir is one of the several airlines in bankruptcy and they cut every corner to save a few bucks.

However, regarding travel to the Caribbean ... being a Miami resident ... DON'T travel on the weekends !!!!!!! You are a sheep with a million others. Lines, crap, sh*t, etc, etc, etc. If going to the Caribbean, try to schedule it from a Tuesday to Tuesday or Wednesday to Wednesday, etc. The weekend to weekend thing just puts you into incredibly long lines everywhere. If you were leaving the Bahamas mid-week, you would have a 30 minute wait in line or less. NOONE here is South Florida even considers traveling on any of the busy weekends.

You also will probably save some money when you avoid the weekends.

Rub a Dub

free2beme

We were on United Airlines on the way there, were suppose to be on US Air and got put to United to get there. We live in a small town that has only a few choices out of town, America West, United Airlines, Horizon and Delta. Our trip was scheduled and handled by the company I work for, as they paid and they used Carlson Wagonlite travel agency. If I was doing it, I would never use United Airlines or US Airways, as they both are in bankruptcy and it shows big time. I had no choice in the matter this time, unfortunately. I would also never use a travel agency, I like doing it myself on sites like travelocity and expedia. Much cheaper and you are more in control of the options.

Purza

Sorry about your flying woes free2beme. I had to run across O'Hare once to catch a connection and that was a nightmare.

Thanks for the info about the Bahamas. I am taking a cruise there in a few months and I can hardly wait! We only have one day on Nassau and I think I may just hit the beach instead of trying to do it all. Can you recommend any beaches that you really liked?

Purza

serendipity

Hi Free,

I've had enough delayed flight experiences that I've learned to carry trail mix with me, heavy on the nuts. It's filling, and it's a great meal replacement. Those protein bars are good too, if you can stomach the taste. Also bottled water. I'm glad the rest of your trip went ok.

free2beme

If your going to the Bahamas, this is the place to shop. It is called the straw market and very cheap and your get all you need right here. Unless you want Hard Rock Cafe stuff, and that is a few blocks away.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/file/CDAACF4F-9F58-4727-B101-86722D0D073E.ashx
This is where your cruise ship will come in. This is taken from a fort overlooking the city. As you can see, your no where near a beach.

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/file/555DFE6F-7E5F-4E12-A14B-EE992200751D.ashx http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/file/BD802587-FAF5-41A3-B798-5BE4D7D78A46.ashx This is a closer look. It is the tropics, so as much as you image in blue skies the whole time, expect skies that look like this at times. It is still very hot and these blow away normally by the afternoon. You'll welcome these days at times, as when it is blue skies with no clouds, it is very hot. From this location you enter Nassau and can catch taxis. The locals raise all their prices, when the cruise ships are in town. We were in a store, where we saw rum cakes go from $5.99 one day to $12.99 when the cruise ships arrived. From your cruise ship you can see the Atlantis across the bay, and that is Paradise Island. Expensive shopping over there, but good beaches on the other side.

Across the bay from Nassau are other beaches. Unfortunately, no good beaches within walking distance. Taxi for everything. If you want some simple snorkeling, do a booze cruise. They will take you between the channel of the two islands and you will see some fish and have fun. If you can though, sign up to snorkel through Stuart Cove's snorkeling. It is about a 30 ride from Nassau, on the other side of the island, but AMAZING! BTW, a taxi ride to Paradise Island is about $10 each way and in the Bahamas they take USA money and drive on the opposite side of the road as us ... former British Colony. Most of what you want to do there, depends on how much time you have and when your cruise ship arrives. Enjoy!

The Bahamas were great, traveling there was not so great.

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