Our final port stop, in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, promised to be a low-key time, in keeping with the theme of the entire cruise thus far. I had read on Trip Advisor about Banana Bay, which looked like a really promising place to spend a day on the beach. But, we were only in port until 1:30 pm, so we chose to stay near the ship and head back on board earlier rather than later, to take advantage of an almost-empty Serenity area. Here are our top things to do near the ship in Freeport while on a cruise.
Things to Do in Freeport Harbour
- Hang out at Senor Frog’s. We stopped into Senor Frog’s for a drink and to look at the souvenirs. It’s a chain restaurant and bar which is a notorious party spot where people tend to think it’s safe to get plastered, because it’s about 500 paces from the cruise ship. We weren’t trying to get plastered – check that, we weren’t trying to PAY to get plastered, when we had Cheers! and could get plastered for free on board. What we wanted to do was take in some atmosphere while enjoying a drink or two. So, that’s what we did.
2. Shop at the straw market. Freeport has a pretty extensive straw market with local vendors selling souvenirs of all types. You have to be adept at haggling, and willing to walk away if they don’t come down enough on the prices. A lot of the vendors sell a bunch of the same things, but every now and then you can find a unique item for a good price. Along with the outdoor stalls, there are also plenty of indoor spaces. There is also a pharmacy, which came in handy this trip, because I needed some Benadryl. It was expensive, but cheaper than what was sold on the Carnival Pride.
3. Enjoy some local flavors. Of all of the things to do close to port on a cruise stop, this may be one of our favorites. Along with the souvenir vendors, there are also plenty of food and drink stalls run by “locals.” We enjoyed some truly delectable drinks with rum at a stand right by the port. The last time we were in Freeport, these same lovely people were selling their drinks under a portable tent; this time we looked for them and thought that they had gone out of business, but we stumbled across them in their very own vending space! We were happy that their business was still hopping, but also more than happy to get our hands on those drinks!
After a couple of passes around the Freeport Harbor area, we headed back to the Carnival Pride, took further advantage of our Cheers! Package, and soaked in the pool on the Serenity deck.
The Last Sea Day & Debarkation
The next day was a sea day, our last day on board before we docked back in Baltimore and had to face real life again. We split the day between lido deck, the Serenity area, and some random trivia activities. Had our last dinner in the Normandie dining room, packed up and put our luggage outside of our stateroom door to be picked up for us so we wouldn’t have to lug it off ourselves, and then made stops at Alchemy, the atrium bar, and the Red Frog Rum bar to bid farewell to our favorite bartenders and tip them for their friendly service.
The next morning we waited in the Red Frog Rum bar, our designated priority area, for our debarkation zone number to be called. Dinged off of the ship one last time, headed down the gangway into the port, grabbed our bags, and went through customs. The next thing we knew, we were in our car and on I-95 north headed back to New Jersey, and it wasn’t even 11:00 yet. Booooo (not to New Jersey, but to having to get off of the ship)!
Rethink Traveling to Port the Day of!
On the way home, we noticed a huge traffic back-up on the southbound side of the highway; it was miles and miles long. It turned out that a grocery store tractor trailer had overturned and the highway was impassible. Once we were safely home and I had logged back on to social media, it became apparent that a lot of people who were headed to the Carnival Pride were stuck in that traffic. Sadly, some didn’t make it. This further reinforced my now set-in-stone philosophy that we need to always travel to port at least the day before the cruise.
We had experienced a truly dope cruise, on a dope ship, with dope people. I was gratified to have been able to spend so much time relaxing with my husband, and rested easy in the knowledge that we don’t always have to “turn up” to have a great time with one another.
Thank you so much for reading about our adventure on the Carnival Pride, and things to do if you want to stay near the ship in Freeport on your cruise stop. Please click here to read about the rest of our dope adventure on the Carnival Pride. Happy sailing!