Bahamas

Before I knew it, my cousin's Bachelorette cruise to the Bahamas was ready to set sail and I was out for having the time of my life.  What I loved the most about my trip to the Bahamas was the care free lifestyle of the people, the way I could wake up, eat, drink, dance, sleep and repeat on this cruise and the memories I will cherish with my family in celebration of her upcoming wedding. -Nina

Overview

• Food- The best food we had was this conch fritters, man they were so delish! I would say that if you want to try conch to get off the ship or start your day early because they catch the conch and cook it straight from the ocean. We had to switch restaurants because the first one was out and this was around 3:30pm. So start on your conch hunt early!

• Language - They spoke English with us and it was really easy to communicate. Bahamian Creole (or Bahamian dialect or Bahamianese) is an English-based creole language spoken mainly in the Bahamas.

• Currency-The conversion rate is 1 Bahamian Dollar to 1 USD. We paid with credit card at Señor Frogs and at the restaurant

• Religion-Protestant Christian denominations make up a majority and include Baptists (35 percent), Anglicans/Episcopalians (15 percent), Pentecostals (8 percent), Church of God (5 percent), Seventh-day Adventists (5 percent), and Methodists (4 percent). Fourteen percent of the population is Roman Catholic

• Safety-Having traveled to Thailand before the Bahamas I was under the impression that as long as you use the same caution you would use when traveling you will be pretty safe. While we were visiting on this cruise I felt like once we got off the ship I used the same caution to watch my personal belongings, we bought our own drinks or got drinks from people who work at the bars. I did a bit more research to find out that there have been a lot of reports of women being drugged and assaulted or raped. Since growing up and going away for college I always had my guard up not to accept drinks from people I didn't know and trust. Ladies if you are travelling alone or in small groups, have each others backs and me mindful. Here is an article to read more on safety as crime is big in the Bahamas.

• Race & Ethnicity-Afro-Bahamian. Afro-Bahamians are an ethnicity originating in The Bahamas of predominantly African descent. The first Africans to arrive to The Bahamas came from Bermuda with the Eleutheran Adventurers. According to the 2010 Census, 92.7% of The Bahamas' population is African or African mixed with European

• Politics- The politics of the Bahamas takes place within a framework of parliamentary democracy, with a Prime Minister as the head of government. The Bahamas is an independent country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

• Transportation- If you plan to stay in the port I would say walk on the busy streets with your group. It will give you the opportunity to see some of the hand crafts, souvenirs and restaurants of the port area. You can also grab a cab from the main port area, but I would advise only work with licensed taxi drivers. Also you could take a horse and carriage ride or a boat ride.

• Accommodations- We stayed on the ship so we didn't have the opportunity to see what hotels and such were like on the island so I would still recommend a cruise

• Over all attitude towards tourists- The people we encountered on our visit were very warm and inviting. One restaurant owner helped us find conch fritters at another restaurant when they had ran out. The fun staff at Señor Frogs made sure we had a lot of fun and the bar tenders really made our experience fun. The street vendors were trying to sell us their goods but weren't aggressive. I believe the overall attitude of the people on the island were positive as I know they make the majority of their income off tourists.

• How to Dress- I would say dress beach casual. I wore a bathing suit with a cover up and sandals and so did the ladies I was travelling with. For the guys I would say a tee and swim trunks is good. It is a beach town and port so I would dress as such. I would not recommend bringing valuables like diamonds or jewelry that looks expensive. Since the town is so casual you would be a target for theft, so leave your flashy jewelry at home.