Checking Out Freeport

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Today we’re in Freeport, Bahamas. Freeport doesn’t get great reviews from any crew I’ve spoken to. And apparently ship comment card ratings drop after we go there. But it’s the only Caribbean port of Carnival’s that I hadn’t been to, so I figured I had to still get off the ship and just see for myself.

The port itself is mainly industrial. Shipping crates everywhere. It’s also one of the main ports we use on the East Coast for dry dock (when our ships go under renovations for a couple weeks). Currently, the Destiny is in dry dock. I stood out on the Glory’s deck and looked across to her, that old ship of mine . . . I was only there a few months, but so much happened there.

Port Lucaya is the main town to go to on Grand Bahama Island, so that’s where I went. It’s about a 20 minute drive from the ship. Which I was okay with, cause then I’d get to see some of the island. But there wasn’t much to see. Industrial area, trees, the odd hotel, a couple schools and churches. That’s about it.

What was interesting though, was to see the effects of the last hurricane. Tons of trees split in half. A hotel closed up with windows boarded. We passed the International Bizarre, which normally is a popular shopping area for the tourists, but it was mostly closed because of damage. The taxi driver said the entire area had been flooded. Hard to imagine when only a week and a bit later it’s already completely dry. Shows how hot it really is down here.

We reached Port Lucaya. I spent some time wandering the shops and the straw market. Picked up some presents for some birthdays I’m missing while I’m here. Bought a handmade doll for my collection. So that was good. But really, there just wasn’t a whole lot to see.

So I headed to the beach. There’s a big long public beach that runs along all the big hotels and the casino. It was nice. But one of the things about working on a ship and going to so many ports is that you see a lot of incredible beaches. So a nice beach, is just, well, nice.

The water was really stirred up, likely from the recent storms, so it was pretty murky for the Caribbean. And lots of plants had leaves and what not floating around. But still, the sun was shining, there was a lovely breeze drifting across the water. And so I laid in the sun and swam in the water and walked through the sand.

And that was Freeport. Not especially exciting. But regardless, I’ve now been there and done that.

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