Port: Nassau
Language: English
Currency: Bahamian Dollar on par with the US$

Shopping: Most of the stores are along an eight block stretch of Bay Street in Nassau.
Watches have always been an excellent buy and are available in most stores. No shortage of t-shirt shops and the obligatory trek to the downtown straw market is traditional. Straw hats, straw bags, straw shoes, straw underwear, just about anything made from straw. As in any primary resort destination you will find most food and beverage quite expensive.

Port Facilities: The cruise ship docks right in the middle of town. Just a quick walk away from the pier and within a block is the main shopping district.

Transportation: A ferry commutes between the dock area and Paradise Island. Taxis and even luxurious air-conditioned limousines are always available in most every location. Horse drawn carriages are available across from the dock at Rawson Square for short 20 minute tours of the downtown area.  www.bahamasairporttaxi.com

Beaches: The islands of Paradise Island are always "happening" and are easily reached by taxi. There are also very nice beaches located near Cable Beach with all the usual beach amenities and dazzling beachfront resorts.  For great snorkeling, try Love Beach near Gambier Village west of downtown Nassau.  For secluded beach locations, try South Ocean Beach, close to Adelaide Village and the Caves Beach in Rock Point close to the airport.

Points of Interest: Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island has established itself as the attraction of choice. The Queen’s Staircase, Fort Fincastle and Fort Charlotte, Coral World all are worth the time. Several ships offer out island excursions to Blue Lagoon Island.

Head over to the man-made island of Arawak Cay, a local beach dusted with pastel-colored shacks, incredibly fresh conch from vendors cracking the mollusks right before your eyes, fried fish and grits, lime-marinated conch and plenty of coconut milk laced with gin. Very popular, especially with the locals, and very crowded, especially on weekend evenings from 5 p.m. until midnight. On the harbor, across from Fort Charlotte.

The conch vendors are just part of the scene at Potters Cay, a Bahamian marketplace beneath Paradise Island Bridge. Here, you'll find plenty of vendors selling locals goods to both the locals and tourists.

The Cloister: -- it's right in front of the Ocean Club -- is a 14th-century cloister, built in France by Augustinian monks and reassembled here stone by stone. Huntington Hartford, the A & P grocery heir, purchased the cloister from the estate of William Randolph Hearst at Sam Simeon in California. This is one of only four cloisters that have ever been removed stone by stone from France. Paradise Island.

Graycliff: Food's great, they have nearly 180,000 bottles of wine (worth millions of dollars) and they make their own cigars. We say go all out and order the Perigord Goose Liver black truffles! Reservations a must. Monday - Friday noon - 3 p.m. Per-person cost for three courses including wine will run about $50 W. Hill St, Nassau.

We dare you to take a royal climb up the 66 steps of the Queen's Staircase, which was carved out of calcareous, a coral-based sandstone at the end of the 18th century. The stupendous view is the prize for such athleticism. Elizabeth Ave., Nassau.

For those who love British pomp and circumstance, see the changing of the guard at the Government House every other Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, accompanied by the music of the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band. The official residence of the governor-general of the Bahamas since 1801, this bubble-gum-pink mansion is an excellent example of Bahamian-British and American Colonial architecture. Duke St., Nassau.