Cruises · 2016 · Enhanced edition

Where It Started: Our Honeymoon Cruise to the Bahamas

The first Traveling Churches story follows our 2016 honeymoon from Charleston to Nassau and Freeport, then to a Duke football weekend in Durham.

Trip at a glance

Date: September 2016
Occasion: Our honeymoon
Route: Charleston to Nassau and Freeport
Bonus stop: Duke football and basketball history in Durham

Charleston and embarkation

We drove about six hours to Charleston, stopped at d.d. Peckers for wings and a beer flight, and spent the night at a Super 8. Faster to the Fun helped once we reached the terminal, though Charleston's parking and boarding process was still the longest and most difficult we had experienced.

Lunch on the Lido deck, a porthole room by 1 p.m., the 4 p.m. safety briefing, and 6 p.m. dinner established the cruise rhythm. Pizza, sushi, the casino, bingo, deck time, and Elegant Night filled the days at sea.

Nassau: A walking bar tour

The Fiesta Bar Tour connected Margaritaville, Hard Rock, and Green Parrot. Our guide mixed local stories with drinks, and the value made it a strong introduction to Nassau.

Freeport: Beach time and Bahamian beer

In Freeport, my wife relaxed in the sun while I sampled local beers including Sands, Bush Crack, Strongback stout, and High Rock Light. The independent beach day cost less than a formal excursion and gave us the simple pace we wanted.

Durham after the cruise

We extended the honeymoon with a Duke football game, the Duke Basketball Museum, and Cameron Indoor Stadium. Seeing Grayson Allen, Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum, and Antonio Vrankovic around the program made the stop especially memorable.

Final thoughts

This trip started both our marriage and the travel stories that followed. The ports were fun, but the lasting lesson was how much we enjoyed combining a cruise with food, sports, and discoveries along the road.

Plan your own trip

Nassau & Freeport First-Cruise Guide

For a first cruise, keep the Bahamas ports simple and spend as much planning effort on documents, embarkation, and return timing as on excursions.

Start with the right base

Review the current itinerary, port times, documentation, and excursion requirements before booking. A pre-cruise hotel night protects the trip from a long drive or travel delay.

First-cruise plan

Before you go

Arrive in Charleston a day early; keep documents and medication in carry-on bags; choose a guided Nassau tour or focused beach day; use licensed transportation and return well before all-aboard.

Keep it balanced

Choose one priority experience, one flexible stop, and enough unscheduled time for meals, weather changes, and discoveries along the way.

Official planning information

Use our trip as a starting point

The original story shows what worked for us and what we would change. Prices, hours, menus, ships, excursion operators, and attraction features may be different now, so verify the details that matter to your group.