Hi there,
Back again, after finally settling our long negotiations with Sandals Executive offices in regards to re-coup our Sept. Honeymoon due to Hurricane Ivan. Thanks specifically to *Robin* for your help!

Anyway, we've decided to go to the Royal Bahamian, so I'd love to hear your expereinces.. ..things you did or planning on doing in terms of excursions. Did you go over to the Atlantis hotel? If so, what did you do over there? Favorite things about SRB? Not so favorite?

Thanks!!!

P.S. I've already checked out trip advisor, chrys-n-cheryls.com, etc. I would love some information from users of this site! Thanks!

Hi Bride,

If you give me your email address, I'll link you to my photo album of 32 pics of my 2 trips to SRB, the most recent being March 2004. I can also answer any questions you have about excursions we took and stuff. It's a wonderful resort, you will enjoy it!

bride2be,

I haven't been to Sandals in the Bahamas, but I used to go to the Bahamas a lot. What time of year will you be going? There's lots to do in the Bahamas. A lot of it involves little jaunts to other islands. If you're into snorkeling, then I might suggest Powerboat Adventures. They run over to Great Exuma island. Several other underwater things there as well. Andros island has eco-tour stuff. There's underwater . .. .. . uh.. .. . bikes? . .. ..kinda like minisubs that you sit on with your head in a bubble so you're breathing like normal. Horseback riding on south beach right there on New Providence island. There are casinos you can check out if you're into that. The blue lagoon dolphin encounter is popular, but I tend to shy away from those where the dolphins are in an enclosure. It's neat but touristy. If you've never done it before it's almost life-altering. But much better to find a skipper that'll take you out to find a pod of free-swimming dolphins. That way the encounter is THEIR choice as well.

So like I said, not a lot of info from me on this particular Sandals, but . .. .. . I love the Bahamas. Time of year is kind of important though.

I thought Royal Bahamian was the perfect resort. Not too big, not too small. Beach is quaint, but you can take a 2 minute ride out to the island and waste your day away there in peace and serenity on the private island. I stayed in the villas.. ..which I thought were great.. ..we enjoyed sitting on our back porch in the lush gardens eating our breakfast.. .. ..we didn't mind not having ocean view, as we were out by the pools (which I have seen pics of other sandals.. ..the pools at RB seem to be the best) and the beach all day long. We gained 10 pounds each on the vacation.. ..I would rate the food a B+, always something to grab and always something to drink.. ..I plan on going back in 2006.. ..have to save my money up to go.

I think we are looking at going to the Royal Bahamian in late July.

(Still prime hurricane season.. ..we're crazy, I know- hopefully Ivan was a fluke for us and we'll be hurricane free this time) but, the average temperatures show that July and Aug. is when the Bahamas is the warmest (and it only shows the upper 80's). .

late July you could see some interesting weather. Or not.. .. . definitely warm. In the 80s easily, but also the surrounding waters will be warmer as well. Very enjoyable.

We went to SRB Jan of this year.. ..we loved it. The night life was fantastic and the off shore island the best. They started the dancing every night around 10 or so and we danced until 1 or 2 a couple of nights.The inhouse band was excellent. Fun..Fun.. . Fun.
The food was great, many different resturants to choose from. We dressed up every night but plenty of guests were casual.
There are two large pools plus some smaller ones, with plenty of seating, towles and drinks. The swim up bars are great fun. The beach front is a little small, but was just fine. No snorkling on the resort side, but a few people were right off the shore on the island. We went to the off shore island almost every day and just loved it. Quiet and not too crowded. We moved the lounge chairs off to the sandy shore facing the resort and read and watched the boats sail by.There is another side where you can do the same but was too windy when we were there. The dinner they have on the island is worth it if you can get a reservation.
Rooms were done nicely, we stayed out in the villas and just loved sitting on our patio. Getting picked up in the Royls Royce was a total thrill.We had room service for a couple of breakfasts and had a small pool in our back yard. The water was a little too cool for me but hubby went in a couple of times. Since you are gong in July should be no problem. Our daughter went last July and the pool water and ocean temp was perfect.
If you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

I went Royal bahamian in January. Water to cold then.

We went To SRB in July and loved it!!! WE did go to atlantis - I didnt like it because it just reminded me of the casinos in lasvegas.. .. . it is a beautiful resort though. I like the size of RB the beach is a little small but the water was great. The worst thing in July was the weather.. .. .. . Everyday it rained. Usually it lasted only a hour or two - It did rain for one whole day though. Nonetheless I loved it!

What excursions did anyone do? (About how much did they cost). . I'm considering booking our own excursions outside of Sandals-I think it might be a better deal. Has anyone else done that? What's your opinion?

We loved SRB. We were there last April. We did go to the Atlantis and booked through Sandals. If you want to just go into Nassau, you can take the #10 bus which stops right in front of the Sandals resort. Plus, Sandals also has a free shuttle to a casino. You really don't need to plan a lot of excursions as there is so much you can do on your own.