Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ENTERTAINMENT
Downtown Nassau is strangely dead at night, once the day's business is put to bed. Cruise-
ship passengers return to their ships and the Christian community, including the Bahamas
Christian Council, have influenced the decision to centralize nightspots in a couple of areas.
Anyone who wants to party should head for the tourist nightspots of Cable Beach and
Paradise Island. Here you can party and swill at will!
Nightclubs
There are numerous clubs that come and go, but the following are staunch favorites. Some
clubs only open at weekends in quieter periods but then party nightly during the peak times
of Spring Break, Easter, Christmas and New Year. Admission prices vary wildly, usually
anywhere from $5 to $30 (or more, in the case of Atlantis).
GAY & LESBIAN NASSAU
The pink dollar is not welcomed by many Bahamians and there are few public
illustrations of support for a Bahamian gay and lesbian population across the is-
lands, unless individuals openly support the political pressure group Rainbow
Alliance. Sadly, although Bahamians are generally an extremely tolerant and
friendly people, the pervasiveness of fundamentalist religious beliefs has
fostered intolerance of progressive lifestyles, particularly towards gays and les-
bians.
Most Bahamian gays are still deeply in the closet, and the nation has draconi-
an laws against homosexual activity, which is punishable by prison terms. Laws
are strictly enforced and public expressions of affection between gays will bring
trouble.
In 1998 a group called Save the Bahamas made waves when it protested
against the arrival of a gay charter-cruise. The group compounded the negative
press by also protesting against the arrival of the company Holland America's
Veendam,
which they mistakenly believed was chartered by a gay group, caus-
ing Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham to issue a public apology.
This remonstration was then followed up by a preemptive protest against the
docking of the
Norwegian Dawn,
a gay family cruise backed by American
comedian and actor Rosie O'Donnell, in July 2004. By the actual date of the
cruise ship's arrival, the previously vocal protestors were greatly reduced in
number, but among them were the Bahamian gay rights group Rainbow Alli-
ance, who met and welcomed the cruise ship's gay and lesbian passengers.
