Testimonials

"We had an amazing week in Nassau, much of it thanks to Gail Cartwright. She is friendly, amazingly generous. We spent an entire day with her, and that evening her husband Bob joined us for dinner. Our trip would not have been as good without them. Many thanks to you for pairing us with Gail. She is an amazing ambassador for Nassau and The Bahamas."
– Dave and Diana Robertson
  Date of visit: February 19-24, 2009

"We had arranged through the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism website, Bahamas.com, to experience the People-to-People program. This is a program sponsored by the government, which introduces people, couples, and families, to similar groups on the islands. The hosts are volunteers and are not paid, but may receive perks like dinners or meetings when they have completed several visits. In our case, we were joined with Deborah and Dwayne, who are our age, have the same number of children, and are active in their church and community. It was truly a match. We drove in their car around Freeport, West End, Lucaya, Ginn, the Airport, and other places. We shopped with them, saw where their children went to school, and visited the community where John Travolta’s home is. From there we stopped and talked with some local fishermen (conch men?) who were cleaning huge tubs of conch. We learned how to open and clean them, and how to tell the lady conch from the male.

 

"They were also very friendly, and not bothered by our questions and photos. Wherever we went our hosts saw someone that knew them; it was truly great being shown around by them. We ate lunch at the beach in Ginn, cracked conch for all. We discovered that Deborah, our host, was a columnist in the local paper and she drove first to the office to get us a copy (they were out) and then to their home to give us their own copy. In addition she showed us the book she published in the local Christian bookstore and signed the copy that we purchased. We had a great day (about 6 hours) and got back to the port (where Dwayne works) just in time for leisurely boarding. The gate guard, who knew Dwayne, pretended to give him a hard time, (for the cameras) and then allowed our hosts to approach the ship for some photos with us. I think they had a great time, as we did. I highly recommend this program – especially for those that enjoy immersing themselves in the local culture. Those that say Freeport is not a good port excursion are missing out."

– Charles "Chuck" L. McNeil (chuck2810@ccrtc.com)
  Date of visit: January 12-16, 2009
"We had a wonderful time meeting and talking with Helena. Thank you for the opportunity to see more about how people in the Bahamas live! The only thing that I would suggest is letting the host know they are hosting other than by email. Helena didn't know that we were coming and couldn't contact us before we came (and had to rearrange her schedule when we did,) so maybe calling or sending a letter via the post would be a better way to make sure the host knows the visitors are coming. Thank you again!"
– Anna DeMers
  Date of visit: January 9-16, 2009
"Our experience with the People to People service was fabulous! We were treated like royalty by Mrs. Carolyn Strahan (not sure of the spelling!)! It was so wonderful to be immersed in the culture of the native citizens during our visit to Nassau. Carolyn took us on a tour of the island before taking us to church services (which we had requested). We ate lunch with her family and later enjoyed sitting on the porch listening to the recollections of precious 100+ year-old Miss Alberta! Thank you kindly for providing this unique experience!"
– Nancy Graham, North Myrtle Beach, SC
  Date of visit: January 3, 2009
"I can't tell you how much I have appreciated and valued the "People-to-People" program. I could not have asked for a more wonderful experience. I was matched with Thurza Saunders-Pratt and I will cherish my time with her friends and family for a very long time. Thurza invited me to her house for Christmas Day dinner which was an absolute honour to me - I never thought for a minute that she would be so welcoming. She is an absolutely wonderful woman who I enjoyed my every moment with. Thurza introduced me to her amazing collection of friends and family and she went above and beyond in welcoming me to your beautiful island - from sightseeing trips around the island, to family dinners, to evenings out for live entertainment, I could not have asked for more!!!!!!!

"Another extraordinary person I met was DeAnne Gibson - DeAnne called me the evening of Christmas Junkanoo to offer me a free ticket to Junkanoo - this was better than offering me a million dollars!!!!!!!! I was looking so forward to experiencing a live Caribbean Carnival but had not realized there was seating and so forth so when DeAnne offered me this ticket, I was incredibly touched by her generosity. Furthermore, DeAnne offered to have her son drop off the ticket to me and invited me to sit with her family - there was no end to the warmth, generosity, and friendliness shown to me! This act of kindness was especially touching as DeAnne did not have to do this, but she made it a point to invite me which meant the world to me - again, experiencing the Carnival was absolutely amazing. Having the opportunity to experience Junkanoo with her family was also wonderful as being out all night on my own was a bit daunting to me initially so her invitation and this experience was absolutely perfect. I have shared my stories and pictures with friends and family and I have many Canadians wanting to visit your beautiful island.

"Again, the warmth of the Bahamian people was evident everywhere I went - it is truly a special island and the best part is the people - I will cherish my trip and most of all, Thurza and DeAnne touched my heart and soul and I will be forever grateful for their incredible hospitality. I only hope that our paths cross again some day and certainly I would love to repay their kindness if they were to ever come to Canada. You have an absolutely amazing program and I feel so blessed to have taken part in it. Words truly cannot do my experience justice and I have hundreds of fond memories to keep. Even my guesthouse owner gave me little kisses on the cheek in the mornings and wished me a good day - I hope Bahamian people realize how wonderful they are and what a very special thing they have in terms of the beauty, culture, and, of course, the people - thank you from the bottom of my heart."
– Kathy Burt, Prince Edward Island, Canada
  Date of visit: December 20, 2008 - January 3, 2009
"We would like to thank you and the People-to-People program for introducing us to our host, Mr. & Mrs. Barnett and Family. Their greetings and warm hospitality made our stay especially pleasurable during the holiday season. We love the Bahamas and when we visit we usually stay within the hotel property or the downtown area. The Barnetts invited us into their beautiful home where we absolutely enjoyed ourselves with great conversations and wonderfully delicious Bahamian meals. We met with extended family members which enhanced our in site on how the economy works in the Bahamas. And to top it off was the Junkanoo festival. We had and outstanding time. Thank you. This program is the best way to bring together the visitors and the locals for a truly uniquely rewarding experience. We had a great time!"
– The Eubanks' Family
  Date of visit: December 20-27, 2008
"I have to say this was the highlight of our vacation. We enjoyed several hours touring your beautiful island with our tour guide Janice. She was very friendly and made us feel so welcome. We had an opportunity to meet her family and have a great local chicken lunch. This was our third trip to the Bahamas and we truly enjoyed this day. Thank you and we will be back soon."
– Julie Wingate
  Date of visit: December 14-21, 2008

"We had a wonderful time with Michelle and her family. It was a very nice experience for my son too: even though he doesn't speak English, he made a great connection with Jordan, Michelle's son, and they both understand each other with signals and body expressions. Since Michelle works in education, as well as my husband, they had the opportunity of exchanging ideas.

 

"We met twice: the first time we participate at Michelle's sister's birthday. The second time we had the opportunity of dining at her home and they took us to visit the aquarium at the Atlantis hotel. It was a very nice experience and hope we can some time receive them at home as well.

 

"I also received two messages in the hotel voice mail from someone of the Ministry of Tourism inviting us to see the Parade. Unfortunately that day, we arrived rather late from a tour we made to other islands; but we could see a bit of it on TV. Thank you very much for letting us be part of this experience. Best regards." 
– Maísa Prieto
  Date of visit: December 7-12, 2008

"Our meeting with Roderick was great. He picked us up at our hotel and was so nice. He was eager to answer all our questions. Sometimes we felt like we didn't have enough of them! He took us all over the island and explained everything. Told us all about the culture. He asked us where we would like to go and off we went. We went and saw his workplace and met his son at his home. He took us to the Fire Dept. and we met some of the officers there. We went to Queen's Staircase and to Ft. Fincastle. He took us to Fish Fry and we had a wonderful meal of Conch Salad and Sky Juice. It was amazing. We spent all day with him and he even offered to spend the next day with us and take us to church. I regret that we already had plans for that day. He has emailed us since and made us feel like we have a new friend. Your program is wonderful, please keep it going. Thank You so much!"

– Wendy & Terry Bowen
  Date of visit: December 4-12, 2008

"WOW!! WOW!! WOW!! is all I can say about Patricia Bazard!!

From communication prior to our arrival, to picking us up at the airport amidst her busy schedule, to driving us to Dolphin Cay, to preparing a fabulous meal (which due to a communication mix-up we didn't even get to enjoy), Patricia went way out of her way to make us feel at home while we were in The Bahamas. I also had the privilege to speak with her husband regarding real estate in The Bahamas."

– Rob & Eula Lang, Kansas
  Date of visit: December 4-7, 2008 
The Islands Of The Bahamas