Princess Cays Bahamas
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Things to Do on Princess Cays
Princess Cays in the Bahamas is Princess Cruise Lines private island for it's
passengers. We spent a day here when we visited the island while on the Grand
Princess on Christmas Day, 2011. We had a good time on the island and were
impressed by it.
See
how we spent our time here.
Well I guess it is obvious, but I will say it anyway, the most popular activity here is to hang out on the beach. We were impressed as we got over there later in the morning and there were still beach chairs available.
You may not get the best seat later in the day, but there were chairs available,
when we went over about 11:30 am.
The beach chairs are free to use, but you have to bring your towels from the ship. Princess also gives you a beach bag to use which is quite helpful. You will find a bar (of course) to buy drinks at and as you disembark, you can purchase bottled water to take with you.
If you forget to bring sunscreen, hat or other beach items, you can purchase them at the Princess store, and charge them to your ship card.
You can rent water noodles or floats to enjoy the day. They range in price from $5-$10 for the day.
Other Options for Enjoying the Beach at Princess Cays
If you would prefer a quieter experience on Princess Cays you have a couple of options:
Rent a Beach Clamshell:
- a made for two clamshell on a quieter part of the island - turn right and go the opposite way to the rest of the beach goers.
- Costs about $29 for the day
- Provides great shade and protection from the wind
- Maximum two people
- includes two lounge chairs
- beautiful views of the ocean and the ship you are on
- Book before you get there to ensure you get one. You can book them on Princess Cruise Lines shore excursions page on their website
Rent a Cabana (if we were up for a beach day we would have done this as we always find it worth it and we are not much of a lying in the sun/on the beach people):
- 2 types of Cabanas - Regular Private Bungalow and the Adults Sanctuary Bungalows
- A private retreat for maximum 4 people, although other visitors report that they had more than 4 people
- costs about $200 - $250 for the rental of the cabana depending on which bungalows you choose
- Can use the Bungalow all day you are on the island
- Bungalow is air conditioned
- 4 chairs inside the cabana and 2 lounge chairs
- Adult Sanctuary Bungalows are located on the adult only beach
- You get a cabana boy to take your drink orders
- They will take you by golf cart to your bungalow from the tender
- Fresh water shower
- Regular bungalows are close to snorkelling area
- You get 4 Priority tender tickets
- Option of purchasing a gourmet lunch that they bring to you (includes lobster tails and shrimp) - about $25 per person
- Make sure you book on the shore excursion part of Princess Cays website to make sure you don't miss out!
The main reason we chose not to rent a cabana was because of the time of year we were visiting. We arrived on Christmas Day and our experience of the Bahamas is that December's weather can be iffy. So we decided not to take the chance and just spend a couple of hours checking out the island instead.
Activities on Princess Cays
If you are looking for things to do on Princess Cays, you wont' have to look much further than the shore excursion desk or the water sports hut.
If you are looking to see the fish you can snorkel or rent one of these cool Oceanviewing sea boards. You just float on top and there is a place to look through the board and see the fish. Essentially you can see the fish and snorkel without being in the water. You can rent them for a hour for about $10. There were quite a few people enjoying these while we were there. Make sure you book early though as they may sell out for the day.
You can also rent kayaks, windsurfers, paddle wheelers, aqua chairs or a hobie cat.
If you want to snorkel, then do down to Davey Jones Locker to rent the equipment ($25 for the day). You get to use it all day. If you have equipment then I would suggest you bring it as $25 is a bit expensive for me
Davey Jones' Locker
They are very particular on where you can snorkel and where you can't. Just look out for the markers and listen to the security guards.
We were surprised at how many fish there were there. It made for some fun for our friends who chose to snorkel.
Kids Activities on Princess Cays
Princess essentially offers a supervised play area from 11 am to 4 pm. There may be other activities, check the Kids Princess Patter to see what is going on. Otherwise there are all of the beach activities that kids love to do, but you are responsible for them.
Princess Cays - Lunchtime!
Lunch is served in a buffet format and wasn't bad. Your typical beach food, hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, chicken etc. One thing that annoyed us was that we purchased the soda card on the ship and were told we couldn't use it on the island. So for a soda you had to pay for a can or drink the iced tea or whatever drinks they offered in the buffet line.
Having lunch
My lunch
Essentially the food was similar to what you would find on the pool deck on the ship. It was fine.
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Great Stirrup Cay
NCL's 250 acre private island in the Bahamas. Enjoy beach combing, snorkelling, sunbathing, swimming, beach sports, or hanging in a hammock.
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