Friday, April 12, 2024

Princess Cays: What you need to know about Princess Cruises Private Destination 2024

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Visit the Princess Tropical Treasures Boutique for some colorful island/beachwear. Other shops are run by local vendors with plenty of souvenirs, T-shirts, hats, shells and other regional items. Strolling around is easy here, with bridges connecting Princess Cays’ attractions. But you could also venture deeper by booking a tour of the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve.

Is There Shopping in Princess Cays Bahamas?

There’s nothing nicer on a beach day than a cool, refreshing drink! Princess Cays has plenty of bar options for you to choose from, located on both sides of the resort. Princess Cays offers multiple sandy beaches, so there’s always plenty of room for sunbathing, swimming, and snorkeling from the beach. Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S.

princess cays carnival cruise

Using your drink package on Princess Cays

Guided bus tours are available and will transport guests in air-conditioned comfort on a  scenic drive. See the main highlights of this 110-mile long island which has just one main highway. The resort has over 3,000 beach chairs scattered around so you don’t have to pay for a nice comfortable beach chair. In March 2019, 700 acres of Eleuthera at Lighthouse Point was purchased by Disney Cruise Line. They plan to develop their own cruise port resort at a cost of around $400 million. As part of the agreement with the Bahamian government, they will donate 190 acres, including the southernmost tip of Eleuthera, as a protected national park.

Quick Facts about Eleuthera

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There are about 18 of these bungalows located around the resort. Bungalows come with priority tender tickets, air-conditioning, a personal attendant, soft drinks and snacks, and use of a motorized cart. A bungalow rental on the adults-only Sanctuary portion of the resort starts at $300 and there are seven of these available to rent.

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However, snorkeling fans tend to give the edge to Princess Cays – the waters are a little clearer, the wildlife more diverse, and it’s easier to explore directly from the shore as well. Guests tend to love that feeling of exclusivity in a tropical destination, away from the bigger crowds. Cruise lines can make the most of this through exclusive excursions and activities that attract more guests and can bring in more cash, too.

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Tender boats are primarily used at each destination to transfer guests from the ship to land. On Half Moon Cay, trams are available from the Welcome Center to the buffet area and back throughout the day. On Princess Cays, a motorized cart delivers passengers with reservations to their private cabanas. Visitors can rent equipment for snorkeling, kayaking and floating, plus beach clamshells and bungalows at both locations. At each island destination, you will find first come, first serve free beach chairs and hammocks, as well as a standard island barbecue buffet.

Winter tends to be the dry season at Princess Cays, while summers bring more rain and often daily thunderstorms. Hurricane season in the Bahamas runs from June 1 through November 30. While you’re exploring Princess Cays, there are a few other points of interest you might like to check out. There aren’t any private shower facilities on Princess Cays, but there are several outdoor showers for a quick rinse scattered around the resort.

Additional FAQs on Princess Cays

Similar to onboard Princess Cruises’ ships, the Sanctuary is the place for the over-18 crowd to unwind. On Princess Cays, it is a roped-off section of the beach reserved for adults to sunbathe in relative peace. This guide to everything you need to know about Princess Cays shares how it stands out among the other private islands in the Bahamas. Just as onboard, there is a free buffet and BBQ near the Princess Cays pier for cruisers to enjoy an excellent selection of delicious meats, salads and desserts. Princess Cays is exclusively visited by Princess and Carnival cruise ships.

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Anyone who isn’t a US citizen will, of course, need their passport to get into America when they’re first boarding their cruise. And generally, cruise lines recommend that you take a passport if you have one – it makes it easier to rebook travel if your cruise suffers from any cancellations or delays. As the Princess Cays cruise port is in the Bahamas, US residents don’t need a passport to sail to the destination. Cruises within the Bahamas can be boarded with other forms of ID – a photo ID and a birth certificate. There have been some sightings of smaller nurse sharks on snorkeling excursions from Princess Cays but even these are rare. It is generally very safe to snorkel off the island, and the expert guides are on hand to reassure you and explain what wildlife you will see.

The one-hour tour tends to be budget-friendly, has multiple departures to accommodate interested parties and leaves plenty of time to enjoy a beach day. Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line share the destination as they are both owned by Carnival Corporation, so guests from either cruise line may visit Princess Cays. You will know prior to sailing if you are scheduled to visit Carnival's other private island, Half Moon Cay, or Princess Cays, as it will be clearly indicated on the itinerary when booking. Despite being an inhabited island, the resort is an oasis surrounded by trees, beaches, and crystal clear water teaming with fish. There are numerous land and water activities to keep cruisers busy during a visit.

On Princess Cays, the sand is a bit coarser, with some rocky beach areas. If you intend to go exploring on the shores of Princess Cays, remember to pack some water shoes. Princess Cays is a 40-acre beach area on the southern point of the island Eleuthera, whereas Half Moon Cay is a 2,400-acre totally private island reserved exclusively for cruise passengers. Princess Cays bungalows are also air-conditioned, starting from $210 per day.

Daily locker rental is $10 per day, and can be pre-purchased or paid for on the island. However (as with many tender ports) wheelchair or scooter access on the tender boats isn’t guaranteed. If you have mobility challenges, the north side of the resort is wheelchair-friendly, while the south side does have a few steps leading up to and down from the bridge that accesses that area. When there’s not a kayaking group getting ready to leave, you can enjoy gazing out at the water from the sandy beach behind Pelicans’ Perch. The eastern side of the resort is bordered by Paradise Lagoon, a tranquil body of water where the kayaking excursions launch. The First Aid building, which you’ll see as soon as you exit the tender, is available for anyone needing emergency medical attention (or just a bandage or ice pack) during your visit.

You’ll hear the ship’s crew and other passengers referring to the private destination as Princess “Key”, Princess “Keys”, Princess “Kay”, or Princess “Kays”. Locals, including the salespeople at the straw markets, tend to call the area Princess “Key”. Many cruisers wonder if leaving Princess Cays to visit the rest of the island of Eleuthera is a possibility. Pre-COVID, cruise lines did offer some excursions to see Eleuthera’s highlights. Most tenders aren’t roll-on accessible, and crew can’t assist in carrying guests or devices onto the boats. Check with your cruise line and the crew on board before your port day to see if you’re able to tender to the island.

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