roadtripper

We took Celebrity's evening whale watch excursion and it was incredible. One thing to consider is that if you are with a ship excursion, you don't need to rush to get back. We saw so many whales (bubble net feeding!) that we were late getting back to the ship, but never worried that they would leave without us.

They were very available day of.

There was one restroom with an attendant monitoring. VERY rustic. There may have been others but we didn't see them.

It was super casual; no license was requested and he just told my husband to bring it back when done. After the rotary, just take a right and you will see where all the carts are.

I found these boards so helpful when I was planning my recent cruise that I wanted to give back. Bimini is unlike any port we've been to, and we loved it. We visited last week on Celebrity Infinity. For background, we seldom book excursions because our son has some health issues. We use the mantra "maximum flexibility" when getting off the ship with minimal expectations of being able to do too much. We were pleasantly surprised in Bimini. After reading excellent advice from @lazydayz, @kathynorthand others on these boards, we decided to rent a golf cart and go to Radio Beach. As others have said, you can get on the free tram (some are wheelchair accessible) and go right to the stop where you rent golf carts. We decided to walk down the pier, which was lovely. The most exciting (scary?) part was seeing four sharks circling right off the pier. I had brought my snorkeling gear hoping to get into the gorgeous water, but changed my mind pretty quickly after that. Right after passing by security there is an information booth straight ahead. As we were heading over to inquire about golf cart rentals, a man approached and offered to rent us one: he would go get it and bring it to us. That sounded good, and I asked the info person if he was legit and she said yes. He wanted 80 dollars but took 60: CASH ONLY. No idea what the company was but he said his name was Humpy? A word about the golf cart: we got a 4 seater for the 3 of us, but we needed to strap the wheelchair in the back (my always thinking husband brought bungee cords). So that meant the three of us squeezed into the front together, which was doable but very tight. Also the steering wheel was very loose; my husband found it tricky to navigate on the busy streets. Humpy provided a map, which came in handy when we got lost. We drove all the way to the end of the main road thinking that was Radio Beach. It was lovely and private but not at all accessible--a steep incline to get to the beach, and no services that we could see. The North end of the island is Resorts International (left off the pier). We drove through just to check it out, but spent our time on the south end of the island (right off the pier). There are two streets that run parallel to each other on the south end. After you pass through the straw market on the main road, look for a decent road on the right to head up to the road that runs along the beach. After passing the high school on the left, you'll come to some unassuming buildings on the beach, including CJ's and Conch Fu. You can park there and head to the beach in front (Radio Beach) or just find a nice shady spot on the deck overlooking the gorgeous water, which is what we did. This is a local place and rustic; it's not 4 star but it's better: it's authentic. We had delicious frozen pina coladas in coconut shells (15 each but worth it) and yummy conch fritters from Conch Fu for 6 dollars. Everything is cash only here and it's somewhat confusing figuring out who to pay for what, but the people were very friendly. There is a bank with an ATM nearby that gives Bahamian dollars; we got change from the beach bar in US dollars, which was nice. Next time, we will bring more cash, head straight to Radio Beach by golf cart, and maybe I will even get up the courage to snorkel there.

Hi all-- I found these boards so helpful when I was planning my recent cruise that I wanted to give back. We really liked the Taino Bay port area in Puerto Plata, which we visited last week on Celebrity Infinity. For background, we seldom book excursions because our son has some health issues. We use the mantra "maximum flexibility" when getting off the ship with minimal expectations of being able to do too much. Taino Bay has excellent maps that direct you around the area. It is a work in progress; there are construction walls near the pool, and the rumor I heard from a local was that they are constructing a lazy river there, which would be cool. The immediate area has the usual shops, with a few dedicated to Dominican products. I bought a pint sized bottle of vanilla for 8 dollars, which I forgot to put in my checked luggage and got confiscated by TSA, so I don't know if it was good lol. A heads up to people with limited mobility: most of the walkways have stone pavers which can be bumpy (see pic), but some areas have wooden walkways that are easier to navigate. We got off the ship early and staked out a shady area by the pool, which was FREE (bring towels off the ship; I didn't see any). There was a beachy area that had loungers, but it was not for swimming. The pool had some gorgeous seating areas, a bar, and even some floats that you could use. I had a Coco Loco which was yummy, and we had Presidentes later in the day (when in Rome). They also had live music and dancers later in the afternoon. Uncharacteristically, my son decided he wanted to visit Monkey Island. Admission is 25 per person. Because he doesn't usually want to do anything like that, I hadn't done any research and assumed we would walk through and look at monkeys. Big mistake. The monkeys jump all over you. He lasted about 30 seconds. We may be the only people in the history of Monkey Island to have gotten a refund, so know before you go! My son and I walked out the exit to the taxi area just to see what it was like, and it seemed pretty chaotic. Lots of drivers, but not well organized and kind of cramped due to the construction areas around it. Hope this information is helpful. We will visit Taino Bay again when we return to DR.

Hi all-- Forgive me if this has been posted before; I couldn't find it in the search. It's our first Celebrity cruise on Saturday, and I just discovered that there is a 10% Captain's Club discount on the premium beverage package for Select club members (we are Crown and Anchor Platinum). The catch--you have to call in to get it: 800-760-0654. A 10 minute phone call saved us 134 dollars. Hope this helps someone else!

Understood. I have been vacationing in Maine for 50 years. But whether high or low tide, there is not a chance that this tender was going to be "a few steps." I am hoping that people will show their pics of other tenders so that people with mobility issues can make informed decisions re: whether an itinerary with tenders will work for them.

Hi all-- We just off the Norwegian Pearl last week, and had a marvelous time. One of the not marvelous parts of the trip was the uncertainty surrounding the tender at Bar Harbor. We were told that it was a "few steps" to get into the tender, so we got up early to investigate. Here is a picture of the Bar Harbor tender. Needless to say, we were unable to get our 100 lb son and his 80 lb wheelchair off the ship. He was upset, his older sister was crying, and we didn't go into port. We were also unable to access the Haven sun deck, but that's a story for another post... I searched for tender photo pictures here, but there doesn't seem to be a central location for them. If you have photos of tenders in various ports, would you please post them below, along with the name of the ship and the port? Hopefully others can benefit from this information. Thanks.