Cuckoo7

It's looking good, but there's still some work to do. Nothing is open yet. I went a year ago and then last week. They've made a lot of progress, but I wouldn't feel confident it'll be done next month.

Yes, there are plenty of restaurants. The walk is about 10-15 minutes, I'd say. To update my post above, we again had no issues with vendors at Junkanoo and had a wonderful time. We walked further this time (about another 10-15 minutes) to the Fish Fry and had some great conch fritters at this place:

We just got back as well for my 2nd time to both. We again didn't do much at Freeport but ventured out even further at Nassau. We went to the Queen's Staircase and the forts, then back to a number of shops, then to Junkanoo for a bit and down further to the Fish Fry. Had a fantastic time.

Well, we did PAYG at both, and my understanding is that they've both pivoted more toward AI now. So I'm not sure if it's an apples to apples comparison. That said, we enjoyed the food at both. We weren't super adventurous - just basics like nachos, coconut shrimp - but had no complaints. I don't recall feeling like one had a significantly larger set of offerings than the other. As @JohninDC mentioned, we enjoyed that taco truck at Paradise. I remember a truck at Sanchos too on the PAYG side but it's been a few years, so I don't remember exactly what we got from it.

Thanks!

Appreciate the information. We're still planning on doing Junkanoo but might consider Serenity. Are there umbrellas? Some of the recent pics I saw seem to only show broken palapas. Also, how much did you pay for the pass and where did you purchase?

Would love to hear your thoughts when you get back, as we're going two weeks later. When we went last year, it wasn't a peak time and our ship wasn't close to full. So I'm wondering whether the vendors just didn't come out in force.

We'll be there in a few weeks as well and plan to again walk to Junkanoo. We did so a year ago, and it's easily walkable. I never had any safety concerns, either on the walk or at the beach. There were some vendors, notably a really cool caricaturist, outside of the beach area, but nobody bothered us on the beach at all. There were a couple of guys we saw in security shirts as well.

My favorite is Paradise Beach due, in large part, to the pool. Sanchos is fun. We enjoyed the atmosphere at Nachi, but on our trip last fall, the availability of servers paled in comparison to the other two. We had to get up and go to the bar/dining area for drinks/food because they rarely came by.

When you get off the ship, you'll take a bus at the pier, which is like 4 miles to town. It drops you off at an area with a bunch of shops. The beach is a couple of blocks back toward the pier, very easy walk. There's a long boardwalk with restaurants and stuff and the beach is free. You can haggle for chairs/umbrellas with any of the vendors there. Be aware that the vendors selling their wares on the beach are pretty constant. At least that's the way it was for us. They'll walk by when you politely say no, but it won't be long before another one comes.

This is true. I didn't take a picture of the menu, but they had the basics from Java Blue. They couldn't do the iced coffees, I think, because that's what my daughter wanted.

You can generally get better deals north of Galveston. We've stayed in League City, Texas City and Houston, good hotels for all around the price you mention.

No Cheers, just Sign and Sail.

Didn't find it sketchy at all last March.

YMMV, but we were at Junkanoo last spring and were not bothered at all by vendors. I had heard the horror stories, but they had guys in security shirts and no vendors on the beach that I saw.

Not the OP, but you shouldn't have any trouble. We were approached a couple of times and found a spot not too far down where they agreed to give us two chairs and an umbrella for free as long as we ordered food and drinks from their restaurant across the street (Playa Progreso, maybe?). We did and paid with a CC. They tried to charge us for the chairs and umbrella (sneaky) but removed it when pointed out. They did put a "service charge" or something on there, which irritated me, but I just tipped less.

I can't help in regard to tours, as we just went to the beach. We didn't find the beach dirty and though it's not the most beautiful around, we enjoyed the water. The vendors are not necessarily aggressive (if you give them a polite no, they'll be on their way), but they are incessant, one after another. Every time I tried to get into a book or even nod off, someone was interrupting me trying to sell something.

We were there last February. Very nice, sunny and warm. I don't know if there are any good snorkeling areas, but we loved the water there. It was really beautiful and comfortable.

Not sure if it still is, but the port area was under construction in Nassau when we were there last spring. So there's nothing there. But there are restaurants and shops just outside the port. The straw market is not too far, nor is the free beach Junkanoo. Freeport has a decent little port area with Senor Frog's, couple of other places to grab food/drinks and a lot of little shops. It's industrial outside of the port.

Yeah, can't say how much one would be. If I remember right, it was two loungers, an umbrella and a little cabana area with table and two chairs for $25. They set up the loungers and umbrella where we wanted. We didn't haggle, but I believe others have reported doing so and getting them a bit cheaper, depending on how busy it is. We didn't use the cabana much at all, since we decided not to eat there.

We were there back in March. We didn't reserve anything in advance but got off early. There were umbrellas and clamshells by the water. We chose the clamshell, but there were a few umbrellas not yet claimed. They did go fairly quickly, though. There are guys on the beach that set it up, take payment and wait on you from Fat Tuesday.

We were there in February and really enjoyed it. It's a fairly easy walk, and we got a couple of chairs and an umbrella for a decent price. Good deals on local beer, though food seemed a bit expensive. We had heard rumors of aggressive vendors but did not see that at all. In fact, there was a noticeable security presence.

I pretty much agree. It's been a few years since we went to Mr. Sanchos, but I don't remember it being that crazy. We did Paradise a year or so later and liked it better, but more because of the pool and the service we received than the atmosphere. They felt pretty similar to me overall. Nachi is definitely a quieter scene.

We've done Santos, Paradise and Nachi. Nachi was our most recent one (last month), and I found the service to be really poor. Waiter was nice and attentive at first but then disappeared. We had to come up from the beach to the restaurant/bar area to get service. Food was good, but it felt like we didn't get our money's worth. I did like how quiet it was. If you like the pool, though, you'll have no problem getting served.

My wife and I are co-owners, booked in two separate rooms last June, and received the benefit for both rooms. I submitted each individually.