Pub Crawl in Key West

[momatibm]

there is an excursion in Key West -- a pub crawl -- has anyone been on it -- if so -- how many bars -- and which ones if you remember :rolleyes:. Thanks in advance

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL has never offered a pub crawl on any of the cruises that we have been on in Key West.

 

Most of the stops in Key West are only for a few hours.

[fann1sh]

I went on a Key West pub crawl (not on HAL) and wasn't impressed.

 

It's almost impossible to throw a rock in the tourist district and not hit a bar/pub. "Sloppy Joe's" and its "Hemingway drank here" competitors are the usual places these tours visit. There are better places to suck down adult beverages , IMO.

[HamOp]

I just yesterday returned from a land vacation that included Key West. Best part of my trip was the drive down from FLL. Fantastic views.

 

It's all bars and T-shirt shops from what I saw. Not my style, but if that's your thing, you'll find lots to do.

 

One more thing, roosters (yep, the chicken kind) are all over the streets. Strange and loud!

[momatibm]

I asked the question since I am on a B2B with 2 stops in Key West. Been there before did the 'highlights' -- Hemingway, HST, etc.

 

Have plans for the the first stop was looking for something other than the beach, snorkel stuff for the second stop.

 

 

So specific information on the actual excursion is what I am looking for -- I know what Key West is like -- I know the Pirate Museum has moved to St Augustine, and the shopping is typical tourist -- except for the knitting shop.

[kyriecat]

I did the pub crawl on Royal Caribbean but it was almost 4 years ago. Most of the excursions between the cruiselines are the same or very similar. We went to 5 bars and stayed about 20 minutes at each bar. We got a token good for a beer, house wine, or house-brand mixed drink at each bar. Including walking times, it was about 2 hours. I looked at my pictures from Key West and can only find 4 of the 5 bars - Captain Tony's Saloon, Sloppy Joe's Bar, Hog's Breath Saloon, and Schooner Wharf Bar. I cannot remember the 5th one.

 

Personally, I wasn't that impressed. It was just too rushed. I'm a drink sipper not a gulper so I barely had time to finish before we were moving on. Also, Captain Tony's, Sloppy Joe's, and Hog's Breath are mostly tourist traps. There is some history at Captain Tony's and Sloppy Joe's but we didn't really have enough time to look around, although I did sit on Sean Connery's bar stool at Captain Tony's.

 

We were there in port from 3 PM until midnight so after the pub crawl, we had dinner at Conch Republic then did our own bar exploration down Duval Street. We stopped by Margaritaville. The music was good, but it was too crowded. We liked the band at Irish Kevin's and ended up spending a couple hours there.

[bepsf]

Why would anyone book an excursion from the line to go to a bunch of bars that anyone could easily walk to on their own?

[bepsf]

One more thing, roosters (yep, the chicken kind) are all over the streets. Strange and loud!

 

Free-Range Chickens are fairly common on many islands of the Caribbean as well as on certain Hawaiian islands...

[momatibm]

Why would anyone book an excursion from the line to go to a bunch of bars that anyone could easily walk to on their own?

 

Well, yes you could walk on your own, but this way you are with a group, meet new people instead of wandering by yourself. I don't usually go to bars by myself -- have this personal safety issue -- if you get what I mean.:rolleyes:

[kyriecat]

Also, the prices for pub crawls aren't really much more than you would pay for drinks on your own. I'm not sure what HAL charges, but we paid about $35 pp for the tour. If you figure a drink is around $6 each and you get 5 of them, that's $30. You're only paying another $5 pp for the guide, who can be entertaining and give you some information and stories about Key West.

[fann1sh]

Well, yes you could walk on your own, but this way you are with a group, meet new people instead of wandering by yourself. I don't usually go to bars by myself -- have this personal safety issue -- if you get what I mean.:rolleyes:

 

As I mentioned above, I was with friends for my Key West bar hop.

 

Travelling solo is a whole different thing, and I'm often willing to pay extra to be part of a ship's group.

 

I expect the bars are the same as the one mentioned by Kyrie Cat, because those were the ones I visited.

 

If you're leaning that way, go for it.

 

Took a look at the excursions available - I see your problem. I've heard good things about the bike tour.

[swscruiser]

We went several years ago and had a blast. It was not just a pub crawl, It was an "historical pub crawl" but only mentioned Hemingway once. Went to mainly small bars that we probably would not have gone to on our own. Heard some very good musicians, and met some nice people. Also, the quide was a hoot.

 

Keith

 

ps Also got a T-shirt

[ninkb]

On our recent Ryndam cruise (11/28 departure), HAL added the pub crawl as a new excursion. We didn't go, nor did I hear any comments for or against. I believe it stopped at 5 pubs. Did you look at the excursions for your cruise?

[momatibm]

On our recent Ryndam cruise (11/28 departure), HAL added the pub crawl as a new excursion. We didn't go, nor did I hear any comments for or against. I believe it stopped at 5 pubs. Did you look at the excursions for your cruise?

 

Yes, but the description was vague enough for me to ask the question to see if it was worth it. And what if anything people thought about it. Thanks for your info:)

[kyriecat]

I was looking on the Key West board and it seems like there are several different versions of the pub craw so hopefully someone who has done the actual HAL version will post.

 

The bars mentioned for some of the other threads are:

 

1. Red Fish Blue Fish, Island Dogs Bar, Schooner Wharf, Lazy Gecko, and Ricks

2. Captain Tony's, Sloppy Joes, Cowboy Bill's, and The Smallest Bar

3. Lazy Gecko, The Tree Bar, Flying Monkies, Schooner Wharf, and Rick's Bar

4. Captain Tony's, The Flying Monkey, The Lazy Gecko, Schooner Wharf and Rick's

5. Captain Tony's, Sloppy Joes, Schooner Wharf, Hog's Breath, and Rick's

 

After thnking about it, I pretty sure that Rick's was the 5th bar when I did the crawl, but that was several years ago and I don't have the pictures to prove it. ;) I have a T-shirt, but it doesn't list the bars, just says that I survived a Key West Pub Crawl.