What is there to do at Princess Cays???

[vmom]

So what is there to do at Princess Cays. I know it is a beach but after 1 hour of sitting on a beach I will be bored silly.

 

Is there places to walk around and explore?

How's the snorkling?

Shopping?

 

How's the barbeque? Should I eat there or go back to the ship for meals?

 

Is there shade or should I bring a small umbrella for the sun?

 

Thanks for any feedback or suggestions.

[Lady Vidora]

Do you have to reserve things like boats and the big bikes ahead of time?

[Sandytoes]

We snorkeled near the rock area.

If I can remember, there was a pier. Right there are beautiful fish. Nice size.

 

I bought a blow up float with me. Instead of renting.

 

Behind the bathrooms there were locals selling their goods.

 

Princess served lunch. Nice ! !

 

Music playing.

 

Hope this helps...

[Lady Vidora]

We thought about bringing or own floatie things so that we'd have something to lay out on a balcony. I hadn't thought about them coming in handy on Princess Cays.:)

[swiss]

Its a great place to just relax and people watch or read a book. You can go for a pretty long walk along the shore or snorkel. There are shaded places and you can reserve a cabana. The barbeque was very nice. There are a few vendors around to shop from, plus they have a nice inside store that has clothing, misc small items, etc. If you are bored, you can always go back to the ship because activities will be going on there. Princess Cay is a very beautiful place!

[sparkle56]

Princess Cays is one of our favorite stops. There is plenty to do. Last time my DH lounged (slept) on a chaise under a canopy surrounded by palm trees while I snorkeled out in front of him in the water. There are several snorkeling places. . . after disembarking the tender I like to go to the right and cross the bridge. . .there are rocks that have lots of very pretty fish to see. You can keep going that direction and do some shelling and you will find all sorts of little tidal pools with fish in them. Or go the other way and there are games, and a wonderful kids area, and banana boats, and sailboats, and a swimming beach, and trails. We walked a long way that direction, too, and it is secluded and you can get some awesome photos of the ship out in the water. Both sides have a buffet (same stuff on both sides). Burgers and hot dogs, and all that goes with them, huge amounts of fresh fruit. There are little tiki bars scattered around and island music is piped throughout the place. The tenders go back and forth constantly and we have never had to wait going or coming if we forget something. You can go back and eat on the ship but the island atmosphere is so much fun most just stay and have a beach party.

 

I will say I rented one of their rafts and that was a waste. I would rather have had a blow up one of my own. Theirs are cumbersome, difficult to move around, not real floaty in the water.

[samtesla]

So what is there to do at Princess Cays. I know it is a beach but after 1 hour of sitting on a beach I will be bored silly.

 

People watching. Priceless.

 

Annoy the guy whose job description begins with "chase all humans away from the coral reef or whatever the Holy Stone is"

 

Silently curse the very fine sand that is exactly the size that my 200 lb frame sinks in regardless of footwear

 

Tender rides - extra credit if tender driver manages to make the ride appear like the scene from The Perfect Storm despite the fact that the sea was flat

 

Views of the ship from the Cays (amazing)

 

Food

[omdiane]

Is there a charge for the buffett? How about beverages?

[Pam in CA]

There is no charge for the buffet.

 

When we've been to Princess Cays, it took at least an hour and a half to get there from the time we picked up our tender tickets just after 9AM, there was absolutely no shade or loungers available by the time we got there, and the beach and water was wall-to-wall people. To me, it's a perfect day to enjoy the ship at my leisure: no chair savers, no lines in the buffet -- the ship's all mine. I'll never get off in Princess Cays again. :)

[Soxfan4ever]

I pre-booked a cabana ($10 for 2 people), and they were sold out before the cruise started. Probably would have fetched $30 on e-bay! Also, buy water shoes beforehand. Trust me on this one! Snorkeling is pretty nice to the right of the docks as you land. There are a few rocky sections, and you can see some colorful fish. Have fun!

[omdiane]

Thanks for the info. How about beverages? What do they offer?

[MichTraveler]

Free beverages same as on the ship: Water, iced tea.

Beverages for a fee: soft drinks (soda), beers, mixed drinks, umbrella drinks.

[MichTraveler]

Free beverages same as on the ship: Water, iced tea, hot coffee/tea

Beverages for a fee: soft drinks (soda), beers, mixed drinks, umbrella drinks.

[Pam in CA]

If you purchased a soda sticker, it's not good on Princess Cays, i.e., you can't use it there.

[LMCAT123]

We were at Princess Cays in April and it was marvelous. We really loved the laid back/relaxing day. There was no line/wait for tenders, we got on one and went over. They ran all day back and forth so if you wanted to go back to the ship you could anytime. We took the last one back !!

 

Lots of beach to walk on, plenty of palm trees and shade areas and very nice/clean bathrooms with regular flush toilets/stalls etc. Ice water was available at regularly spaced intervals. The picnic buffet was fine, I am not a picnic or buffet lover, but there was plenty to eat as well as lots of fresh fruit. There was also a group playing island music and a bar (buy your own drinks).

 

Several shops are right along the area where the tendors dock and there was another area of shops right behind the Princess property. You had to show your Ship Card coming and going to those shops however. The shops on the Princess property allowed you to use your Ship Card to charge purchases but you cannot do that at the ones outside the fenced area.

 

All in all we loved the beach day and walked along the beach, and just enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere.

[skarletohara]

We were there December 2003 and never had a wait for a tender. We were

at Princess Cays by 9:00 or 9:30 a.m. and never had a problem

 

getting shade. We never had the option of renting a cabana. I don't know

if that's something new, but upon arriving at Cays, we headed to the right-hand side (the less crowded side) and never had a problem getting

a palapa to sit under. It was a perfect day.

 

The food was good, too.

[Gaynors]

Can someone tell me if there are any shady spots near the kids play area? Any idea of how early you have to get off the ship to still have a spot in the shade?

 

Thanks! :D

[sharon j]

Does anyone know if you can get hair braiding done on Princess Cays? If so, are there booths set up or do people just walk the beach offering their services for this?

 

Thanks for any assistance on this.

[omdiane]

Thanks for the info

[cruiseapril]

Back in April, Princess Cays was fun-but fairly hot-so take a sun hat. The music was good,as was the food. The sea was not as calm as in St. Thomas-but that may have been the day rather than the place.

[MichTraveler]

Does anyone know if you can get hair braiding done on Princess Cays? If so, are there booths set up or do people just walk the beach offering their services for this?

Several hair braiding stands/booths March/2004.

[Mandee]

If you go in the water be careful of the reef. I was getting off my float and I drop kicked the reef and had a lovely reef mark on my shin for about the next 6 months. I don't know if it stung me or something... It looked really cool but it hurt like hell.

 

And go banana boating. It is a riot.

[LMCAT123]

If I remember correctly there was a hair braiding booth. No one (vendors) walk up and down the beach offering anything, it is not a "public beach" in that sense. Princess "leases" the area from the Bahamas, as do other cruise lines that have "private beaches"....at least that is what we were told by a gentlemen who worked at Princess Cays as a groundskeeper.

[roe2ship]

Can someone tell me if there are any shady spots near the kids play area? Any idea of how early you have to get off the ship to still have a spot in the shade?

 

Thanks! :D

 

Yes there are some huts directly in front of the kids area. We got there about 9:30 and plenty were still available but within 10 - 15 minutes, most were taken.

[mpdahmer]

As for Princess Cays we have been there 3 times and will be there again this coming April.

 

To answer some of the questions above:

 

There is tables setup along the main path where some of the locals come and do hair braiding. From what I remember the prices where compairable to that of the other islands. Remember if you are doing the Eastern Caribbean you will be going to the Cays on your last day of the trip and if you are doing the western you will be going there on your first day.

 

As for drinks on the island...there are a few bars with bar stools all around and some table/chairs as well. There is generally live music at one of the bars. These bars are run by the bartenders from the ship and you can use your room key to purchase drinks. The drink variety is the same as on the ship including the DOD's (Drink of the day).

 

The snorkleing is a great place to try if you hae never done it before. There is not a lot of coral but there is plenty of fish. If you are an experienced snorkler you may want to pass and book a trip at one of the other stops/islands. If you are a moderate to beginner then this is perfect. There is a dock area where you can rent gear or just watch from above. They generally throw bread from the pier which attracts schols of fish in all shapes/colors/sizes.

 

There is plenty of other things to do including sailing, paddle boats, wave runners, etc...The bananna boats are a must, unless you are going on the same cruise as my group in April (in which case it's not fun at all, don't bother) For those of you going a different week it really is a MUST DO!!! We have done it all three times we were there ad it was a highlight of the day and trip. Our first time as we were riding along dolphins swam alongside of us, just incredible!!!

 

We have not needed the childrens area but will be bringing our children for the first time in April. Our 6 year old will be the only one of our 4 children that would be able or want to use this area.

 

They do rent the floats which you can lay on in te sand or for the water. They are the rubberized foam floats that you can get at any pool store. My wife likes to lay on the beach and go in the water where I like to roam the beach, snorkle and go in the water. That said we find this to be a perfect "beach" stop for us.

 

The couple of stores/huts in the main area have t-shirts and the usual souveniers and we (and I mean my wife when I say we) always seam to find stuff for the kids here. There is as someone else had mentioned some huts on the main island that you can get to by going over a small bridge. They sell local wares (clothes and music) as well as liquor and smokes/cigars. We have never bought anything there but it is always fun to look.

 

The buffet is decent but nothing great (hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken and salads) but plenty of fresh fruit.

 

They do have volleyball and other sports on the beach. You can book and of the "extras" either online prior to sailing, while on the ship or while on the island. Just note that some item book up early.

 

Hope this as been helpful.

 

Mark D.