pineapple beach BEST VALUE....EVER!!

[OOM]

IlliniCruiser88,

Thanks for your reply as I was starting to wonder if this beach day is really worth it? We have confirmations for 1/2 day passes next week so could you to clarrify a couple of things for me:

1) Exactly what was the cab fare as I have seen it quoted all over the place (we are a party of 4 adults and 2 very small children)? The children are free at the beach.
2) How long was the actual ride (i.e. 30 minutes, 45 minutes or an hour)?
3) If you had do to it over again, would you considering all the elements (in other words do the pros out way the cons)?

Thanks

[partyboy]

poppabear,

That Sherrie is very resourceful and fun! You're going to have a very organized adventure is she is behind the planning.

I met Sherrie and Joe while on the Golden Repo last May. They unfortunately had made another booking pre-cruise and were unable to join the fun with the CC group that went to Pineapple Beach.

She was very excited to hear about the fantastic time we had and I think sorry that she had not joined the group. Her presence was sorely missed among our numbers!

There was a large contingent of American soldiers on leave there from a local Army barracks the day of our visit. Some of them had seen duty in Iraq. We had some interesting conversations. We had to keep a watchful eye on one of the Ladies in our group that the troops seemed a little too watchful over!!!! Sherrie knows of our Linda.LOL

There was also a group of Canadians and Englishmen that joined our group. It's a very friendly location!

Be sure to try Mary's Outhouse! It's a shack at the top of the hill with picnic tables in and out of the sunshine serving ribs, chicken, baked beans, corn, salad and bread. Bring a special plaque to hang or a sharp object to carve something into the woodwork. It's a tradition there. The plastic tableware won't cut it!!!LOL. Mary will remind you as you're throwing your own paper plates away to please put the bones in the bucket for the wild dogs that they feed. No kidding!LOL

We were fortunate the day of our visit as I believe we were one of only two ships in port. The other being a small Celebrity ship. Did you check the port advisor to see if it's a busy day? There could be several ships sending groups that day. Not to worry even so....the more the merrier I say!!:D

I hope you have as good a time as we had and even better!!!
Jonathan

[partyboy]

Here's a link to the Live Web Cam at Pineapple Beach. There is an option for viewing the pool or the Wedding Gazebo. Pay special attention to the area to the left of the view for more options.
[URL="http://www.allegroantigua.com/webcam/index.phtml"]http://www.allegroantigua.com/webcam/index.phtml[/URL]

In the image for the pool you will see a walking bridge that crosses the pool. In an area that is not visible off to the left of the bridge is where most of the people not at the beach congregated away from the breeze on a larger concrete deck area.

Also in the pool image you will see a small service bar off to the right that is attached to the main open air bar. The restrooms can also be seen in the image(white roof). The service bar is where the frozen drink machines are churning. On the day of our visit they were serving Frozen Mango drinks and Frozen Pina Coladas. The main bar has the beer and the mixed drinks but you can order the frozens there as well as the Bartenders only have to walk 25 feet or so to get to the machines. At the main bar you will find a few stools and wing backed rattan chairs scattered about in groupings of two or four.
Hope this helps!;) :rolleyes: :D

[IlliniCruiser88]

- the resort is wonderful - very laid back and excellent facilities.
- it's a long taxi ride from the pier (~30-40 minutes). We were quoted $32 one way for two people. Our driver came back to pick us up later in the afternoon. So we spent about $75 for taxi round-trip. On the plus side, we enjoyed the tour the driver gave us on the ride there and back.

Overall, I highly recommend a day at the Grand Pineapple Resort. We went to three different resorts on three different islands during our cruise, and this was by far the best.

Some folks from our cruise took a taxi to Long Bay (public access beach down the beach from the grand pineapple). There is a restaurant there, and you can rent chairs, umbrellas and watercraft there. Personally, I think the $45 for access to all the facilities, food, and drink at the Grand Pineapple is well worth it.

[quote name='OOM']IlliniCruiser88,

Thanks for your reply as I was starting to wonder if this beach day is really worth it? We have confirmations for 1/2 day passes next week so could you to clarrify a couple of things for me:

1) Exactly what was the cab fare as I have seen it quoted all over the place (we are a party of 4 adults and 2 very small children)? The children are free at the beach.
2) How long was the actual ride (i.e. 30 minutes, 45 minutes or an hour)?
3) If you had do to it over again, would you considering all the elements (in other words do the pros out way the cons)?

Thanks[/QUOTE]

[cruzobsessed]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=red]we were at oineapple beach last december. because of the reviews that i had read on this board i booked it. there were 8 of us (4 adults and 4 teens).[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#ff0000]WE LOVED IT!!! we got there by 10:00 (too late for the breakfast buffet) and no one offered to show us around (like a previous poster said) but the truth is we didn't need a tour. we saw the beach, the pools, the places to eat and we were very satified. as far as taxis go......we got a van (8 of us) and the driver took us and we paid him on the return trip. we left the resort at 3:30. if i'm not mistaken, it cost us $30 pp round trip.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[partyboy]

WOW!!

I guess free trade has finally made it's way to Antigua big time!

 

The resorts and cab drivers appear to be taking advantage of the almighty dollar as more and more cruise ships and vacationers are discovering their island.

 

Based on the prices I'm hearing it appears that since last May (only 10 months ago) the resort price including breakfast has increased more than 56% ($32. vs $50.) and the cab rates to and from the resort have increased an astounding 150% ($12. vs $30.)

 

IMO, comparing these costs to costs only ten months ago when prices truly were reasonable and fair have made this resort any thing but a best value.:(

 

Please remember this is only my opinion based on my personal experience.:) Everyone sets there own limits as to what is a value and what is not!

Jonathan

[OOM]

Thanks for the replies. Maybe it sounds like renting a car may be the best way to go after all for our size party if the cabs so pricey.

[Warm-Water Diver]

Hey Partyboy.

 

I ended up renting a Grand Vitara for my family (3 of us) for 93.00 after reading about the expensive cab fare.

 

I'm thinking that we can just stop by one of the free beaches that you mentioned. Can you give me details on Dickinson or Runaway beaches: like chairs-umbrellas available, food-rest. available, snorkeling etc??

 

Thanks for your all your help!

[micdee]

Hi

We were at Pinapple beach on March 8th. We did the half day pass and arrived at the resort by 10:30. Took 30 minutes to get there. We encountered no lines to register, were given our wristbands and sent on our way. Never had to wait long for a drink, as there were always 2 bartenders present. I personally didn't care for the buffet food, but the cheeseburgers from the grill were very good. The beach and pool were very nice and we had no trouble getting lounge chairs. Our taxi driver came back to pick us up at 3:30 and we wish we could have stayed longer. I felt for the price of $45.00pp, that we got a good deal. When we arrived back at the pier, my husband and I stopped for a drink at one of the bars and 2 beers cost 10.00:eek: .

Our taxi driver's name was John the Baptist and we negotiated a price of 15pp roundtrip. There were 7 of us in his airconditioned van.

Hope this helps.

[karen kay]

After reading the review on the Rum Beach Party Excursion, I have decided to try and get day passes at Pineapple Beach! We are a family of 6 arriving on the Jewel of the Seas. Here are my questions: How difficult is it to get a taxi/van at the pier? and approximately what is the cost? I have read prices from $15 pp to $35 pp for the transportion. Is it standard to pay the fare on the return trip in order to secure your return trip? Is this resort okay for younger kids - we have a 7 year old in our group. Thank you in advance for your responses - I thought I had everything booked for our trip which leaves in 12 days, but I guess not!! Here's hoping we can secure our day passes - waiting on email confirmation from Pineapple!

 

K.

[Cinderellie]

We are registered for the day pass and scheduled to arrive there on 4/12 from the NCL Jewel. I have a 15 YO boy and 12 YO girl. I see that non-motorized toys are NOT INCLUDED per a previous post. Snorkle equipment is IN. Is that all?

 

What other things are there to do there for teens? And what is included?

 

Do they have kayaking? Hair braiding -- (extra of course)?

 

Also -- my husband LOVES massages. How is the spa there? Expensive?

 

Thanks!

[karen kay]

After reading the review on the Rum Beach Party Excursion, I have decided to try and get day passes at Pineapple Beach! We are a family of 6 arriving on the Jewel of the Seas. Here are my questions: How difficult is it to get a taxi/van at the pier? and approximately what is the cost? I have read prices from $15 pp to $35 pp for the transportion. Is it standard to pay the fare on the return trip in order to secure your return trip? Is this resort okay for younger kids - we have a 7 year old in our group. Thank you in advance for your responses - I thought I had everything booked for our trip which leaves in 12 days, but I guess not!! Here's hoping we can secure our day passes - waiting on email confirmation from Pineapple!

 

K.

[cruzobsessed]

i think we paid 20.00 per person for a van (there were 8 of us). there were plenty of vans/taxis available right off the ship. the ride to pineapple beach is about 1/2 hour...not a scenic tour (if you get my drift). the beach is beautiful and there is snorkeling. there are 2 pools and the food is adult and kid friendly. there is a buffet with grownup food and a snack bar with chicken fingers, burgers and fries ALL FOR FREE. we loved the place.

[Minorhawk]

Does the resort collect the money upfront with the reservation, or do you pay when you get there? Just wonderind since we won't be there untill Jan 2007...

[RLP817]

Does the resort collect the money upfront with the reservation, or do you pay when you get there? Just wonderind since we won't be there untill Jan 2007...

 

Hi.. we had reservations last month (actually never made it there though). They do not collect the money up front. They will send you an e-mail confirming your reservation. You just pay when you get there.

[CookieBird]

Just an FYI - my husband and I stayed at this resort 6 years ago for our Honeymoon and it is lovely. I think it was before they started doing the cruise day pass thing because the whole 9 days we were there we barely saw anyone on the beach.

 

The resort is lovely, food is good, beach is soft white sand and the water is nice too. We very much enjoyed our vacation there and would go back.

 

Just in case anyone had concerns about the resort itself.

 

(Our names are carved at Mary's place somewhere!)

 

Enjoy Antigua!!!

[barbarah33]

Just a quick thanks to all of you. I had no clue what we were going to do on any of the islands we visit this fall on the Crown Princess - Dominica, St. Kitts and Antigua. We are all experienced cruisers and chose this cruise because it offered something new but now we keep laughing about what we will do in any of these ports.

 

Thanks to the advice on this post I have made our reservations for the 6 of us at Pineapple Beach for the day. (We have spent the day at Sandals on other islands so this sounds perfect - I am not a fan of the Sandals in Antigua.) Hopefully we will have a great relaxing day and can find a cab for under $30 per person. It's not that we wouldn't pay that but it does seem a little high if we can negotiate $20 each.

[jiminyC_fan]

J

Thanks to the advice on this post I have made our reservations for the 6 of us at Pineapple Beach for the day. (We have spent the day at Sandals on other islands so this sounds perfect - I am not a fan of the Sandals in Antigua.) Hopefully we will have a great relaxing day and can find a cab for under $30 per person. It's not that we wouldn't pay that but it does seem a little high if we can negotiate $20 each.

 

I sent an email to them asking the price for 1/2 day passes this Sept. I haven't heard back yet. What are you paying? That cab fare is what is making me reconsider.

[Ditch]

What is their e-mail address? We are thinking about going there for the day.

[labeachcomber]

When I first heard about Pineapple Beach, I was very excited to reserve the day pass and spend time at the resort. But after reading all these posts, I'm not so sure.

 

My SO and I are just basically looking for some time on a beach. We're not big drinkers, and I'm sure we'll get all the food we want during the actual cruise, so the idea of free burgers and drinks doesn't really appeal to us. We'd also like a bit of time to just do some shopping.

 

Would simply taking a taxi on our own to Runaway Bay be a better use of our money and time?

[barbarah33]

JiminyC fan, you get two choices there - full day or half day. The main difference between the two is whether you get there for breakfast and we all get free breakfast on a cruise ship. So we have opted for the half day pass and it's $45.00 per person. (We plan to be there from 10am - 4 pm. My group has done the Sandals day pass before and those are more expensive - depending on which Sandals we have paid anywhere from $50 each to $75 so Pineapple Beach is quite reasonable.

 

Ditch, I just went to their website to 'contact us' and sent an email. I had a response explaining my options - make sure to give them the date you want to go there and how many of you in your email, then a confirmation email after we chose all in less than two days. It was very easy and painless. We pay when we get there.

[vacationprincess]

I know it is $45 for 1/2 day and $50 for all day, but are kids the same price? I have a 11, 9 and 4 yr. old and was wondering how much they would be.

Thanks!

[hyacinth]

These ages are ar $25 each. Older kids are $35.

[choc56uk]

can u give me the link please or page to get to the booking at the pineapple day resort..thanks...........

[beachlovergirl]

choc56uk - Here is their website: http://www.allegroantigua.com/index.phtml

Under the picture on the right hand side click where it says "Day pass @ Pineapple Beach".

 

 

Dee