Summary: Princess Cays is the first stop on Princess Cruises Western Caribbean cruise. Located on the southern end of Eleuthera, an island in the Bahamas, Princess Cays resort is owned by the cruise line. The stop features a white sand beach with lunch barbequed right on the beach. Other activities may be purchased and for us, it was a bike ride "Island Adventure." Of the four ports on this cruise, this one was our least favorite. It was just okay. The bike ride was nice in that it gave us something to do beside sitting on the beach but it was too short, too casual, and there was not much to see. We would skip this if we returned. This post is part of a 4-part series featuring our Western Caribbean cruise experience with Princess Cruises.
The Beach. The best part of this stop is the opportunity for some real down time on a beautiful private beach. We rented to "clam shells," so that we would have shade and hung out on the beach for the first half of the day. Lunch here was a barbeque on the beach, Bahamas style. The water is calm here and great for kids. Also, since it was a private beach, only guests from the ship were allowed here.
Bike Ride. After lunch we headed out for our 2-hour shore excursion. We took a gentle ride in and around the Princess Cays resort, stopping at a beach to take photos. While it was nice to try something new, we would say you can pass on this excursion. For the cost, it was too short and too slow. Not that we are speed demons but this leisurely ride was on the very slow, almost like they were trying to drag out the ride to make the excursion last 2 hours.
The Ship. Back on the ship that evening we enjoyed cocktail hour (2 drinks for the price of 1), and also spent time walking the decks. This, and basketball on the top deck, was an almost daily routine for us.
A note about Princess Cruises and the Cruising experience. We are a "one and done" family when it comes to cruises but we agree that it's something that everyone should try once. It's just one way to travel and we can see the appeal for many people. The Princess Cruise line was quite nice and we had no complaints about the ship. Staff, food, and services were all great. Cruising in general though, involves too much downtime for this active family. Also, we like to immerse ourselves in local culture by staying in AirBnB's, grocery shopping in local markets, and generally attempting to enjoy much of the local life as possible. Cruises do not offer that opportunity, hence, our reluctance to do another one.
#travel #travelblog #Familytravel #Familyvacation #Familytravelblog #Bahamas #PrincessCays #PrincessCruises #CaribbeanCruise #Cruising