Key west

[gvdestiny]

Anyone have any advice on Key West Port of Call. I was thinking a nice beach there but have never been there. Any advice is appreciated. We dont want to have to take a boat to a beach if we dont have to. The smaller ones could get the kids sea sick.:eek:

[DqALEX]

Forget the beach there. Key West is not known for its beaches. Go over to the port of call board for Key West. There is a lot to see there if you don't mind to walk. If you like to walk my best advice is not to book any tours with Carnival in Key West. Everything you can walk too. Save your money. Key West is a great city and very safe.

[WishIwasOutThereNOW]

the trolly ride is pretty cool

[gvdestiny]

Thanks! Still a bit new to this Cruise Critic stuff and finding things is hard. No beaches there? :( I guess I will save that for Cozumel then. Any advice there is appreciated too.

[LRene]

Really, like DQAlex said, forget the beach in KW. The island is on a reef so the only beaches are very small and man made.

Take the kids to the Pirate Soul Museum, take the hop on hop off trolley or the conch train for a historical view of the island (it's only 4 miles x 2 miles). Don't book either of those on the ship - book them once you're on shore and save a few dollars. Go to the Southernmost Point in the U.S. and take a picture. There are quite a few other museums and lots of neat shops.

There is actually quite a bit of history in KW. If you're not into water sports, you will do well just to walk around on your own. It's a neat place! Have a great time. :)

[sophiecat]

the trolly ride is pretty cool
The trolley was great. We learned a lot and got a great tour of the city. Don't miss the Original Key Lime Pie store and the Southernmost point in the US. Have fun.

[Fat Boy]

We were there last Monday. There are beaches there... Free ones about a mile and a half away and cheap ones (Fort Zachary Taylor State Park: $1.50 per pedestrian) just a short walk from the pier (15 - 20 down Front street past the Truman's "Little White House"). As others have mentioned... Key West is not known for it's beaches. We went to Fort Zachary Taylor, which was beautiful, but very rocky. I really wish I had taken some wet/swim shoes. Otherwise, it was a good time.

[matj2000]

That Ft.Zachary Beach is supposed to be pretty good, but the best thing to do there is Walk up the main drag(Duval St.) on one side all the way to the end. Then walk back down the other side of the street. They got tons of cool stores, buisnesses, street people, bars, & restaurants to look at. It is much better in the late afternoon/early evening. Thats when things really come to life..

[Vanessa L]

Go to the Rooftop Cafe on Front Street (very close to the pier) and have the best Key Lime pie you will ever eat. Man, I am still reliving how incredibly yummy that was!! And it's been 6 days!! :eek:

[Fat Boy]

Some will tell you the frozen chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick is the best. At $5 a slice, that was a $30 mistake. Nobody in the family liked it, and yet, we all love a good key lime pie. I think the chocolate ruined it.

[Vanessa L]

Some will tell you the frozen chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick is the best. At $5 a slice, that was a $30 mistake. Nobody in the family liked it, and yet, we all love a good key lime pie. I think the chocolate ruined it.

I'd read a about that, Fat Boy, before we left. Glad we stuck with the original, yummy version at Rooftop.

[Rowan555]

We were docked at the navy pier so took the free shuttle into town, walked around a bit, then walked to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park and went to the beach. My kids enjoyed it, but I second the suggestion to bring water shoes - it's quite rocky. The water was great, thought, and my kids had a blast. It's $1.50 pp to get in, and there is a concession stand with sodas, hot dogs, burgers, etc. You have to rent loungers and umbrellas if you want to use them - most people just spread out their Carnival towels and used those right on the sand, though, which worked fine for us. There are also clean restrooms and an outdoor shower area. In addition, the fort itself is quite interesting to see - in a 7 day cruise to three new ports, my 8 and 9 year old kids are saying that the fort was their favorite part of the whole trip. Go figure!

[islandersx4]

Thanks! Still a bit new to this Cruise Critic stuff and finding things is hard. No beaches there? :( I guess I will save that for Cozumel then. Any advice there is appreciated too.


No natural eaches in Key West. Some resorts/cam[pgrounds have man made beaches. The keys are surrounded by reefs.
You can easily walk around Key West. As suggested, take the trolley ride/tour, see it all, the treasure hunters museum, visit the Aquarium, eat well. Very easy to do.

[kelz66]

Thanks! Still a bit new to this Cruise Critic stuff and finding things is hard. No beaches there? :( I guess I will save that for Cozumel then. Any advice there is appreciated too.

There is a beach...nothing spectacular, just sand and a couple palm trees.

There is so much to do with and without the family.

So many museums, so many restaurants.....and then there are all the bars with live entertainment.

The Mel Fisher Museum is cool.

http://www.melfisher.org/

and the Little White House.

http://www.trumanlittlewhitehouse.com/

[gvdestiny]

Umm Key lime pie!!!!!

[gvdestiny]

Thanks for the chocolate key lime tip! I love chocoalate and I love key lime! I would have taken the dive!

[Fat Boy]

Thanks for the chocolate key lime tip! I love chocoalate and I love key lime! I would have taken the dive!

Same here... How can you go wrong when combining two things I love? But it turned out something like the yogurt covered bacon I concocted in college.

If you want to try it, start with one slice and split that up... Then buy one for anybody who likes it. For us, we would have been able to stop after that first one.