Pub Crawl

This will be my first time visiting Key West, but, I've lived on the coast my entire life. With that said, i'm not too interested in the beach, considering I'll be visiting Freeport and Nassau the following days, where I can snorkel, enjoy the beach, etc. Anyways, I've read many rave reviews about the Pub Crawl offered for roughly $40 through Carnival Excursions. Do others provide better rates for the same experience?

OR, would I be best off visiting the top bars such as Sloppy Joe's, Hog's Breath, Irish Kevin's, Capt Tony's, etc... at my own pace?

Also, does anyone have a souvenir t-shirt from previous trips? I'm just curious what it looks like, quality, etc. I can't stand t-shirts with big graphics on the front.

First time poster to the forum, long time reader. Thanks in advance!

Can't help with info on the t shirt. We've never done KW on a cruise, we visit on a land vacation most years. Just celebrated New Years Eve there!:D Personally I'd do my own "pub crawl", it's easy and everything is walkable. Then you can set your own pace, stop where you want, and stay somewhere if you like it. But people have posted here that they did one via the ship and had a great time with a group of people.

Same here. We do our own pub crawl as most of the bars and pubs are really within a few blocks (if not less) of each other.

That being said, I've also heard the Pub Crawl on Carnival is a ton of fun. I guess you'd have to weigh the difference between the flexibility of doing it on your own, or the comraderie of doing it with a group. Both seem fun to me!

We have developed our own Pub crawl through our roll call on my upcoming cruise...to allow for some "flexibility":). We have a group of maybe 16 signed up. Can anyone tell us a good order to visit the following bars and should we delete or add any? Not trying to hijack a thread but I imagine its all useful info! THANKS!

green parrot

sloppy joes

irish kevins

schooner wharf

capt tonys

sloppy joes

Hogs Breath

willie t's

We did the pub crawl last year and it was a blast. The tour guide made it such an enjoyable experience. The t shirt is just a cheap white t with large gaudy graphics on the front. But who cares since there are 40 of you wearing the same gaudy t shirt and drunkenly hopping from one bar to another. I would highly recommend doing it. Going to key west again this April and will definitely be doing it again. Last time key west was the last stop on the trip and we meet so many cool people on the crawl. Just wish it was the first stop so we could have hung out with those guys the entire week.

We did the Crawl last October, it was worth every penny!

Anytime we have gone to Key West with Carnival we have done the pub crawl. The guys are awesome. The shirts are good quality as I still have mine and wear it from 2008. It is totally worth the cost. It is offered locally through the same company but not at the times when you will be in port.

I'm in Key West withdrawal actually because we didn't do it last year, and we are not doing it this year. We've done it every other year from 2008 to 2012. We always totally enjoyed it, and my husband doesn't even drink ;)

Like TxMike I have no interest in the beach at KW but would love to do a Pub Crawl, however we will be on the Disney Ship and they don't offer the Pub Crawl as an Excursion. Does anyone know if there is a company on shore we may book through? I would like to hear a little bit about the history of Key West as well as enjoying drinks at each stop! I think I will make our own shirts with a list of "Pubs" then check them off as we conquer them!

Answering my own question... yes I found a company that caters to private parties for pub crawls!

if anyone is interested I will be glad to share more details.

I know most of your posts regard carnival pub tours, however, I will be on RCCL Vision of the Seas. There is a pub tour excursion available for us as well. It says we will visit four pubs/bars and have our choice of a beer or mixed drink at each one. It is not clear if this is included in the price or not. I was wondering if anyone could tell me that and also what bars we go to.

On our first cruise we stopped in Key West and absolutely loved the pub crawl and Key West in general - we are actually planning an entire trip to Key West next year for my birthday which happens to coincide with Fantasy Fest, which we only learned about through our awesome pub crawl guide Beau. He was informative and interactive, plus it was nice to meet other people on the ship that were looking to drink and have a good time! We did decide however that we will do our own pub crawl (and invite others to come) in the future, as we did feel a little rushed at some places and would enjoy going at our own pace. Overall though it is definitely worth the price!

On our first cruise we stopped in Key West and absolutely loved the pub crawl and Key West in general - we are actually planning an entire trip to Key West next year for my birthday which happens to coincide with Fantasy Fest, which we only learned about through our awesome pub crawl guide Beau. He was informative and interactive, plus it was nice to meet other people on the ship that were looking to drink and have a good time! We did decide however that we will do our own pub crawl (and invite others to come) in the future, as we did feel a little rushed at some places and would enjoy going at our own pace. Overall though it is definitely worth the price!

Ooooh Fantasy Fest is an absolute blast!!

Ooooh Fantasy Fest is an absolute blast!!

So we have heard from many of our friends!! We have wanted to go since we first learned about it in 2010 and just haven't been able to work our schedules around it so I am pumped for next year.

This will be my first time visiting Key West, but, I've lived on the coast my entire life. With that said, i'm not too interested in the beach, considering I'll be visiting Freeport and Nassau the following days, where I can snorkel, enjoy the beach, etc. Anyways, I've read many rave reviews about the Pub Crawl offered for roughly $40 through Carnival Excursions. Do others provide better rates for the same experience?

 

OR, would I be best off visiting the top bars such as Sloppy Joe's, Hog's Breath, Irish Kevin's, Capt Tony's, etc... at my own pace?

 

Also, does anyone have a souvenir t-shirt from previous trips? I'm just curious what it looks like, quality, etc. I can't stand t-shirts with big graphics on the front.

 

First time poster to the forum, long time reader. Thanks in advance!

We just did this excursion through Carnival last and had an absolute blast!!! It was so much fun to be with a group, we visited 5 bars and spent about 15-20 minutes in each bar. The bar tenders made it fun since we were in a group and our tour guide Beau was great! We would do this excursion again and think you would have a much better time with a group. The shirt is good quality it does have a pretty big graphic on the front with a pelican,lizard and parrot with cocktails in their hands; it's tasteful though I will definitely wear it! Have fun!!

Key West is a perfect place to strike out on you own and see what bars and pubs are interesting to you. It is small, very walkable, and tons of choices are within a few block area. If you want some history or information, chat up your bartender or locals hanging at the bar. I think people miss something with these tours. Not that they are not fun, but it kind of reminds me of tour groups in Europe, running around following a guide with a flag, insulated from actually experiencing the destination.

Obviously this is just my opinion, but as a local I always wonder how much more interesting it might have been for participants if they explored on their own rather then being herded from place to place, getting a tee shirt, and returning to the ship.

We just did the Pub Crawl on our Breeze cruise.

It was so much fun!

It was $39 per person. Includes walking tour, 5 bars with 1 drink included at each bar. Your guide will let you know which drinks they are offering. Also, a fun t-shirt of good quality.

Our port time was 8a to 4p. We met outside at 11a. You get a Pub Crawl sticker to put on your shirt. That's when you also get your t-shirt. Me and hubby got the 2x. That was the biggest size they had.

Get there early if you need a large size. There were about 30 to 40 of us. Everyone was sectioned off with family or friends in their own cliques.

Around 1110a, we were separated into 2 groups. Our group had Beau as our guide. I read a lot about him on Trip advisor. So I knew we would have a blast.

He blew his conch and off we went.

Now as you're walking, that's when everyone starts talking to each other. The other group went a different way.

It started raining, and we didn't care. It was so muggy.

By the 3rd bar you're tipsy, and realize you have 2 more bars to go. The time at each bar is a good amount of time. We even ordered a second if we really liked the drink.

Our group was so much fun and down to earth. We were laughing and joking around. 1 couple stopped and ask Beau could they join us.

The bartenders are fast. Some more fun than others. We tipped a dollar per drink. Bring singles.

Yes, we could have went to bars on our own. Glad we didn't!

We had a conch blowing contest towards the end. Beau wiped it with Lysol wipes. We cheered each other on. An older lady won with the longest blow. We were timed. She beat the younger people, so my husband nicknamed her "old school". She told us she had grandchildren. A guy came and took pictures. 1 group one and the other with Beau. He had them ready at the last bar. We bought both for $20.

Our ages ranged from 20's to 50's I would guess.

Last bar was my favorite. Live music! Fun bartender!

Funny thing was my husband didn't want to do this tour. He loved it! And had so much fun. Matter of fact, I was ready to head back to the ship. He wasn't. So I said good bye to Beau. Told my husband to tip him. And left him with his new found friends.

Around 230p was the last bar stop for us.

I would do it again!

Ooooh Fantasy Fest is an absolute blast!!

Totally agree.......... we were there last year for 7 fun-filled nights :D:D!

Forgot to add, I did the Bar Crawl with Kokomo Joe a couple of years ago, had a fantastic time. However, since I am on the mailing list, they emailed me saying that they were no longer going to be in business anymore. Think the owner was retiring per the email. Not sure when the last Crawl will be, if I remember right think it said sometime in August.

Key West is not known for it's beaches....they aren't so hot!

Key West is not known for it's beaches....they aren't so hot!

I am not sure about the beaches but since the title of the thread says pub crawl I will be happy to contribute. :p

I was on the Celebrity Constellation last January (2014) and went on a 'shore excursion' from the ship, a pub crawl. It was a blast! We went to bars that were not the tourist 'bars' which was really fun for me since I had been there before a few years ago. You can always go back to the tourist bars if you wish; the pub crawl was 4 hours and the ship was in port longer than that.

If you think you would like to go, go. I went solo, but there were solo and not solos (that is what I called people that called themselves couples :p); it was great fun!!!

Totally agree.......... we were there last year for 7 fun-filled nights :D:D!

 

Forgot to add, I did the Bar Crawl with Kokomo Joe a couple of years ago, had a fantastic time. However, since I am on the mailing list, they emailed me saying that they were no longer going to be in business anymore. Think the owner was retiring per the email. Not sure when the last Crawl will be, if I remember right think it said sometime in August.

This just popped up on Facebook

"The Off Duval Bar Crawl is closed for business. Kokomo Joe is beginning a new life as a bartender and pursuing his dream of owning his own bar. Stay tuned here for his latest adventures and other Key West stuff. Thank you to all of our Very Important Party Animals for supporting us and making the last three years a blast!"

Pjk

This just popped up on Facebook

 

"The Off Duval Bar Crawl is closed for business. Kokomo Joe is beginning a new life as a bartender and pursuing his dream of owning his own bar. Stay tuned here for his latest adventures and other Key West stuff. Thank you to all of our Very Important Party Animals for supporting us and making the last three years a blast!"

 

Pjk

Hope his new venture is as exciting as his Bar Hop was. Did it say which bar he would be working at?