Cuckoo7

Junkanoo is an easy walk from the port and has chairs/umbrellas to rent, as well as facilities and places to purchase food/drinks.

It's been a few years, but we used them and they were excellent. Victor was fast and thorough with email communication prior to the tour, making sure we understood all of the details. Our guide was Francisco, and he was friendly and professional. We felt safe everywhere he took us, all of the beautiful spots on the island, and he gave us tips on how to bargain with vendors and what to get to eat and drink. We also enjoyed the interesting bits of information and history along the way. You get to decide where you want to go and for how long. The freedom worked out very well for us. We had several photo stops and shopping before going to the monkey business. This was definitely the highlight of the trip. A guide takes you through the various cages, and you can go in and interact with monkeys, parrots, a sloth and more. It's really a one of a kind experience.

We tried to do this about a month ago and were denied by multiple entities, including the PVP we've used for several bookings. It was a casino offer, so we even tried with them, but were told that it was use it or lose it on the deposit.

It'll be interesting to see if it amounts to anything for the cruise itself. The questions included stuff about incentives to get us into the casino more such as casino food and increased comps. I'm not at the level to get a lot of comps (bottle of wine once and a steakhouse selection in the MDR), so we'll see if that changes.

Received one as well. Sail date is July 29th.

Some of the softest sand you'll find. No water shoes needed.

Great idea. We went to Blue Heaven for key lime and it was fantastic. Also consider visiting the Hemingway House. It's pretty cool. This is what we've done twice, but there are some beach excursions I've heard good things about. Since we hit the beach at two other stops, didn't feel it necessary to do here. This place is amazingly beautiful. The beach is one long area with loungers galore. There's not a lot of shade, though, so consider clamshell. We actually brought a cheap, collapsible umbrella we bought off of Amazon. Free lunch is provided (burgers, hot dogs and stuff like that). It was very underwhelming to say the least. There are drink waiters and you can pay with your sign and sail, but Cheers doesn't work here. Can't answer about Atlantis or RIU, but Junkanoo beach is within walking distance to the port (about 10-15 minutes) and is free to access. Chairs/umbrellas maybe 20-25 bucks. The beach can get a little packed, but we enjoyed it, then walked to the Fish Fry area for some great food.

Yes and yes. It's about a 10-15 minute walk, I'd say, from the cruise port, with the Straw Market on the way. We rented a couple of chairs from one of the restaurants/bars. I think it was like 20 bucks for the chairs and umbrella.

There is not a lot of shade on HMC from my memory. You have to go pretty far down the beach to find shade. Last time we went, we brought our own pop-up umbrella. Sorry can't answer about mats/tubes. Lunch is very underwhelming, but the island is beautiful. It's a fantastic beach day.

I'd say it's about a mile, not really doable for someone of that age.

This. If you're able-bodied, I'd recommend walking. We walked all the way to the Southernmost Point and back. It's not a difficult walk at all and is a little over a mile each way, I think. Much easier to stop wherever we wanted for a drink, key lime pie, Hemingway house, etc.

Replied in your other thread, but just in case you don't see it... It is not a long walk at all, maybe a block and a half to two blocks.

Probably not much help, as I've only been to Progresso once, but we did a cheap beach day there. You take the free bus from the port, down the 4-mile pier, and park a couple of blocks from the beach. There's a little market area where the bus stops for trinkets and such. The beach is pretty good, and chair/umbrella rentals are reasonable. We walked a bit down the boardwalk and negotiated free chairs/umbrellas for agreement to buy food and drink from the restaurant. Incessant vendors were really the only negative. The next time we go, we will probably take the trip to Merida. My understanding is that the bus ride isn't too expensive and Merida is a pretty cool historical city.

I had read horror stories for years about Nassau but finally got to go twice in the past year. I loved it and found the locals to be really awesome. We walked around quite a bit, including the other way from the port up to the Queen's Staircase and the forts - never felt unsafe nor did we encounter anyone less than pleasant.

Yeah, we were on the western side of Junkanoo, and it's not an overly long walk at all to the Fish Fry. Just watch out for cars on that road (think it's called Esplanade) because they were whipping in and out. We walked all the way to the end and then back-tracked to the one we thought we'd like, which just so happened to be the one in the video above. There will be folks at just about every restaurant trying to get you to come in. Just past Junkanoo, the beach disappears and then there's another one. I'm not sure if that's technically another beach or not. We didn't see much there in terms of facilities, though, just folks on towels.

Lot of shops in the port. There are the port staples such as Del Sol and Diamonds International, but also some pretty good little craft shops with interesting stuff. We've also bought rum, coffee and some really tasty chocolate.

Nassau beaches such as Cabbage, Cable and Junkanoo are public and do not have an entrance fee. Resorts on those beaches would, though, and you'll generally have to pay for loungers/umbrellas. Half Moon Cay is a private Carnival island in the Bahamas. There is no entrance fee, nor fee for loungers, but cabanas and clamshells will cost. I'm sorry, but I can't speak to Freeport, as I haven't done a beach there.

Not recently, but we did it a few years back. Had a great time at the monkey/sloth place. We went to Bananarama on West Bay Beach. It was incredibly beautiful, but the one negative was the amount of vendors - pretty much non-stop.

It's looking good, but there's still some work to do. Nothing is open yet. I went a year ago and then last week. They've made a lot of progress, but I wouldn't feel confident it'll be done next month.

Yes, there are plenty of restaurants. The walk is about 10-15 minutes, I'd say. To update my post above, we again had no issues with vendors at Junkanoo and had a wonderful time. We walked further this time (about another 10-15 minutes) to the Fish Fry and had some great conch fritters at this place:

We just got back as well for my 2nd time to both. We again didn't do much at Freeport but ventured out even further at Nassau. We went to the Queen's Staircase and the forts, then back to a number of shops, then to Junkanoo for a bit and down further to the Fish Fry. Had a fantastic time.

Well, we did PAYG at both, and my understanding is that they've both pivoted more toward AI now. So I'm not sure if it's an apples to apples comparison. That said, we enjoyed the food at both. We weren't super adventurous - just basics like nachos, coconut shrimp - but had no complaints. I don't recall feeling like one had a significantly larger set of offerings than the other. As @JohninDC mentioned, we enjoyed that taco truck at Paradise. I remember a truck at Sanchos too on the PAYG side but it's been a few years, so I don't remember exactly what we got from it.

Thanks!

Appreciate the information. We're still planning on doing Junkanoo but might consider Serenity. Are there umbrellas? Some of the recent pics I saw seem to only show broken palapas. Also, how much did you pay for the pass and where did you purchase?

Would love to hear your thoughts when you get back, as we're going two weeks later. When we went last year, it wasn't a peak time and our ship wasn't close to full. So I'm wondering whether the vendors just didn't come out in force.