SO confused! Is Our Lucaya same as Lucayan Beach?

[cml88]

After a few hours of researching beaches in Freeport I am even more lost than I was when I started. It sure is hard to find information about this area...and reading through posts, I'm finding alot of conflicting info. Ok...so what I've gathered is..It's about a $15 cab ride to Port Lucaya Marketplace...the beaches are located walking distance from here. Is Our Port Lucaya and Lucayan Beach the same place? Or is Our Port Lucaya referring to the resort area on the raddison? and Lucayan Beach referring to the public beach area?

 

Also what beach would you recc? And where do I tell the cab driver to take me?

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

Lucaya Beach itself is free to just go and lay your towel down. The Radisson resort will sell you a wristband for $10 pp if you want to use their chairs, pool, etc. right on the Lucaya Beach, so you have a couple of options. You can get to either by taking the $5 pp shared van ride (there really are no personal taxis in Freeport as far as I know) to the Lucaya Marketplace, then walk to the beach area.

 

I have not been to the other beaches, but from what I've researched, the other beaches tend to be in the opposite direction from Lucaya and are more isolated but very beautiful. I was really interested in going to Paradise Cove on our upcoming cruise - there is a small beach club there and I hear there is some nice snorkeling. They will pick you up and take you back to the port, and provide snorkel equipment (you snorkel on your own) for $35 pp, so not a bad price, but if you have someone who doesn't want to snorkel, then it may not be worth it...however, we priced it for the four of us going, and since all the taxis are shared and the group rate is for 5 or more, we will pay $80 just in taxi to go there and back if we do not do the excursion. It is also $3 to rent a chair and $5 for an umbrella I think, plus food. So the beach club itself is not that expensive, but to get there and back on your own is pricey.

 

So bottom line, while I really wanted to try one of the more isolated beaches on our upcoming trip, we decided to take the $5 pp ride to Lucaya and buy the Radisson wristbands to use the pool, chairs and have access to the beach. I read reviews on the Radisson both of people who stayed there as a land vacation and people who went for the day on a cruise, and it got good reviews. So we'll give it a try.

 

If you do go to another beach, come back and tell us how it was!

[jdyer09]

We were there in Feb of 2010 and I was pretty confused at first when we were trying to plan! We are returning in a few weeks!

 

In Freeport, you dock in a very industrial area. Some of the kids (adults too!) liked watching the cranes and barges move around the port. But to get to Lucaya, you get off the ship and move into a large (covered if I remember correctly) pavillion where there are lots of taxis waiting. Its VERY easy to find a taxi going to Lucaya. There are set taxi rates posted. If anyone asks you to pay anything different say no thank you and move on. If I remember they are all marked pretty well, I think they have to be painted a certain way, but I might be confusing those with the red stripes in Cozumel.

 

When you get to Lucaya there is a shopping center and a several hotels. I think some of the confusion comes in because the names are all Lucaya something!

 

The hotel there that we used that is the $10pp beach fee ($5 kids) is the former Radisson Our Lucaya. It is now the Grand Lucayan. The shopping center is called Port Lucaya Marketplace.

 

The taxi lets you off pretty much in the center of the area, I believe its a circular type drive. From there you can safely walk to whichever of the hotels you choose or the shopping center. As far as how to get to the free beach, Im not sure, but we chose to use the Raddison so we could have access to the bathrooms, as well as a pool and hot tub because we were there in February and it got chilly after a bit.

 

I hope this helps. If you have anymore questions please let me know. We will be there Feb 13th, so if you want any photos of anything specific, etc, to help you kinda understand it, I will try to remember while we are there!

[cml88]

Thank you both so much for your responses! It is all clear now!:)

[cml88]

We were there in Feb of 2010 and I was pretty confused at first when we were trying to plan! We are returning in a few weeks!

 

In Freeport, you dock in a very industrial area. Some of the kids (adults too!) liked watching the cranes and barges move around the port. But to get to Lucaya, you get off the ship and move into a large (covered if I remember correctly) pavillion where there are lots of taxis waiting. Its VERY easy to find a taxi going to Lucaya. There are set taxi rates posted. If anyone asks you to pay anything different say no thank you and move on. If I remember they are all marked pretty well, I think they have to be painted a certain way, but I might be confusing those with the red stripes in Cozumel.

 

When you get to Lucaya there is a shopping center and a several hotels. I think some of the confusion comes in because the names are all Lucaya something!

 

The hotel there that we used that is the $10pp beach fee ($5 kids) is the former Radisson Our Lucaya. It is now the Grand Lucayan. The shopping center is called Port Lucaya Marketplace.

 

The taxi lets you off pretty much in the center of the area, I believe its a circular type drive. From there you can safely walk to whichever of the hotels you choose or the shopping center. As far as how to get to the free beach, Im not sure, but we chose to use the Raddison so we could have access to the bathrooms, as well as a pool and hot tub because we were there in February and it got chilly after a bit.

 

I hope this helps. If you have anymore questions please let me know. We will be there Feb 13th, so if you want any photos of anything specific, etc, to help you kinda understand it, I will try to remember while we are there!

Thank you! I appreciate that very much! I would love to see photos of the Lucaya area! ENJOY your time there!!!

[TMWTim]

Thanks for the info!

[Sandpiper10]

After much research, see are doing the same. Grabbing a taxi and going to the resort to enjoy the beach. From what I researched, it sounds exactly as the 1st 2 replies said. We'll be there 2/8.

[debbiet70611]

Can you just walk into the Radisson Lucaya/Grand Lucayan and get the wristband or do you need to book in advance.

[jdyer09]

We've always just walked in and paid at the front desk or at the towel shack on the beach. We've never reserved before hand.

 

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[CMM]

Can you just walk into the Radisson Lucaya/Grand Lucayan and get the wristband or do you need to book in advance.

 

We were there in August. We just took the cab and then walked up. There is a shack that looks like a parking lot attendents right before you get to the hotel that you buy the wristbands. We made the mistake of instead going into the lobby and waited in line at the front desk, just to be told to go back to the small white shack we had passed earlier.

 

We spent some time at the beach using the hotels chairs then in the pools. We took a break and walked across the street to the market place and bought some gifts in a less pushy/ crowded atmospher than in Nassau. We got a fun fresh drink made in a chopped off coconut and then walked back to the hotel and enjoyed the hot tubs and swim up bar before heading back to the ship. Just remember to bring a credit card as the pool bar does not take cash. Only hotel room cards or credit cards.

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

We spent some time at the beach using the hotels chairs then in the pools. We took a break and walked across the street to the market place and bought some gifts in a less pushy/ crowded atmospher than in Nassau. We got a fun fresh drink made in a chopped off coconut and then walked back to the hotel and enjoyed the hot tubs and swim up bar before heading back to the ship. Just remember to bring a credit card as the pool bar does not take cash. Only hotel room cards or credit cards.

 

I know in August you wouldn't need it, but do you know if the pool is able to be heated? We are going in two weeks and the water might be chilly. We plan to buy the wristbands.

[jdyer09]

We will be there in two weeks too! What.ship are you on?

 

As far as the water temps, I remember the last time we were there in February the beach was ok for a little bit then it got cold. I recall the pool not being heated but there were hot tubs nearby.

 

When we were there it was pretty dead. We seemingly had the whole place to ourselves and one other group of early twenty-somethings and we had a blast. I think we might bring snorkel equipment unless anyone knows of someone who rents it nearby.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

[QLUVS2CRUZ]

We will be there in two weeks too! What.ship are you on?

 

As far as the water temps, I remember the last time we were there in February the beach was ok for a little bit then it got cold. I recall the pool not being heated but there were hot tubs nearby.

 

When we were there it was pretty dead. We seemingly had the whole place to ourselves and one other group of early twenty-somethings and we had a blast. I think we might bring snorkel equipment unless anyone knows of someone who rents it nearby.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

We are on Carnival Fantasy:)

[jimjamxx]

Thank you! I appreciate that very much! I would love to see photos of the Lucaya area! ENJOY your time there!!!

 

OK, here are a few photos from 2009:

 

 

 

 

 

jimmyjames

[packedandready]

We were there in August. We just took the cab and then walked up. There is a shack that looks like a parking lot attendents right before you get to the hotel that you buy the wristbands. We made the mistake of instead going into the lobby and waited in line at the front desk, just to be told to go back to the small white shack we had passed earlier.

 

We spent some time at the beach using the hotels chairs then in the pools. We took a break and walked across the street to the market place and bought some gifts in a less pushy/ crowded atmospher than in Nassau. We got a fun fresh drink made in a chopped off coconut and then walked back to the hotel and enjoyed the hot tubs and swim up bar before heading back to the ship. Just remember to bring a credit card as the pool bar does not take cash. Only hotel room cards or credit cards.

 

Is it only the bar that doesn't take cash? Can I use cash to pay admittance and in the market?

[cruiseapril]

The Bahamas can be cool for swimming during winter months. We try for March and April for our cruises to that area.

[cat981]

To those that recently went to Port Lucaya....was the Radisson still $10 pp for beach and other facility access? Saw some posts saying it was $20 pp now. Also where is the Radisson in relation to the Marketplace? We are going on the Sunshine in December with my 2 kiddos (3&4) and my neice (11). Would like to take them to a beach for a bit but last time we went to Port Lucaya we went to the public beach beside the police station and the walkway was super creepy and the beach was really small.