Little French Key....Crowded???

[Birm]

Several of us were kind of excited about going to Little French Key during our Nov 29th cruise to Isle Roatan. We have been hearing that they don't limit the number of guests and that it has become very crowded. We also heard there have been problems with them running out of food and possibly letting too many people come at one time. Anyone have a recent experience with them.....we may just have to change our plans. :(

[edbro]

i don't know but this is best asked in the ports of call forum. This will probably get moved anyhow.

 

I would check the port schedule for Roatan. I just checked for my visit and fortunately, we will be the only ship in port.

 

http://www.mahoganybaycc.com/port-schedule.aspx

Edited June 22, 2015 by edbro

[evandbob]

Were the rumors started by Carnival? Of course, Carnival wants you to go on their excursions and not lose your money.

 

There's a mainland restaurant called Frenchy's that provides the food for LFK, I doubt they run out of food. The lunch we had twice was excellent: lobster tail, shrimp, and grilled chicken and steak with rice and beans.

 

As for being crowded, many people stay right near the drop off area where one of the high jump platforms and the main bar is located. I can easily see that place being crowded. However, I always like to venture further, and there are many nice spots with little beach coves and lounges where you should be able to sample some quiet spaces.

 

If you want crowded, stay in Mahogany Bay.

Edited June 22, 2015 by evandbob

[ryansmith18]

Haven't been there yet, but we're planning on going on our upcoming cruise. Something I've learned in researching it is to be cautious when taking advice from the folks that have been there. Or more importantly... the ones that think they have been there.

 

There's a Carnival sponsored excursion that goes to BIG French Key. As with all Carnival excursions, there's a reasonable chance it's crowded. I've seen a small handful of times where somebody is complaining about their experience on LFK, they didn't like it for reasons A, B, and C... only to find out that they hadn't step foot on LFK. They spent their day at BFK.

[sunkey1]

We went there last Thanksgiving (on our own) while cruising on the Dream and had a fabulous time. Was not crowded, food portions were HUGE. Really a lovely place, lots of different ares to hang out, animals to see/hold. It was really a great time and my (older) teen kids loved it as well. We would definitely return the next time we are in Roatan.

[Birm]

Thanks for the replies, if I posted this in the wrong place Im sorry.......I haven't posted much here on CC but do lots of reading and research. We might just have to go and see for ourselves.

[evandbob]

Haven't been there yet, but we're planning on going on our upcoming cruise. Something I've learned in researching it is to be cautious when taking advice from the folks that have been there. Or more importantly... the ones that think they have been there.

 

There's a Carnival sponsored excursion that goes to BIG French Key. As with all Carnival excursions, there's a reasonable chance it's crowded. I've seen a small handful of times where somebody is complaining about their experience on LFK, they didn't like it for reasons A, B, and C... only to find out that they hadn't step foot on LFK. They spent their day at BFK.

 

Just to point out that BFK is being developed directly across from LFK......it is certainly possible for someone who hasn't been there yet to confuse the 2.

[firemanbobswife]

We went last month and it was totally not crowded. They will not run out of food, and they do limit the amount of people. It's best to make your reservations ahead of time by contacting them on FB. If you have a group of 10 or more you get 10% off your package. I made all the arrangements for our roll call from here and it was perfect.

[rocketship]

I was just there in March and its quite the opposite. There was no crowd at all. Felt like we had the place to ourselves. There were obviously people there, but they have so much seating and beach front, that there were even empty chairs/loungers all day. The only complaint I would have had, is that my food did not come out with everybody elses. We were in a group of 6 and 5 of the 6 came out at once and mine took about another 30 minutes. They said they had ran out of chicken and were cooking more, so they didnt want the rest of my food to get cold, so they held off on making the plate until the chicken was ready. I cant even complain about that because the service was great and the water/grounds were beautiful. Our group agreed it was purely paradise.

[cccer]

We were there last July and it was not crowded at all. There were some people from the Carnival Excursion and some others not from Carnival but there were places to sit by the beach. As others have mentioned, you may have to go a little past the bar but you should find seats. We had no problem finding four seats together

[cruiser fanatic]

I didn't care for LFK. It wasn't crowded but I have been to a better beach. Tabyana is cheaper and is a nicer beach IMO.

[firemanbobswife]

Carnival does not offer an excursion to Little French Key. People are confusing 2 different places.

[vettecruiser1]

Been twice, once last year not much of a crowd. Then this year during spring break, it was booked beyond capacity based on what the owner said when we checked in. We waited 45 minutes to check in, pay and get a boat ride. They did not run out of food but by the time the last ship got in and those people came over there was no lounge chairs to be had. I want to say we were told there was over 500 people on LFK that day one of the busiest days they could remember but the place is spacious and once we got settled the crowd was very manageable. The only people complaining were the ones from the last ship. Even on the busy day I did not want to leave it is truly paradise.

[bluejay555]

I was just there last week with 2 ships in port and it was not overcrowded at all. We loved LFK! It was gorgeous, the staff was friendly and went out of their way to make sure we had a great time, and they had plenty of food and drinks for all.

[mitsugirly]

Also know that there's plenty of areas to spread out there.

 

They have the lagoon area (where you see people jumping off the 2 story deck) and it's where they serve the food at.

 

Over from that is a newer area that they have another building with a bar and swings in the water.

 

Over by their house there is a beach there.

 

Around the corner is yet another beach.

 

Then they just developed yet another area over by the animals (by Simba's cage)

 

Their new entrance area also has a new place with another deck for jumping off into the water and swinging.

[dreweyj]

I'm just posting to provide feedback that there is merit to the OP's original post. I was reading lots of threads and comments on LFK where the same concern is being brought up: it can be croweded.

 

Under the "FAQ" section of the LFK website it clearly says under the last question "How many people can be accomodated at LFK at one time?" the place can accommodate 500. I've copied the verbiage below:

 

How many people can be accommodated at LFK at one time?

Our facility maximum capacity is 500 people per day, seldom do we reach this capacity with average being about 100-150 people per day.

 

The page is HERE

 

Back in March 2015 when I first booked this place as part of my trip on the Carnival Magic, I can confirm their website used to openly advertise that the capacity was restricted to 100-150 people. We never got to Honduras because as Carnival is known for missing this port, we missed it because "the swells were too high."

 

Now it's clear sometime after March the website was updated and it appears they've re-evaluated their attendance opening up the place to a maximum of 500 people. But as stated, the average seems to be 100-150 people. They do indicate it's seldom they've reached capacity but seldom doesn't mean EVER so clearly at some point they have...

 

Hence the rumors that now are proven true.

[MarieLill]

We were there in March and it was very crowded. The problem was that they had booked to capacity, but people that did not have a reservation were allowed to book that day onsite. We didn't have a problem finding a lounge chair because we were there early, but there were many angry people later when all the chairs were taken. The owner was bringing chairs over from Roatan and washing them on the dock to hand out. We had a great day and thought it was a beautiful island.