Questions about Great Stirrup Island as of Spring 2017?

[CRUIS4ME]

Have been looking through reviews to find out what is the latest info on the upgrades to GSC island. Understand it is good to rent a clamshell as shade is hard to find. Is the zip line up? Where should we park for the day to be able to snorkel on our own? Does anyone have a map they can post? Thx

[mking8288]

Don't recall seeing ziplines being up nor running / in operations last Tuesday when we're there. The main beach & nearby facilities are up and mostly running - did not check out the remodeled cabanas - thought I saw some unfinished work in that direction. Food area nicely done/finished - well shaded and great bench/picnic table seating ... watch out for the birds & seagulls eyeing your plate of food, they'll sweep in quickly as a gang.

 

As I noted in the update, there are some loungers further away from the beachfront near shades ... it might or might not be adequate from the strong midday sun directly overhead. $35 for a vented clamshell over 2 loungers with room to keep your belongings is a fair buy ... used a clip to hang our beach bags under the clamshell so it's off the sandy grounds.

 

Some on our Roll Call brought their own snorkel gears. Otherwise, I believed it's best to book them onboard with ShorEX Desk to assure that it's reserved/available to you (and, give you priority/preference for early boarding onto the tender)

[uneamie]

I take it there still is NO SHADE near the beach area? I have to wonder if this is their way of getting people to rent the clam shells. Having to pay for one thing after another get's old. They should supply umbrella's and I don't buy the excuse I heard about that they lost them during a storm and decided it was not worth replacing them in case they lost them again. How hard is it to have umbrella's and just don't put them out there during a storm like all the inclusives resorts do. I can't lay in the sun all darn day......so one almost has to rent a clam shell. There are 4 of us so we'd have to rent 2 of them, ....making this "free private island" not so free.

[DAllenTCY]

I did not have any difficulty finding a lounge under some trees, right next to where you pick up snorkeling supplies.

 

There were other shaded areas near the bandstand, and plenty of umbrellas next to the Bacardi Bar as well.

 

 

David

[uneamie]

I did not have any difficulty finding a lounge under some trees, right next to where you pick up snorkeling supplies.

 

There were other shaded areas near the bandstand, and plenty of umbrellas next to the Bacardi Bar as well.

 

 

David

Thank you for posting this. From what I have been hearing there is NO SHADE anywhere....especially anywhere near the ocean.

[lab_love123]

If you want to be GUARANTEED shade, rent a clamshell. Otherwise, if you get over on one of the earlier tenders, you should be able to find some decent shade not too far from the beach. We were on the first assigned tender group, and we had plenty of shady options to choose from. There are some shady spots right near the snorkel center and near the bar that's to the left (if facing the ocean) of the snorkel center. Bertram's Bar, I think. I grabbed my lounger right near the bar and had a pretty decent ocean view.

 

To the OP, we got a guide/map to GSC with our Freestyle Daily the night before so we could scope stuff out ahead of time. Also, on NCL's website there's a little interactive map. https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/great-stirrup-cay - the best spot for snorkeling is apparently the area I've described in the paragraph above. There's a "snorkel trail."

[Jaime0528]

So if there aren't any umbrellas could we bring our own? I have 2 small beach umbrellas that clamp onto beach chairs and a larger beach umbrella. In a recent review I saw a picture that had one lonely blue umbrella so I'm thinking someone brought their own?:cool:

Edited May 11, 2017 by Jaime0528

[lab_love123]

So if there aren't any umbrellas could we bring our own? I have 2 small beach umbrellas that clamp onto beach chairs and a larger beach umbrella. In a recent review I saw a picture that had one lonely blue umbrella so I'm thing someone brought their own?:cool:

 

There are clamshells which have two loungers each under them. There are not any umbrellas that I remember. The other shade is natural shade provided by the trees and buildings, and IMO there is plenty of it. The clip-on umbrellas would be fine I think... not sure how well the larger one would work. The loungers are really packed in, so there really just might not be a good spot to set it up. It's a bit of a logistical issue. If you were able to get a cluster of loungers and kind of separate them from the rest, it might work. Otherwise, you might have this umbrella up encroaching on another party's space and that might not be the best thing to do. Plus, it's kind of a big item to have to lug around with you. If you have to fly to your embarkation port, how would you pack it? It wouldn't fit in a carry-on and if you checked it, it could get really banged up.

[mking8288]

So if there aren't any umbrellas could we bring our own? I have 2 small beach umbrellas that clamp onto beach chairs and a larger beach umbrella. In a recent review I saw a picture that had one lonely blue umbrella so I'm thinking someone brought their own?:cool:

Folks bring their snorkel gears to GSC and there's no expressed rules against your own beach umbrellas or portable sun shade tent (available on eBay - like this)

 

Saw umbrellas on GSC before and also last week - pictured here. If you aren't flying into your embarkation port - taking them onboard should not be an issue ... you can probably use them on the ship's sundeck as well. As said above, the sun tent gives better protection as the umbrella might be okay for 1 person in terms of coverage. Carrying them around aren't going to be fun.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipO2adFmj10fWzjr0jzJNHZGTGMHV2SDRwVv80nP

[Jaime0528]

We have a small bus driving us to the port in New York so no problem with flying. But I guess we'd have to carry it onboard... We do have one of those shade shelters I forgot all about! We could definitely pack that in a suitcase. We have 17 people in our group so the umbrella would hopefully only encroach on our space but I guess it depends how early we get there and how much space together we can get!

 

Just wanted to make sure we could actually bring these things onboard!

[CRUIS4ME]

Thanks all for the updates and suggestions. Will rent a clamshell but thinking of purchasing a shelter also...handy to have. Thx again.