Mahogany Bay question

[fedexretiree]

Couple of questions about this port....

1.  Never been to the beach at the port and was wondering, do you have to pay a fee to ride the chairs to the beach?

2.  Do you have to prepay for a clamshell or just chairs before arriving on the beach or can you rent chairs once you get there?  

If just renting chairs (no clamshell) how much is it?  

3.  How far of a walk is it to the beach from the ship?

4.  Is there any snorkeling at the beach?

5.  Every time we've been to the port we have taken the Tabayana beach excursion that only provides a ride to and from and a lounge chair.  I'm not seeing that as an option any more.  Has this trip been discontinued? 

 

Thanks in advance for this information

[Homosassa]

Some of the answers:

 

There is a fee for chair lift.

 

There are free beach chairs available.

 

By the time you walk to the entrance for the chair lift, you might as well continue the rest of the short walk to the beach.

 

You can snorkel if you wish, but it  is a man made beach with no reef. The only fish you may see are those that might have strayed into beach area.

 

Additional advice (my opinion only): unless you like paying for over priced food on the beach, it is the same short walk back to the ship for lunch.

 

[80sGal]

I am pretty sure one fee covered rides back and forth all day.  When we were there pre-Covid there was no charge for the chairs if you didn't mind not being front row on the beach.  Floating mats were available for rent, and the swimming area was very nice!  Absolutely beautiful there!  I'd also recommend the Jolly Roger Snorkel excursion if they still offer it, and you'll still have plenty of beach time left afterwards.   

Edited March 7, 2022 by 80sGal
Typo

[Cruise, J.D.]

We were there at the same time as the Mardi Gras back in December and there were no beach chairs available by the time we got down to the beach that morning. I mean literally none, believe me, we looked 😂. We finally found a spot at a picnic table at the very end of the beach area. It ended up not that bad as that area had a DJ and a bar. You might want to check the port schedule and adjust your plans to get down there as early as you can if other ships are there.

Edited March 7, 2022 by Cruise, J.D.

[txcruiser1234]

Regarding the snorkeling - we were there last October...

 

At the far end of the beach was a pier with a lifeguard tower at the end. About 50 - 75 yards out in the direction away from the beach was a pretty good snorkel area - lots of fish and coral. It was comparable in quality to one of the caye snorkel excursions we had near Belize on the same trip, which was also pretty good. There were hundreds of folks in the enclosed swimming area, but only a dozen or so snorkelers came along from the pier in the hour we were out there. Most did not venture out far enough to see the good stuff. The area closer in towards the beach was not very interesting or full of life. Ask the lifeguard in the tower and he/she will point you in the right direction and tell you about the current.

 

We did the all-inclusive beach break for two through the ship. It worked out to a few dollars cheaper than if we paid for all the inclusions separately - unlimited use of the lift, clamshell for the day, snorkel gear, water loungers, and kayak rental. We booked it when we got on the ship, but had to go to the excursion counter as the hub app wanted double the payment, even though the description was clearly inclusive of two people.

[K&RCurt]

The two times we have been to Mahogany Beach we rented a Beach Cabana.  There were 6 of us and divinging the cost it was reasonable PP.  I believe the Cabana rental includes 4 people but you can add up to 4 more for a total of 8 once on the ship.  This included the chair lift for the day (Honestly we did it once to see the views, the rest of the time we walked as it is quicker!) There is a private beach area for the Cabana Guests with some modified Palapas for shade and big cusioned loungers as well as regular loungers and there were drinks and snacks included in the cabana.  There is a strip of the beach by the water where anyone can walk and that leads to the snorkel pier mentioned above.

 

I can only take so much sun, due to my pale Northern European genetics so I appreciate a Cabana and other shade to limit my sun exposure.  I also find clamshells to become sauna-like due to no air circulation so the Cabana works best for us.

[fedexretiree]

THANKS EVERYONE so much for all of the information.

[WildBlueYonder64]

We did not care for the clamshells. They were hot with no air circulation, and unless you are lucky enough to get in the first row, your view is of the back of the shell right in front of you.  Now we prefer to rent 2 chairs with an umbrella in the front row of loungers for $25/day, cash only. We had shade, an awesome view of the water, and could keep an eye on our stuff. You rent them from the local guys on the beach, so just look for them near the lifeguard stand.

[day-day]

The Tabayana Beach Break is showing on my Carnival Glory excursion list for March 30.  It was also available on my October and January cruises.