aggieguy93

Rhapsody in 2004, we used the lifeboats as tenders for Grand Cayman

I am very excited about this news.

I have a place on Taino Beach and i have been doing land based vacations there since 2004.  the island has been hit with 3 hurricanes since then and the economy has suffered.  

The property they bought is where the casino was so it will be interesting to see if that is part of the new master plan that RCI has for that.  (it is a very nice property already, just needs to be cleaned up from the last hurricane)

I have lots of friends that live on the island and they are excited as well.  they say it will bring an additional 2 million visitors to the island annually.  and with 4 berths, it will seem to be a new busy spot (NCL and Carnival also sail into Freeport)

There are tons of things to do on the island and some very nice beaches.  I love Freeport and i cannot stand Nasty Nassau
 

It won't happen overnight, but Freeport could flourish from this in the next 5-10 years and i can't wait to see that

Favorite - Rhapsody (my first cruise), Liberty

Least - none

11 days 21 hours 58 minutes

While I don't have any experience with the Carnival Excursion, I am a member at Taino Beach and have been going there since 2004.

I am biased, but Taino does have one of the Largest pools on the island (Waterslide, lap area, lazyriver, swim-up/walk-up grotto bar) It is also has one of the Nicest beaches.

The days of the excursions, there are about 20ish vendors that set up a straw market.

I cannot speak about the food and drink included with package, so someone else will have to talk about that.

This is more of a place to get some sun and beach time, if you want shopping, then i would suggest the Grand Lucayan which is right next to the Port Lucaya marketplace.

check out the website of the resort, (I won't put up the link here, but you can do a google search for Taino Beach Resort and Club, there is a video on there that shows the amenities. You can also do a YouTube search for additional videos as well.)

I don't think they would exclude the Pool since you walk right past it on the way to the beach (they are about 75-100yds apart from each other)

Do an internet search for Taino Beach (for the website) or a YouTube Search. and there is a video on there about the property.

I forgot to mention, Carnival does not own the property.

I am Biased here since I have a Place at Taino, but for that price it is a great deal. Taino is one the nicest beaches on the Island and the swimming pool is one of the largest. (Lazy River, Grotto Pool Bar, Water slide). The people at the resort are very friendly. Not a lot of shopping though (just a couple of straw market vendors) for shopping you need to go to Port Lucaya (The International Bazzar has never recovered from Hurricane Francis in 2004)

You can book it through UNEXCO directly but you will have to get your own transportation to Port Lucaya. You will also have to know what time you are arriving to book your own reservations. I don't have any experience with the cruise ship excursions though, I have always gone when I vacationed in Freeport.

There is a Junkanoo beach club in Freeport, but I would recommend just getting a Taxi and going to the Raddison Our Lucaya resort and paying the Day use fee. You are right by the Casino and Port Lucaya Market place.