Blackbeard's Caye??

[samemily]

My family all want to go to the beach at Blackbeard's Caye in the Bahamas. Anyone done that, is the beach any good? Any details will be appreciated. Thanks

 

Emily of Samemily

[GaryWT]

We went on our last cruise and we had fun even though it rained. The beach was nice and there were some activities but with the rain we did not explore much. Since it is not private there are people renting wave runners etc. The trip was advertised as being able to be shuttled back and forth to the ship but that was not the case, they loaded up a boat, brought us over and then took everyone back at the same time. The boat left early because of the rain but that was fine with us as my DD had a spa appointment that afternoon.

 

I would say it is similar to CocoCay and LaBadee but not as nice (those are our favorites).

[Iamthesea]

I read several reviews both good and mediocre before our cruise. We signed up for Blackbeard's stingray adventure.

 

Three words of wisdom...Don't book Blackbeard's!

[samemily]

Thanks for the info. We might have to do something else.

 

Emily of Samemily

[GaryWT]

I think Blackbeards stingray adventure and Blackbeard Cay are 2 totally different things. Blackbeards Cay is a day at the beach, no stingrays involved.

[Sailfish]

We did this shore excursion after the Yellowbird Party boat tour in Nassau we pre-booked got cancelled. I was disappointed with our trip, but my issues might not be yours. Here are my observations; take what I say with a grain of salt and make up your own mind. I'd also recommend getting more input. I wish I had, but once we learned the Yellowbird was cancelled, we didn't have many choices.

 

First off, Blackbeard's Caye and the stingray excursion are on the same island/caye. When you meet up with the tour "guide" he will take tickets for both excursions, and both groups take the same boat to Blackbeard's Caye. You walk through town and board a large ferry type boat; it take about 30 minutes to get to the island, which is owned by Sandals Resort. A small portion of the island is leased by the tour operator. Upon disembarking the ferry, you will pass by the "pen" of stingrays. The stingray people walk with one guide, while the other directs you to the beach. The beach has lounge chairs, but not much shade to speak of, so put on lots of sunscreen. It's literally wall to wall lounge chairs on the beach. The beach is okay, and the water, like much of the Caribbean, is very inviting.

 

Our tour allowed us to get one watered down rum punch drink. It was $6 for a medium sized dixie cup alcoholic beverage - $5 without alcohol - a rip off if you ask me! There is a small play ground and a place where you can buy food and of course, a bar. There's also a gift shop. You can walk over to the stingray "pen" but can't participate in the "experience", although they made several announcements if you wanted to have your picture taken with a stingray. I didn't check to see how much that was, but it was fun watching the people squirm and scream!

 

About an hour into our "tour", the same ferryboat came back loaded with people and tons of kids from the Disney boat. Oh my gosh...what a zoo! As we were on the Mainer and had to go back early anyway, I was more than ready to leave. It got to be wall to wall people on the beach for what seemed like an eternity. The Disney people were shceduled to remain there the rest of the day.

 

I hiked around a little, and went over to the Sandals side of the island. Why we didn't just cross over the fallen fence earlier is still a mystery to me. It was quiet and a lot nicer, although the beach area was not as tended as the side we were on.

 

Personally, I wouldn't go back. I like beaches, but this place was a zoo, espcially once the Disney boat got there. You might not have this same experience. Were it just the boat load of people from our ship, it would have been better. But there were just way too many people (and unruly kids) for me.

 

If you've ever been to Coco Caye or Labadee, imagine everyone on a small beach. At least on those islands, you have a lot of room to spread out. We always found a quiet stretch of sand to call our own. No here.

 

Hope this helps.

[OCruisers]

Sailfish .... Thanks so much for your time to tell all of us about Blackbeard's Caye -- Great Review! We'd always wondered about that one -- now we know not to go! :rolleyes:

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Sailfish]

Sailfish .... Thanks so much for your time to tell all of us about Blackbeard's Caye -- Great Review! We'd always wondered about that one -- now we know not to go! :rolleyes:

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

 

You are very welcome!

 

One thing to remember, I was on the Mariner. I know other ships call on Nassau as well - but our tour was a morning tour - the Disney tour was an afternoon tour. Our two groups overlapped only a few hours - way too long if you ask me.

 

Suffice it to say, I don't know what tours are available for your ship. It might not be as crowded as ours. With that said, I'm guessing there are nicer beaches elsewhere in the Nassau area. This tour was something to fill the void left by our disappointing cancellation of the Yellowbird. Nassau is not my favorite port of call; since we had to be back on the ship by 1:30, our choices were very limited.

[samemily]

Thanks, Sailfish.

As you said our time at Nassau is limited and the excursion to Blackbeard's is very cheap. I appreciate the info and we may try to go anyway since I will have 4 of those unruly grandkids with me. They will probably enjoy the zoo. We will be docking with just the Disney ship in Nassau, so I am sure we will have the same experience on Blackbeard's Caye. There are 10 of us going, all family, and this is the only one we could all afford to go on together. So we will try to find our only little piece of the beach. At least we will have an hour or so before the horde arrives.

 

Thank you very much for all the info. I also enjoyed your review.

 

Emily of Samemily:o

[LLindaC]

I went to this beach when we did Yellowbird tour on Sovereign. There were other ships in port and the place was a zoo. Also, lots of people on party boats were pretty rowdy (rum). I don't think it's the best choice for a family. There is no snorkeling, no shade, and there was a very small area roped off for swimming. I think you'd be better off taking a water taxi over to Paradise Beach where you can have a nice beach day and see Atlantis, etc. You can easily do this on your own!

[Sailfish]

Thanks, Sailfish.

As you said our time at Nassau is limited and the excursion to Blackbeard's is very cheap. I appreciate the info and we may try to go anyway since I will have 4 of those unruly grandkids with me. They will probably enjoy the zoo. We will be docking with just the Disney ship in Nassau, so I am sure we will have the same experience on Blackbeard's Caye. There are 10 of us going, all family, and this is the only one we could all afford to go on together. So we will try to find our only little piece of the beach. At least we will have an hour or so before the horde arrives.

 

Thank you very much for all the info. I also enjoyed your review.

 

Emily of Samemily:o

 

You know, I totally understand where you are coming from! It won't be so bad and I guarantee the kids will have a good time! It's not such a bad place, but there are many nicer beaches in the Caribbean, and I just don't think this is one of them! Lind is probably right; for $25pp, you can probably take a cab and find a better place to go.

 

What ever you do, have fun. I wish I were there with you!

[hstrybuf]

We booked the Blackbeard's Caye tour at the last minute when we were on the Enchantment. We found it too crowded and the sand fleas were an unpleasant surprise. Also the swimming area was shallow and had a lot of debris floating around. I wouldn't do it again nor recommend it for anyone else.

[samemily]

Thanks everyone,

I think we will look for something else to do at Nassau. You all have really convinced me and that is what is so good about these boards.

I think we will book the rainbow reef snorkel or just go to a different beach on our own.

 

Emily