What to do in Freeport

[sickofsnowinmich]

Just found out today our Carnival Cruise itinerary (for the week of April 1) was changed due to the problems in Grand Turk. We are now going to Freeport instead. Of course I have not done any research on this port and wondered if there is much to do, great things to see, shopping, any great beaches to hang out on for the day? We are a party of 4 - 2 adults and 2 teen girls.

 

Any insight would be helpful!

[CruiseAddict!]

I am interested in the responses you get also because my stop at GT in May might also be replaced with Freeport if things in GT are not sorted yet. I looked at the Carnival excursions and much of it is beachy type stuff which is cool with me because GT was going to be a beach day for us anyway. This looks interesting http://portlucayamarketplace.com/lucaya/

Just found out today our Carnival Cruise itinerary (for the week of April 1) was changed due to the problems in Grand Turk. We are now going to Freeport instead. Of course I have not done any research on this port and wondered if there is much to do, great things to see, shopping, any great beaches to hang out on for the day? We are a party of 4 - 2 adults and 2 teen girls.

 

Any insight would be helpful!

[4spring]

I've been researching Freeport a little since I booked a last minute cruise leaving Sunday (arrive Freeport Monday). It appears that Paradise Cove gets a lot of thumbs up as well as something Lucayan. I think I'm going to try Paradise cove.

There are other threads on here that talk about it at greater length.

[nybumpkin]

We've been to Freeport twice, both times on Carnival Pride. You will hear a lot of people who tell you to stay on the ship, there's nothing to see. And if you don't have a plan for the day, it can be a real letdown. The ships dock at a commercial port; if you like watching cargo ships, you'll like Freeport. (DH and I are ship geeks, so we enjoy the port area anyway.) There is very little at the port area itself - a few restaurants (I believe they now have a Senor Frog's), some stores, and a straw market. To do anything, you need to plan an excursion.

 

I am a big fan of Paradise Cove. We reserved in advance via their website (http://www.deadmansreef.com), no deposit required. Our port time was 7-2; they picked us up right at the port at 8:00 and the drive out to Paradise Cove was about 20 minutes. We registered and paid, picked up our snorkel gear and flotation belts, and then listened to a brief lecture about the reef, the sea life to be seen, and cautions against stepping on the sea grass or the coral. The water closest to shore is fairly rocky, but once you get out a distance it's sandy. Inside the reef it's fairly shallow, but there was plenty for me to see. I'm not a strong swimmer, so snorkeling from shore in relatively shallow water was ideal for me. After snorkeling, we relaxed on their deck with a local beer. Didn't try any of the food, since we figured we'd eat lunch when we returned to the ship - but it certainly looked and smelled good. Around 12:30 they announced our shuttle on the loudspeaker, and we were back at port in plenty of time. Really a great day.

 

Last year, we took the excursion on the Alexander von Humboldt. Alex is a 1906 windjammer, previously used in Germany as a training ship. A Bahamian group bought her last year and brought her to Freeport; she offers 3-hour sailings. It's a bit pricey ($95 pp when we went), but it was a lot of fun. You can help set the sails, climb the ratlines (I didn't:eek:), and take the helm (I did:cool:).

 

After three visits to Nassau and two to Freeport, I think I like Freeport better. One advantage: you do not have to run the gauntlet of hair braiders/tour operators/scooter rentals that you do in Nassau.