Great Bay vs. Divi Little Bay

[carnival03]

We're visiting in May from 12:15 until 8:00 PM. We're the kind of people who enjoy a simple beach day, and look for lounge chairs, restrooms, and a bar (sometimes wifi, too). I need help deciding where to go...

 

1. Great bay at Holland House 

2. Divi Little Bay 

 

I have basic information about both places, but maybe someone who's been can offer clarifying information, reviews, and opinions. My main questions are: 1) do both places have restrooms for use? 2) Do both have free wifi? 3) Which has the best view/beach.

 

All opinions and PICTURES are welcome 🙂 TIA

[pghsteelerfan]

On our last cruise, which was in 2015, we spent several hours at Divi Little Bay.  Although Great Bay is an easy water taxi ride from the ship (also walkable) and looks gorgeous, I had seen posts here, on Cruise Critic, about pollution in Great Bay.  Some days the water quality is fine but there is know way to know from day to day when the water will be safe.  I think I saw it explained, here, and why.  There is a pond that overflows and spills into a canal, and that canal empties into Great Bay.  That's usually from rain, but if you're on a cruise and stopping for the say, there is know way of knowing when it rained last before you arrive.  If you weren't interested in going in the water, then it's not an issue.  I haven't seen those posts warning about the Great Bay water quality lately, so who knows, maybe they finally resolved that issue.  This pollution does not affect Divi Little Bay.

We enjoyed Divi Little Bay.  Easy to get there by cab and it only took about 10 minutes and most of that was going through Philipsburg (traffic and lights).  We were dropped off and just walked down to the beach and there will be someone setting up loungers/umbrellas and we just went to him, paid and he set up loungers/umbrella for us.  Even though it is a resort, no need to check in at their front desk.  You can get food/drink at their restaurant.  They have restrooms inside in the lobby area that were nice and very clean (at least when we were there).  It was quiet the beach was nice and we really enjoyed it.  They did sustain damage from the hurricane in 2017 but I've seen many reports that they have been back up and running since last year.  We didn't snorkel the day we were there, but I've seen reports here that the better snorkeling is over to the left (if facing water) along the rocky area.  There were others there but it wasn't crowded and was quiet.  The water was fairly calm the day we were there but I don't know if it's always calm.  Attaching a few pics.  Very easy to get a cab out front when you're ready to leave.  We had our drive drop us off in Philipsburg on the return trip so we could do a little shopping and we took the water taxi back to the ship.  It's been a while, but I think we paid $5 pp each way.

[carnival03]

3 hours ago, pghsteelerfan said:

On our last cruise, which was in 2015, we spent several hours at Divi Little Bay.  Although Great Bay is an easy water taxi ride from the ship (also walkable) and looks gorgeous, I had seen posts here, on Cruise Critic, about pollution in Great Bay.  Some days the water quality is fine but there is know way to know from day to day when the water will be safe.  I think I saw it explained, here, and why.  There is a pond that overflows and spills into a canal, and that canal empties into Great Bay.  That's usually from rain, but if you're on a cruise and stopping for the say, there is know way of knowing when it rained last before you arrive.  If you weren't interested in going in the water, then it's not an issue.  I haven't seen those posts warning about the Great Bay water quality lately, so who knows, maybe they finally resolved that issue.  This pollution does not affect Divi Little Bay.

We enjoyed Divi Little Bay.  Easy to get there by cab and it only took about 10 minutes and most of that was going through Philipsburg (traffic and lights).  We were dropped off and just walked down to the beach and there will be someone setting up loungers/umbrellas and we just went to him, paid and he set up loungers/umbrella for us.  Even though it is a resort, no need to check in at their front desk.  You can get food/drink at their restaurant.  They have restrooms inside in the lobby area that were nice and very clean (at least when we were there).  It was quiet the beach was nice and we really enjoyed it.  They did sustain damage from the hurricane in 2017 but I've seen many reports that they have been back up and running since last year.  We didn't snorkel the day we were there, but I've seen reports here that the better snorkeling is over to the left (if facing water) along the rocky area.  There were others there but it wasn't crowded and was quiet.  The water was fairly calm the day we were there but I don't know if it's always calm.  Attaching a few pics.  Very easy to get a cab out front when you're ready to leave.  We had our drive drop us off in Philipsburg on the return trip so we could do a little shopping and we took the water taxi back to the ship.  It's been a while, but I think we paid $5 pp each way.

 

Thanks for the beautiful photos, it helps with the decision making. Yes, I've also read about the pollution in Great Bay and that is the main reason I started looking elsewhere and stumbled upon Divi Little Bay. The resort/beach area looks nice 🙂 Thanks for the info! 

 

[karena1]

Does anyone have any recent information on Little Bay Beach?  Wondering if you can get buckets of beer and how many per bucket and how much per bucket.  I know we can rent chairs/umbrellas, but wondering about drinks.

[pghsteelerfan]

On 4/15/2019 at 5:46 PM, karena1 said:

Does anyone have any recent information on Little Bay Beach?  Wondering if you can get buckets of beer and how many per bucket and how much per bucket.  I know we can rent chairs/umbrellas, but wondering about drinks.

Hoping someone else will answer you specifically about buckets of beer and current prices.  We were there in Sept. 2015, which is 3 and a half years ago.  My husband purchased us each rum punch drinks at the bar at Divi Little Bay and he said they were basically the same price we paid on the ship, so that would have been about $8.00 each.  The drinks at Divi Little Bay didn't skimp on the alcohol, definitely stronger.  There was a group of people in the water with bottles of beer that day, but I don't know if they had buckets or just purchased individually. 

 

EDITED:  Just looked up the bar at Divi Little Bay.  Buckets of beer are available, $15.00 a bucket/5 beers.  Attaching link to the menu. 

https://www.diviresorts.com/files/1614/LittleBay_DrinksMenu.pdf

 

 

Edited April 17, 2019 by pghsteelerfan

[karena1]

22 hours ago, pghsteelerfan said:

Hoping someone else will answer you specifically about buckets of beer and current prices.  We were there in Sept. 2015, which is 3 and a half years ago.  My husband purchased us each rum punch drinks at the bar at Divi Little Bay and he said they were basically the same price we paid on the ship, so that would have been about $8.00 each.  The drinks at Divi Little Bay didn't skimp on the alcohol, definitely stronger.  There was a group of people in the water with bottles of beer that day, but I don't know if they had buckets or just purchased individually. 

 

EDITED:  Just looked up the bar at Divi Little Bay.  Buckets of beer are available, $15.00 a bucket/5 beers.  Attaching link to the menu. 

https://www.diviresorts.com/files/1614/LittleBay_DrinksMenu.pdf

 

 

Thanks! You made my day - they have miller lite!  I will be happy to pay $15 for 5 beers!  We are looking forward to going there and trying it out.