Bimini tips? pointers? Advice?

[havanadaydreaming]

Booked a cruise departing next weekend, Grand Turk replaced by Bimini.  

 

CCL has only 13 excursions at port, most rated lowly. 

 

Any ideas what to do for a party of eight? 

 

I might get golf cart and hunt conch salad if we cant find anything to do..  Id consider the Virgin Day Club but cant find out how to book. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

If you're not wanting to go to a beach stay aboard the ship .  Worst port ever.  Overpriced Golf Carts on a small island.

Edited December 4, 2021 by BasicSailor

[ZoeyVictoria]

We rode the shuttle around the entire loop, got off back at the ship and took a taxi to the tiny downtown area.  There were a few places on the beach where we could have gotten two chairs and an umbrella for thirty dollars, but we just walked around for a while and went back.  The best part of the day was stopping at the beginning of the long walkway back to the ship, checking with the security guard, then walking down a very short path to sit on the beach and relax in the water.  We were literally the only two people there and the beach was great, just soft sand and no rocks in the water.  We will go directly there next time.

 

Just by chance, we caught a ride with the same taxi driver on the way back to the ship.  I try to have small bills/exact change, but this time had only a twenty dollar bill for the return trip.  I told him right up front that I had only a twenty and would have to get back the ten I had given him 45 minutes earlier, and he still tried to tell me that he had no change 😂.  

 

 

[trulytracy]

We rode the free shuttle to the public beach and just spread out our towels on the sand. We spent a lovely 3 hours or so floating in the clear water with a nice sandy bottom. If you love the beach, this is a nice simple stop.

[keels81]

I enjoyed the shipwreck snorkel, but it's not for first-timers or those who aren't very strong swimmers.

 

We also went to the Sunny Day 360 club and spent the rest of the day in the water. Very chill and relaxing -- the water and sand in Bimini was perfection.

[matymil]

Ive noticed alot of BS reviews on their website post covid because i think people have just been extra salty since the restart. We did the Stingray beach excursion with our little one and loved it. Id highly recommend doing an excursion because as most will tell you there is not much there. You can ride the free trolley around the island but that looked pretty crowded when we were down there and thats pretty much your only non excursion option.

[matymil]

9 hours ago, BasicSailor said:

If you're not wanting to go to a beach stay aboard the ship .  Worst port ever.  Overpriced Golf Carts on a small island.

You must have never been Nassau, Antigua, St. Kitts or Freeport

[Indytraveler83]

We were at this port recently, my advice:

 

1)Take the tram to the free beach: the one after beach club 360, as it's essentially the same thing. 

2) If you have time, walk the long pier to/from the ship. There's a lot of sea life right below you and the water is clear.

 

It's not a great port, but it's not bad either. Just an average beach port for a good day in the sun or surf. 

[Guest BasicSailor]

7 hours ago, matymil said:

You must have never been Nassau, Antigua, St. Kitts or Freeport

No! No! please tell me about those ports. What's wrong with them? But without all the cuteness .

[havanadaydreaming]

45 minutes ago, BasicSailor said:

No! No! please tell me about those ports. What's wrong with them? But without all the cuteness .

Freeport is my least favorite port ive been to.  But since it got pummeled by Cat 5 hurricane that stalled out over the island fairly recently i no longer bash it. Beautiful weather! 

 

I can find great things to do in nassau and st kitts.  

[havanadaydreaming]

We called hilton who transferred us to RWB. Looks like day passes to resort with pool access is our play.  

 

Love the beach, but no restrooms ill "just visit".  I know its a big ocean...big water, deep water...

[jsglow]

Been there twice. Once to the 360 beach just as cruising was restarting. Next time rented a golf cart and did some exploring. 

[OhioJourneys]

17 hours ago, matymil said:

You must have never been Nassau, Antigua, St. Kitts or Freeport

Ports are definitely a matter of taste...In your comment you mention two of my very favorite places to go, Antigua & St Kitts.  Not everyone enjoys the same things.  

 

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

I recommend the golf cart. We took the free shuttle to the first stop and rented a golf cart for $60. There's only one main road and we drove to the south where theres a nice rocky beach. Then we drove north and parked just outside of Beach Club 360. It was a fun drive and totally worth the $60.

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by ATL_Miami_Cruiser

[RhinoMomIL]

On 12/4/2021 at 4:34 PM, trulytracy said:

We rode the free shuttle to the public beach and just spread out our towels on the sand. We spent a lovely 3 hours or so floating in the clear water with a nice sandy bottom. If you love the beach, this is a nice simple stop.

Is there a place to rent a couple of chairs with an umbrella?

[trulytracy]

2 hours ago, RhinoMomIL said:

Is there a place to rent a couple of chairs with an umbrella?

The public beach is basically a continuation of the resort beach. On the day we were there, there were about a million empty chairs with umbrellas but not knowing the situation, we didn't take any. I would guess that if you wanted to rent chairs you definitely could and they might even be free.

[RhinoMomIL]

4 minutes ago, trulytracy said:

The public beach is basically a continuation of the resort beach. On the day we were there, there were about a million empty chairs with umbrellas but not knowing the situation, we didn't take any. I would guess that if you wanted to rent chairs you definitely could and they might even be free.

Thank you! Can you buy refreshments at all? 

[RhinoMomIL]

22 hours ago, matymil said:

You must have never been Nassau, Antigua, St. Kitts or Freeport

If you sail out of Galveston you may have been to Progreso - that's the worst stop ever but I would not get off the ship in Nassau again either. 

[thewynn]

8 hours ago, trulytracy said:

The public beach is basically a continuation of the resort beach. On the day we were there, there were about a million empty chairs with umbrellas but not knowing the situation, we didn't take any. I would guess that if you wanted to rent chairs you definitely could and they might even be free.

From what I've seen on YouTube videos it costs $75 for 2 chairs and umbrella. I've not been there, I just have been researching for our upcoming trip.

[thewynn]

 

15 hours ago, havanadaydreaming said:

We called hilton who transferred us to RWB. Looks like day passes to resort with pool access is our play.  

 

Did they give you a price for a RWB day pass? When I emailed them they just told me to book through cruise line. Thanks

[davy jones]

On 12/5/2021 at 1:22 AM, matymil said:

You must have never been Nassau, Antigua, St. Kitts or Freeport

I must agree that Bimini is beach or stay onboard.  I did see the empty beach by the pier and it did look like a convenient option, but you could take the shuttle and use the free beach.

 

As far as the ports that you mention.  We booked tours with private agencies in Antigua and St. Kitts and they were quite enjoyable.  Nassau and Freeport have more options than Bimini.

[trulytracy]

11 hours ago, RhinoMomIL said:

Thank you! Can you buy refreshments at all? 

 

2 hours ago, thewynn said:

From what I've seen on YouTube videos it costs $75 for 2 chairs and umbrella. I've not been there, I just have been researching for our upcoming trip.

There were no refreshments right by us, but a short walk gets you to the resort. As for the cost of the chairs, on our cruise there was an excursion that was $68 (I think) per COUPLE to get two chairs, an umbrella, and a welcome drink. I also saw someone post that they didn't buy the excursion, went to the resort, plopped down in chairs and paid nothing. We didn't need chairs and had brought our own water, so we didn't investigate further.

[bgrmini]

When I was there in September, I rented a golf cart. $60 cash, they didn't confirm ID, take a credit card, or anything, so I could have driven it into the water and walked back if I wanted with no repercussions. 😅

 

I drove to the south end of the island, then on the way back went to the Dolphin House museum, which unfortunately was not open. Looks like a neat place to spend 20 or 30 minutes. I'll try again if I ever go back. Then stopped at Stuart's Conch Salad Stand. Very good conch salad, but I'd pass on the BKO punch if you don't like extremely sweet fruity drinks.

 

After that, dropped of the golf cart and rode the tram around to all the stops. The tram that runs around a loop at the resort felt like a completely different island. Sanitized, fake, seemed like being driven around a retirement village with a big beach. If you want a beach day, I'm sure it's great.

 

In all, I was only off the ship for less than 3 hours. I'd do it again, but there isn't a ton to do there. At least go find some local food, it's worth it!

[matymil]

21 hours ago, RhinoMomIL said:

If you sail out of Galveston you may have been to Progreso - that's the worst stop ever but I would not get off the ship in Nassau again either. 

I've heard that wasn't a good stop. As well as Jamaica, never been to either though

[matymil]

11 hours ago, davy jones said:

I must agree that Bimini is beach or stay onboard.  I did see the empty beach by the pier and it did look like a convenient option, but you could take the shuttle and use the free beach.

 

As far as the ports that you mention.  We booked tours with private agencies in Antigua and St. Kitts and they were quite enjoyable.  Nassau and Freeport have more options than Bimini.

There was only port that I've ever seen a 6-8 yr old child pooping in the street....it wasn't Bimini 🙃