Bimini Heritage and Cultural Tour

[annmarz]

Has anyone done the Bimini Heritage and Cultural tour?  It sounds interesting - is it worth it? Appreciate your comments!

[jon81uk]

Not done it myself but reviews on the VirginVoyages subreddit aren’t good. Several discussions right now with one person stating it’s the worst excursion they’ve done on any cruise. 
the main issue seems to be that there just isn’t enough heritage and culture on a small island to fill a tour and you might be better off renting golf carts and self-guiding if you want to see outside the Resorts World area.

[cantgetin]

The big thing to see is the Dolphin House.  All the rest is reported to be fluff.  You can do the Dolphin House on your own and not have to deal with times and crowds. 

[Citrons]

Was going to book this and then realised how small the island actually is. Seems like the ship docks near the main town and either end of the island is a 10 or 20mins walk?? Even then it doesnt look like there is much to see in the main town according to google maps?

 

Last time we spent all day in the beach resort but wouldnt mind going for a walk. Anyone walked around by themselves?

[aimee0715]

3 hours ago, Citrons said:

Was going to book this and then realised how small the island actually is. Seems like the ship docks near the main town and either end of the island is a 10 or 20mins walk?? Even then it doesnt look like there is much to see in the main town according to google maps?

 

Last time we spent all day in the beach resort but wouldnt mind going for a walk. Anyone walked around by themselves?

We were there a couple weeks ago with a different cruise line.  We didn't go to Resorts World.  We read that renting a golf cart is very popular there but for $5 per person, you can take a taxi down to Radio Beach/Alice Town.  There were people who walked it but there's not really much to see scenery wise between the dock and Alice Town.  It would probably be more of a 30-40 minute walk.  That's what we were told when we asked one of the locals in the port area.  We went to Radio Beach and had a fine beach day and then walked around Alice Town for a bit and got a taxi back.  At $10 it was probably the cheapest day in port ever.   

[cantgetin]

Not quite the cheapest port day ever, but not bad at all.  Cheapest for us was Ketchikan, Alaska.  We took the city bus ($1 each way, now increased to $2) to Totem Bite State Park.  There are tour guides who volunteer as well as maps for self guided tours.  THe excursion thru the cruise line was $45, if I remember correctly.  They got a cup of hot chocolate in the gift shop that we could have purchased, but we had a much smaller group with a great guide.  Total cost for 2 of us was $9 ($4 transportation and $5 tip to guide)

[LadyLion_AP]

We did this tour last year. It was, by far, the worst tour I've ever taken! Everyone on our tour was in agreement. It was almost laughable.

 

[tom3562]

ok guess I'm not booking that .......................... lol

[raphael360]

13 hours ago, tom3562 said:

ok guess I'm not booking that .......................... lol

I'm taking my 6th cruise to Bimini in December and keep trying to talk myself into taking this tour.  This tour uses the same 'trams' used to shuttle back and forth to the Beach Club.  These trams lack any kind of suspension springs and are back breakers for us aged folk.

[_tacocat_]

4 hours ago, raphael360 said:

These trams lack any kind of suspension springs and are back breakers for us aged folk.

i'd like to include my 35-year-old self in the "aged folk" group haha those trams are BRUTAL!!!!

[Cloud9 Bob]

It's really what you make of it. I took it and really enjoyed it. I didn't want to rent an expensive golf cart and I hate driving on the left side of the road anyway. It was an easy way to get a taste of Bimini while sitting back and relaxing. I learned some interesting things....like the entire islands electricity comes from a few diesel generators that run constantly, there is no hospital and gas is nearly $7 gallon. I'm a people person and had many amazing conversations with locals that day. The people of Bimini are friendly and proud of their island and won't hesitate to let you know. BTW, it's way to hot there to walk any significant distance...at least for me.