Any recs for these ports: Key West, Coco Cay, Bimini, Puerto Plata, sea days on Apex or tips for the Retreat?

[Chrisjihntravel]

Taking our first cruise with Celebrity staying in the Retreat in a magic carpet suite. If you have any recommendations for excursions or things to do I’d love to hear them. 

 

Much gratitude 🙏 

[hcat]

Query is very broad..

 

Suggest you do some research on ports boards..look at excursions offered by X and privateky , and narrow down based on your interests.

 

Can also look at  APEX Reviews

[George C]

I love E class ships both indoor and outdoor retreats are fantastic free drinks and snacks , great bartenders, cool outside bar and pool , outdoor retreat has a small lunch menu which is handy when ship is in port because suite restaurant Luminae is closed for lunch on port days. I love the lobster roll that is offered for lunch on embarkation day only. 

[kathynorth]

As hcat posted, you can find more detailed information for excursion suggestions on the ports of call pages for each stop. Click on categories in the above menu, then scroll down until you see ports of call. Everyone's opinion of a good time can be different, but I'll post what we've done when visiting these ports.

 

Key West: We usually don't book in advance. We get off ship and walk to the Old Town Trolley kiosk that is just down the street from the cruise dock. We buy our tickets there and ride the hop on hop off trolley for a bit, then spend time window shopping along Duvall Street. 

 

Coco Cay: We haven't been here yet, but we usually just grab a couple of loungers and an umbrella when we visit private cruise company islands. Since all the frills at CocoCay seem very expensive this is what we'll likely do on our upcoming trip.

 

Bimini: This is a very small island that is mostly a beach stop. The one time we visited we researched renting a golf cart, but decided against this when we saw the condition of many of the carts. We instead took a cab to Radio Beach at the far end of the island where we rented a couple of loungers and spent some time looking for conch shells. This was a pretty beach with very few amenities, but it was a quiet area with very few people. Most of people we spoke with took the free shuttle up to the Beach Club on the other end of the island. I can't recall the fee for this, but passengers said you could buy entry tickets at the gate for less than what the ship charged as an excursion.  

 

Puerto Plata: We haven't been here in the past 20 years so I won't give my opinion.

 

Apex: We cruised on this ship a couple of years ago and thought it was great. We really enjoyed spending daytime stops at the Magic Carptet bar and evenings at the Eden bar. The Eden Cafe was a nice quiet area to snag a quick breakfast sandwich. We never had a wait there and it was much more low key than the buffet. We enjoyed everything about the Apex and hope to cruise on her again next July/August. 

 

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, Chrisjihntravel said:

Taking our first cruise with Celebrity staying in the Retreat in a magic carpet suite. If you have any recommendations for excursions or things to do I’d love to hear them. 

 

Much gratitude 🙏 

We did the 4 night cruise stopping at Key West and Bimini. We took the Conch train to explore Key West. It's a hop on hop off ride. We did the short historic tour 4 stops $90 for the 2 of us. It's about an hour and a half depending on how many stops you get off at and how long you stay.  There are shops, restaurants and museums in walking distance from the ship. Bimini we were off the ship at 9:30 and back on the ship by 11:00. There is nothing there. We took the free shuttle to Resort World and decided that $55 a person was too much money for Florida residents to pay for a beach day. Fishermans village is a shopping center with no stores worthwhile shopping in. My wife bought a pair of ugly sunglasses for $10. She decided to wear contacts that morning and never packed sunglasses. She has clip ons for all of her prescription glasses. They hound you to rent golf carts like they hound you to braid your hair in Nassau. I don't know where you go with these golf carts because there is nothing worthwhile to see. We stopped off at the free beach on the way back to the ship. $60 buys you 2 chairs and an umbrella. We decided to just go in  the water dry off and go back to the ship. There were food trucks there.  I can check Bimini off the list now and don't ever have to return. A better Itinerary would be Key West and Coco Cay which I would consider next year for a quick get away.

[lorimay]

We are going on a cruise in December on the Apex with these same ports. We are only going on this cruise because there is a large group function that we will be part of, because frankly a few of these ports are not great. Haven't been to Bimini but my understanding there are nothing but beaches. Key West is interesting if you've never been there. You can walk from the cruise ship dock to see some of the tourist attractions. It's not one of my favorite ports. The port at Puerto Plato is one of those "fake" ports (like Costa Maya) that exist simply to get you to spend money. It's pretty, with swimming pools and lots of bars and tacky shops. If you are adventurous, you can walk into town or to the old fort. Be aware, there are armed tourist police and soldiers on every corner leading up to the small town square. Without them, it wouldn't be safe. We were there a couple of years ago and walked to the town square. Had to "pay" to see the church (not a real tour guide but we were pressured to pay). Then we decided to walk behind the church and go down a different street. A taxi driver stopped us and told us it wasn't safe to walk that way - and he didn't even want a fare, he was just being helpful. Coco Cay is a nice beach day where you can get a free chaise lounge, but everything beyond that and the free food is an expensive upcharge. 

[thebutlerdidit]

We did an excursion in Puerta Plata that we thought was a lot of fun. It included multiple stops, so I’ll try to remember them.

The Del Oro chocolate shop. When we arrived we got tiny cups of hot chocolate and individually wrapped brownies. We watched a movie about chocolate production and walked through an area where we saw some of the equipment used. Then on to the shop, where we could taste the different types of chocolate that they produce.

 

Lunch at a restaurant that had gorgeous gardens outside. It was a buffet and if I remember correctly it included a bottle of water or soda. 

 

Visit to the Ron Macorix rum factory with tastings. It was very nice.

 

Cigar rolling demonstration. If you wanted to you could give it a try. I didn’t do that, but I did try a cigar. (Lifelong non-smoker, but life is short, don’t judge.) The tour of the cigar museum was very interesting, then we “exited through the gift shop” as they say. This stop was sort of a cigar museum and amber museum combined. Both were sold in the gift shop.

Lastly, we drove to town and got out for a short walking tour. We saw the umbrella street, a Catholic cathedral, and a market area. At the very end of this walking tour the bus driver pretty much ushered us into one particular gift shop. I have no doubt that he was rewarded for any purchases we made there. That was the only negative.

 

It was a long tour, but the bus was very nice!

 

 

 

[lola2013]

Was the excursion above in post #7 a Celebrity excursion? 

[thebutlerdidit]

Yes, it was. And for some reason we got it for a steal. We were wondering if we’d be traveling in the back of a jalopy, but it was a beautiful new bus. 

[lola2013]

Thanks.  Last time there, I spent the day at the pool.  It will be nice to do something a little different (you had me at “chocolate”)

[thebutlerdidit]

3 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

Thanks.  Last time there, I spent the day at the pool.  It will be nice to do something a little different (you had me at “chocolate”)

You’re welcome. It’s organic chocolate at that! 

[George C]

We love bar hopping in Kew West and visiting Hemingway house , no tour is needed.

[Saturngrl]

On CoCo Cay, be sure to visit one of the Snack Shacks on the island.  The chicken sandwich, combined with fried mozzarella and accompanying tomato sauce is the "secret sandwich" so many enjoy.  The Snack Shack has amazing funnel cakes and everything they serve is fresh!  

 

I have done an Oasis Lagoon cabana and the Beach Club. If you can afford it, the Beach Club is wonderful!  It's peaceful, and the lunch is AMAZING.  Ask for the surf and turf! 

[chamima]

On 10/6/2024 at 8:30 PM, kathynorth said:

As hcat posted, you can find more detailed information for excursion suggestions on the ports of call pages for each stop. Click on categories in the above menu, then scroll down until you see ports of call. Everyone's opinion of a good time can be different, but I'll post what we've done when visiting these ports.

 

Key West: We usually don't book in advance. We get off ship and walk to the Old Town Trolley kiosk that is just down the street from the cruise dock. We buy our tickets there and ride the hop on hop off trolley for a bit, then spend time window shopping along Duvall Street. 

 

.

 

Bimini: This is a very small island that is mostly a beach stop. The one time we visited we researched renting a golf cart, but decided against this when we saw the condition of many of the carts. We instead took a cab to Radio Beach at the far end of the island where we rented a couple of loungers and spent some time looking for conch shells. This was a pretty beach with very few amenities, but it was a quiet area with very few people. Most of people we spoke with took the free shuttle up to the Beach Club on the other end of the island. I can't recall the fee for this, but passengers said you could buy entry tickets at the gate for less than what the ship charged as an excursion. 

 

 

 

@kathynorth - We will also be cruising to these ports and I have a couple of questions.

For Key West - I saw somewhere that the Hop On Hop Off is something like $50/pp - is that accurate?

 

And for Bimini - do you remember about how much the cab fare was to Radio Beach and how much the loungers were? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Iamcruzin]

56 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

 

@kathynorth - We will also be cruising to these ports and I have a couple of questions.

For Key West - I saw somewhere that the Hop On Hop Off is something like $50/pp - is that accurate?

 

And for Bimini - do you remember about how much the cab fare was to Radio Beach and how much the loungers were? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

They have a hop on hop off Conch train which was $45 each for a 4 stop tour and $90each for the full tour. We did the 4 stop tour and didn't make the full 4 stops. It took too long for the train to come back and pick us up about 30 minutes and when it did it was full. We had to squeeze in.  We were done after 2 stops. The hop on hop off bus was more expensive but I don't remember the exact cost. I think the bus came by every 15 minutes.

Edited Sunday at 08:34 PM by Iamcruzin

[calicakes]

On 10/6/2024 at 5:30 PM, Iamcruzin said:

They hound you to rent golf carts like they hound you to braid your hair in Nassau. I don't know where you go with these golf carts because there is nothing worthwhile to see.

We were in Bimini last week on a Virgin Cruise.  The Virgin Shuttle took us to the Bimini Beach club.  I agree about the golf carts.  They were hounding us as we were walking towards the shuttle.  I heard people say the carts are not in great condition.    The Beach club was really nice.  We stayed on the beach, we didn't use the pool.  I'm not sure if other people can get into that club. 

[Iamcruzin]

31 minutes ago, calicakes said:

We were in Bimini last week on a Virgin Cruise.  The Virgin Shuttle took us to the Bimini Beach club.  I agree about the golf carts.  They were hounding us as we were walking towards the shuttle.  I heard people say the carts are not in great condition.    The Beach club was really nice.  We stayed on the beach, we didn't use the pool.  I'm not sure if other people can get into that club. 

That's beach club belongs to Virgin. It's $55 a person to get into the beach club if you are with another cruise line.

[broadwaybaby123]

You'll love Cocoa Cay. You don't have to pay to visit but if you want certain perks, that's an extra charge. Beaches and Oasis Lagoon are free and you can bring your own snorkel. Your drink and WiFi packages will work on the island. There's a tram you can take for free around the island, which is quite handy if you have mobility issues at the pier. There's free food (with the exception of two places) and a straw market.

Edited Sunday at 10:23 PM by broadwaybaby123

[dacsmom]

I did the Conch Train in Key West. I got off at three of the stops and toured the lighthouse and the Butterfly Museum; that was amazing.

Bimini is not a favorite. I did the reef fishing and caught quite a few fish. Another time I did the shark snorkel, pretty interesting. There is a free beach right at the port, but they want $63 for an umbrella and two chairs. Going again in February, I think I will try the resort.

CoCo Cay, Chill Island has good snorkeling. The Beach Club is a nice, relaxing day with a great lunch.

Puerto Plata, I like the pool at the port. Family did the dune buggy, waterfall, and monkey excursion and really had a good time.

[kathynorth]

5 hours ago, chamima said:

 

 

@kathynorth - We will also be cruising to these ports and I have a couple of questions.

For Key West - I saw somewhere that the Hop On Hop Off is something like $50/pp - is that accurate?

 

And for Bimini - do you remember about how much the cab fare was to Radio Beach and how much the loungers were? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

Well, the Old Town Trolley was less than that last time we visited, but everything is way more expensive these days. I believe it's around $55/pp at this point. 

 

We visited Bimini in Oct 2022. At that time the cab to Radio beach was $15 each way. We paid $40 for 2 loungers, umbrella, and 2 fruity drinks.  

[RollWave]

We just were on Reflection with a stops in Coco Cay and Bimini.

 

We went on this voyage for a quick getaway and to compare Celebrity with a private island to Virgin Voyages.

 

1- We much preferred Celebrity with Coco Cay to Virgin Voyages with the Bimini Beach Club.

    We purchased, when on sale, the passes to the Hideway on Coco Cay - this is adults only.

    We had a great time on the beach - spent 6 hours there. For us a very long time.

    We grabbed chairs on the far end of the beach close to the hammocks - it was great!

    We like Celebrity as a cruise line so the addition of itineraries with Coco Cay are a nice

    option.

    Virgin is ok - we have been trying to like it but just cannot get used to the dining 

    reservation system.

    We will definitely go on another Celebrity Cruise with Coco Cay on the itinerary.

 

2- Celebrity in Bimini - in our opinion - a waste of time. If we want to go to Bimini we will go on 

    Virgin Voyages which includes the Beach Club. The trams run much more frequently for VV 

    than Celebrity. 

 

3- Other: We are Floridians and love cruises with a Key West stop. Saves on the drive 🙂

    We enjoy walking around checking out the shops & architecture. We once did the Key Lime

    Bike tour - it was fun.

[calicakes]

15 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

That's beach club belongs to Virgin. It's $55 a person to get into the beach club if you are with another cruise line.

Does that include food and beverage?

[calicakes]

3 hours ago, RollWave said:

Virgin is ok - we have been trying to like it but just cannot get used to the dining 

    reservation system.

We were on our first( and last) Virgin cruise last week.  We could NOT get a reservation at The Wake.  I tried when they opened up, I waited in an hour long line when we boarded, I walked in when told to.  Nothing.  They tout that all specialty restaurants are included.  That is BS if you can't get a reservation.  The other restaurants that we dined at were just OK.  The Galley was kind of a joke.  It seems like there is a lot to chose from, but there really isn't.  

[Iamcruzin]

3 hours ago, calicakes said:

Does that include food and beverage?

Chair and umbrella and maybe one watered down rum punch or something of that nature. You can book the full experience with lunch through the cruise line but it was way too expensive and we have the premium drink package on the ship It has also been my experience that the lunch is never great or worth the cost at these resorts. We were off of the ship at 9:30. Took the free ride to the beach club but did not go in. We continued to Fishermans village which was as far as I was concerned deserted. We spent some time in the water at the free beach and was back on the ship by 11:00. It one of those one and done ports. As much as I hate Nassau it would have been better. We enjoyed the pool on the ship, had a nice lunch and were served drinks by the pool.

Edited Monday at 05:30 PM by Iamcruzin

[chamima]

On 10/13/2024 at 5:42 PM, calicakes said:

We were in Bimini last week on a Virgin Cruise.  The Virgin Shuttle took us to the Bimini Beach club.  I agree about the golf carts.  They were hounding us as we were walking towards the shuttle.  I heard people say the carts are not in great condition.    The Beach club was really nice.  We stayed on the beach, we didn't use the pool.  I'm not sure if other people can get into that club. 

 

23 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

That's beach club belongs to Virgin. It's $55 a person to get into the beach club if you are with another cruise line.

 

 

The Bimini Beach Club isn't the one used by Celebrity. Their excursion is to Resorts World.

I'm usually leery of using any cruise line's "beach day" as you can usually get there yourself less expensively. They are charging $51/pp for round trip shuttle (which might be free???) entrance, a chair and umbrella and one drink.

Anyone have experience with Resorts World on Bimini?