Great Stirrup Cay

[lauriedun]

Has anyone been to Great Stirrup Cay recently? Would love to hear a review....We will be there in January.

[mkk]

We were in Great Stirrup Cay last week...The beach was nice..did some snorkelling then returned to the ship. There is a straw market, parasail rentals as well as raft rentals. I believe lunch was bbq but since we are not beach people we went back onboard for lunch. One of the staff said the NCL Spirit is going to start staying offshore overnight there to see how the customers like an extended beach stay.

Hope this helps...

[lauriedun]

We were in Great Stirrup Cay last week...The beach was nice..did some snorkelling then returned to the ship. There is a straw market, parasail rentals as well as raft rentals. I believe lunch was bbq but since we are not beach people we went back onboard for lunch. One of the staff said the NCL Spirit is going to start staying offshore overnight there to see how the customers like an extended beach stay.

Hope this helps...

 

Where did you go to snorkel???

[NotMyRealName]

We stopped there this past Feb while with the Jewel.... It's nice although rather busy. We spent most of the day there and if we go back we'd likley cut it back to just 2-3 hours... It was a windy day so the tendor was quite a ride!

 

Enjoy your stay and go over early if you want a good seat ;)

[mbisson]

I've got a few photos of the snorkel areas in my Norwegian Jewel folder. Link in my sig file.

Year old, but I doubt anything has changed

-Monte

[whatawonderfulworld]

We were at GSC in mid October...and we loved it. Get there early if you want to get a beach chair/umbrella near the tender drop off/pick up spot.

 

There is a small straw market - nice things, nice folks selling.

 

The bathroom was very clean!

 

You can rent a float for 10 dollars for the entire day.

 

They had a terrific BBQ lunch - burgers, franks, corn on the cob...excellent!

 

Live music!

 

And of course, drink servers walking up and down taking your drink orders.

 

Parasailing was available too...I chickened out but it looked like alot of fun.

 

I would love to do an overnight there...to be able to spend two days in Paradise would be terrific! In fact, for me at least, they could skip the stop at Grand Bahama/Freeport and spend two days at GSC.

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

[lauriedun]

Thanks everyone. Saw your pictures, mbisson, and will definitely check out the snorkel site. Looks a little crowded in the main area. Can anyone suggest a place to park it that is uncrowded, off the beaten path?

 

We were in RCL's Labadee a few years ago and found it was very crowded where the tender dropped you off, but found some great spots if you wanted to walk a ways....

[whatawonderfulworld]

Thanks everyone. Saw your pictures, mbisson, and will definitely check out the snorkel site. Looks a little crowded in the main area. Can anyone suggest a place to park it that is uncrowded, off the beaten path?

 

We were in RCL's Labadee a few years ago and found it was very crowded where the tender dropped you off, but found some great spots if you wanted to walk a ways....

 

I can understand your wanting to stay away from the crowds....3 out of the 4 of us have arthritis...so we wanted to be as close to the tenders as possible...and we managed pretty well.

 

However...there are areas where it won't be as close....I don't think you'll have any problems finding a spot less crowded.

 

Ciao,

 

W A W W

[cruzinwieds]

I was there 2 weeks ago for the second time, it is always crowded. Go early and stay late so you have time in the beginning and end when it is not crowded. If you go to the left side (your left side facing island when you arrive on tender) by the rocks it has the best snorkeling and the least amount of people since most people want to be close to the food, bathrooms and tender. Take an underwater camera; I got some great shots while snorkeling.

[benelana]

What kind of facilities or activities do they have for kids? Is there a playground? My DD will try snorkelling, but I'm sure my DS will not go in the water. Any suggestions?

[dolfandude]

Does anyone know how much it costs for the parasailing?

 

Steve

[crazymomhas2]

:D we were there in sept and loved it. i didn't parasail but remember the price being about $75. we arrived at night the kids crew had something for the children that night (treasure hunt and a parade/show they did) it was really nice they turned all the children into pirates. i don't recall them having anything "planned" during the next day though. there is however volleyball nets and hair braiding that i remember. most of our time though was spent in the water and on the beach. if you want alot of time on the beach and a good spot try to get the early tender the lines gets very long quickly. HAVE FUN ITS A BEAUTIFUL SPOT:p

[mkad1109]

What kind of facilities or activities do they have for kids? Is there a playground? My DD will try snorkelling, but I'm sure my DS will not go in the water. Any suggestions?

 

We travelled with 7 children they had a lot of fun with the floats and it was well worth the $10. A couple of the girls layed on the hammocks and just talked. I am not sure if I would have had it as easy with really small children since we went over spring break and it was very crowded. Beautiful place though, the advice to go early is excellent--wish we had!

[mbisson]

Thanks everyone. Saw your pictures, mbisson, and will definitely check out the snorkel site. Looks a little crowded in the main area. Can anyone suggest a place to park it that is uncrowded, off the beaten path?

...

 

We also did some snorkeling in that area near the lighthouse. Not many people there at all! Also some photos of that area in the folder.

 

-Monte

[1st time crusier]

Creat striup looks awesome! Thanks for the pictures. We will be on the Jewel next sunday. Can't wait. One quick question, do most of you usually book excursions before you go or once you get on board? :confused:

[DavidO]

I agree with those who say it is over crowded. We were there two weeks ago on the Jewel and found the beach area to be very crowded due to the beach part being small. We have been to another lines private island (Princess) and thought their beach area was much bigger and thus better suited for the large number of people on a ship.

 

The bbq lunch was good and quick to get - hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken with some sides. Basic beach bbq meal.

[mbisson]

I agree with those who say it is over crowded.

 

We also though it was overcrowded. BUT--we did manage to get on one of the first tenders to the island and had (I'm guessing) over an hour (probably closer to 2 hrs) before it really got "busy". Then we walked over to the other side of the island - past the lighthouse. Spend probably an hour over there and then walked back. Went back to the ship soon afterward, which was nice 'cause the ship was relatively deserted. Overall, we though it made for a nice day.

 

-Monte

[cwpsy]

Creat striup looks awesome! Thanks for the pictures. We will be on the Jewel next sunday. Can't wait. One quick question, do most of you usually book excursions before you go or once you get on board? :confused:

 

I try to research some boat offered excursions and then play some ports by ear. The big thing to check is how close your activities are to the ports....transport to places makes the boat offered excursions more attractive since they are safer (the boat won't leave without your group).

[RWFrye5]

We really enjoyed GSC. It does get crowded right where the tenders drop you - but if you don't mind a short walk and not being right where the band is set up - you can find an area where you can be comfortable. Just like anything else - the further you go from the tenders, the less crowded it gets. I did the parasailing - $75.00 - absolutely loved it. Snorkeling is usually very good here.

 

We were on the Spirit in June - and we did have an overnighter there. If mother nature had cooperated, it would have been a great experience. We anchored late in the afternoon and they had a big beach party planned for the evening. Unfortunately, shortly after we got off the tender - the skies opened up and the party got rained out. We still had a good time since we ran for the closest shelter which happened to be the island's bar. the waitstaff were very entertaining.

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the island it'self - but I do have photos of the ship from the island on my website - listed in my signature.

[cruzinwieds]

I believe it was $79 per person tandem only, it was closed due to high winds the day we were there.

[foursum]

We were on the Jewel this past week and scheduled to go to GSC on Sat but it was cancelled due to waves and wind so we missed it and went to Nassua instead.

[mbisson]

We were on the Jewel this past week and scheduled to go to GSC on Sat but it was cancelled due to waves and wind so we missed it and went to Nassua instead.

 

Look on it as an opportunity. You now have an excuse to book another cruise in the future to check out GSC!

 

-Monte