December 22, 2018

A Day in Port: Princess Cays

Princess Cays is a private resort owned by Princess Cruises, who by the way is owned by Carnival Corporation. If you are cruising the eastern or western Caribbean on either a Princess or Carnival ship you may be spending a day in port: Princess Cays.

This is a tender port. At a tender port, your ship anchors off-shore and runs smaller boats, called tenders or water taxis, between the ship and port. However, for some this presents an issue, for others, it makes no difference. The ships do a great job making tendering as easy as they can. Consequently, I have not yet experienced a problem with it.

Princess Cays is a 40-acre private resort, offering over a half-mile of white sand beaches. It is located on the southern edge of the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. The island is one hundred miles long and two miles wide.

Think of this port as a relaxing, guilt-free beach day. You likewise can rent water toys, sign up for a snorkel excursion, or just hang out in a beach chair or rent a private cabana. In addition, you can even rent a cabana in an adult-only area of the resort. There is a small but supervised children’s area for young ones. Snorkel equipment, seaboards, floats, kayaks, paddle wheelers, banana boat rides, aqua chairs, beach clamshells, bungalows, etc. can also be reserved.

There are many excursions offered but we have treated this port as a relaxing beach day. Who doesn’t like a relaxing day at the beach? We like to rent a cabana (air-conditioned) and bring our own snorkel equipment. The view of your ship from the shore is amazing.

The cruise line offers a lunch buffet that is included with your cruise fare. Drinks, however, are on your own but can be charged to your ship account so do not forget to bring your cruise card with you — also called a key card, ship and sign, cruise ship ID, or ship card. We find the food okay, and it is nice not to have to pay for lunch.

What to pack in your beach bag:

Sunscreen
Hat to protect yourself from the sun
Water shoes (see note below)
Reading material
Beach towel (see note below)
Your own water bottle
Your cruise card (for beverages and any items purchased in the Princess resort store)
Camera to capture the perfect beach day

NOTE: Be sure to bring water shoes as the shoreline is rocky and can have coral fragments that cut your feet. You also need to bring beach towels, which are provided to you before you leave the ship.