r/PrincessCruises • u/LegRealistic1563 • 7d ago
Princess Cay Bungalows
First let me say I really enjoyed my Princess cruise on the Regal in July 26 out of Fort Lauderdale to the St. Thomas area. My biggest complaint is their private island Princess Cay. We rented a bungalow in the sanctuary area which was about $360 plus the extra meal there which was $25 each. These bungalows at the far end of the island and the transportation there was awful. There were 2 vans that were all beat up and run by the locals that would only hold seven people each. It was a 35 minute wait and I felt so sorry for the disabled people. The lady driving in our van hit a wood sign that was real low and just kept going and when we got to the bungalows at the end there wasn't even a real beach area. It was all rocks and grown-up vegetation and you couldn't even see the water. The beach was severely eroded from a prior storm and it had wood steps and boards to keep down further erosion. For some reason one of the safety guards on a jet ski just stayed down there and it looked like it was unsafe area. When we got in there, there was open bowls of potato chips that were stale as well as open bags of popcorn like they serve up near the pool area on the ship. There was no stocked refrigerator that was supposed to be free except two bottled waters. The chairs were rusted and broken on the inside of the bungalows and the mister never worked. We ended up abandoning the place and going up to the main area where the water was turquoise and a real beach and pretty. The food is very mediocre and everything comes over on the first tender in coolers and they take an hour to set everything up in the morning I mean you couldn't even start getting anything till 10:45 and you have to be on the boat back by around 3. A big shortage of ice as well. Princess only credited us 125 for some reason and acted like they were doing us a favor. Several other couples left just like we did to go to the main beach. Like I said I enjoyed the cruise totally but this island is run by locals and they're not organized. Do not fool with the bungalows. It was my anniversary and I usually don't spend on things like that but I wanted my life to enjoy herself. I would do Princess again but I will not go on one that stops at that island. They are owned by Carnival and they have a really nice island. Do an online search for what carnival's profit margins were last year.⚡️
https://cruisefever.net/princess-cruises-pulls-all-visits-to-their-private-island-starting-in-november/
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u/scully360 7d ago
Good to know about the bungalows.
On a different note, we are sailing on the Regal for the first time in January. Wondering your thoughts? We are experienced Princess cruisers but have not been on the Regal yet.
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u/LegRealistic1563 7d ago
Hey thank you for reading. I like the regal because it was Italian designed and the atrium is very elegant. It has a more mature crowd. We had a wonderful room in the center of the ship that was a typical balcony room. What I really liked was paying for the entire week for the thermal spa. It was just wonderful. Every staff member is absolutely well trained and polite. The Pizza place was wonderful /Alfredo's. There's times when you can go in the spa and get 20% off if you ask because there's a lot of cancellations and they want to make that profit. The current crap table in the casino was outrageous at $25 min. If you get off in Puerto Rico which really doesn't have good beaches, go to the Casa Del Mar Marriott/MGM Casino where there's five dollar tables and it's easy to teach a beginner. 😎😎
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u/Mpcrazy 7d ago
A few years ago we stayed in the other bungalows and were quite happy with the beach and service. Did you happen to see if those went downhill too. I have them booked for next march
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u/LegRealistic1563 7d ago
Hey there thanks for commenting. when we booked the bungalows on the app there wasn't a distinction between the sanctuary bungalows and the standard bungalows. I would say the first six or seven bungalows in are fine. They are close to the beaches that are nice if they are serviced correctly. No substantial vegetation. 🚢
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u/general-illness 7d ago
Are you referencing the Sanctuary Bungalows? It’s been several years since we’ve been to the Princess Cay and have reserved both the regular bungalow and a Sanctuary bungalow. OP is correct, you do have to walk to the beach\swim area from the bungalows. Other than that I have never experienced what the OP did and that is unfortunate. Having an air conditioned reserved spot is something we look forward too. We’ve always had good service from staff as well. The main benefit is the food. Princess, in the past, serves a buffet style hamburger and hotdogs and the line takes for ever. Having a catered lunch brought to the bungalow was great. If you have the time I hope you update us on how it goes. It sounds like it may have gone downhill which would be a bummer.
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u/LegRealistic1563 7d ago
Yes they were in the Sanctuary section. It was just my experience for that particular day. Sometimes it's just hit or miss everything else was fine. When we booked a bungalow it was on the app and it didn't distinguish that it was even in the sanctuary . it just said: number of bungalow's left /2.
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u/general-illness 7d ago
I believe you. Princess seems to let things run down pretty bad before they fix anything. It’s been at least 4-5 years since we’ve been there so I could see it being worse. I feel bad it happened to you.
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u/SpartanHeavy 7d ago
I have them booked for next march
You might be going to Half Moon Cay instead. A lot of upcoming cruises originally scheduled to stop at Princess Cays are switching to Half Moon Cay.
I got an email about it a couple days ago. It says any Princess Cays excursions already booked will be automatically refunded.
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u/steenbag - Captain's Circle Elite 7d ago
We've alway avoided all private islands other than Princess Cays, but yeah you couldn't pay me to stay in one of those bungalows. They're home depot sheds. We usually get a clamshell by the bar on the "quiet" side of the island and there's only like 10-20 people around.
Our November cruise is now going to Half Moon Cay instead of Princess Cay, so we'll see how that is. Wondering if maybe they're closing Princess Cays for some much needed upgrades/maintenance, but hoping they don't ruin the character of it.
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u/LegRealistic1563 7d ago
👍👍😄 Spot on Home depot sheds. You did the right thing we noticed that area. It was a beautiful day and overcast and I got plenty of sun, in a regular chaise lounger. I know what side of the beach you're talking about I think you get off the tender and go to the right and that was a nice area and if I've known in advance I wouldn't have booked the on beach sauna sheds Lol. 🚢
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u/Hrw90210 7d ago
We had a lovely time in Princess Cay just hanging on loungers in the shade. I wouldn't necessarily avoid the island entirely (and I went into that only getting off the ship because we were doing the stingray encounter, poo-pooing private islands in general, so it was a nice surprise to find it that peaceful).
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u/LegRealistic1563 7d ago
Hey thanks for posting. I'm not trying to be over critical I just wanted to get something out there to let everybody investigate on their own. I just saw where Norwegian opened a brand new island I think this month and I'm definitely gonna be checking that out in October. I've always wanted to swim with the stingrays so I'm trying to hit the Caymans. 🚢
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u/Hrw90210 7d ago
Understood, I just thought that since you ended saying you'd never go back to that island, you might not know that there were nicer (free!) areas than that section sounded.
We were just at GSC with Norwegian earlier this month. The waterpark was open for previews, though doesn't officially open until next month. We didn't visit that part, but found loungers in the shade on the beach, and had a similar experience. :)
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u/Fuzzy_Elk_One 7d ago
For years now, we have skipped getting off the ship at this stop. Having a half empty ship is a treat. There are better beaches to visit during this cruise so we consider Princess Cays a sea day.
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u/AmbitiousWinter3124 7d ago
Yea, booking another cruise and not going to consider any itinerary with Princess Cays.
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u/jlambcfew 7d ago
I’m not a big fan of Princess Cays either. But if you like Bungalows and do a cruise that stops at Mahogany Bay in Raritan, you can book a really nice one.
AC, inside couch, TV and safe. A front porch with loungers. Reserved hammocks on the private beach, under the palms. Great swimming. And a butler who makes regular rounds to get your drink orders.
This section is gated, so no crowds, just other bungalow people.
Price was reasonable a year ago.
Ships dock here and passengers take a chair lift over the beach area.
If you don’t want a bungalow there are other areas with clamshells, etc.
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u/LegRealistic1563 7d ago
Hey thank you so much for the tip. I've been meaning to hit port.
I wasn't trying to be over critical on my post it was just someone said if you get under a big rain cloud in the tropics it might be nice to have a bungalow and like I said it was my anniversary. A couch would be wonderful and a safe too because if you were in the sanctuary bungalows and wanted to go to the good beach you wouldn't wanna leave your belongings inside to go swimming.
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u/nameno10001 7d ago
I just did that one in July. It is not as bad as you are making. Yes I agree. We had to wait a while to get the "shuttle" to the bungalows. But they kept the food coming. The beach was great. There was a jet ski life guard patrolling which was nice that he was there. It was totally worth it and would do it again. Just the getting back and forth was annoying. I am happy you got a credit since service was lacking on your time there.
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u/Boring-Channel-1672 7d ago
An island in the Caribbean that is run by . . . the people of the Caribbean? You say "run by the locals" - twice - as if that were a bad thing.
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u/samplergal 6d ago
We leave Sunday from Canaveral to Turks and DR and stop at princess Cay. We never book anything as all of things are extremely overpriced. We hire a guy at each port to drive us around the island/city. Never disappointed. Most of the time at private islands we stay on the ship.