Princess Cays (pronounced “Keys”) is a private retreat on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.
There is no pier; tendering is required. The Royal Princess lowered three lifeboats and shuttled passengers to and from the island. The tendering process is well-defined. Passengers meet in a designated dining room to collect a numbered tender ticket. When the ticket number is announced, passengers proceed to the gangway. Boarding preference on the tenders is given to passengers who have booked a suite or who are on the elite tier or higher of the “Captain’s Circle” rewards program. (Typically an elite member has cruised a minimum of 16 cruises or logged 150+ cruise days). Those folks were given immediate tender tickets with little waiting; however, we did not have to wait long.
As the tender boat reached the island, we noticed that people primarily veered to the left to find water sport rentals, souvenir shops, and a “Welcome to Princess Cays” sign.
Beyond this immediate area were hundreds of lounge chairs, private cabanas, and clam shells (a giant cover over two lounge chairs to provide a break from the wind and sun.)
Clam shells could be rented for $29.00 for the day. I didn’t check the cabana rental price. Lounge chairs are free. We rented a clam shell on a previous hot and sunny port day here, and it was well-worth the money – as was a float, but today, with gray clouds above and temperatures of 78 degrees, we chose not to venture into the water, but other brave souls did. Music plays (rather loudly in my opinion – which the more adventuresome beach goers probably prefer) To get away from the hustle and bustle and music, walk much further down the beach before claiming a chair. A barbecue buffet is set up, and the food is included in your cruise fare. They also provided water and tea free of charge.
Those who venture to the right must climb several stairs to a lookout platform which provides a nice photo stop with the ship in the background, then descend the stairs to proceed to the beach. A ship photographer was on the landing, but we also took our own selfie. If mobility is not an issue, this is a great, less crowded section of beach – also with clam shell and float rentals, plenty of free beach chairs, a less crowded Barbecue buffet, and a beach volleyball court. We found it quieter to venture to the right.
The lunch buffet included burgers, grilled chicken, hotdogs and the fixin’s. There is also their own version of food trucks serving wraps and tacos (fish, chicken beef and pulled pork)
The ship offers tours of the Island, but I would recommend just enjoying an active or lazy day at the beach.
