January and February 2024
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| Princess Cays on Carnival Venezia January 2024 |
Princess Cays, Bahamas: January 8AM - 4PM
Princess Cays is a tender port, and we received a printed paper with tender instructions the night before. The paper actually contained information about priority tender boarding for passengers with excursions. I presume they just used the same notice for platinum and diamond guests, too. After breakfast, we walked to the showroom boarding area, where boarding was already in process. We arrived on the island before 9AM.
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| Princess Cays January 2024 |
We walked to the right after getting off the tender boat, as we had heard this area is less crowded than the main side. It was definitely less crowded. In fact, we decided not to have lunch on the island after we saw how crowded and busy the main area was later in the day. The lines for lunch looked like utter chaos. Some in our group stayed; however, my husband and I returned to the ship.
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| Princess Cays January 2024 from the less visited side of the island |
This was our first visit to Princess Cays. The water is beautiful; however, the island and beach area is much smaller than Half Moon Cay. If you just want to enjoy the beach and water, there are plenty of lounge chairs available on both sides of the port dock.
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| View from our pool chairs at Margaritaville in Grand Turk |
Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos: 11AM - 6PM
We have been to Grand Turk several times, and you can find more information about this port by clicking on the label at the bottom of the post. We have previously done beach days at this port, as well as the Junkanoo Party Bus, Rum Mixology & Beach shore excursion. This time, we decided to just have margaritas at Margaritaville.
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| Carnival Venezia at Amber Cove January 2024 Below: Amber Cove pricing - visible if you click on it to enlarge |
Amber Cove, Dominican Republic: 8AM - 4PM
This is another port we have been to a few times. The only difference this time, is that the prices of some of the things at the port have increased, like zip lining and umbrella rentals. Our son went on Carnival's Damajagua Waterfalls excursion, which he said was great. A bit more hiking than he would have liked (my husband and I probably would have enjoyed that part!), but still worth it, he said.
San Juan, Puerto Rico 9AM - 5PM
In San Juan we tried to tour Scryer Rum Barrelhouse. The hours on their website had said they would be open when we were in port, and that they give rum tours; however, they were not open. So instead, we did a bit of walking and shopping. There is a CVS and Walgreens very close to the cruise ship dock, if you need any supplies.
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| Above: view from Carnival Venezia cabin 12204 in Miami Below: map showing trolley stop at Miami cruise port |
Miami, USA: February 7AM - 4PM
Although we have been to Miami many times, this was our first time visiting from a cruise ship as a port of call. There is no charge to ride the Coral Way trolley, which stops at the cruise port. Finding the trolley stop was a bit confusing, as there were no bus stop signs. Carnival Venezia docked at terminal D, and we boarded where Atlantic Way curves around. I have marked some information on the photo above, which you can click on to enlarge. We got off at the first stop after leaving the cruise port, and then walked across the road to Bayside Marketplace. On our return, we had to wait a bit for our ride, as a couple of full trolleys passed us. There is a Miami transportation app, which shows trolley locations, although it does not tell you if a trolley is too full to stop. We observed several passengers with luggage take the trolley to their cruise ship.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas: 9AM - 4PM
Unfortunately, we missed one of our favorite ports this cruise, Half Moon Cay, due to weather. You can find information about this port in previous posts by clicking on the Half Moon Cay label at the bottom of this post.
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| Nassau cruise port February 2024 |
Nassau, Bahamas: 8AM - 4PM
We have been to Nassau many times, and our arrival into the channel this trip was the roughest we have ever experienced. When we went to breakfast after docking, we observed mannequins and many items in the gift shops strewn about on the floors. We heard that two Royal Caribbean ships did not make it into port on the day that we were there. There are many shops in the new port shopping area, and the straw market is about a block away.
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| Freeport, Bahamas from Carnival Venezia February 2024 |
Freeport, Bahamas: 8AM - 4PM
This is the first time we have been to Freeport since the hurricane in 2019. The cruise dock area is built up with many new shops. Free wifi was available at the port. We could get the signal from our balcony on the boat when we first arrived. The signal was not very strong after many passengers discovered this and connected. I have labeled the map above to show the strong signal areas. Other than the port shops and Señor Frogs, there is not anything to do at this port or within walking distance without booking an excursion.
Let me know if you have any questions or info you'd like to add!
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