Eastern Caribbean aboard the Ruby Princess

Princess Cays: Feb. 14, 2011Our first stop was Princess Cays; Princess Cruises’ private island in the Bahamas.  It was a great introduction to the Bahamas and a wonderful place to just sit back and relax.  Tenders took people to the island.   Below is a picture of the Ruby Princess from the tender. On the island, they have “clam shells” that you can rent, but I did some research before our trip and read they weren’t worth the cost due to either being too hot and stuffy or too chilly.  So, we didn’t rent them and I’m glad we didn’t.  The temperature was in the upper 70’s, and I noticed folks who had rented clam shells were getting too cool in them and were pulling their loungers out to be in the sun. 

There are nice bathrooms, a couple of bars and grills and shops with kitschy souvenirs.  The food at the grill is included in your cruise price, so you just have to show your cruise card.  The guides weren’t kidding when they say to wear water shoes if you’re going to get in the water.  There is coral all over the bottom of the lagoons; making it awkward to get out and swim.  We brought some inflatable rafts that we had bought at Target for $4, but I had such a difficult time walking in the water that I gave up on trying to get on my raft.  We saw a few people snorkeling, though I don’t know if they had much luck seeing fish. 

We enjoyed our day on Princess Cays, but if you’re looking for more adventure, you’ll probably want to wait until the ship stops at another island.  This island was all about relaxation…at least for us.