Princess Cays Bungalow - Compiled information - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

Ziggy7 · 09-10-2008, 01:12 AM

Compiled information gathered from the internet regarding Princess Cays Bungalows.
Hope this will be helpful to others going to Princess Cays for the 1st time.
Many thanks for all the contributions. (So when you see we, I, us, etc…. those are others reporting their own experiences)

Beach Bungalows (Up To 6 People) - Enjoy your own private beachfront bungalow while at Princess Cays. Located in the picturesque palm grove just behind the beach, the colorful bungalows are to the far left when you get on the island. There are now 12 bungalows on the island. It is a lovely area with palm trees, the water is very close by and the beach is not rocky at all. It's basically a little room that holds a table and four chairs for you to eat lunch. There were some reserved loungers out front and it was very close to a lovely little cove for snorkeling and swimming. Book per bungalow, one ticket is valid for up to six people. This rental is non-refundable. You could fit 6 people into each but any more than 4 would be quite crowded at the table, the other two could head out onto the deck. There are six lounge chairs provided with each bungalow. The air conditioning works well if you keep the French door closed and fan on. We've booked a bungalow, there are 8 of us. What to do, If there are only a maximum of 6 priority tender tickets ? 6 people got the priority tenders and the other 2 just show up later. The food served was plenty so not an issue. Waiters did not mind as the more, the higher the tips.

Things that make the bungalows special : priority tenders, food served, privacy, shade, reserved lounge chairs, air conditioning and has a ceiling fan, shelter from the sun. It certainly was a nice treat. There are areas of shade. each bungalow features air-conditioning and ceiling fan, a table and four chairs inside, two sun loungers outside on the deck, and a private shower outside - a tap on the side of the bungalow about 6 feet high and the other side had a water faucet for washing off your feet. Beach umbrella that four chairs could sit under - which was nice when we had a quick 5 minute drizzle. A/C was wonderful! Private stretch of beach with some excellent layout chairs on water / rock edge. Towels, we did take our own, but there were some on the loungers outside.

Bathroom is not nearby, its near the barbecue area, on the other side of the buffet. A little hike but not a deal breaker. The restrooms are close to the tendering area which is definitely walkable. If you want the one closest to the bathrooms, choose the yellow or bungalow #1.

Additional amenities maybe included for a supplemental charge such as a gourmet picnic. Ask for details at the Shore Excursion Desk onboard. The people we shared the bungalow with had done it on HAL and they said The Princess Bungalows were better. When we first arrived, there was a fruit tray waiting and four welcome drinks. They take your order for lunch, you don't have to wait in line and they were there with drink service all day long. They bring you bits of everything plus a fruit platter for lunch. You also have a set table with linen napkins, real plates and silverware.

Privacy - We did not feel that it was a real problem with people walking by, the cabana's are a ways down and most people don't walk down that far. It seems some think it is a great party area and want to have their music playing, inviting more than it is suppose to hold, etc. The bungalows are VERY close together and about 20 ft apart and right on the beach. It would be inconsiderate for others to be loud and play music that all the other people can hear, please be respectful when using them. The space in front of bungalows looks like they are fair game for anyone. I too was not impressed with the Bungalows. If they want to party and you want quiet forget it! If you have someone that needs AC then get them, but if you are looking for peace and quiet it's not the place!

To meet.... we went down to the Excursion Desk and then were escorted from there. It seems like it would be a long walk from the tender to get to them. They have a golf cart that can take you to the opposite end of the beach area. When you get on board just go to the shore excursion desk and request a ride down to the bungalows. You will be provided with six priority tender passes. If you choose not to leave on the first tender. Just head directly to the tender deck at your leisure. No need to wait around and get assigned a number. You get priority tendering to get off the boat but its back to reality when it is time to go back to the ship. The line was very long BUT it moved quickly. Also you really need to take water shoes as there are lots of sharp rocks and the walk up past the cabanas on the beach is NOT to be missed.

The first drink is free, the rest we paid for on our cruise card. There was drink service all day and they took our food order and brought it to us. As for the food and service, it was excellent. They brought us fruit as soon as we arrived from the first tender. The people that served us were the Princess crew. After we were all through with our lunch, with a table cloth, our waiters came back in and cleared the table (table cloth included) but they left some fruit, dessert and food (some ribs, chicken etc. It's under the foil) so we could have something for the rest of the day to pick on. The plates, table cloth etc. comes from the ship, so they had to get these things back on board, hence the paper plates for later on. Lunch was delivered to your bungalow. There was a pitcher of ice water in the bungalow.

Ziggy7 · 09-10-2008, 01:15 AM

March 07 - Received our tender tickets in our room and was told to go directly to the disembarkation deck at our convenience. No waiting for our turn to be called. Paid $199 for the "Sea Grape"(the dark blue one). LOVED IT! We sat in our air conditioned cabana and enjoyed our food. Used the ceiling fan for a little breeze. Used the shower to rinse off all the sand. Loved the little place!! We had two loungers on our porch with towels and two more loungers in front of our porch with towels also. There was also four loungers up closer to the beach with towels. The palm trees made for some awesome shade and breeze blowing through them was fantastic.

Oct 07 - This is a package only offered by the ship. So when you get on the ship, its too late to cancel your bungalow. They are very nice - enough room for four lounge chairs but sit directly on the sand and we were glad we had it because it was sunny and hot when we arrived and then started raining after lunch.

Nov 07 : Ice water waiting, and an attendant there very quickly for drink orders. Princess provided a golf cart ride to the bungalow for us. Lunch was brought to us and served beautifully. They wrapped up the leftovers for snacking on later, then brought us cookies and a variety of fruits mid-afternoon. Very nicely done. Enjoyed it very much. Linen covered table was set and waiting for us. Our bungalow attendant was there quickly, taking drink orders and asking us what time we wanted lunch served. A team of two brought us a lot of food, much more than 4 people needed, wrapped up the leftovers for snacking on later. They then later in the afternoon brought us fresh fruits and cookies.

Dec 07 - Just got back from Princess Cays. When we booked our bungalow I was looking for a nice quite place. The bungalows are not that! The best thing about them was the air conditioning when you want out of the sun. Two of the bungalows had music going and the bungalow next to us had a group of 25 or so there! There is also a little deck with a couple of lounge chairs on it.

Just off the Coral--the envelope with the bungalow tour ticket coupon didn't include the VIP tender tickets, but when I called the Tour Desk and asked for them, they were separately delivered. Note that the tender line was chaotic--you still needed to get in line to get on the tenders early (and people just cut in the line as they pleased without being stopped), despite what the VIP ticket said.

Jan 08 - The bungalow area have your own set of wait-people, the servers are ship staff. As of last Saturday (1/5), they still had the linens, servers, golf carts (at the beginning and end of the day), priority tender tickets, pitchers of ice water, etc. They contacted the room that made the reservations and asked how many people would be using the bungalows. They were those green priority tender tickets you may have seen on past cruises. The waiters brought our food to us. Big platters of everything--fresh fruit, cheese, cookies, brownies, corn on the cob, chicken, ribs, burgers, hot dogs, buns, lettuce, tomatoes. Everything was swapped out for paper plates, though, in the afternoon. Watch your toes on the little step up to the patio.

BUG BITES! They do provide Off spray but almost everyone in our group had 50+ bites within two hours. Overall the family really enjoyed it. I have since learned the bungalow area is pretty much the only problem area for bug bites and have been told by Princess this is seasonal and happens right before it rains. Jan 08 – sand Flies. Use the spray. Half of our group of six had bites all over ankles.

Feb 08 - We had a bungalow, it was WONDERFUL. As far as tendering - we received 6 priority tickets in our stateroom - this entitled us to go to the front of the line. We had a golf cart to schlep us back and forth. We were told that once we got off the tender to go to the info desk on Princess Cays and there was a golf cart to take us to it. As far as going back to the tender, we did walk but I'm sure that if you ask for it, they will send one. It was great. We had a waiter who also took care of one or two other bungalows. I did tip him and he was really great - brought drinks, lunch, a fruit platter. Out of the 12 bungalows only 4 were occupied on our trip. The Bungalow was air conditioned, had extra towels, tissue and hand sanitizer, a table with 6 chairs, a porch with 2 lounge chairs, 4 extra loungers on the beach and a shower on the outside of the bungalow. We had priority tender tickets, a ride in a golf cart to and from the bungalow, had an attendant that brought lunch and our cocktails. A very sweet deal $199.00, worth every penny, especially when you want to cool down in front of the air conditioner!

April 08 : Just back from CB and rented a bungalow for the day for a party of 6, including the priority tenders tickets (6), Food which was plentiful and brought to us at 11:30, towels etc. We would rent again!

May 08 – We rented a bungalow. The package included six priority tender passes. We did not get a golf cart ride to the bungalows, as there wasn't anybody at the Information Kiosk when we arrived. It is a about a 5 minute walk to the north of the dock. Upon arrival at a hut near the bungalows, we were guided to our assigned bungalow, which was #5 Sunflower and introduced to the amenities and to our attendant, who also oversaw a few other bungalows. When we arrived, the air conditioner had already cooled down the bungalow, there were two pitchers of ice cold water, and the table inside was set and ready for lunch. Outside, there are two lounges on the porch and four more immediately in front of the porch. Our attendant brought a big tray of food for lunch at around 11:30 a.m. which included the meat for hamburgers, hot dogs, bbq ribs, bbq chicken, and grilled chicken breast; plus buns, condiments, and coleslaw. While in our bungalow, Princess had cocktail waiters and waitresses walking around the island and they would occasionally stop by to take our drink orders. There was an extra charge for cocktails and soda, which is charged to your stateroom. I took a stroll while we there and I was able to pick up a glass of iced tea at the bbq line. The shoreline near the bungalows is rocky and consists of the shallow reef that you can snorkel. It was nice knowing we had a safe place to keep our stuff and did not have the hassle of waiting in line for lunch. Also, it was a good place to take a break while snorkeling to have a drink and cool off in the air conditioning. Our bungalow attendant brought trays of the bbq food from the buffet line. There was no extra charge. We got priority tender service, food brought to our bungalow by an attendant (for no extra charge), a golf cart ride to and from the bungalow area and all of the other amenities that were originally included. Be aware that the bars start closing down at 12:30 or so and the bartenders and servers are off the island by 1 pm as they have to get everything back to the ship before the tenders get too busy. That means pre-order the rest of your drinks EARLY so you won't be caught off guard when the attendants stop coming around for drink orders at around 1 p.m. It was well worth the money. I would highly recommend it. Soda and bottled water are not included in the cost of the bungalow. There are cocktail waiters/waitresses who will serve you those or cocktails and charge to your stateroom.