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When the workday ends (or a little before), stop in for a drink at Rick’s Bar or Sloppy Joe’s and find live music along the way. Pub crawls down Duval are famous here, giving travelers a true sense of how fun the Key West nightlife can be. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, this beautiful park features picturesque blue waters, amazing coral reefs and marine life, and a variety of incredible bird life. The park is also home to the 19th century Fort Jefferson, Fort Jefferson, was once used as a prison during the Civil War. Flanked by nearly 100 miles of islands, bays, and estuaries that will never be developed, Marco Island is the largest of the Ten Thousand Islands, located at southern tip of Florida's Paradise Coast. The island is home to stunning beaches and world-class golf courses, as well as beautiful parks to that are a paradise to those who relish the outdoors.
Florida Gulf Coast & Keys Cruise
Carnival Paradise is on a five-day Caribbean cruise that departed from Tampa on Saturday, according to CruiseMapper. Key West isn’t as famous for its beaches as it is for other activities, but you can still lay down a beach towel and read a book at Smathers Beach. Beautiful palm trees provide a little shade from the Florida sun. You’ll find this half-mile stretch of white sand is the largest public beach in Key West. If you have time, drive less than an hour northeast to Bahia Honda for the kind of Florida beach experience the state is famous for. Head to this Florida State Park and National Historic Landmark for swimming, snorkeling, fishing, paddling, and more.
Find Cruises to Florida's Key West Port
(But that’s optional.) Key West cruises deliver you to palm-shaded streets lined with gaily-painted bungalows, vintage saloons and blooming tropical flowers. Whether life’s a beach or you’re life of the party, cruises to Key West definitely over-deliver. As part of the Florida Keys archipelago, Key West is famed for its pastel-hued, conch-style houses, it’s a cruise-ship stop also accessible from the mainland via the Overseas Highway. It’s known more for its coral reefs, destinations for diving and snorkeling, than for its beaches.
Margaritaville at Sea will sail new ship from Tampa in 2024 - USA TODAY
Margaritaville at Sea will sail new ship from Tampa in 2024.
Posted: Mon, 04 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Ship Tour
After a day of adventure, dine at one of the elegant waterfront restaurants or peruse the artsy boutiques and designer outlets, before heading back to the ship. In Mallory Square, you’ll find lots of local vendors selling seashells, souvenirs, cigars, rum, and of course, key lime pie. If you’re looking for art galleries and clothing boutiques, head to Duval Street.
Night Repo - Panama CanalDetails
Visit Busch Gardens, which has two exciting parks to select from for the perfect family. You do not need a U.S. passport for round-trip cruises, as of the date of publication. Key West, particularly Mallory Square, can become very crowded in the late afternoon; beware of pickpocketers. For the true Key West culinary experience, try a slice of key lime pie or a rum cocktail from one of the many vendors in Mallory Square. Part of the Radiance Class fleet, the Brilliance and Jewel feature a quiet solarium, and glass, sea-facing elevators.
Key West, with its claim to fame being the southernmost point in the United States, is more of a tropical island buddy than a Southern belle. The city famously appeals to all types of folks, and attracts artists, hipsters, foodies and beach bums along with cruise ships. Locals love to repeat the line about never knowing if the guy beside you at the bar in flip flops and a tank top is a millionaire or a former merchant marine -- or both. Rich retirees rub elbows here with those who work two and three jobs to be able to call Key West home. Key West comes alive along the main drag of Duval Street, akin to New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street. During the daytime, art galleries and outdoor cafes line the street.
Key West Florida Port Guide
Surrounding the city are maritime and costal habitats, which support over 600 species of birds, fish, and marine wildlife. But there’s also plenty of adventure awaiting on this small island, including catamaran cruises, snorkeling around shipwreck sites, and horseback rides along the coast. Grand Cayman is famed for the vast expanse of Seven Mile Beach, but there are plenty more reasons to visit. Interact with wild stingrays or snorkel over the wreck of the USS Kittiwake, now colonized by dazzling corals and tropical fish. Take a trip to Hell, a stretch of jagged black limestone formations that could indeed resemble the underworld.
Carnival cruise ship rescues nearly 30 people from adrift vessel
Key West, as part of the Florida Keys archipelago,is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. As a matter-of-fact, you can easily get there by taking one of the cruises that depart out of Tampa. Also, the Key West Police Department reports are filled with lost-and-found property reports from visitors. Keep an eye on your belongings while you're downing a rum drink or frosty brew, or while singing along with the whole bar to a Jimmy Buffett or Kenney Chesney classic. The move to secede was short-lived but remains a point of pride for Key Westers, who still fly the blue "Conch Republic" flag in the subtropical heat and ocean breezes.
These 11-night sailings travel to the region’s most popular destinations, including the ABC Islands, Grand Cayman, and Key West. Choose a shorter voyage to the sunshine, with blissful days in both Key West and Grand Cayman. A longer cruise gives you the luxury of two overnights in steamy New Orleans, as well as visits to Honduras, Cozumel, Costa Maya, and the charmingly eccentric Key West. Tampa welcomes many cruise ships throughout the year at its cruise terminals, offering a wide range of itineraries to Key West. Carnival Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbeanare just a few of the world’s largest cruise lines.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. The news comes after Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Apex ship rescued seven people in a small vessel adrift between Cuba and Mexico earlier this month. Another Carnival ship, Carnival Jubilee, also rescued two people stuck in a kayak off the coast of Mexico’s Isla Mujeres in January. “The bridge team onboard spotted the vessel and turned the ship around to rescue them,” Carnival said in a news release.
But there are also a variety of other methods to see Key West, like the Old Town Trolley. You can also rent bikes or scooters to catch the Key West breeze while you explore. By-the-minute pedicabs are also scattered throughout the town. For a sightseeing tour you’ll never forget, take the Conch Tour Train, which has been showing tourists around town since 1958. No Caribbean cruise is quite complete without experiencing Key West’s day-and-night bustle.
Key West was first settled in 1822 and by 1886 had become America's richest city per capita. Compact, cozy and adorable, the city's Old Town neighborhood is filled with cottages with gingerbread-topped porches, Victorian compounds, sidewalk cafes, cigar stands and T-shirt shops. Residential throughout, every sign, window and awning in Old Town must pass scrutiny of the city-appointed Historic Architectural Review Commission. While federal agents were trying to stymie drug smugglers, Keys residents decried the roadblock as a tourism disaster as well as disrespectful to its people. But Key West's mayor and his supporters failed to sway a federal court in Miami to lift the roadblock.
Just the right amount of kitsch, Key West bursts with sunlight, boasts year-round tropical weather, and some of the clearest snorkeling and most preserved coral reef structures in the world. Cruises to Key West, Florida are one of the most popular ways to see this walkable, immersive city. It’s easy to feel at home in Key West among swaying palms and small fishing boats glittering off the harbor. Once mostly cut off from the rest of the world, it has persevered through countless hurricanes.
If you have enough time, book a catamaran 70 miles west for a day trip to the one-of-a-kind Dry Tortugas National Park, home to the historic Fort Jefferson. In addition to being a convenient departure port, Tampa is also a great city that should be explored either before or after a cruise. The Channelside Entertainment Complex, located near the harbor, offers shopping, dining, and entertainment. Make your way through the Y-Bor district, where you can shop for the best hand-rolled cigars or try artisanal brews.
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