The Beach Club at Bimini: the Ultimate Guide to the perfect day!
Welcome to my Ultimate Guide to the Beach Club at Bimini, the private resort utilised by Virgin Voyages in the Bahamas. If you’re booked onto a Miami-departing Virgin Voyages cruise, there’s a high chance that you’ll be due to dock here. In this post, I’m going to show you around the resort, and also share with you my experiences from spending time at the Beach Club. I’ll finish today by sharing some of my ‘top tips’ with you, which will hopefully help you to plan your day, and to get the most enjoyment out of your time here!
Before we start, please do come over and support my YouTube channel. You can find me by searching ‘Fraser at Sea’ on YouTube, or just click into the video below. This video presents the Beach Club to you, so why not watch that, then come back here to read more? We have a lot to cover today!
Before I get started on showing you around the resort, what actually is ‘The Beach Club at Bimini’?
Well, it’s not a cruise line-owned private island - it’s a private resort located on the fully inhabited island of Bimini, which is only 90km over the water from Miami. While this is pretty close to the mainland, Bimini gives you a true taste of Bahamian island life - it really is gorgeous! Think tall palm trees, golden sand beaches and clear, blue water - bliss! One element that surprised me about this resort is that it isn’t actually owned by Virgin Voyages - it’s owned by Resorts World, but Virgin have exclusive use while one of their ships are in port. This means that it’s a pretty ‘locked down’ resort - the resort is staffed by the ships’ crew, and most of the supplies are actually brought off of the ship in the morning, so it’s pretty similar to how the private island retreats work with other cruise lines - you’re not going to bump into random members of the public in here.
When you disembark from your cruise ship, you’ll be brought to the resort by a complimentary shuttle, which operates as a road train. These will stop outside the ship every 10 minutes or so, so you won’t need to wait long at all, and the ride up to the Beach Club is only about 5 minutes. The shuttles only stop at the cruise port and the Beach Club resort, so you’re not going to get lost, or get off at the wrong stop - don’t worry!
When you arrive at the club, you’ll pass a sign that displays the words ‘Private event: Virgin Voyages’. Don’t worry - this isn’t a private event you’re not invited to - remember that the resort is owned by another company, so this keeps the public out when a ship is in port and therefore using the Club.
Let’s move on now to talk about the design and layout of the Beach Club - let me start by showing you the map that you’ll find when you enter the resort…
The layout’s pretty simple - you’re not going to get lost in here! A few points to think about now:
‘The Main House’ is where you’ll arrive to when you leave the land train. Here, you’ll find refreshments, some shade, comfortable seating, restrooms and also changing facilities. It’s important to note that there are also lockers here too, so you can safely store your valuables - they’re just by the changing area!
There’s two swimming pools at the Club, which are separated by a central walkway. These two pools give the illusion of one large lagoon pool, so it’s pretty easy to find them regardless of where you are in the Club.
The purple on the above map shows the primary food locations at the resort. To keep things simple, you’re going to find one of these at each end of the lagoon-style pool(s).
There are a huge number of cabanas all around the resort - be sure to make a note of which one you’re spending time at if you go for a walk and leave your belongings behind!
‘Belvedere Beach’ (bottom right on the above map) serves as a more exclusive feeling part of the resort, but I’ll show you that in more detail later…
The primary bar for the resort is at the right side of the main pool area - this separates that corner of the pool and the beach.
Cruising as a Rockstar? Well, you’ll be welcomed to the ‘Rockstar Retreat’, which is shown in yellow at the top left of the map - enjoy!
At the top of the map, you’ll find the beach. Don’t assume this place boasts a pool but nothing else - the beach is gorgeous, so be sure to spend some time over there!
Now, let’s talk about the pools…
Moving from the Main House into the resort itself, you don’t have to walk far before you reach two of the main attractions here: the swimming pools. The lagoon-style pool is split in two, and both sides are used very differently. If you’re facing the beach, the pool on your right will be the main lounging pool, and this is where you’re going to find LOTS of floats to enjoy an afternoon floating around at your leisure. You don’t need to bring these on your cruise with you - they’re all at the resort waiting for you. On your left is the other side of the pool, and this is the more lively side. Throughout the day, you’ll find various watersports in here, including water polo, water volleyball etc - all good fun!
In terms of seating, the loungers at the resort are all free to use - you’re not going to be hassled by anyone looking for money when you sit down. They also have these really cool ‘wet loungers’ around the outside of the pools - I loved them, but just double check you’ve taken your phone out of your pocket before you sit down on them…!!
Walking past the pools, you’re going to end up on the beach. This was one of my favourite parts of the resort, although I’ll warn you now - it’s BUSY! I nipped back at the end of the day to get a clear photo of the loungers for you without people on them, but it’s quite difficult to sit down somewhere if you get here at the height of the day, especially if you want to try and get one of the chairs with an umbrella! What you need to remember with this beach is that it’s part of a wider resort, so you’ll find it’s a bit more ‘taken care of’ than if you were to go elsewhere to a public beach, but I think that makes it even nicer!
Don’t be expecting some time and space to relax alone in the water - it can get pretty busy out there, as everyone’s trying to get their dip in the ocean!
You might have noticed on the Virgin website that they often have photos showing fire pits and fire sculptures on the beach. You’ll find these fire sculptures at the Beach Club, so you can probably expect them to be lit if you have a later departure, especially if you’re cruising during a cooler time of year. For me, it was the peak of the summer season, and so the fires certainly weren’t lit, but I did manage to get a photo to show them to you!
Moving on from the beach, let’s talk about an area that I get asked loads of questions about: Dining!
As I mentioned before, you’ve got two main places to dine if you’re visiting Bimini as a non-Rockstar (non-suite) cruiser, and you’ll find one at each end of the pool. These will open a few hours after the first guests arrive at the resort, and they’ll usually close about 2 hours prior to the final shuttle back to the ship, which then allows the crew plenty of time to clean up and get the necessary stock back to the dock! You should expect really informal and casual dining here, served in an outdoor setting.
I found the menu to be really lovely here - think casual, summery dishes, with a nicely upmarket twist. In terms of dining arrangements, you’ll be able to either take the food to elsewhere on the resort (back to your lounger?), or you can make yourself at home at the picnic tables provided beside each dining venue.
Next, let’s talk about Belvedere Beach.
This small area is set back from both the beach and the pools, and you’ll find it just along from the main entrance. Its’ location is one of the main reasons it’s a lot quieter than other parts of the club, so in turn it can feel much more ‘exclusive’. Here, you’ll find some beach games, comfortable beach chairs to lounge in, a small bar area, and also some hammocks. If you’re looking to relax but aren’t bothered about sitting pool or beach-side, then this could be the perfect spot for you!
Next up, let’s move to the most exclusive part of the Beach Club: the Rockstar area. If you’re fortunate enough to be cruising in one of the top suites on the ship, you’ll be welcomed to spend the day at the ‘Rockstar Retreat’, rather than with the masses at the main pool and beach areas. In here, you’re going to find relaxed seating with lots of shade (if you’d rather avoid the sun), a bar area with an amazing sized metal fan (this does SUCH a good job at keeping the air circulating to avoid you getting too warm), and then a beach section that’s separate to the main beach that I showed you above. On this beach, there are a small number of private cabanas - I believe these can be reserved for the day via your Rockstar agent onboard.
To gain entry here, you’re going to need to be wearing your black Rockstar wristband, so don’t try if you’ve got the red one! You’ll know you’re in the right place as you’ll pass the small sign for the VIP area. On this point, this is one thing that I really do respect about Virgin Voyages - I’ve cruised with so many cruise lines who show a really clear class divide onboard, with suite guests flying up the outside the lines, having the best seats in restaurants, and generally having a very publicly ‘better experience’. However, on a Virgin cruise, it just doesn’t feel like this at all. Yes, these cruisers are invited to a more private part of the resort, but it’s not then thrown in your face as a regular cruiser - well done, Virgin!
Here’s some shots of the Rockstar Retreat, which I was kindly invited into towards the end of the day, before taking the shuttle back to the ship.
So, we’ve covered a full tour of the facilities on offer at The Beach Club, but what are my top tips to make your visit more enjoyable?
Do you need to be there all day? If you opt to spend either a morning OR an afternoon at the resort, you’ll be able to enjoy the ship while it’s nice and quiet, or perhaps even explore elsewhere on the island!
The resort will get MUCH quieter the later you’re there. I found that the club would be really quiet in the final 2 hours of the day - far more relaxing than mid afternoon!
It’s often HOT here, and there’s not a huge amount of shade - remember to pack a hat and sunscreen!
Food - you don’t have as many options at the Beach Club vs the ship. If you’re looking for more choice, it might be worthwhile to head back to the ship at lunchtime, or have an early lunch onboard and head to the club in the afternoon!
The resort isn’t one big party, even although it will look like it when you arrive! There are plenty of spaces to relax in peace and quiet - just go for a walk and see where you end up!
Soft drinks are free at the Beach Club, as you would expect if you were on the ship!
In terms of charging drinks while at the Beach Club, this is all done to your ship account via your wearable tech. I found this really impressive - you don’t pay with cash at the club, but instead your drinks purchases will be billed to your onboard account, just as if you were onboard the ship! This means that, if you have Bar Tab, this can be spent ashore - result!
I really hope you’ve enjoyed having a look around Bimini’s Beach Club! If you have, please do check out my other Virgin posts - there’s quite a few of them! Also, come and subscribe to my YouTube channel - I’d love to continue showing you so much more!