Are we the only ones who didn't care for Key West?

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

When we got off the ship, we roamed around the beautiful shopping plaza. Well, as soon as we crossed the street into the next shopping area, boy did things change. I never saw such a seedy place. There were vagrants everywhere - dirty, smoking (and not just cigarrettes may I add) and begging for money. Now I am from NYC and am used to sights like that, but this really shocked me. Everywhere we walked people were trying to get us to go in and drink/smoke, etc. In fact, as we were walking place one place the woman outside the bar tried to get the men in our party to come in to "watch the game, have some drink and pizza, and could even get a happy ending to call it a night!". The streets smelled like my old college town (which I throughly enjoyed back then LOL), there were phallic pipes/bongs in the windows, t'shirts stating "I came to Key West for the Blow ***'s, tons of inappropriate things for children to see (although those matching leather thongs were quite pretty). I wanted to go to Margarritaville(love Jimmy Buffet), so we kept walking. Spent sometime there and headed back to the ship. My husband and I were so dissapointed. This DEFINTELY was not a port for children! Now I know there are beautiful beaches and parts of town to see, but for us on a tight budget, the only excursion we could afford this trip was the swimming with dolphins in Cozumel. Maybe we will give it another chance sometime, but until my dd is of age, we will stay on the ship. Sorry Shirley - I know you love your town, but it is not for kids. I am surprised Disney stops there - and don't flame me b/c I know there are families with no children who cruise and they must get their ports to enjoy too- I just think it was not appropriate.

 

[Regina]

I've now been there twice, and I've been underwhelmed by the experience.

I'm also from NY and what they call "colorful characters" in Key West, I call "bums". I'll take the Naked Cowboy or the street dancers over any KW inhabitants anytime.

My main complaint is the oppressive heat and how crowded and rundown a lot of it is. Margaritaville? Fuhgeddaboutit. You can't get near the place. I'm glad that you got lucky, but it's always been jam packed whenever we've attempted to go there.

Sorry from me too Shirley. I'm not a big fan of Key West either.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Margarittaville was empty - but then it could be the time of day we got there (about 12:00)). We were going to eat lunch, but decided to go back for the ship to eat.

The only "characters" we found interesting were the gold and silver men. Unfortunately they were "performing" infront of a head shop so we couldn't stay and watch. My dd saw a "man's pipe (if you know what I mean)" and asked what it was - very quickly we moved down the street!!!

 

[FOJMO]

Well, we absolutely LOVED Key West! It was exciting and bustling and we had NO ONE urging us to join them in their establishment. We had two teenaged girls with us and they loved it also. We rented one of the little electric cars and saw parts of the city other than downtown (beaches, etc.)

I guess to each his own...

 

[wide awake]

I have to say we loved Key West also. In fact we're planning on going back to spend a three day weekend at some point. I'm an avid reader, and I appreciated the literary tradition of the city. I didn't see any bums, and nobody tried to lure any of our party into a bar. I thought Cozumel was much worse in that respect, and I will never go into that particular city again. I've seen suggestions on this site that the Western cruise skip Key West in favor of two CC days, and while we enjoyed CC, I wouldn't want to miss Key West. The only thing I didn't like about it was the Shipwreck Museum, and that only because we couldn't go through on our own.

 

[plutojudy]

We cruise to see different areas. While Key West was different to say the least, we enjoyed it. We did not have any children with us. We try to keep an open mind and accept each island as their culture. We never encountered any "bums" or "hustling". No one bothered us like they did in Cozumel.

 

[SeaSpray]

I'm glad that I still have several months before having to decide about Key West. I keep reading reports similar to what the OP said, and then I read reports from people who said they haven't seen anything "seedy". We have 2 teenages sons who will be with us, and besides them, it's ME who really doesn't want to have to see things such as bongs, especially in certain shapes, while I'm walking down the street. And t-shirts with phrases such as was stated, in a storefront window? No thanks.

Now I have a question: Is there a direction we could go, once we get off the ship, that wouldn't take us past this section of town? Or are these kinds of stores throughout all of Key West?? We might be doing the Western Union Schooner excursion, but if we don't, I'd like to at least get off the ship for a half hour so I could say I was at Key West. LOL My DH isn't very interested in Key West at all. He'd prefer to just stay on the ship. The path to Margaritaville goes past this "bad" area?? How about the Hard Rock Cafe? I was thinking of picking up t-shirts from both of those places, but not if we have to go through sleeze alley to get there.

Thanks for any additional info about Key West....and how best to avoid the seedy areas.

 

[stancan]

we had all three of our kids and our selves walking about key west. Your typical tourist area, nothing sleezy about it. If you are hyper sensitive to the real world, you would have a harder time avoiding "sleeze " in cozumel; they are more " in your face " with thier wares . Grand Caymen is the only stop that is not " in your face".

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by stancan
we had all three of our kids and our selves walking about key west. Your typical tourist area, nothing sleezy about it. If you are hyper sensitive to the real world, you would have a harder time avoiding "sleeze " in cozumel; they are more " in your face " with thier wares . Grand Caymen is the only stop that is not " in your face".

If you consider someone who wants to avoid taking her teenaged sons through an area of a town that allows stores to put t-shirts in their storefronts that have explicit sexual remarks on them as well as bongs in the shape of the male reproductive organ, then yes, you could call me "hyper sensitive to the real world" and I gladly accept that As for people who are "in your face" hawking their wares, that doesn't bother me. I know how to say "no thank you" and continue walking. Unless of course, these same hawkers were to be wearing a t-shirts with a sexual remark on it, in which case I'd want to avoid them too.

 

[KaitlinsMom]

Originally posted by SeaSpray
If you consider someone who wants to avoid taking her teenaged sons through an area of a town that allows stores to put t-shirts in their storefronts that have explicit sexual remarks on them as well as bongs in the shape of the male reproductive organ, then yes, you could call me "hyper sensitive to the real world" and I gladly accept that As for people who are "in your face" hawking their wares, that doesn't bother me. I know how to say "no thank you" and continue walking. Unless of course, these same hawkers were to be wearing a t-shirts with a sexual remark on it, in which case I'd want to avoid them too.

I just wanted to say I agree with your point - My husband and I had no idea what to expect in Key West - So we went out to take a walk as a family - Needless to say, we brought our kids back to the boat just for those reasons - We live very close to Mexico, so we have experienced the "in you face" selling - That's no big deal - I just didn't want my 5 year old looking at various explicit objects.

Karen

 

[Laurajean1014]

When we cruised there, we did not see any of this (????)

My DS and DH rented ski jets and I rented a golf cart and drove around the entire island. I did not see homeless people. I did see alot of people out and about but they were tourist.

No one asked me for money or to joing their group. I walked all over and no one bothered me.

Sorry, but I thought it was great!

 

[WDWLVR]

I guess I would fall in the middle. I didn't hate Key West, but I didn't love it either. It was an enjoyable day. We did the trolley on our own and got to see a lot of the island. Did the Southernmost Point, the butterfuly museum, Hemmingway House, and walked back to the ship from there past all the shops etc.

It was more enjoyable than shopping in Cozumel. On a scale of 1-10 I would give Key West a 7. We didn't see anything really seedy or objectionable. It is certainly better than Nassau in my opinion.

That's the wonderful thing about cruises - so many places to visit and so much to see and do. Something for just about everyone! One persons favorite port is someone elses least favorite port.

 

[snelsonbrown]

Noone and I mean NOONE can hurt my feelings about my hometown for I know how uncomfortable you can be and especially if there are children - you see Key West is nothing like I grew up with - Key West was a very close knit community and very giving of their time, monies etc - what you see down there now are NOT old timers or conchs - those that are there now are from around the world, which is ok, but has made Key West what it is today - do I miss the real Key West - OH YES but I know that it will never ever be what it once was - I do not recommend it for children and I keep saying it is an adult playground. Sorry wish I could find the words to say how I feel when someone is disappointed in which again I say - Key West was awesome once upon a time - do I love my hometown OH YES am I disappointed - OH OH yes - will it still be my hometown - until I close my eyes.
Much love for the imput
Always
Shirley

 

[natdencro]

Gosh, either I had my eyes closed all day, or my sunglasses are way too dark! Never saw anything ruder than we see in any other cities of the world. Take the Conch Train trip:- it drives too fast too see any "details"!!! Wish it stopped at Hemmingways House (culture required- sometimes). Also walked around main drag of the town and ate in small cafe. Sat on the dock approx 7.30pm and watched the "Magic" light up: Bliss. Didnt care for sunset in Mallory Sq. , as their were too many "shady characters" about: Glad we went there, but a few hours were plenty. Have to say that Key West was a little disappointing - but would have been sad to have missed seeing it. Guess we all like different things eh?Would I go back? Yes - but not for a vacation.Nat

 

[SeaSpray]

I just want to clarify something. I'm sure that not all of Key West is seedy. And it sounds as if those who've taken excursions have had a lot of fun. I'd love to go to the southernmost point, too. But my main concern and question was just about which areas to avoid. A lot of people do enjoy Key West, and I'd like to be among those people, as long as we can avoid shops that sell items such as I've mentioned above.

If we take the trolley or train, I am thinking that this would be a good way to see a lot of Key West, without coming across any of the (in my opinion) seedy areas. Is this true? If so, then that'd be great, we could take the trolley and see a bit of the town. Also, I'm not a big shopper, so I'm happy to avoid all those little shops anyway. I really would just love to see a bit of the island, while at the same time, avoiding seedy areas. From what I've read from other people here, this shouldn't be impossible to do because many people are saying they've never seen these seedy areas...so...I'm still wondering, where should we go on Key West, and where should we avoid?? Thanks

P.S. As for Cozumel, we'll be going to Tulum to see the ruins that day, so we won't be spending much time at all on the island of Cozumel itself.

 

[ThreeCircles]

I wouldn't rate Key West as one of my favorite ports-of-call but I did enjoy it. It's a very unique place with lots to see and do. You will encounter some very adult-oriented things, but, as I have posted elsewhere, I have seen these same things in every port that I've visited. This would include Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. The only place I didn't see something like that would be Castaway Cay. I would consider most of the adult-oriented fare pretty mild. Perhaps topless women on postcards, pen*s pipes and flutes, and some adult-oriented language on t-shirts.

A family walking through any one of these ports is probably going to witness some of these things. However, I don't think it's the type of things that are really going to leap out at younger kids. At that age, they have such little interest in that sort of thing that I wouldn't give it much worry. Older kids will probably notice, but that isn't such a bad thing either. It could prove to be a great tool for discussion.

I'm not saying that anyone should do this or that, just giving my opinion. If I had children (which I'm thankful that I don't! ) I wouldn't hesitate to walk with them through Key West or any other port. If they asked questions, I'd answer them honestly and openly. I wouldn't want my kids to feel embarrassed or afraid to ask questions about things they saw and about things that they were curious about. I would feel much better that they get appropriate information from their parents than from the numerous other less-reliable sources out there. The fact is, they are going to be exposed to adult-oriented items and images sooner or later. I could think of worse things than having a loving parent be with them during the experience.

Again, this is just my opinion and I utterly respect the opinions of others. It's your vacation and you should feel comfortable.

SeaSpray--

We went into numerous shops throughout Key West that didn't have any adult-oriented fare in them. I think you'll be able to tell these shops apart from the ones that tend to carry such items, for the most part. In fact, I think you would have an easier time doing this at Key West then you will at Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Hope this helps a little!

 

[SeaSpray]

Shirley: The Key West that you grew up with sounds absolutely lovely!!!! I'm glad you have such good memories that you share with us. My hometown is much different now than when I grew up too...Unfortunately that happens a lot. And I have read where you've said many times that KW isn't for children, and I believe you. I guess I was just hoping to be able to take our sons for a short walk, or something, so they could at least see a bit of the island. Maybe the trolley is a good idea for that? Then we could take them back to ship and perhaps DH, DSIL, DBIL, and I could explore a bit more. I will be sending out a self-addressed stamped envelope to you before our cruise because I want to look through the various brochures you have. Thanks so much for being here on these boards, as our expert on Key West

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi Jason

I think I'm more concerned with Key West because we already have excursions planned for the other islands and won't really have time to just be walking around them. For our KW day, I was thinking of getting off the ship and exploring for a short while, if we don't do the Western Union Schooner excursion. In all honesty, if it's really hot and humid that day on our cruise and if we don't do the excursion, I don't know how long I'll want to be at Key West either. Might be in the pool onboard the ship that afternoon. I understand exactly what you're saying though, about being exposed to those types of things no matter where you go. My sons will be 16 and 13 by the time we cruise, so they'll fully understand what they see, if you know what I mean. LOL I think my original question is still valid, about seeing if there were areas on KW to simply avoid, but perhaps I stated it too strongly, originally. It's not a major issue in the grand scheme of life, it will not really harm my sons if they happen to see certain things and you're right about it being an excellent topic for discussion.

I've never been to Key West, so I'm just trying to gather as much info as I can, so we can make the right choice for our family. Thanks so much for your reply, Jason

 

[ThreeCircles]

Originally posted by SeaSpray
I think my original question is still valid, about seeing if there were areas on KW to simply avoid, but perhaps I stated it too strongly, originally.

I've never been to Key West, so I'm just trying to gather as much info as I can, so we can make the right choice for our family.

Awe, heck no! I think the question is very valid and that's what the boards are for!

I've only been to Key West twice myself, both while cruising on the Magic. Being a Floridian, a lot of the things down there are pretty redundant and similar to some of the touristy areas up here. However, things are much more "wild" as compared to our local area.

Duval Street is the main tourist area in Key West. The Magic docks only a short distance from the area and that is where most of the shops and tourist attractions are located. I've really not experienced any other areas on the island so I can't speak about that.

During our visits we always make sure we visit the Hemmingway House as we love all the kitties! (We have five of our own! So, I guess I do have children afterall! ) We also like the Custom House. It's a museum with exhibits featuring different aspects of Key West.

Here are some links that may prove to be more useful:

<a href="http://www.fla-keys.com/">The Florida Keys & Key West</a>

<a href="http://webcam.keywest.com/msindex.htm">Florida Keys Cam-munity</a>

 

[Gina]

Just my two cents here... I didn't find Key West terribly seedy or anything, I just find it completely, utterly useless as a port-of-call. It makes as much sense to me as stopping at any other US city during a cruise. It would be, to me, the same as if I sailed from Galveston and stopped at some Mississippi coast town on the way to Mexico. It's a waste of a good sea day, to me.

A big part of why I say been-there-done-that for the Western, and am going back to Eastern this next time...

-gina-