Independent Excursion Question

[wolfe54]

Hi all :). Newbie to the cruise boards here and I have a question. We are taking a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas in March and I noticed their excursions are quite a bit pricier than if you go at it independently. Specifically, I think we may want to do Blue Lagoon and noticed it was cheaper if you booked independently through them.

 

How difficult is it to use the independent excursions instead of Carnival? I am worried about getting stuck somewhere and not making it back to the ship before departure.

 

I am almost leaning towards British Colonial Hilton instead because we can walk there. We are probably using Birth Certs instead of getting a passport.

 

Any advice is appreciated. Just hubby and me, no kiddos this time :).

[startraveler]

Can't comment on Blue Lagoon specifically, but so long as you plan on getting back to the ship an hour beforehand, no matter what the excursion, you should be fine. In St. Maarten we actually went on our own to another island - Anguilla - for lunch and planned on being back in Marigot by 2 in order to be in Philipsburg by 3 for a 4:30 on board. Once we got back to the island we relaxed a little and had time to shop in Marigot before heading back to Philipsburg, too, even though we heard traffic can be bad.

[kg03or]

Booking with Blue Lagoon on your own is SUPER easy! Whether you choose to do that may depend on how long your ship is in port as ferries only leave the island at certain times. But if you're worried about time, we were able to book independently and still travel to the Island with the group from the ship so you should be able to do that you'll just have to email them to ask/confirm. If you're in port for a longer period of time though I suggest taking a taxi to the ferry terminal and then the ferry back comes right back near the ships - we wished we could have had more time there!

[OhioGramsey]

We booked Blue Lagoon independent and since Carnival also offers it there shouldn't be any problems getting back on time.

[BIG_Steve]

We are probably using Birth Certs instead of getting a passport.

 

 

A passport or birth certificate is required to re-enter the USA. You don't need either with you to get into Nassau from the ship.

[startraveler]

A passport or birth certificate is required to re-enter the USA. You don't need either with you to get into Nassau from the ship.

 

If you are doing just Bahamas, that's fine. But - if you are doing a cruise in which the excursion goes to another country, such as Jost van Dyke from St. Thomas, Pricky Pear Island from St. Maarten, to name two, or if you want to explore other islands, like when we did Anguilla from St. Maarten on our own - you will need a passport.

[rugbyphil]

if you have a worry about getting back to the ship, we did, I would choose the Hilton day pass, when we went it was a great time, cheap and relaxing

[wolfe54]

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. This being our first cruise we are taking it "easy" and doing a 4 day Bahamas end of March out of Jacksonville. The day we are in Nassau scheduled 8am -10 pm so I would surely think we could plan accordingly. I don't really want to be gone after dark so we would probably get back to the ship well before departing time (which I know we would need to be on the ship well before 10).

 

For Freeport (I wasn't as excited about this one) I am thinking a snorkeling excursion, hopefully booking independently here too to save some $$$.

 

I guess my biggest dilemna now is Blue Lagoon or Hilton Day Pass. :)

[cespo]

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. This being our first cruise we are taking it "easy" and doing a 4 day Bahamas end of March out of Jacksonville. The day we are in Nassau scheduled 8am -10 pm so I would surely think we could plan accordingly. I don't really want to be gone after dark so we would probably get back to the ship well before departing time (which I know we would need to be on the ship well before 10).

 

For Freeport (I wasn't as excited about this one) I am thinking a snorkeling excursion, hopefully booking independently here too to save some $$$.

 

I guess my biggest dilemna now is Blue Lagoon or Hilton Day Pass. :)

 

 

I have done both and hands down I would choose blue lagoon again and again....it is one of the best excursions I have done. I also booked this privatley and had no problems what so ever.

[BIG_Steve]

 

For Freeport (I wasn't as excited about this one) I am thinking a snorkeling excursion, hopefully booking independently here too to save some $$$.

 

Our Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island is (IMHO) nicer than Nassau.

 

This fellow is HIGHLY regarded for his snorkeling in Freeport. Our excursion was canceled due to bad weather, so I don't have first hand knowledge. But I've never read a bad review for him.

 

http://www.sanddollarcruise.com/about/default.html

[rugbyphil]

Personally we preferred the Hilton it was a great day relaxing and just kicking back, especially with the food and drink vouchers!! haven't done much in Freeport but some time ago we did the bike and snorkeling tour and it turned out to be a great day.