Blue Lagoon and Carnival

[snapsbymel]

Hi! I've seen reviews on Blue Lagoon and it seems like just the place we would like to go. Only, thing is when I went on carnival excursions I can't find it anywhere. I called carnival and they were like if I don't see it then they don't offer any longer. So, my question is why is carnival not offering this anymore? The next question is is this a good excursion to take although not through carnival? Are they reliable to have us back where we need to be on time? Would you suggest us doing this excursion? There will be 4 families going. kids ages range from 2-10. adults in their 30s and my parents whom are in 60s

[Sooner-Cruisers]

I don't know for sure, but heard that Carnival goes to Balmoral instead. I think Carnival may now own it or part of it.

[maxwell'sparents]

We went to Blue Lagoon in 2013 and it was through carnival, so I can't comment on how reliable they will be if not offered through the ship. However, if I recall, they were shuttling people back and forth throughout the day since they had a decent amount of hotel guests coming over at various times in the day.

 

As far as the excursion itself though it was a great day. It was a nice relaxing beach day. It wasn't crowded at all and got to see all the awesome houses on the boat ride there. They had a bunch of water inflatables for kids to climb on. They also have dolphins that you can swim with for an extra fee. We didn't do that but we were able to walk to where they were and watch them for some for a while. I imagine the kids would enjoy seeing them while taking a break from swimming.

[CheckersMidwest]

bestonbahamas dot com is the private site for booking. You get on the ferry at the base of the toll bridges, which isn't far from where the cruise ships dock. It's about a 20 minute ride. Ferries run periodically throughout the day, just be sure to get on one that returns in time. I'd allow a little extra time.

[evandbob]

Hi! I've seen reviews on Blue Lagoon and it seems like just the place we would like to go. Only, thing is when I went on carnival excursions I can't find it anywhere. I called carnival and they were like if I don't see it then they don't offer any longer. So, my question is why is carnival not offering this anymore? The next question is is this a good excursion to take although not through carnival? Are they reliable to have us back where we need to be on time? Would you suggest us doing this excursion? There will be 4 families going. kids ages range from 2-10. adults in their 30s and my parents whom are in 60s

 

Which "Blue Lagoon" are you talking about? There are several -in Nassau and near Ocho Rios, and off shore Belize - to name just a few.

[snapsbymel]

Sorry, I was referring to the one in Nassau

 

Thanks checkersmidwest I will check that website out

[CruizinMama1026]

Blue Lagoon was amazing when we went last year! Highlight of our cruise. The place was beautiful and perfect for families. We booked out side of the cruise line as carnival no longer offers it. This is because they now have Balmoral Island. I have personally never been to Balmoral but their reviews aren't the best.

[modernscarlett]

Even when Carnival offered it we did it on our own as it was much cheaper. Bought tickets in Nassau, and we got back with no issue. It's been about 3 yrs since we were there, so I'd look up exactly where to buy the tickets. Had a wonderful day there. Really perfect paradise. And as one of our group learned, the Long Island Iced Tea is potent stuff!

[CruizinMama1026]

If you go to Blue Lagoons website you can make reservations that way. I used shore excursions group dot com since Blue Lagoon doesn't provide transporation. We just did the beach day. The group includes round-trip transportation, lunch, and unlimited use of water toys. It was 64 for adults and 51 for children.

[Sooner-Cruisers]

If you go to Blue Lagoons website you can make reservations that way. I used shore excursions group dot com since Blue Lagoon doesn't provide transporation. We just did the beach day. The group includes round-trip transportation, lunch, and unlimited use of water toys. It was 64 for adults and 51 for children.

 

I'd love to hear more about the transportation. Do they pick you up at the ship? Bus? We'll be traveling with our 3 year old. Thank you!

[galaxieman63]

We just Did Blue Lagoon on Sunday. We came in on the Carnival Fantasy. It was a great experience and my wife hasn't stopped talking about it yet. She did the dolphin encounter and it was the highlight of her trip, if not the year.

 

To the transportation point: we booked directly through Blue Lagoon and received the instructions to get off the boat and take a taxi to their Ferry terminal on Paradise island. At the terminal they give you the wristbands you need to get on the boat and into the activities you paid for on the island. They told us to allow 20 minutes for the Taxi ride and to be there by 10 am for the 10:30 boat (which is included with the price of admission.) We got a taxi and were there in 5 minutes, but YMMV. The driver picked up another fare for Atlantis, but dropped us off first. Negotiate with your driver to make sure you are going straight there. We paid $4 per person for the cab ride.

 

When the boat picked us up at the ferry terminal it had just come from the cruise ships, loaded with passengers. They only pick up passengers who bought excursions through cruise lines at the cruise terminal. I'm guessing this has to do with the bands. The people who came from the cruise dock didn't have to get off at the terminal to get theirs.

 

The good news is that on the way back they take all cruise ship passengers back to the dock near the straw market. So you only have to do the taxi ride one way.

 

I hope that answers your question. It would be awesome if they added a kiosk near the cruise ships to allow you to pick up bands. All in all we lost about an hour of time in port to the extra hop and arriving at the ferry terminal 45 minutes early.

[OCruisers]

It's a real shame Carnival no longer offers Blue Lagoon in Nassau as an excursion. :(

LuLu

[snapsbymel]

Thank you so much for everyone feedback. We will most likely be going to Blue Lagoon. I feel it has something for everyone. We have a few who want to do dolphin swim and this will be perfect because everyone can still be pretty much together at the same location.

 

Thank you for resting my fears on booking this excursion off the ship. You know they put the fear of God in you about not booking through the cruise lines when it comes to excursions

[Sooner-Cruisers]

We just Did Blue Lagoon on Sunday. We came in on the Carnival Fantasy. It was a great experience and my wife hasn't stopped talking about it yet. She did the dolphin encounter and it was the highlight of her trip, if not the year.

 

To the transportation point: we booked directly through Blue Lagoon and received the instructions to get off the boat and take a taxi to their Ferry terminal on Paradise island. At the terminal they give you the wristbands you need to get on the boat and into the activities you paid for on the island. They told us to allow 20 minutes for the Taxi ride and to be there by 10 am for the 10:30 boat (which is included with the price of admission.) We got a taxi and were there in 5 minutes, but YMMV. The driver picked up another fare for Atlantis, but dropped us off first. Negotiate with your driver to make sure you are going straight there. We paid $4 per person for the cab ride.

 

When the boat picked us up at the ferry terminal it had just come from the cruise ships, loaded with passengers. They only pick up passengers who bought excursions through cruise lines at the cruise terminal. I'm guessing this has to do with the bands. The people who came from the cruise dock didn't have to get off at the terminal to get theirs.

 

The good news is that on the way back they take all cruise ship passengers back to the dock near the straw market. So you only have to do the taxi ride one way.

 

I hope that answers your question. It would be awesome if they added a kiosk near the cruise ships to allow you to pick up bands. All in all we lost about an hour of time in port to the extra hop and arriving at the ferry terminal 45 minutes early.

 

Thank you for the great write up!

[satchimosmom]

We're traveling in on the Carnival Conquest in about a month. We booked the Blue Lagoon dolphin encounter through shore excursion group. They actually provide a bus to pick us up at the cruise terminal which will take us over to the ferry terminal. No need for us to worry about a taxi! Sooooo excited!

[bwelborn]

We did the dolphin encounter through Carnival at Balmoral in February because they had a special price on the excursion. I wish now that I had done the Blue Lagoon. While the dolphin portion was nice (I think BL would have been better based upon the reviews), I didn't think the island was anything special at all. And of course you can read all of the rants regarding the food and beverage pricing there.

Edited June 20, 2015 by bwelborn