Hot air balloon ride

[molsonschooner]

I am thinking about doing this with my granddaughter. I have read numerous posts about the ride not being operational when they were there. Can anyone tell me if the ride has been operational when they were on the island, if so, how long was the ride and was it worth the money. Right now I can book it for  $90 Canadian . Thanks

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

"Worth it" is really tough call for somebody else, but I can tell you that it lasts about 10 minutes. And yes, it is VERY often canceled due to high winds. In my personal experience, it's been grounded more often than operational. If the $90 cost is per person, I'm not sure I would pay that myself, but everybody's priorities and budgets are different.

 

You would of course be refunded if it's not operational. 

[molsonschooner]

7 minutes ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

"Worth it" is really tough call for somebody else, but I can tell you that it lasts about 10 minutes. And yes, it is VERY often canceled due to high winds. In my personal experience, it's been grounded more often than operational. If the $90 cost is per person, I'm not sure I would pay that myself, but everybody's priorities and budgets are different.

 

You would of course be refunded if it's not operational. 

ok, thanks for the input

[time4u2go]

I'd pay maybe $30US to do it.

[molsonschooner]

10 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I'd pay maybe $30US to do it.

that pretty well sums that up, thanks

[PhillyFan33579]

Only you can decide if it is worth it. As others have stated, the balloon is grounded often due to excessive wind. I have been to the updated Coco Cay over 30 times and I have only seen the balloon in the air on 4 days. However, it was in the air all day when I was there this past Tuesday. 

[leaveitallbehind]

We have been there four times since the restart and have never seen it operational.  Not sure if it has to do with bookings or potential wind conditions, but in our experience there it has never left the ground. But that has just been our experience.

[sjb317]

We were just there May 17 and it was working.  This was one of the few times I have seen it actually going up.  
 

$90? Per person?😳 I would not pay more than $10 to $15pp to take my grandkids up,  my husband said they could probably convince him to do $20😂.

 

Sherri🙂

[RobInMN]

Technically, it's a helium balloon. as far as I know, it's permanently inflated. It's also permanently tethered and just goes up and comes back down. No idea how long it stays up. Never done it, and not sure it was even operating the 2 times we went to Coco Cay. It's not a hot air balloon like you might be picturing.

My opinion would be that if you are interested in doing a hot air balloon ride, I'd look for something local on a real hot air balloon. We did this with my grandmother when I was a kid, and it was pretty cool. We watched them fill it, got in, drifted for well over an hour and came down. A chase car followed us to give us a ride back. That could be well worth the money.

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, RobInMN said:

....as far as I know, it's permanently inflated. It's also permanently tethered and just goes up and comes back down. 

This is correct.  As mentioned before in our last 4 times there I never witnessed it myself, but it is tethered and when operating it would float secured by the tether to 450' where it stays for about 10 minutes, and then it is pulled back down.

Edited May 26 by leaveitallbehind

[smokeybandit]

The only time I've seen the balloon operational was when they were testing it and had no passengers aboard.

I'm actually surprised they even keep it. That space could be used for something with more reliable revenue opportunities.

[gavvy]

There is the exact same balloon in Disneyland paris and that charges you €19.

 

Gives you an idea how much royal are over charging for this.

[GJustice]

I rode it back in Oct '21 (first post Covid cruise) and there were only 7 of us aboard. Capacity is 20 so it was great to be able to move around and see the INCREDIBLE VIEWS from all angles. I paid $55 and think it was worth it. YMMV

[time4u2go]

3 hours ago, gavvy said:

There is the exact same balloon in Disneyland paris and that charges you €19.

 

Gives you an idea how much royal are over charging for this.

The one at Disney in Florida is $30. I wouldn't pay any more than that. You're not up there long and there's really not a lot to see. 

 

Edited May 26 by time4u2go

[jerseyjjs]

The last 2 times I was at Coco Cay, the balloon wasn't even at its location.  Down for repairs.  I wouldn't want to be one of the souls on it where something happened to require those repairs......and pay an extra $90 p/p for it.

[cruisegirl1]

We rode it in June, 2019, shortly after it opened.  It was less than $30pp and well worth it. I recall the ride was about 15-20 minutes   We only went half way up  because of winds but had great views. The person running the balloon told us interesting facts about the construction of the attraction and the balloon operation.  He lived on Coco Cay and was hired just for the balloon attraction.  There is no ride like this where I live so it was a nice treat.  

 

M

Edited May 26 by cruisegirl1

[cruiseguy1016]

4 hours ago, gavvy said:

There is the exact same balloon in Disneyland paris and that charges you €19.

 

Gives you an idea how much royal are over charging for this.

 

Why would Disneyland have a balloon with a Royal Caribbean logo on it? 😁

 

[swoopy2110]

Tried to get on it 4 times just to say I've done it. Each time though it's been closed due to winds. The closest we got was the balloon being up in the air when we were arriving as they were seeing what conditions were like in the sky.

 

So near yet so far.

[orville99]

1 hour ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

Why would Disneyland have a balloon with a Royal Caribbean logo on it? 😁

 

Maybe a Mickey Mouse company needs a Mickey Mouse balloon😄

[gavvy]

1 hour ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

Why would Disneyland have a balloon with a Royal Caribbean logo on it? 😁

 

 

Well, it's made by the same company- you know what I mean!

 

Different views too before you start on that, though I'm not sure what is better- french countryside and a Disney park or an island and the blue sea 🙂

 

The point I'm making is at over 4x the cost of the one in Paris - a place noted to be expensive anyway, this one is a bit of a rip off.

 

[molsonschooner]

Thanks for all the responses. I don’t think I will be counting on going on it