Blue Lagoon

[suffieldhockeymom]

I think we are going to do Blue Lagoon in Nassau. Not sure whether it will be just the beach day or sea lion interaction. Has anyone done either? I've read mixed reviews about the beach and nothing but good about the sea lions.

Can you add on the beach day to the encounter after you arrive so that you get lunch and use of the floats? Are the inflatables included?

 

[Niebz]

We did the beach day in January 2010 so at least as of that time it included floats as well as a basic lunch (burgers, hotdogs and fries plus 2 drinks each I think). You can also pay to rent watercraft (kayaks and the like). We never did the encounters but I do know you can check out the beach afterwards if there's time before the last boat back to the ship (for us it left around 4:30 -you can chose whatever boat return time you wish). We were even able to go see the dolphins and sea lions at the end of our beach day because all the encounters were done.

The island wasn't crowded at all. Most everyone in our beach day group went back to the ship early so by mid-afternoon we literally had the place to ourselves.

The beach itself was paradise. There's a protected lagoon to swim in with nice and calm, beautiful blue water. There is a beach facing out to sea as well but it's not recommended for swimming due to sharks I think? Also it's pretty rocky but you can wade in the waves a little bit. The white sand on the lagoon beach was soft and pristine and there were palm trees and blue hammocks everywhere - probably more hammocks than people so you don't have to fight anyone for them like you do on castaway cay. Spent an hour or so at the end of the day just laying in the hammock in the shade. It really is a gorgeous place and I'd highly recommend it.

 

[Lisa Lisa]

Anyone participating in an animal encounter (and even observers) can use the beach for free afterward. We purchased our own lunch and spent about an hour and a half on the beach after the dolphin swim. It was beautiful and uncrowded the day we were there in February. I'm pretty sure I remember reading that there is no charge for use of the floats, but I'm not positive. I'm sure someone else will chime in!

 

[magrudersmakes3]

We did the Sea Lion excursion and loved it. Our 9 year old daugher had so much fun doing it. We did the first excursion that allowed us time on the beach afterwards. She was able to use the water toys on the beach. They had a see saw, obstacle course and rock climbing wall. There might have been more but I can't remember.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

Thanks for the info. I have seen so many mixed reviews about the beach on other sites but everyone had great things to say about the animal encounters. We will be there in July and all the reviews are from non-Summer months.

 

[basketrn]

We did the sea lion encounter last year. It was great! You can use the beach for free after your encounter. It was a nice beach but the food was horrible.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

Could you use the floats and inflatables for free?

 

[MisterPat]

Also, how much does lunch cost on Blue Lagoon Island?

 

[dunnhorn]

We did the Dolphin encounter and the Dolphin swim last April (DH + DS9 did the swim, and DD7 and I did the encounter) and both were GREAT. I highly recommend buying a waterproof camera to take with you - we have the Sony Tx10 we got off Amazon - amazing camera that shoots underwater HD video.. be sure to get a flotation strap for it. Anyway, we had the earliest time so there was plenty of time to go over to enjoy the beach after the encounter/swim. It was awesome, with perfect low lapping waves made for building sand castles! All of the "toys" were free, with the exception of a giant inflatable slide on the land right before going back to the boat. I think that was $3 or something - we skipped that. The ONLY thing that was bad was the food - was seriously expensive, and nothing was included if you are there on the encounter. So, order room service that morning and pack a lunch and/or definitely take drinks, because I think we were paying like $3 for a can of soda, or something like that.

Have a GREAT time!!!

 

[gweeptrish]

As others have said, if you have an animal encounter booked you may use the beach for free. We usually book an afternoon encounter but take the early ferry over. We play on the beach all morning, have lunch, have our encounter then go back to the ship.

The food is terrible though, and very very expensive.

 

[Niebz]

I agree with everyone that says the food was terrible. It was my only complaint. With the beach it was included (along with 2 drink tickets each we used for cans of coke and bottled water) so at least we didn't have to pay $ for it.

 

[worldfamous]

We got off the Dream last Thursday. Our blue lagoon experience was terrible. They didn't have enough boats so we waited in the hot sun for 30 mins only to be asked to take a 15 min walk to the other side of Nassau to get on a very slow substitute. We arrived 2.5 hrs into our excursion. The ocean did have a neat obstacle course which my boys enjoyed, but it was an extra $15 per person. Food is awful.

We booked through Disney. I thought about complaining but when we got back from dinner that night, there was an apology note from Disney stating that they would refund 50% of the cost. Our trip was amazing other than this but it did make us feel like we wish we lost some good vacation time.

I read in detail about BL before booking and most reivews were positive- maybe we were just unlucky.

 

[Jordan'sMom]

We got off the Dream last Thursday. Our blue lagoon experience was terrible. They didn't have enough boats so we waited in the hot sun for 30 mins only to be asked to take a 15 min walk to the other side of Nassau to get on a very slow substitute. We arrived 2.5 hrs into our excursion. The ocean did have a neat obstacle course which my boys enjoyed, but it was an extra $15 per person. Food is awful.

We booked through Disney. I thought about complaining but when we got back from dinner that night, there was an apology note from Disney stating that they would refund 50% of the cost. Our trip was amazing other than this but it did make us feel like we wish we lost some good vacation time.

I read in detail about BL before booking and most reivews were positive- maybe we were just unlucky.

I think you were unlucky. Sounds like an issue with the boats. I'm sorry you had such an unfortunate experience. We loved the sea lion encounter and enjoyed our time at the beach after (included). We brought our own snorkel gear and actually saw more there than Castaway Cay. My son played on the inflatables in the water and had a great time. We enjoyed the ride over and back as well. Have a wonderful day and be prepared for COLD water in the sea lion tank!

 

[Pooh93]

We did the sea lion encounter at the end of July. Maggie our sea lion and Sarah the trainer were fabulous! On the way back to the ship our boat captain showed us the celebrity homes on Paradise Island as we passed by. A fun day!