We love love LOVED this excursion last April!
Some tips -
1. Buy an underwater camera if you don't already have one. We bought (and love) the Sony Cybershot. It's around $300 from
Amazon and comes in a ton of fun colors and also takes amazing HD underwater video. We took this thing snorkeling, to the Dolphin encounter, etc. Best pre-cruise purchase we have ever made. Also get a small flotation strap with it for $7 so the camera will float. I can give you the links if you need - I think the Cybershot is the T-12. We loved it so much we ended up buying a second one.
2. When you get there, they will try to upsell you on the Dolphin Swim. So, just be prepared. Half of our group went for it (and they loved it!) but my daughter was too young. Just be aware.
3. Be prepared to go to the beach afterwards. Dare I say it - but we had more fun at THIS beach than we did at
Castaway Cay! Don't get me wrong - I love Castaway, but at times I felt like we were packed like sardines on this beautiful beach. Also, the far Family beach has really rough rocky sand. At Blue Lagoon the sand is smooth, and because it is a cove, it is perfect for little children to build sand castles (small lapping waves) and they have tons of inflatables in the water for bigger kids and it wasn't crowded at all. We had zero problem finding chairs under shade. Also, unlike the beach at Atlantis, there aren't people walking around trying to sell you things. You have to pay to go on the land-based inflatable slides that are in the prior pictures - it wasn't much, just a couple bucks, but we didn't pay for our kids to do that. The inflatables in the water are free. We stayed all day and took the last shuttle back - it was wonderful. We traveled with another family, and the kids were 3, 6, 7 and 9 and all had a great time.
4. Bring food/drinks. The prices are VERY high (we're talking $10 for a hot dog with a handful of fries, 2.50 for a can of soda.) You can maybe get some uncrustables via room service from the ship the morning of or the day before but don't tell them that you are taking them on an excursion - they can be weird about that.
5. Be prepared to walk about 3-4 blocks when you get back. When you get off the ship, the ferry pickup point is RIGHT there, but when you get back they drop you off on the other side of the giant shopping mall thing. So, just be mentally prepared for a bit of a hike with the kids (i.e. try to get all of the sand off of you and make sure shoes are comfy.) We accidentally left my daughter's cover up on the beach so my daughter had to do the walk in nothing but her bathing suit. Not what I would have chosen, so like I said - be prepared for that.
All in all, I think it's the best excursion we have ever done on any cruise. We had a great time, and hope you will too!
Best,
Leslie Ann
My husband, 5 year old son, and myself are doing the 9:45 dolphin encounter as well. I believe there are ferrys back at 1pm, 2pm, and 4pm. I think I read this somewhere. I think Disney says 2pm or 4pm, but I swear I saw someone's trip report that said 1pm.
We are on the same cruise as well AND doing the Blue Lagoon... just the beach day though.
