Blue Lagoon Excurions - through DCL or book direct?

[mlayton14]

For Blue Lagoon excursions (beach day or dolphin related) how do you get from Cruise Ship to the pier where the ferry takes you to the island? I understand that its about 15 minutes from ship, but if you book through Disney do they shuttle you there somehow or do you walk?

Considering booking directly through Blue Lagoon website, dont understand why I would pay more and book through DCL (other than obvious ship will wait if delayed).

 

[mlayton14]

For Blue Lagoon excursions (beach day or dolphin related) how do you get from Cruise Ship to the pier where the ferry takes you to the island? I understand that its about 15 minutes from ship, but if you book through Disney do they shuttle you there somehow or do you walk?

Considering booking directly through Blue Lagoon website, dont understand why I would pay more and book through DCL (other than obvious ship will wait if delayed).

Giving a big bump

 

[jpeppers]

We booked Blue Lagoon through Disney last year and you don't even get all the way into the Nassau port area before you board the ferry (at least we didn't), they put you on the boat before you get to the point (customs) where they check you back in when you return. We did not reach any tourist point. You leave from the same pier and there is no confusion because your Disney guide takes you straight there. The walk is maybe 1 minute and as you said you will not be left because you booked through them. When you come back you are let off a little ways down the pier area but no more than a couple hundred yards. We were delayed a bit on the ferry back to wait on the "Allure of the Seas" to leave but we were back early.
It is a fairly long ferry ride out to Blue Lagoon, I would say at least a half an hour and you actually get out into the open ocean. We did Atlantis the year before last and I preferred Blue Lagoon. It is so relaxing and when we went very uncrowded. The swimming area is no more than chest deep but separated from the ocean so a very safe swimming area. They had a ton of hammocks which made the place all about relaxation. The food was average but was better than what we got at Atlantis the year before. I think the ferries back ran about every half hour.
We didn't do any kind of swim but you could watch the Dolphins from the ferry walkway for free.

 

[bmahokie]

This may have changed, but Blue Lagoon used to have a policy that if one of the bigger Disney ships was in port the only way to book an excursion with them was through Disney. Disney in essence bought up all the openings, so you had to go through Disney to buy an excursion. BL would NOT sell direct. And I learned the hard way NOT to book through a 3rd party who claims they are selling you a real excursion, even giving you a confirmation number. It was bogus - and they DID run my credit card. To BL's credit they knew the guy, called him up and gave him a hard time for swindling me, and got my credit card refunded. And they couldn't have been nicer helping me out. Unfortunately all of the dolphin swims were sold out, and they couldn't sign my family up for one. But they ended up giving our whole family dolphin excursions for free.

And I agree with previous poster. The allure of BL is it remoteness. If you want a quiet day away from the ship, go to BL. It will totally relax you in a beautiful setting.

 

[mlayton14]

This may have changed, but Blue Lagoon used to have a policy that if one of the bigger Disney ships was in port the only way to book an excursion with them was through Disney. Disney in essence bought up all the openings, so you had to go through Disney to buy an excursion. BL would NOT sell direct. And I learned the hard way NOT to book through a 3rd party who claims they are selling you a real excursion, even giving you a confirmation number. It was bogus - and they DID run my credit card. To BL's credit they knew the guy, called him up and gave him a hard time for swindling me, and got my credit card refunded. And they couldn't have been nicer helping me out. Unfortunately all of the dolphin swims were sold out, and they couldn't sign my family up for one. But they ended up giving our whole family dolphin excursions for free.

And I agree with previous poster. The allure of BL is it remoteness. If you want a quiet day away from the ship, go to BL. It will totally relax you in a beautiful setting.

You can book directly through blue lagoon website , and it asks you to specify which cruiseline you are with if applicable , it gave me several available times for my date, so I'm guessing what you say is outdated.

Biggest question is whether Disney excursion is any more convenient than doing on own, sounds like answer is no to that

 

[Luvzmy3boys]

It was totally hassle free when we booked via DCL. They gave us wristbands as soon as we disembarked and gave them our tickets and escorted us on the short (max 5 minutes with dawdling kids) to the end of the same pier. The boat going out was pretty crowded but once we got there the group rapidly dispersed and it did not feel crowded. We stayed after our dolphin swim/encounter on the beach for another hour and the kids loved it! Water we pretty calm, relatively shallow and clear so they were comfortable. The boat back was way less crowded and drops you off about a 15 min walk from the boat. The boat also stopped to let some folks who were staying at one of the resorts off first. You may get harassed a little by vendors and you have to pass through custom before getting to the correct dock.

 

[susiee]

We cruised in late September and decided to book through DCL just to make it worry free in case we missed the port. It was an easy process and we had a very enjoyable beach day!
Our very first cruise was on the fantasy and we booked 2 port excursions on our own despite never having cruised before. However, in this case, since we were traveling during hurricane season we paid a little more for piece of mind.
Have a great time!!

 

[KashasMom]

We're booking it on our own for our family for August. I'm sure you'll even be on the boat to/from with those who booked through the cruise line so why pay more?

 

[mlayton14]

So you are sure that if you book direct with BL that you will walk to the same exact pickup point as the people who booked through DCL ? Thanks

 

[TLPL]

I would like to know more about the two options. I read on BL's website you have to go to their ferry pier on your own which is by Atlanta. Also they give $5 or $10 dollor discount book in advance online. 1-3 yo cam go for free with paid adult. Not sure if Disney allow that.