Nassau Beach Day -- Atlantis, Balmoral, or Blue Lagoon?

[MimiDee905]

Hi all! Hoping for some expert advice or reviews on the beach day excursions at Nassau!
This will be our third cruise and honeymoon cruise. We've always stayed on the boat when docked at Nassau and are looking to book an excursion this time.
We're deciding between the beach days at Atlantis, Balmoral Island, or Blue Lagoon. I know Atlantis is pretty popular, but was wondering if anyone had any advice or reviews on the other resorts? We would be booking through DCL just because we feel safer doing it that way. Atlantis's beach day excursion is more expensive by $20 and all three include lunch. So we are really just hoping someone out there has been to these resorts and can give us an honest opinion!
Thanks!

 

[Dug720]

My sister and a friend had the opportunity to go to Balmoral and it looked BEAUTIFUL and she seemed to have a great time. I know it was almost enough to make me consider doing a 4-night that hit Nassau again if the timing were to work out (which it usually doesn't with the Dream's weird schedule.)

 

[diznymom]

Anyone else? I'm interested in reviews, also.

 

[princessmommyx3]

Here is my review of our Blue Lagoon beach day in October:

http://www.disneycruisemomblog.com/trip-report-day-4-blue-lagoon-beach-day-nassau/

 

[ChrisMc]

We had a great time at BL. The inflatable park is a lot of fun and we did not leave until 4PM. If you are not going to use the park or do a dolphin/sting ray excursion and will want to leave on the early ferry back, it is not worth it. Depending on the number of ships that will be there that day, Atlantis could be very crowded and you just have to be willing to wait on long lines.

 

[remlap]

i wouldn't recommend Atlantis for a BEACH day. I would strongly recommend it for a Waterpark Aquaventure. I can't say, as I've been to Nassau twice with Disney and both times went Aquaventure, but the beach looks really sad there. There has to be better options.

 

[jessrose18]

anybody do blue lagoon 1/2 day? do you still get lunch? do you know what time you get off ship and back on? disney site says 3.5-4 hours with 40 min of travel each way. so i am assuming 2.5 hours of beach time.

 

[ajo]

I wrote a review on another thread about the Balmoral excursion: http://www.disboards.com/threads/balmoral-private-island-port-adventure.3571124/#post-57010186

 

[T & R]

Not sure when your cruise is but Baha Mar is supposed to open by this summer. May be a 4th option for a beach day. Just sayin.

 

[TigerLaw]

FWIW, I have read good things about the day pass for use of the nearby Hilton's beach and pool area. Might want to look into that as well.

 

[musicgirl]

We did the Blue Lagoon a number of years ago. It was very nice. The ferry boat to the island was overcrowded and I did get a bit seasick. We did the Atlantis which included all the slides etc. and it was an amazing day. They do have a beautiful beach that is a part of Atlantis as opposed to the public beach in the area. It was pricey but well worth it.

 

[dcassetta]

anybody do blue lagoon 1/2 day? do you still get lunch? do you know what time you get off ship and back on? disney site says 3.5-4 hours with 40 min of travel each way. so i am assuming 2.5 hours of beach time.

I think the half day excursion is only available when the ship is in Nassau for a short period of time. You can make it a half day though by just returning on one of the earlier ferries.

I enjoy Blue Lagoon, Shady Beach and nice swimming area with floatables. The food there is terrible though.