Balmoral Island Beach Day

[bobsfamily]

we're taking our 4 year old and almost 2 year old on this exersion. I'm hoping for the best, but if there are any problems I'll complain and hopefully get a refund. I'm thinking maybe we should have done a day at the Sheraton, I'm not opposed to bringing kids in a taxi w/out carseats, but my husband thinks with the kids we should stick to excursions. I also think going to the Sheraton or some day pass would be easier with kids because if they get tiered or cranky, you can just leave. I would not try to bring a stroller to the beach. Here in NJ I bring my jogger to the beach all the time, its a huge PIA, but doable. I could never bring it on a boat ride. Any stroller small enough to go on a small boat I don't think would work on the beach. I do find it kind of interesting that both posters waited 1 1/2 hours to get on their boat, but then left early. It also didn't waste 1 1/2 hours of their time, since either way they'd need travel time. Maybe if we're waiting 45 minutes just to leave, we'll dead off to the Sheraton and deal with the excursion desk later. We're not going till April so hopefully they solve their issues by then. Another big reason we're going is to avoid hagglers, which I heard even bother you at the Atlantis.

2 young children I would suggest going to Sheraton....

[tyedyed]

We just got back from our Carnival Sensation cruise and booked this shore excursion. This was only our second cruise in many years, and the first for my 11 and 16 year old daughters. W E L O V E D I T !!!!! After debarking the ship, we were separated into groups depending on the Balmoral package you purchased. We just were doing the beach only day(we brought along our own snorkel gear), while others did a deluxe package, dolphin and stingray package. One of the vendor leaders escorted us down to our ferry boat. We boarded immediately, and there is a step you must be careful of when boarding from the dock to the boat. It may be difficult for elderly or young children to step onto the ferry, but there are people there to assist with a hand. No problems for us. The ferry departed approx. 15 mins after we boarded. The trip to the island is approx. 30 mins and it was fun, entertaining and informative. Our "tour leader", Johnny, was very funny, as he explained various landmarks and tid bit information about the Bahamas as we traveled along....very scenic and entertaining!! We debarked from the ferry at the island dock, and could see a portion of the beach/water was netted off, and people/trainers in the water with dolphins! Very neat! But we had just purchased the beach day excursion, so we were escorted to the open beach side of the island which shares it's property line with Sandals Beach resort. The beach was very clean, nice white sand, and plenty of chairs and umbrellas to choose from, all free. The water, of course, was beautiful! Our "tour leader" from the boat, also debarked and stayed with us and the island staff all day. He was in charge of the music, and did a phenominal job of keeping the upbeat, island music playing. He even had us doing line dances, and teaching us new line dances right there on the beach! My children said they never had so much fun and will never forget this! The food is very expensive, so I would suggest eating on the ship before debarking. One odd thing did occur however. I went to the bar to purchase a mixed drink, and after being served, the waitress began to walk away, so I asked how much the drink was. She said don't worry about it. Huh?! And this mixed drink was 3/4 rum and a shot of coke! I'm not much of a drinker, but this day I was, lol! Visited the bar a few more times, with different bartenders, and all of them said no charge for the drink! All bar drinks(which were strong) were free all day, just left a nice tip each time! I don't know if this was a rare occurance because we were the only ship visiting the island and they were not busy at all. The ride back with Johnny was once again entertaining, did some shopping at the straw market when we arrived, and had fun "negotiating" prices with the natives. Fun times for all of us! Would definitely do this again.......

[bobsfamily]

One odd thing did occur however. I went to the bar to purchase a mixed drink, and after being served, the waitress began to walk away, so I asked how much the drink was. She said don't worry about it. Huh?! And this mixed drink was 3/4 rum and a shot of coke! I'm not much of a drinker, but this day I was, lol! Visited the bar a few more times, with different bartenders, and all of them said no charge for the drink! All bar drinks(which were strong) were free all day, just left a nice tip each time! I don't know if this was a rare occurance because we were the only ship visiting the island and they were not busy at all. The ride back with Johnny was once again entertaining, did some shopping at the straw market when we arrived, and had fun "negotiating" prices with the natives. Fun times for all of us! Would definitely do this again.......

IF this is now the norm it would be worth it.... drinks usually are very expensive....

[Sunshine827]

We just got back from our Carnival Sensation cruise and booked this shore excursion. This was only our second cruise in many years, and the first for my 11 and 16 year old daughters. W E L O V E D I T !!!!! After debarking the ship, we were separated into groups depending on the Balmoral package you purchased. We just were doing the beach only day(we brought along our own snorkel gear), while others did a deluxe package, dolphin and stingray package. One of the vendor leaders escorted us down to our ferry boat. We boarded immediately, and there is a step you must be careful of when boarding from the dock to the boat. It may be difficult for elderly or young children to step onto the ferry, but there are people there to assist with a hand. No problems for us. The ferry departed approx. 15 mins after we boarded. The trip to the island is approx. 30 mins and it was fun, entertaining and informative. Our "tour leader", Johnny, was very funny, as he explained various landmarks and tid bit information about the Bahamas as we traveled along....very scenic and entertaining!! We debarked from the ferry at the island dock, and could see a portion of the beach/water was netted off, and people/trainers in the water with dolphins! Very neat! But we had just purchased the beach day excursion, so we were escorted to the open beach side of the island which shares it's property line with Sandals Beach resort. The beach was very clean, nice white sand, and plenty of chairs and umbrellas to choose from, all free. The water, of course, was beautiful! Our "tour leader" from the boat, also debarked and stayed with us and the island staff all day. He was in charge of the music, and did a phenominal job of keeping the upbeat, island music playing. He even had us doing line dances, and teaching us new line dances right there on the beach! My children said they never had so much fun and will never forget this! The food is very expensive, so I would suggest eating on the ship before debarking. One odd thing did occur however. I went to the bar to purchase a mixed drink, and after being served, the waitress began to walk away, so I asked how much the drink was. She said don't worry about it. Huh?! And this mixed drink was 3/4 rum and a shot of coke! I'm not much of a drinker, but this day I was, lol! Visited the bar a few more times, with different bartenders, and all of them said no charge for the drink! All bar drinks(which were strong) were free all day, just left a nice tip each time! I don't know if this was a rare occurance because we were the only ship visiting the island and they were not busy at all. The ride back with Johnny was once again entertaining, did some shopping at the straw market when we arrived, and had fun "negotiating" prices with the natives. Fun times for all of us! Would definitely do this again.......

 

 

Thanks for a great review. We will be going next month & I was on the fence about booking this excursion with all the mixed reviews. I think I just may give it a try!!

 

 

 

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[sgttami]

Ditto to the ones who hated it...Just did it from the 2/13 Splendor from NY.

I won't elaborate..in a word...PITIFUL!!

Save your money.

 

Pam

[jeff911oc]

My wife and I sailed the Carnival Sensation 04-17-2014 to 04-20-2014 and chose to go to Balmoral Island as our shore excursion. It is very nice but it is a work in progress with alot of construction going on. The beach is very nice and the water is clear and we did not have to pay for a umbrella to go with our chairs. On the downside we paid extra for lunch and a drink and when you went to get your lunch they only had one person taking orders and packing them up and this made it very slow. you had to go to a different bldg to get your free drink which was either a bottle of water or a fountain soda and again you had to wait in line to be served by the bartentender that was also taking care of the bar. Carnival needs to work on having more people on hand to make things run smoother. otherwise a great time for the short time you are there.

Edited April 22, 2014 by jeff911oc

[msboilerman84]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about doing that excursion and reserving a cabana. I haven't heard many good things about Balmoral, so we where thinking about doing Hilton any thoughts ??

 

 

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[bobsfamily]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about doing that excursion and reserving a cabana. I haven't heard many good things about Balmoral, so we where thinking about doing Hilton any thoughts

 

When we were there (last September) the cabanas were taken over by people that just plucked their stuff down... and not worth the $200 (or whatever) for sure.

 

The Hilton is for more quiet time than party or lots of kids... if that's what you are looking it get high marks for that. If wanting a bit more or have kids I would try the Sheraton. Many threads right here under Bahamas will all kinds of good info.

[msboilerman84]

Noooo kids so maybe Hilton would be a better choice ..... ;)

 

 

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[bobsfamily]

Noooo kids so maybe Hilton would be a better choice ..... ;)

 

 

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I would completely agree!

[flume]

For all the people who thought it was a nightmare: ditto! Yes the tiny beach is pretty and there are lots of chairs. The end. Everything else from start to finish was a nightmare. Our entire day in Nassau was wasted on this excursion.

[msboilerman84]

We did Taino Beach in Freeport and it was awesome ! Great bus ride great service great beach !

 

We didn't get to go 2 Belmoral. We just did the local beach and had a great day

 

 

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[usfgrad34]

Hello :) We will be going next week on Carnival. My daughters and I would like to do the dolphin encounter. My husband will go to the BBQ lunch on the island with his dad. (father-in-law would not be able to participate)

 

My question is this, does anyone know if we will be able to find each other/hang out after the dolphin encounter? I see that they are both 4.5 hours long and depart and arrive at the same time. I didn't know if they keep you separated from those at the BBQ Lunch/Beach Day?

 

As the dolphin encounter lasts less than an hour we would like to spend the rest of the day on the island as a family.

 

Thanks!

[scubagirrl]

Hello :) We will be going next week on Carnival. My daughters and I would like to do the dolphin encounter. My husband will go to the BBQ lunch on the island with his dad. (father-in-law would not be able to participate)

 

My question is this, does anyone know if we will be able to find each other/hang out after the dolphin encounter? I see that they are both 4.5 hours long and depart and arrive at the same time. I didn't know if they keep you separated from those at the BBQ Lunch/Beach Day?

 

As the dolphin encounter lasts less than an hour we would like to spend the rest of the day on the island as a family.

 

 

The

Thanks!

 

The government has ordered that the dolphins be removed. They are mistreated and the area is not approved for keeping the dolphins. They have been fighting this for months, and the gov't is not backing down. They do NOT have the approval to keep dolphins or open them up to the public.