Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter WITH NCL

[MrsWhite831]

I was going to post on the ports board but I need NCL specific info. We tried to book the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter for our family. Just got an email back that b/c we are NCL guests they can not accept out reservation due to NCL contracts. Ok, no big deal... BUT it's $98 from their company, $149 through NCL. I understand it's always more but $50 per person?!?! Has anyone done it? What was included- any beach time? The description is vague and we're in Nassau 12-7 (which I thought was odd) so it's not like we'd have all day to be lounging around anyways.

[Poohsmommi]

I was going to post on the ports board but I need NCL specific info. We tried to book the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter for our family. Just got an email back that b/c we are NCL guests they can not accept out reservation due to NCL contracts. Ok, no big deal... BUT it's $98 from their company, $149 through NCL. I understand it's always more but $50 per person?!?! Has anyone done it? What was included- any beach time? The description is vague and we're in Nassau 12-7 (which I thought was odd) so it's not like we'd have all day to be lounging around anyways.

 

Wow .. now that is a huge price difference!

[MrsWhite831]

Wow .. now that is a huge price difference!

 

I understand mark up, I really do... but when it's over $50 more, times 5 people, it just kinda sucks.

[Poohsmommi]

I understand mark up, I really do... but when it's over $50 more, times 5 people, it just kinda sucks.

 

Yes, it sure does. Have you checked the "ports of call" boards for an answer to your question? I saw a lot of info over there about the dolphin excursion. Edited - sorry. I just re-read your initial post.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Poohsmommi

[Taylor95]

The only difference in booking through the ship & booking on your own is the transportation. If you book on your own, you pay the cab fare (which isn't much). We had the same port times & did the dolphin swim; the experience was awesome, but there really wasn't any time left for the beach afterwards. Unfortunately, there is no way around not booking through NCL unless you are staying at a resort or cruising with a different line that doesn't have this contract.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[saxgirl84]

I had kind of the same question- I was on the port of call board and lots of people suggested just not telling them you were coming in on NCL, my other question is, on our May 3rd sailing, the only time available for the excursion is 3pm, it states it is a 3 1/2 hour long excursion, and we are supposed to leave at 7pm, so if my math is correct, that puts us back on the ship at 6:30 (with "good" traffic) not much time for "wiggle room". I'm still up in the air if we are going to do this one (all 3 of us are really leaning towards doing it) simply because it's so late in the day, and I don't want to be part of that group that is running to the ship to make sure it doesn't leave without us!

[Quincella]

I had kind of the same question- I was on the port of call board and lots of people suggested just not telling them you were coming in on NCL, my other question is, on our May 3rd sailing, the only time available for the excursion is 3pm, it states it is a 3 1/2 hour long excursion, and we are supposed to leave at 7pm, so if my math is correct, that puts us back on the ship at 6:30 (with "good" traffic) not much time for "wiggle room". I'm still up in the air if we are going to do this one (all 3 of us are really leaning towards doing it) simply because it's so late in the day, and I don't want to be part of that group that is running to the ship to make sure it doesn't leave without us!

 

We had the same issue, even the family size, but ultimately just bit the bullet and booked with NCL, something I haven't done (booking with the cruise line) since my very first cruise many moons ago.

 

We were on the Epic with the same port time as you. The last public ferry back from Blue Lagoon is at 4:00, if memory serves. We did not want to be worried about finishing our excursion and hurrying back to catch the last one back, or even worse, missing it.

 

It was a great excursion for us and we were ultimately happy with our decision. We just had to get past the price differential and really put it out of our minds and enjoy what we were doing.

[saxgirl84]

Yeah that "piece of mind" knowing they won't leave without us if they made us take that time might factor into our decision. Thanks for the advice! I can't wait for May to get here!!

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[JuneauWhatIMean]

I'm going to go out on a very short limb here and speculate that the reason NCL can get away with the over charge is the lack of wiggle room you have. ;)

[saxgirl84]

Well when I looked at the website for blue lagoon directly, they had earlier times available, but apparently if they find out you are on the island with the cruise ship they don't allow you to book directly. We are trying to figure out if there are other things on Nassau that we want to do along with the dolphin excursions, or just hang out on board the ship until the 3 pm excursion starts... We've got plenty of time to figure it out though.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[Vicki'sMom]

Well when I looked at the website for blue lagoon directly, they had earlier times available, but apparently if they find out you are on the island with the cruise ship they don't allow you to book directly. We are trying to figure out if there are other things on Nassau that we want to do along with the dolphin excursions, or just hang out on board the ship until the 3 pm excursion starts... We've got plenty of time to figure it out though.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

We are NCL loyal, but did take a Carnival cruise in 2012 (one of those last minute decisions! ;)) We wanted to book the Dolphin Encounter, but when we contacted Blue Lagoon and they learned we were on a Carnival ship, they would NOT book us, stating we had to book through Carnival. The mark-up was ridiculous (I think it was $50 extra per person) so we ended up not doing it. :( I respect that Blue Lagoon honors their exclusivity agreement with a cruise line, but darn - that penalizes some passengers! :rolleyes:

[Quincella]

See, I disagree with that assessment. They are entitled to make a profit. Some might think that $50 per head is too much, but how do you make that assessment? Not to mention the fact that if passengers are delayed the ship will wait for them, which would result in additional port fees for the ship.

 

I don't book through the ship typically because it's more than I want to pay. But for the transportation and the insurance you get by having the ship wait, plus a profit for the cruise line, I don't think it's unreasonable.

 

Just my two cents.

[SeaShark]

Yeah that "piece of mind" knowing they won't leave without us if they made us take that time might factor into our decision. Thanks for the advice! I can't wait for May to get here!!

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

While I don't really want to get into the whole topic of this thread, I do think it best to address this common misconception about excursions.

 

Many people think that if you book an excursion thru the cruise line that they will wait for you if there is an unforeseen delay in your return.

 

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

 

 

While a ship will wait if possible, when the situation (schedule, weather, availablility of dock workers, etc) dictates, the ship CAN and WILL leave you behind even if you are on a ship-sponsored excursion.

 

 

What the cruise line WILL do, is that if you are booked thru the ship, they will assume the responsiblity of getting you to the next port to meet up with the ship (IOW, they will pay for hotel, flights, etc necessary to get you to where the ship is going). The downside is that you will miss the time onboard until you are able to catch up with the ship.

 

 

So you will get back to the ship....however, it might not be for a day or two...or three. :eek:

[Quincella]

Well of course if weather or other circumstances don't allow then the ship will not wait.

 

The sentiment is that they will own responsibility of getting you back on that ship where you would otherwise be on your own. We all knew what we mean.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[saxgirl84]

While I don't really want to get into the whole topic of this thread, I do think it best to address this common misconception about excursions.

 

Many people think that if you book an excursion thru the cruise line that they will wait for you if there is an unforeseen delay in your return.

 

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

 

 

While a ship will wait if possible, when the situation (schedule, weather, availablility of dock workers, etc) dictates, the ship CAN and WILL leave you behind even if you are on a ship-sponsored excursion.

 

 

What the cruise line WILL do, is that if you are booked thru the ship, they will assume the responsiblity of getting you to the next port to meet up with the ship (IOW, they will pay for hotel, flights, etc necessary to get you to where the ship is going). The downside is that you will miss the time onboard until you are able to catch up with the ship.

 

 

So you will get back to the ship....however, it might not be for a day or two...or three. :eek:

 

 

I guess I'm confused why they would offer a 3 1/2 hour excursion that begins 4 hours before the ship is set to depart the port then. I would assume that if they did leave a group of people behind, it would cost them quite a bit of money to get those people back to the ship. I'm not sure the # of people they sell this particular package to, but I'm guessing 15-20 at minimum...

 

I just double checked our intinerary and the excursion length to make sure I saw things correctly... we are in Nassau from 12pm-7pm. the only time option they are giving us to book this particular excursion is 3:00pm and the description states it is a 3 1/2 hour excursion.

 

I do also remember reading somewhere that they suggest/require you be onboard an hour prior to departure in ports of call, so if we book this excursion, we'll be SOL? since this is the last port before returning to Miami, I guess it wouldn't be horrible to be left behind ;)

 

I'm hoping that since the time situation is PRE PLANNED and wouldn't fall into that "unforseen circumstances" ie weather/traffic etc, that we would be ok.

 

maybe I'll give NCL a call to find out if anyone there knows..

[Quincella]

This is the same excursion we books, at the same time. Of course you're not SOL. They plan for it. It's all good.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[karoo]

I know it's dishonest, but don't tell them you are on a cruise ship. Google a hotel nearby and tell them you are staying there. We did this in Roatan in 2011.They did ask if we were off the cruise ship. We answered no and got the dolphin encounter/swimming etc for $35. We told them we were from the hotel down the road. The ship passengers paid around $150 each. We were on a private tour so we all arrived in a private vehicle.

[SeaShark]

Well of course if weather or other circumstances don't allow then the ship will not wait.

 

The sentiment is that they will own responsibility of getting you back on that ship where you would otherwise be on your own. We all knew what we mean.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

 

Glad to hear. Of course WE all know what WE mean...however, the problem comes in when others read what we write and THEY don't know what we meant.

 

Much better to tell an accurate truth, instead of possibly misleading someone into believing that the ship would wait when in fact it won't.

[momofmab]

We booked a dolphin encounter on our own once when sailing with NCL 5 or 6 years ago (on Tortola). I don't recall if I had to lie to book on my own, however I do remember that although my family arrived at the site before the cruise excursion, once the excursion arrived, everyone else at the dolphin park became chopped liver. They immediately pushed everyone else's reserved start times back so the cruise excursion could do their swim. My husband and younger daughter got tired of waiting and went back to the ship. The customer service was awful. Not sure if NCL (or cruise lines) promise them a big tip to cater to the cruise excursion, but the experience was a big eye-opener for me about the negative side of booking on your own vs. with the cruise ship. We too saved about $50/pp, but it wasn't worth being treated like we were.

 

I've since booked other private excursions on my own, but never one that the cruise ship also offers.

[Poop6425]

We'll be on the Getaway in March and thought about this as well. After seeing the shuttle times on the Blue Lagoon website, it didn't seem like we'd have much time there given the cost as well. Our stop is only 12 to 7 that day.

 

Our boats depart for Blue Lagoon Island at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Our boats depart from Blue Lagoon Island at: 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

[calmpets]

One other factor to consider before you decide to fib to the tour operator is that most tour operators will refund your money if the ship misses the port. If you lie and tell them you are staying locally and your ship has to reroute, you'll be out of luck. Just food for thought.

[Taylor95]

You can book the excursion through the ship but go to Blue Lagoon on your own earlier. You would just be responsible for the cab fare (I can't remember price but know it wasn't much). By doing this you get an extra hour or two to enjoy the island before you do the dolphin swim. Then after the swim is finished, you can take the ship arranged transport back (which is the same ferry that is offered to anyone still on the island & not just the cruise passengers). If I remember right, the ferry on the way back drops you off directly at the port & there were no problems with time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[1beachbum1]

Booked this on RCCI EOS last Sept. After researching cost differences of private booking vs. ship, went with the ship because of round trip taxi fares, tips and the guarantee of not missing ship if something went wrong. Not much more $s when all added up plus the security factor. It's a great place, go have fun.