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Coco Cay - swimming with the pigs

sallybrown2012

By sallybrown2012,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Midwestgal

Midwestgal

Posted
Posted (edited)

What a difference from when we were there. Maybe we hit it at a different time of day or even just the day we went. I’m happy we went and really enjoyed it , it’s something to check off of my bucket list. 

I loved watching them swim up to us for the food....they ate very well !

 

we did GC stingray bar some years ago...crowded but still fun!

Edited by Midwestgal
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BNBR

BNBR

Posted
Posted (edited)
9 minutes ago, Midwestgal said:

What a difference from when we were there. Maybe we hit it at a different time of day or even just the day we went. I’m happy we went and really enjoyed it , it’s something to check off of my bucket list. 

I loved watching them swim up to us for the food....they ate very well !

 

we did GC stingray bar some years ago...crowded but still fun!

 

You could maybe argue that the pigs were more active with more people there!  But it doesn't matter.  If you went early or later in the afternoon, very possible the tour boats had come and gone.

 

As you can see, it still wasn't a crowded mess, though, even with all the boats.  When we did sting rays in Cayman, it took 20 minutes just for the captain to get a spot on the sand bar.  Then only 1 stingray ever came around.  The mate swam down and grabbed it so people could take their photos. It was utter disaster. We avoided it all and just went for a swim away from crowd. 

 

Did you swim with the nurse sharks at compass?  I must say, I was not thrilled with the idea of swimming with pigs and nurse sharks and what not. All just sounded touristy and not for me. But dang, was it WAY more fun than I expected.  Hopefully you checked out Thunderball, too. 

Edited by BNBR
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BNBR

BNBR

Posted
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28 minutes ago, karena1 said:

I was born and raised on a farm.  Last thing in the world I would ever do is swim with a pig or any other animal - horse, dog, cat, whatever!

 

Cool. 

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Daisymae14

Daisymae14

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I am taking my kids in December on cruise - 17 & 19 - Has anyone ever gone on the Pig excursion while at CoCo Cay and thoughts??  We are also stopping in Nassau, was going to Sea lion encounter, but don't want to beach break with it, I want to show the Kids Bahamas and let them shop and eat at other restaurants. I found out you cant book "privately" if thru cruise line, but I cant seem to just get animal encounter and come back thru Royal. Blue Lagoon was $100 pp vs spending $179 pp thru Royal. So I thought maybe do other animal encounter elsewhere and walk Nassau and shop and eat... thoughts??  Thanks!

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ZoeyVictoria

ZoeyVictoria

Posted
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24 minutes ago, Daisymae14 said:

I am taking my kids in December on cruise - 17 & 19 - Has anyone ever gone on the Pig excursion while at CoCo Cay and thoughts??  We are also stopping in Nassau, was going to Sea lion encounter, but don't want to beach break with it, I want to show the Kids Bahamas and let them shop and eat at other restaurants. I found out you cant book "privately" if thru cruise line, but I cant seem to just get animal encounter and come back thru Royal. Blue Lagoon was $100 pp vs spending $179 pp thru Royal. So I thought maybe do other animal encounter elsewhere and walk Nassau and shop and eat... thoughts??  Thanks!


I was at Blue Lagoon in September, and believe that once you see it, all of you (but especially your kids) will want to stay there, and eat/shop at another port.  I can’t imagine being there but not being able to spend time on the beach or in the water.  The included lunch was very good.  There are some nice videos on YouTube.

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Tljcruiser

Tljcruiser

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1 hour ago, Daisymae14 said:

I am taking my kids in December on cruise - 17 & 19 - Has anyone ever gone on the Pig excursion while at CoCo Cay and thoughts??  We are also stopping in Nassau, was going to Sea lion encounter, but don't want to beach break with it, I want to show the Kids Bahamas and let them shop and eat at other restaurants. I found out you cant book "privately" if thru cruise line, but I cant seem to just get animal encounter and come back thru Royal. Blue Lagoon was $100 pp vs spending $179 pp thru Royal. So I thought maybe do other animal encounter elsewhere and walk Nassau and shop and eat... thoughts??  Thanks!

I took my daughter (10) last month.  She read a book about the swimming pigs of Exuma a few years ago for an AR test and has wanted to see swimming pigs ever since.  It is definitely a tourist novelty but she loved it.  You will not actually swim, they swim you stand in knee-waist deep water while they swim around and get fed apples.  As others stated you board a small boat from the activities pier at Coco Cay, go about 10 minutes over to Treasure Island get briefed on pig behavior and rules and then you are taken over to the beach.  You are not allowed to bring your camera into the water and they change around $15 per picture.  You can take pictures from the boat and the deck.  They allowed everyone who wanted to hold/pet a baby pig on the deck that you were able to photograph.  All in all it is quite a bit of money to do and I wouldn't do it again but I am glad she got to go.  She loved it so it made it worth it.  They would probably like the water park.  On our cruise we had the option of 1/2 day booking for much less money than the full day, but I have not seen that be available on any of our future cruises. It worked out well we did 1/2 day water park in the morning and the pig excursion in the afternoon and still had time to swim in the pool and hang out on the beach a bit.  

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ReneeFLL "Live from...." Rare

ReneeFLL

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Posted
On 9/16/2019 at 8:24 PM, cb at sea said:

I have NO desire to "swim with pigs"...whether they're friendly or not, they are not "potty trained".

So many other things also poop in the ocean. Just don't go when it's slack tide. 😁

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anthm0517

anthm0517

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My husband and I did the pig excursion from CocoCay. We had a great time, but went in knowing it wasn’t the Exuma experience. The crew were very friendly and informative, the pigs were well mannered and listened if you told them no.   Yes I saw a pig poop, it really wasn’t a big deal. 

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rhiannon35

rhiannon35

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On 10/5/2019 at 3:01 PM, BNBR said:

 

You said the pigs were dying and the government setup a similar attraction on another island for the tourists that is monitored and controlled. This is not what happened, at all.  I'm not sure there is even another similar setup anywhere near big major. The original pig beach is as popular as ever.  There is 30+ pigs there.  Just admit you were wrong. 

 

Yes, the government set some rules, but it's pretty much a no man's land at the beach and managed by the tour companies.  They just ask that you don't feed the pigs on the sand, though people still do. 

I just read a newspaper article about all the “ pop-up” unregulated swim with the pigs attractions in the Bahamas, and as this poster said, it’s not pretty. The pigs are often mistreated, kept in the sun with no shelter (they get sunburned) and thrown into water by handlers, where they struggle, terrified. 

This isn’t the article I read but it tells a similar story. Basically, these copycat attractions are nothing more than an opportunity to make money by those who operate them, and there is no regard for the animals’ welfare. The article I read contained first-hand accounts from tourists thinking it would be a beautiful experience and were instead horrified. I’m sure there’s plenty info online if anyone’s interested. 

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/animal-welfare-concerns-after-the-swimming-pigs-bahamas-inspires-copycat-attractions/

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BNBR

BNBR

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It would be like taking your kid to the Paris hotel in Vegas as a placeholder for the real Eiffel tower.  If I wanted to visit Paris, I wouldn't go to Vegas.  If I want to see the swimming pigs, I wouldn't go to CocoCay.

 

The swimming pigs in Exuma is one of the best day trips you could ever do.  It's amazing and includes a ton of stuff.  If it's important to you, book a trip to Exuma and do it.  That's what we did and will never forget it.

 

The cruise experiences are just fake, take your money nonsense tourist traps, a petting zoo.  Skip it.

 

But just take note that the fake experiences are so prevalent in the Bahamas, that even Sandals in Exuma setup a fake experience!  It's big money to rip off tourists.

Edited by BNBR
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Daisymae14

Daisymae14

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Thanks everyone, I think I am going to skip any pig excursion and just have a day at CoCo Cay. I think they will be perfectly satisfied with that in a full day and finding something to do in Nassau.   I really appreciate everyone's  advice and knowledge on these excursions!! 

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