Nassau Blue Lagoon excursion - strange pricing differences

[IndyToThere1]

I am currently planning our excursion while stopping at Nassau and wanted to return to the Blue Lagoon area. The pricing on RCCL's page is very odd though - the 'regular' no-frills Deluxe excursion is $89/adult, while one of the animal encounter excursions (Stringray encounter) is $60/adult.  Granted, the regular one comes with lunch, but lunch isn't worth $29 extra and any of the animal encounters carries an extra charge (which makes the Deluxe excursion look even more overpriced). 

 

Deluxe Blue Lagoon: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruiseplanner/category/1002/product/100000002318466150

 

Stingray Encounter Blue Lagoon: https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruiseplanner/category/1002/product/100000002941393199

 

Am I missing something here?  Perhaps the Deluxe encounter includes more than they list on the page, but it seems cheaper to just pay for the Stingray encounter even if you had to plans on actually using that part of the excursion.

[Coralc]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! The links that you posted take me to my own cruise planner, not yours. Note the "secure" in the links. So without seeing it I can't be sure. Friends just did Blue Lagoon last week, without the animal encounters. My only guess would be that your time and beach time be more limited if you only do the stingray excursion. But they took an earlier ferry back than the rest of their excursion, so maybe you could stay longer if you wished. 

[IndyToThere1]

Ah, didn't realize that about the links. This is the info from RCCL's page on the two:

 

Deluxe Blue Lagoon ($89/adult):

• Deluxe Beach Day: Enjoy the luxury of a private island paradise for relaxation, fun and exploration.
• Observe beautiful dolphins and charming sea lions frolicking in their natural habitat.
• Complimentary lunch: After a relaxing day on the beach, satisfy your hunger with a tasty grilled picnic lunch.

Stingray Encounter Blue Lagoon ($60/adult):

• Blue Lagoon Island: This secluded, private island is the location in Nassau where you can interact with the southern stingray.
• Stingray Encounter: Enjoy petting the rays, feed them by hand and pose for photos.
• Secluded Beach: Your island day includes free access to Lagoon Beach, in the all natural facility which is Eco Tour Certified.

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Both list the excursion as 5 hours long. The only thing I can see different is the Deluxe comes with lunch. 

[ForMyBoys2015]

It does seem so.  We did the deluxe excursion a few years ago and it was a basic lunch with only one drink provided, but you could purchase more if you wanted.

[Coralc]

I would probably book the $60 one then. You can also check the Ports of Call board. Link: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/35-bahamas/

[Charles4515]

We just did the $60 Stingray excursion a few weeks ago. (actually paid less than $60 because there was a cruise planner sale) Booked that because I have had been there before and had the lunch and did not think it was worth including that for the $29 extra cost. They don’t make you do the Stingrays. When you get there they give you a wrist band and the time of the encounter but you can just stay on the beach and skip the Stingrays if you want. It is up to you. Blue Lagoon does not care. I got that tip from the Bahamas port of call board and it turned out to be true. 

Edited February 10, 2020 by Charles4515

[LeeW]

This seems to be common.  I booked the stingray encounter for that reason but changed to a different beach resort and got a cabana for not much more.  Tried to look up where we went but didn't find it.  Think that Sandals uses the adjacent property on the island.

[jptoz]

Book the stingray excursion and buy your lunch. Lunch cost me about $12 the last time I was there. Comes out cheaper, plus you get an animal encounter( Which was very nice), and the use of the water activity's/floats.  Best deal there. I call this the Blue lagoon hack.

[IndyToThere1]

^ yeah, I think this is what we are going to do. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Almost feels like a typo on the RCCL page.

[Sunshine3601]

My first time to Blue lagoon I had booked the deluxe trip for something like $75 pp.    2nd there I booked the stingray encounter and like you said everything was exactly the same as the deluxe other than no lunch included.   The lunch they serve was something like hamburgers or chicken I think / salad / fries - definitely not worth the extra $29. 

We did Not do the stingray part of the excursion but did enjoy wondering around and visiting with the dolphins,  etc.   We even got to see 2 baby dolphins.   It is a beautiful island with lots of fun activities or a great day to do nothing on a lounge chair or float or an inner tube in the water.    I highly recommend booking the stingray encounter as your excursion.    Enjoy.