Balmoral Dolphin Encounter and Beach Day

Has anyone done the Barmoral Dolphin Encounter and Beach Day through Carnival excursions?? It looks like it is a great price and the facility looks brand new!!! I check it out on line and the Carnival price is def a good price compared to the regular price (I am not used to that because it used to cost more to book most exursions through the ship) probalby with the best price guarantee program they got more sensible with prices since they most likely were loosing alot of business.

Regardless I wonder if anyone has done this excursion and what did they think of it. I love that you can use your sail and sign card on the island !!!

Any reviews or comments would be appreciated. We have been to Bahamas many time but wanted to do something alittle different and away from town.

Hoping someone will chime in here with a more recent review. The ones that I looked at from a year or so ago did not look good. From my understanding this is a new place and hopefully some of the issues have been taken care of. We will be there in about two weeks on the Caribbean Princess.

BTW, MuffyKismet, I think we were on the Carnival Dream a few years ago with you and perhaps at Maya Chan on the same day. I do remember having a conversation with you somewhere!

Hoping someone will chime in here with a more recent review. The ones that I looked at from a year or so ago did not look good. From my understanding this is a new place and hopefully some of the issues have been taken care of. We will be there in about two weeks on the Caribbean Princess.

 

BTW, MuffyKismet, I think we were on the Carnival Dream a few years ago with you and perhaps at Maya Chan on the same day. I do remember having a conversation with you somewhere!

That is funny, yes we were on the Dream 3 years ago for my 50th Birthday!!! We will be at Barmoral on December 12th, so if you are there before us please post what you think of it!! I will say the price is awesome through the Carnival site. Promo dolphin and stingray encounter and beach day we got it for $80 each and when I looked it up directly at Barmoral it was $125 JUST for the dophin encounter!

I am curious about this one as well....The $89 excursion thru Carnival does not appear to give you as much time with the dolphins. I would LOVE to hear about someone's experience here! The other alternative is $139, but looks like you get about an hour in the water with the dolphins. (Hi Judy! :) )

I'd love more info also. I'm thinking of booking it too. It's a good deal

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I'm booked for the dolphin swim in early January on Princess and it's $179 for 30 minutes swimming with the dolphins and beach day (no stingrays, that's extra). I'm surprised (and irritated) that Princess is charging more than Carnival.

Unfortunately, I've yet to read a report from anyone who loved going to Balmoral. :o

LuLu

We did this excursion March 2014. There is a little boat ride from the port in Nassau. We got to the island and they take you to a little building where they fit everyone with life jackets. Then they take you out in separate groups. I recommend water shoes. The rocks/sand, where the dolphins are, are pretty rough and hard on bare feet. The encounter with the dolphin is awesome. They are very gentle. They have one dolphin per group. No pics are allowed while with the dolphin. They take a lot of pics to sell, of course. After the encounter with the dolphin we went to a different part of the beach and swam. There is a bar/restaurant on the beach. At the end of the time, the little boat takes you bake to the port. It was a really nice day.

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price they charge for pictures?

I might suggest a wet suit of for this tour as the water is suppose to be really chilly. Just thought I would bring this fact up, it is December not July.

I did purchase the excursion at the lower price to see if we like it. If the water is cold then 15 min will be enough for a 10 yr old! Thanks for all the comments

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I don't remember exact prices for pics. I do remember they offered a disc for all pics or you could buy individual pics. The pics were sold by Carnival.

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Anyone have any updates on this excursion? Thinking about it for my February cruise with my 9 yr old. Thanks!

I did a review earlier this month on this excursion. The price is right and there was plenty of time with the Dolphins and the stingrays BUT DO NOT buy food or drinks there , they are crazy expensive and NOT worth it. Now come to find out buying the pics and CD's for $69 at Barmoral is a great deal because it includes everyone in your group and you get the CD and pics on the ship they are I think $16 each for a 4X6 picture. So the deal on the island is better for a group.

DO NOT go on this excursion without water shoes, the bottom will TEAR your feet up and make for a very upleasant experience!!

Since the price was so cheap through Carnival for the Dolphin and Stingray expeirience it was worth it but again DO NOT plan on snacking or eating there! Bring a snack and drink with you!!!

I signed up for this excursion for my Feb 2nd cruise! I'll let you all know how it went!

I did the dolphin swim at Balmoral Island last Sunday (Princess excursion) and it was an incredible experience. I was worried by the conflicting reviews, but clearly the folks in charge read the bad reviews and made improvements.

The boat ferry going to the island was well run. The boat was about 3/4 full. The ride took 25 min. We disembarked in an orderly way with no issues---just like stepping off a tender or other boat, watch your step, let the crew give you a hand, but really just a careful step and you are on the island.

I had read that the music playing on the island was inappropriate for families or those who don't appreciate crude lyrics. I guess they burned that CD, because all I heard was oldies (Sinatra, the Beatles, etc.).

I had read about rude staff members. The staff couldn't have been more pleasant and enjoyable. The dolphin trainers were eager to hear and answer questions. I felt safe the entire time (even in the deep water area of the dolphin swim). I didn't encounter anything approaching rudeness from anyone on the island.

I had read that the dolphins were kept in too small an area and that there were dead fish there. The dolphin encounter area is separate from the swim area. It is a bit smaller but the encounter doesn't take much space. The dolphins in the encounter area return to the larger swim area when their turn is over at the encounter. The dolphin swim area is quite large and holds 6-7 dolphins. The entrance is shallow (and rocky, bring swim shoes) but goes out into the ocean quite far into deep water. We were given life jackets, so floating was no problem in this area. We also were offered fins and a snorkel mask. I had brought my own mask and snorkel.

The swim itself was magical. Six dolphins swimming around in a large area with about 10 people. They would come up to us an interact with us on their terms, which often involved them bringing you a ball of seaweed to throw so they could fetch and return it. It is something I will never forget, words don't describe how awesome it was to be near dolphins just being dolphins. We spent about 30-40 minutes with them. The water was brisk at first but I felt fine without a wet suit and wasn't shivering at all when I got out.

Afterward, we went to the encounter area for about 20 min to take photos with one of two dolphins. This was more a trick-pony sort of a deal, with the real intent to get you to buy a $60 DVD of photos, but the trainers were gentle with the dolphins and didn't demand obedience. Several times our dolphin swam off to play with the other dolphin in the encounter area. Our trainer just waited for him to return. The dolphins clearly had plenty to eat, because the offer of fish didn't bring the dolphins back to the trainers when they felt like swimming off together.

Afterward, we relaxed on the beach until the ferry returned for us at the appointed time (about 90 min after the swim ended). If I have one criticism, it's that there is very little variety in the food offered and it is pricey. But I would sign up for the swim again tomorrow without hesitation.

The return ferry showed up on time, but for some reason that no one explained, we weren't allowed to board until 15 min past the scheduled time, which made us 15 min late getting back to Nassau. Our ship was in dock for several more hours, so the delay wasn't a problem, just a bit frustrating to be standing around on the dock not knowing why we weren't boarding.

I would go on this excursion again in a heartbeat. I have done a dolphin swim elsewhere, and this one was so much better.

Thank you so much for your review! Eases my mind a bit! We are signed up just for the encounter, not the swim. Do you know if in the encounter you are allowed to touch, kiss, etc the dolphins? I would assume so, but don't want my daughter to be disappointed if she can't

Yes, with the encounter you get to touch the dolphin, get a kiss, give a kiss, and pose for photos with the dolphin. It's about 20 min or so in the water, depending on the size of the group. Each person in the group gets to go through a series of the interactions with the dolphin and the photographer will take photos, which you can buy on a DVD for $60 afterward. You are not allowed to take your own photos.

We loved it and found our photos back on the ship. I have posted pics on my review

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I'm going on this excursion on Jan 31st during my cruise on the Carnival Ecstacy. My package includes the sting ray experience for $90. I can't wait!! Thank you to all of the previous posters for the tips!:D

Is the stingray part of the dolphin excursion so you can do both or do you pay for each one separately? Looking into this now for our Cruise in Nov. 2015.