Recent experiences with Balmoral island beach?

Deciding between Atlantis and the new Balmoral island beach for a dolphin encounter.

I know balmoral (I'm prob spelling it wrong, sorry - got off to a rough start.

Any recent reviews/ thoughts?

Much appreciated.

I'm cruising soon and am also interested in any recent reviews. Thanks.

One thing to keep in mind is that in the winter months the water can be chilly (around 70). Atlantis and Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounters have wet suits for all. Not sure if Balmoral does.

Does anyone know???

Also, Balmoral is very new.. and so is the staff/trainers.

One thing to keep in mind is that in the winter months the water can be chilly (around 70). Atlantis and Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounters have wet suits for all. Not sure if Balmoral does.

 

Does anyone know???

 

Also, Balmoral is very new.. and so is the staff/trainers.

Thanks Scubagirrl, very good points. I live in MD and the water temps in the summer average 70-71 so not much different than home. LOL. Actually leaning more towards Atlantis but just not sure it is worth the big $$. My 13 DS would certainly enjoy Atlantis more than a beach day. Can't decide! :(:eek:

Thanks Scubagirrl, very good points. I live in MD and the water temps in the summer average 70-71 so not much different than home. LOL. Actually leaning more towards Atlantis but just not sure it is worth the big $$. My 13 DS would certainly enjoy Atlantis more than a beach day. Can't decide! :(:eek:

Be aware that Balmoral and Dolphin Encounter both allow access to the beach as well. Atlantis does not unless you purchase an additional beach or waterpark pass.

Dolphin Cay beach is only a beach.. you are NOT allowed in the water.

I will start this by saying this is my first review and getting back (today) from my 14th cruise, normally my experiences are all pleasant and I have no need to speak negatively about any excursion I have ever taken. This one was different.

We only had 5 hours total in port for Nassau so we knew we would have to make any excursion a little short.

Excursion was set to leave at 1:30pm... Long story short: After gathering the hundreds of people going to balmoral island and waiting for our ferry we didn't leave the dock until 2:30pm but we were lucky others had to wait even longer!

We arrived at balmoral island about an hour later. Getting off the boat was the real excursion. They blamed a "low tide" for this problem which I could understand, until I looked at our only exit to get off the boat. We had to crawl up and out of a space 4 feet off the ground, the real problem was the ceiling, only a total of about 8 feet. That left about a 4 foot moving (as the boat was banging back and forth) to get out of. Other than banging up my shins I was ok, however those with special needs, the elderly, those severely over weight, those with injuries (shoulder issues for example) were in trouble. They were "gently" yanked up and out making exiting the boat a long and tedious process.

Upon arrival we were pointed to the right area for the sting ray encounter as you can choose to just have a beach break, a sting ray or dolphin encounter.

The stingray encounter was too small for the amount of people they let in the water they did not regulate. They also would not allow you to take photos while in the water as they want to sell you the pictures (this was not posted not was it said on my ticket anywhere).

I was in the water for about 3 mins. I saw 2 dead fish that a little boy was playing with.

The rest of my party was out of the water within 10 mins after being disgusted.

The dolphin encounter looked even worse. I did not do this encounter but the space for the dolphins was only slightly bigger than the stingray encounter. Most certainly unsuitable for the 3 dolphins they had in it. It was very sad as the dolphins had no other place to go. I am reporting this to any animal rights activists I can find! I am not some kind of a nut it really was bad!

We left the island after only spending 15-20 mins total on the island. We caught the same ferry back as the one we came in on. We had to stand the whole way which was about 45 mins back to the cruise ship pier.

We are not alone on our negative views of this excursion. There were dozens of other guests at the shore excursions desk back on board demanding a refund.

Do yourself a favor and do ANYTHING else in Nassau, we wasted our limited time there standing waiting for a ferry, riding the ferry and swimming with dead fish, did I mention the bathrooms didn't work on the ferry? I could go on and on but I'll stop now.

I feel like I've made a mistake booking this now. Debating canceling. Other reviews were better but this sounds awful.

I had read some similar negative reviews involving transport times and overall quality. I was giving it the benefit of the doubt since carnival recently took it over. Thinking they were "working out the kinks".

Thank you for your honest review. I've made up my mind and I'm going to try something else in Nassau! My cruise is a relatively quiet one with only two stops in the Bahamas and one in Florida - an experience like this would really taint the whole vacation!

So sorry for your bad experience but thank you for sharing your review.

My family and I have the Balmoral Islands booked with the Stingray & Dolphin encounter next month (feb of 2015), off of the carnival sunshine. It is a sold out excursion online through carnival. We got our tickets online off of carnival's website before it sold out. If the excursion is that bad on my end when we go you can better believe it that my husband and I both will be at the service desk "demanding" a refund after we get back to the ship. This is something my little girl has been wanting to do for a long time, so it better be good or I'll be like you, on here posting a bad review! I had debated back and forth between going here or going to Blue Lagoon well I decided with Balmoral Islands only because we all would not have gotten to do the Dolphin Encounter at Blue Lagoon, they only had 2 spots left, and I wasn't going to do it without us all doing it. Well I've already bought the tickets for Balmoral Islands and I'm just going to try to look at it the best I can and hope and pray that we do not experience something awful. Thanks for the review though they really do help.........sorry your trip to Balmoral was so bad. I really hope that carnival reimbursed you and your family their money.

Pinksugar, don't you worry, you and your daughter are going to LOVE IT. I did the dolphin swim at Balmoral Island last Sunday and it was an incredible experience. I also was worried because the older reviews (early/mid 2014) were bad, but clearly they read them 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.

The staff couldn't have been more pleasant and enjoyable. 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 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.

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 hestitation.

Pinksugar, don't you worry, you and your daughter are going to LOVE IT. I did the dolphin swim at Balmoral Island last Sunday and it was an incredible experience. I also was worried because the older reviews (early/mid 2014) were bad, but clearly they read them 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.

 

The staff couldn't have been more pleasant and enjoyable. 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 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.

 

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 hestitation.

Thank you SO much CruiserN1, I appreciate the input. This really makes me so much better! :) It's getting closer to when we sail, Feb. 15th. We're all SO excited! Thanks again!

I just did the Balmoral Island Beach without the Dolphin encounter this past Saturday and had a very pleasant experience! The ferry ride over was fun, we had no problems exiting the ferry, and had a very nice day on the beach. Yes, the water was a bit chilly. But the sun was bright and warm! We both commented we would do it again in a heartbeat!

I just did the Balmoral Island Beach without the Dolphin encounter this past Saturday and had a very pleasant experience! The ferry ride over was fun, we had no problems exiting the ferry, and had a very nice day on the beach. Yes, the water was a bit chilly. But the sun was bright and warm! We both commented we would do it again in a heartbeat!

Yay! This makes me more excited!! Thanks! :) :)

I have booked this excursion for my 9yr old and myself for early Feb. Now I'm worried! I'm sure we will have a good time tho. We are both pretty easy going :)

I have booked this excursion for my 9yr old and myself for early Feb. Now I'm worried! I'm sure we will have a good time tho. We are both pretty easy going :)

Hey Marsidote,

When you are back from the cruise can you let me know how the excursion went please. We will be leaving on Feb. 14th to head to Orlando for our Cruise that leaves out on Feb. 15th. I would like to know your true experience.

Thank you!

:D

I most certainly will!

I most certainly will!

Thank you.....Have Fun! :)

We are doing our first cruise in April. Picking excursions and reading reviews is really overwhelming because you don't know which ones to pick. So please update me on how your dolphin and stingray encounter goes!! Also I can't swim very good so is this excursion in chest deep water or you have to be able to swim well? Also how long are you on the island? Would we still have time to visit the straw market? Thank you for your help!! :)

~First time cruiser~

We are doing our first cruise in April. Picking excursions and reading reviews is really overwhelming because you don't know which ones to pick. So please update me on how your dolphin and stingray encounter goes!! Also I can't swim very good so is this excursion in chest deep water or you have to be able to swim well? Also how long are you on the island? Would we still have time to visit the straw market? Thank you for your help!! :)

 

~First time cruiser~

I will update about our excursion when we return. I hope it goes good. But I can tell you this that this excursion we are doing sold out 3 months ago on the cruise I'm going on so don't wait to long to decide and book or it might fill up and sell out. When I bought our tickets for our excursion there was 10 tickets left, and then the next day I went back to be curious how many tickets were left and it had sold out over night! This is for the Balmoral Islands Beach day with the dolphin and stingray combo.

I've read that it's only waist deep with the one that we choose to do.

And about the straw market......depending on what time you port and leave will determine if you will have time or not. We port at 9am and our excursion doesn't start til noon so we're going to visit it before we go on our excursion because by the time we get back at 5pm and leave at 6pm we wouldn't have time. Plus....I've been to Nassau before and honestly the people that set up at the straw market started packing up about 3 or 4pm to head back home, (it was like that about 2 yrs ago). I hope it's better now than 2 yrs ago because when we went then they were very touchy, feeling people so be careful while you are there! (meaning they will just walk up to you and put stuff on you like necklaces and bracelets and such and then if you take it off and don't pay they get Very Loud! to the point you just give them money to get them to get away from you).

Sadly, not much to report. Our excursion got cancelled :( I was not very pleased with the way Carnival handled it. They had us all meet in the theater and waited until departure time to advise us it was cancelled. They did it in an almost jokingly way. We all kind of stared at each other for a few minutes until we realized it was true, and then the mad dash to the excursion desk. Really bummed we had to miss it. Stupid waves!

Sadly, not much to report. Our excursion got cancelled :( I was not very pleased with the way Carnival handled it. They had us all meet in the theater and waited until departure time to advise us it was cancelled. They did it in an almost jokingly way. We all kind of stared at each other for a few minutes until we realized it was true, and then the mad dash to the excursion desk. Really bummed we had to miss it. Stupid waves!

Well that sucks! I've been waiting for you to give a holler back. I'm SO sorry that the excursion got cancelled. I know that it had to have upset your little girl....I really hope that Carnival refunded you your money back? We are leaving out on our cruise Sunday and suppose to do the excursion next Monday (2/16/15) hopefully we will get to do it. I'll update you when we get back from the cruise.....:rolleyes:

Thanks! Yeah, it was really disappointing. We did get refunded, but I ended up spending even more because we went to Atlantis for the day lol On a happy note, I received a casino offer the day I got back and am already booked on the Pride for June. :)

Please do update on your experience! Hope you have a wonderful wonderful time!

Thanks! Yeah, it was really disappointing. We did get refunded, but I ended up spending even more because we went to Atlantis for the day lol On a happy note, I received a casino offer the day I got back and am already booked on the Pride for June. :)

 

Please do update on your experience! Hope you have a wonderful wonderful time!

Dang! That's Awesome! I'll for sure update when we get back, we port out on Sunday. :)

Thanks! Yeah, it was really disappointing. We did get refunded, but I ended up spending even more because we went to Atlantis for the day lol On a happy note, I received a casino offer the day I got back and am already booked on the Pride for June. :)

 

Please do update on your experience! Hope you have a wonderful wonderful time!

We are back from our cruise, and now dealing with snow and cold weather. On our cruise we only had 3 days of pretty weather. The other 2 days it was chilly, and cold outside.

We DID get to do the Dolphin Encounter at Balmoral Islands! I have to say that I guess everyone to their own experience, because our excursion was AMAZING! We had a awesome overall experience and I would have to HIGHLY recommend it! We did get some time on the beach there and also got to encounter some time with the stingrays there. The weather on this day we went, 2/16/15 was pretty outside but the winds made it chilly and knowing this, made the waters really cold! So, we had to suck it up and get in the water anyways to be with our Dolphin, Dixon. It was the BEST EXCURSION we've EVER done! Dixon was so smart and Very friendly! We got to spend about 35 to 40 mins in the water with Dixon. There was only 10 of us in our group which made it very easy for all of us to spend 1 on 1 time with Dixon and have some awesome pictures made! Yeah, we had to buy their pictures if we wanted pictures but for memories like that it was SO worth it! It was $75 (cash or credit card only) for a disc. Of course we did buy it. We had heard that you could use your Sail and Sign Card on this Islands but just a heads up....No You can NOT! After spending time with Dixon we did do a small encounter with their Stingrays, it was fun, but we've already done an stingray encounter before in Grand Caymans and I have to say that spending time with Dixon and learning all we did about dolphins this was the BEST excursion we've EVER done!

So, this was our experience. I know other people have had bad encounters here with their excursion but I guess it's what you make out of it. All the people we came into contact were Friendly and all Smiles! And were very helpful!!

Would I recommend this excursion, YES! For the Great price and for an experience of a lifetime!

We're doing this excursion next week (March 3) and it's the part of the cruise trip that my 7 and 9 year old daughters are most excited about! I was starting to get worried from all the negative reviews.

Thank you for posting the price of the pictures disk, too, I was wondering how much I should budget for it. :)