Excursions with kids on Carnival Pride- Canaveral, Nassau, Freeport?

[a6h73]

We are traveling with friends on the Pride in March out of Baltimore. We will have four kids between us aged 2, 2, 4, and 6. Our ports are Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport. Does anyone have any suggestions for port activities? We dont mind renting our own car and doing our own thing or planning to stay onboard sometimes if thats the best option.

 

Thanks!

[A&Jfamily]

We are traveling with friends on the Pride in March out of Baltimore. We will have four kids between us aged 2, 2, 4, and 6. Our ports are Port Canaveral, Nassau and Freeport. Does anyone have any suggestions for port activities? We dont mind renting our own car and doing our own thing or planning to stay onboard sometimes if thats the best option.

 

Thanks!

 

I would search the boards for each port of call. But I can recommend 2 things in Nassau - either a trip to Adastra Gardens (zoo) or the Blackbeard's stingray/beach adventure. Both are very kid friendly. Port C. is going to be difficult - I might just opt for some beach time. I think the 6 and maybe 4 yo would enjoy the Space Center but I am not aware of much that would appeal to the 2's; and IMHO, it is not worth a trip to Disney, as it is an hour drive each way. In Freeport, I might shoot for some beach time.

[a6h73]

Thank you!

[megansmommy]

We are going on the Pride next week! We have a 2yr old and a 13yr old and we're doing 2 excursions on our own and 1 with the cruise ship. We planned Disney for the FL day (free thanks to the Disney Give a Day Get a Day volunteer program!!). In Nassau we are doing our own excursion going to Blue Lagoon Island for the Dolphin Encounter. The cruise ship is charging $79 for the Beach Day there, we looked at their website and found for that same price we could enjoy the beach and do a dolphin encounter!! Then in Freeport it looks like we're either doing a beach day or the Garden of the Groves tour with shopping at Port Lucaya.

[nybumpkin]

We did the Blackbeard's Cay tour with our kids last year in Nassau and they loved it. My youngest son is still leery about snorkeling in deep water, and the stingray portion of the tour was perfect for him. Carnival stopped offering it as one of their available excursions, but it's available through a private tour operator: http://bahamascruiseexcursions.com/BlackBeardsCayStingrayTour.htm

[highbridge5]

We were on the Pride a week ago. I have 3 boys: 4, 6 and 9.

 

Here is what we did:

 

PC - KSC. All the boys enjoyed it. The youngest was not big enough for the Space Shuttle experience but it is worth it for the older ones and adults if you go. We had a van service "Space Port Transport" take us over at 9:15 and bring us back at 4PM. This was enough of a day for our group. We might have stayed another hour to do an Imax show if others in our group were feeling better.

 

Nassau- We did the Atlantis Shallow Water Dolphin interaction.

 

I think there is a 4 year old age limit. Worth it to do once. DO NOT do Atlantis for the beach - there are dozens of better and less expensive options. Also, Blue Lagoon's beach was closed on Thursday's so I was not able to do a "dolphin" thing with a beach day through them on the Pride's itinerary. I hope that megansmommy found that the policy/hours are different now.

 

To megansmommy: If you are checking in this thread, please make sure the beach is open on Thursday. I'd hate to have you spend all that time getting there and back and all your planning to find out that there was fine print.

 

Freeport: Paradise Cove Resort/Deadman's Reef. They will pick you up and bring you back to the ship. However, they are not early morning people. The little ones - 4 and under are free. Ship arrives at 7. The earliest they'll pick you up is 9AM. With my 3 kids, 7AM would have been impossible anyway....

 

hb5

[NYMac4]

Nassau- We did the Atlantis Shallow Water Dolphin interaction.

 

Did you do this through Carnival? We're going in a few weeks and this is one excursion we were considering. We have two daughters ages 9 and 11 and I know they'd love it. Did you think it was worth the money? Did you stay at the beach for the day? I'd love any information you could give me about this :) Thanks!!

[cruisinreunion]

In Nassau there is cute little pirate musuem that I am sure the older two would really enjoy. The two years olds will be fine here also, but probably won't get a lot out of it. My kids were 5,6 and 9 at the time (or was that 6,7 and 10) and loved it.

[highbridge5]

Nassau- We did the Atlantis Shallow Water Dolphin interaction.

 

Did you do this through Carnival? We're going in a few weeks and this is one excursion we were considering. We have two daughters ages 9 and 11 and I know they'd love it. Did you think it was worth the money? Did you stay at the beach for the day? I'd love any information you could give me about this :) Thanks!!

 

Yes. We did the excursion through carnival. We loved it and my three boys all thought it was awesome and I thought that it was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I thought that it was worth the $ to do once. We did not find much else to do at Atlantis. We walked around the grounds a bit and through the Dig. The aquarium was nice enough and the way they had integrated the aquarim into the grounds and architecture was pretty impressive in its scale.

 

 

 

Whether you do it with carnival or not, here are two or three things you should know:

 

1. You will not be allowed in the water if you decide to stay at the beach. We did not stay. To me, it made no sense to stay at a beach where my kids couldn't play in the water.... not sure why they talk up the beach part. You should find out if you can use one of the OTHER beaches. Those beaches looked lovely, the sand at the Dolphin Cay beach was soft and fluffy, and the water warm.

 

2. There is a lot of walking - first from the ship to the buses and then once you get to Atlantis. With Carnival, they had a guide to direct you the whole way. You can do the same excursion on your own but you'll have the same amount of walking and you'll have to leave time for finding and decoding the Atlantis maps once you get there. It was nice to have it all guided and arranged.

 

3. Eat a big breakfast before you go or bring lunch. At $8 for a hot dog and $6 for a 16 oz. bottle of water, we were not about to buy lunch for 5 at Atlantis. We were told that there were places where you could get a "meal" for $8.95 with a hot dog, chips and drink. We did not go seek one out but this is what we were told.

 

4. If you go with Carnival, your excursion tickets might be confusing. Mine said:

 

Departure Time: 11:30.

Departure Place: 12:15, on the pier, just off the ship

 

We were off the ship at 11:30. They did not "check us in" until noon and we did not start walking towards the buses until 12:20 or so. If your tickets are confusing, talk to the shore excursion desk for clarification.

I talked to customer service instead (because they had a phone number and the shore excursion desk does not) and got an answer that was not very accurate. I don't know if I would have gotten a more accurate answer from the shore excursion desk. I was busy trying to get ready and reluctant to go stand in line to ask someone in person and I ended up hanging out on the pier for at least 45 minutes more than necessary.

[emjsea]

Nassau- We did the Atlantis Shallow Water Dolphin interaction.

 

Did you do this through Carnival? We're going in a few weeks and this is one excursion we were considering. We have two daughters ages 9 and 11 and I know they'd love it. Did you think it was worth the money? Did you stay at the beach for the day? I'd love any information you could give me about this :) Thanks!!

I would do a Dolphin interaction elsewhere, if I were you. At Atlantis it is very short (shorter than other ones I've done) and the won't allow you to bring even waterproof cameras with you. They do, however, *kindly* (sarcasm) sell incredibly expensive photo packages at the end of the tour (no singles photos, though!). In fact the whole "interaction" experience is merely to set you up in various poses for the photos.

 

Also, if you have kids, they take you from the ship to the main entrance of Atlantis and you have to walk through the entire compound to get to the Dolphin Cay (while they kindly point out and recommend adding to your package for the other activities at Atlantis).

 

A hot dog at Atlantis costs $6

 

Oh, and the people from our ship were divided up into 3 separate time groups for the encounter after we got there so it was a lot of hurry up and wait.

[NYMac4]

1. You will not be allowed in the water if you decide to stay at the beach. We did not stay

 

Thanks for the great information! This may change our minds .... I wonder why?? We were thinking we could do the dolphin interaction and then stay at the beach for a good part of the day since our ship is in port all day.

[highbridge5]

1. You will not be allowed in the water if you decide to stay at the beach. We did not stay

 

Thanks for the great information! This may change our minds .... I wonder why?? We were thinking we could do the dolphin interaction and then stay at the beach for a good part of the day since our ship is in port all day.

 

After we were done, they had a whole new group of people in for their interaction. The dolphins seemed to require that there was not a lot of jumping up and down and splashing etc. When we got in the water, we were put in a line and asked to kneel on the sand and approach the dolphins at this level.

 

My guess is that a bunch of splashing, water loving kids are not condusive to dolphin welfare.

 

The previous poster is correct - every piece of the interaction seemed designed to set you up for a photograph. Who cares. I got to kiss a dolphin, hug a dolphin and feed a fish to a dolphin. And, I have $135 worth the pictures on a CD to prove every minute of it.

 

That being said, there is an outfit in Nassau called Blue Island Lagoon that also has a dolphin interaction and is recommended by Scuba Girl (on the Bahamas board) over the Atlantis interaction. Their habitat is not artificial like Atlantis. Cheaper by a lot. Supposedly the dolphins are more friendly.

 

Downside is: they are a 25 minute catamaran trip from the Ferry Terminal on Paradise island (which itself is 20 minutes from the pier). And, their beach is supposedly closed on Thursdays and Sundays. My Nassau day was a Thursday and I was unwilling to spend almost 2 hours in transportation just for the dolphin encounter.

 

hb5

[tomsgirl3]

We board the Pride 5-9-10 and we have two daughters, 7 & 5. All they talk about is kissing the dolphins! LOL

 

I called Blue Lagoon in Nassua last week. The beach area IS CLOSED on Thursdays though you can do the Dolphin Encounter. i also asked about a price reduction since we would not be doing the beach (why not ask?), No.

 

I don't think it's worth the money to do Atlantis and we are in port all day so....

 

I've decided to do the beach in Nassua, possibly the Sheraton, and do the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter in Freeport. True they have no beach, just a pool, but we're only there until 2:00. In Port Canaveral, we may just stay on the ship. I haven't thought that one out yet.

[highbridge5]

while they kindly point out and recommend adding to your package for the other activities at Atlantis

 

A hot dog at Atlantis costs $6

 

Oh, and the people from our ship were divided up into 3 separate time groups for the encounter after we got there so it was a lot of hurry up and wait.

 

At the snack bar right next to the registration desk, a hot dog was $8. Believe me, I heard about it from my mom who got hungry and bought one out of desparation. I think that Atlantis might take advantage at Dolphin Cay. The attendant at the snack bar was the one who told us about the 8.95 meals elsewhere when we balked at the $8 hot dog.

 

There were at least 2 separate start times for the people on my cruise (like 1:20 and 1:40). I was in the early group and I think the later groups went to the right (and we had gone to the left) so I don't know how long the others might have waited. Thanks for reminding me about the multiple start times.

 

hb5

[highbridge5]

We board the Pride 5-9-10 and we have two daughters, 7 & 5. All they talk about is kissing the dolphins! LOL

 

I called Blue Lagoon in Nassua last week. The beach area IS CLOSED on Thursdays though you can do the Dolphin Encounter. i also asked about a price reduction since we would not be doing the beach (why not ask?), No.

 

I don't think it's worth the money to do Atlantis and we are in port all day so....

 

I've decided to do the beach in Nassua, possibly the Sheraton, and do the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter in Freeport. True they have no beach, just a pool, but we're only there until 2:00. In Port Canaveral, we may just stay on the ship. I haven't thought that one out yet.

 

I did not find the Freeport dolphin encounters. I should have looked harder. Atlantis was perfectly OK and I have no regrets whatsoever.

 

If you like the beach and don't know what to do in PC, you could probably do Cocoa Beach really cheap. I think there are shuttles that kind of run up and down the coast from Melborne to Cocoa Beach regularly all day. Go for as long as you want then head back.

 

The weather in January was lovely the day we were in PC. A day on the boat could be great. It might yield uncrowded decks and empty pools and an open and uncrowded water slide (maybe it's open on port days?).

 

hb5

[a6h73]

We went to Atlantis several years ago (stayed on property). It was interesting. Wildly over-expensive. The room was pretty shabby for $700/night or whatever it was but overall the grounds are amazing, at least in terms of scale. I wouldnt get too excited over the aquarium, as the Pride sails out of Baltimore, you could see a better one there. I do think the water features of the Altantis are the selling point, the water slides, lazy river, etc. The beach was just so-so and we never stayed long. There is a sort of fake beach pool with graduated depth that we let our toddler splash around in instead.

 

We went to the Dolphin Encounters then too and loved it. The prices are like $100/person but that does not include photos! And you will buy some, trust me. I have one on my living room wall actually. Thats probably another $100+. We are thinking of doing it again for our little one (who didnt exist then)- but it is pricey as a do-over for 4. The beach I dont remember one way or another. It was sort of an ordeal to get there and back. Reminds me of visiting the statue of liberty, waiting for the boat, long boat ride...etc. But it was very memorable.

 

I looked at the comfort suites but we are there on a Thursday and it says you have to book for 2 nights min.

 

These ports really are the worst :-) Price we pay for sailing from Baltimore I guess!

[mykidsrock76]

We were on the Pride a week ago. I have 3 boys: 4, 6 and 9.

 

Here is what we did:

 

PC - KSC. All the boys enjoyed it. The youngest was not big enough for the Space Shuttle experience but it is worth it for the older ones and adults if you go. We had a van service "Space Port Transport" take us over at 9:15 and bring us back at 4PM. This was enough of a day for our group. We might have stayed another hour to do an Imax show if others in our group were feeling better.

 

Nassau- We did the Atlantis Shallow Water Dolphin interaction.

 

I think there is a 4 year old age limit. Worth it to do once. DO NOT do Atlantis for the beach - there are dozens of better and less expensive options. Also, Blue Lagoon's beach was closed on Thursday's so I was not able to do a "dolphin" thing with a beach day through them on the Pride's itinerary. I hope that megansmommy found that the policy/hours are different now.

 

To megansmommy: If you are checking in this thread, please make sure the beach is open on Thursday. I'd hate to have you spend all that time getting there and back and all your planning to find out that there was fine print.

 

Freeport: Paradise Cove Resort/Deadman's Reef. They will pick you up and bring you back to the ship. However, they are not early morning people. The little ones - 4 and under are free. Ship arrives at 7. The earliest they'll pick you up is 9AM. With my 3 kids, 7AM would have been impossible anyway....

 

hb5

 

You have been a Godsend to me!!! Between the capers and this information, you have answered most of my questions. We were looking at the space center trip for Canaveral, but wasn't sure how to get there w/o renting a car or paying cruise excursion pricing. My oldest DD wants to do a dolphin swim, but I am concerned I woud be wasting the $$$ for my little guys. And we were clueless about what to do in Freeport. Thanks again!

[highbridge5]

You have been a Godsend to me!!! Between the capers and this information, you have answered most of my questions. We were looking at the space center trip for Canaveral, but wasn't sure how to get there w/o renting a car or paying cruise excursion pricing. My oldest DD wants to do a dolphin swim, but I am concerned I woud be wasting the $$$ for my little guys. And we were clueless about what to do in Freeport. Thanks again!

 

Regarding the Port Canaveral KSC trips.

 

You can go to the KSC web site and find out what the admission prices are for the different kinds of tours. It appeared, on the surface, that the ship wanted an extra $60 to drive you there and back.

 

The cruise ship excursion leaves the ship at 7:30. You are picked up by buses from the Kennedy Space Center itself. KSC does not open to the public until 9AM. One of my roll call buddies did the KSC through the ship and they got picked up, went to the center, saw an Imax movie and then got on the same "timed ticket" bus tours as everyone else for the tours of the center itself. After that, they were free to tour the grounds and exhibits as desired until the bus left at 5:30 or whatever the schedule departure was. The center closes to the public at 5:30.

 

If you go with the cruise line, you get early admission to the center and will have plenty of time to see both Imax films and do the bus tour and see everything you want to see. It is a 10 hour excursion.

 

I opted for a do it yourself for $$ reasons and because I was pretty sure that my family of 7 was not all going to be up to a 10 hour day - let alone being able to get all 7 of us breakfast eaten and ready by 7:30.

 

The cost for the van for 7 of us was $129. $119 if we paid cash. We had arranged for a 3:30 pickup at the center and all they asked was an hour's notice if we wanted to stay later so were really flexible. We ended up leaving at 4PM.

 

If you do KSC, find out when the "meet the astronaut" times are (around 11 and 3:30 I think). I wish that we had paid more attention to this because I think all of use would have enjoyed this.

 

hb5

[mykidsrock76]

Regarding the Port Canaveral KSC trips.

 

You can go to the KSC web site and find out what the admission prices are for the different kinds of tours. It appeared, on the surface, that the ship wanted an extra $60 to drive you there and back.

 

The cruise ship excursion leaves the ship at 7:30. You are picked up by buses from the Kennedy Space Center itself. KSC does not open to the public until 9AM. One of my roll call buddies did the KSC through the ship and they got picked up, went to the center, saw an Imax movie and then got on the same "timed ticket" bus tours as everyone else for the tours of the center itself. After that, they were free to tour the grounds and exhibits as desired until the bus left at 5:30 or whatever the schedule departure was. The center closes to the public at 5:30.

 

If you go with the cruise line, you get early admission to the center and will have plenty of time to see both Imax films and do the bus tour and see everything you want to see. It is a 10 hour excursion.

 

I opted for a do it yourself for $$ reasons and because I was pretty sure that my family of 7 was not all going to be up to a 10 hour day - let alone being able to get all 7 of us breakfast eaten and ready by 7:30.

 

The cost for the van for 7 of us was $129. $119 if we paid cash. We had arranged for a 3:30 pickup at the center and all they asked was an hour's notice if we wanted to stay later so were really flexible. We ended up leaving at 4PM.

 

If you do KSC, find out when the "meet the astronaut" times are (around 11 and 3:30 I think). I wish that we had paid more attention to this because I think all of use would have enjoyed this.

 

hb5

 

I was just checking out the KSC site. Honestly, we probably could make the 7:30 departure, but my kids might not like the 10hr day. I like the flexibility of doing it ourselves and setting our times. What was theri policy if you decided to leave earlier? It sounds like there is a lot to see there, but just in case someone gets really tired and wants to call it a day. Thanks!!!!

[Smithkids5521]

We board the Pride 5-9-10 and we have two daughters, 7 & 5. All they talk about is kissing the dolphins! LOL

I've decided to do the beach in Nassua, possibly the Sheraton, and do the Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter in Freeport. True they have no beach, just a pool, but we're only there until 2:00. In Port Canaveral, we may just stay on the ship. I haven't thought that one out yet.

 

Wow- your itinerary sounds almost identical to mine- I'll be on the Pride in August with a 4 yo and 7 yo- we're also doing the dolphon encounter in Freeport, and will probably end up staying on the ship for Port Canaveral... but in Nassau we'll be doing BlackBeard's Cay for the Snorkeling with the sting rays. Have you thought about this for your Nassau day? They have the beach also, but you can snorkel (the water is shallow- about thigh deep or so) with the sting rays. It looks like so much fun.

If you search on You Tube for Black Beard's Cay or Nassau Sting rays you can see what the day would consist of...

 

Have a great time!!!

Take care,

Diana :)

[mykidsrock76]

Wow- your itinerary sounds almost identical to mine- I'll be on the Pride in August with a 4 yo and 7 yo- we're also doing the dolphon encounter in Freeport, and will probably end up staying on the ship for Port Canaveral... but in Nassau we'll be doing BlackBeard's Cay for the Snorkeling with the sting rays. Have you thought about this for your Nassau day? They have the beach also, but you can snorkel (the water is shallow- about thigh deep or so) with the sting rays. It looks like so much fun.

If you search on You Tube for Black Beard's Cay or Nassau Sting rays you can see what the day would consist of...

 

Have a great time!!!

Take care,

Diana :)

 

Are you doing the dolphin enocounter in Freeport through Carnival or another tour operator? My DD (17) wants to do a dolphin thing, but I am afraid my little ones might be scared and I hate to spend that much money for my kiddos to freak out.

[Grannycb]

You might think about renting a car at Cape Canaveral (about $40 for mid-size). Merritt Island http://www.fws.gov/merrittisland/ and Canaveral National Seashore http://www.nps.gov/cana/index.htm are very good options for children, and a lot less expensive.

 

While this next idea won't help OP, the Art of Sand may be of interest to others. http://www.artofsandus.com/

 

Blue Lagoon in Nassau is lovely. The beach is closed on Thursdays but the various encounters and swims are open and less expensive than Atlantis. The ferry ride is very nice. The water color is incredible. The location of the ferry going to Blue Lagoon is within walking distance of Atlantis. We wandered through the free areas the last time we were there. It's worth seeing.

[highbridge5]

I was just reviewing my credit card statement from the trip and I thought that I should mention 2 things regarding KSC and Port Canaveral.

 

The food at KSC is expensive. We ate at the cafeteria that is at one of the stops on the bus route where the unused rocket from the Apollo program is on display. It was over $65 for the 5 of us and all we had were burgers, fries and a soda. If you plan to do a 10 hour day, make sure that you eat before you go and bring snacks with you.

 

At the cafeteria, they have "kids meals" but make sure that you get the right size cup from the cashier. The cups for the kids meals were not sitting out like the others - you had to get them from the cashier.

 

There are snack stands as well - chips, pretzels, even bowls of Apple Jacks and cartons of milk if you still need breakfast. They have bottled water and it is not outrageous (for a tourist place). I am sure it was less than $2 for the 16oz bottle.

 

Which leads me to item 2: Do NOT bring fruit or vegetables off the ship in PC. Of the three ports, this is the only place where they seemed to care what you brought with you and you'll see signs and an "amnesty" bin for fresh produce before you reach two customs or some kind of security type people who will specifically ask you what you are bringing off the ship.

 

Grab a couple boxes of cereal from the lido. Bring some pastries from the buffet in a ziploc. From home, bring those little premeasured Kool-Aid packets to mix with a bottle of water for the kids. Or bring juice boxes from home.

[highbridge5]

I did not find any Dolphin excursions on-line for Freeport through Carnival for my sailing. However, I now see in my "Fun Ashore" guide that there are three listed for Freeport that I might have been able to sign up for once I was on the ship.

 

I saw the UNEXSO dolphin encounters on the "general" list from Carnival but when I went to book my shore excursions on-line, these choices were not available.

 

I am a little ticked off now. I was more interested in the Freeport excursion from the day I booked my trip. I thought that it was not available on my trip because I could not reserve it on-line. The Fun Ashore guide says all ages are welcome (not just 4 and over).

 

Do some research on the UNEXSO facility in Port Lucaya. I think that you'll find this a much more attractive venue for a Dolphin excursion. I believe that it is at a non-profit educational facility, not some overpriced artificial lagoon.

 

Once I was on the ship, I believe there was a 50% penalty for cancelling my other Atlantis excursion so I am glad that I did not see the Freeport dolphin excursions until now.

 

hb5

[happy_feet]

We went to Atlantis several years ago (stayed on property). It was interesting. Wildly over-expensive. The room was pretty shabby for $700/night or whatever it was but overall the grounds are amazing, at least in terms of scale. I wouldnt get too excited over the aquarium, as the Pride sails out of Baltimore, you could see a better one there. I do think the water features of the Altantis are the selling point, the water slides, lazy river, etc. The beach was just so-so and we never stayed long. There is a sort of fake beach pool with graduated depth that we let our toddler splash around in instead.

 

We went to the Dolphin Encounters then too and loved it. The prices are like $100/person but that does not include photos! And you will buy some, trust me. I have one on my living room wall actually. Thats probably another $100+. We are thinking of doing it again for our little one (who didnt exist then)- but it is pricey as a do-over for 4. The beach I dont remember one way or another. It was sort of an ordeal to get there and back. Reminds me of visiting the statue of liberty, waiting for the boat, long boat ride...etc. But it was very memorable.

 

I looked at the comfort suites but we are there on a Thursday and it says you have to book for 2 nights min.

 

These ports really are the worst :-) Price we pay for sailing from Baltimore I guess!

 

Can you post the link to where you read you have to have a 2 night min at the comfort suites....Cause I have a room booked for our cruise in Mar and I did not see that...Thanks