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Blue Lagoon on our own

melli_fera

By melli_fera,
in Bahamas

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melli_fera

melli_fera

Posted
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I'm considering booking a sea lion encounter at Dolphin Encounters at Blue Lagoon. I went there in August for dolphin encounter but booked through the ship so we had direct ferry to/from the port.

 

According to Dolphin Encounters, we'd have to take a cab (by land) to the ferry terminal at Paradise island to catch their ferry, and we'd be taken back to the ferry terminal to catch a cab back to the port.

 

I'm trying to figure out the timeframe for all this. I'd appreciate feedback from anyone with experience in the area.

 

We set sail out of nassau at 6PM. The last ferry out of Blue Lagoon is at 4PM. Would we have enough time (giving room for traffic or whatever), to get back to board by 5:30? I'm so paranoid about getting left behind! Can anyone estimate how long it takes to get from the ferry terminal at paradise island to the port??

 

Dolphin Encounters has great reviews, and I'm sure that they make it a point to get people back to port on time, but, you can never be too prepared!

 

Thanks for your help!

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scubagirrl

scubagirrl

Posted
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I'm considering booking a sea lion encounter at Dolphin Encounters at Blue Lagoon. I went there in August for dolphin encounter but booked through the ship so we had direct ferry to/from the port.

 

According to Dolphin Encounters, we'd have to take a cab (by land) to the ferry terminal at Paradise island to catch their ferry, and we'd be taken back to the ferry terminal to catch a cab back to the port.

 

I'm trying to figure out the timeframe for all this. I'd appreciate feedback from anyone with experience in the area.

 

We set sail out of nassau at 6PM. The last ferry out of Blue Lagoon is at 4PM. Would we have enough time (giving room for traffic or whatever), to get back to board by 5:30? I'm so paranoid about getting left behind! Can anyone estimate how long it takes to get from the ferry terminal at paradise island to the port??

 

Dolphin Encounters has great reviews, and I'm sure that they make it a point to get people back to port on time, but, you can never be too prepared!

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Yes, the trip is only 20 minutes.. and then you need to grab a cab which could be another 40 minutes in traffic.. BUT..

 

You can likely take the ferry back to the port dock.. since there should be cruises going back to the ship on the 4pm ferry as well Just ask.

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limeyalchemist

limeyalchemist

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They typically have two returns trips. One at 2:30 and another at 4pm. When we went there, we returned directly to the cruise port and we were back within 30 minutes.

 

Even if you need a cab, it is only a 5 minute drive from the ferry terminal to paradise island, depending on traffic. Check http://www.cruisett.com for a listing of how many other cruise ships are in port the day that you are there. That will give you a sense of how busy it'll be. Most of the ships do leave at 6 pm.

 

Have a great trip. We love Blue Lagoon Island, and are booked to go back again in 55 days, this time we booked direct and will be taking the cab.

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melli_fera

melli_fera

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So now dolphin encounters is giving me a hard time because I'm an NCL passenger and I need to book through NCL. I heard through CC that this would be a possibility.

 

Thing is, NCL doesn't offer the sea lion excursion. So I sent an email back telling them the sea lions are not an option on NCL and that I want to book it directly with them.

 

We'll see what they say. There should most definitely be a disclaimer on their website stating their policy with cruise line passengers. I shouldn't have told them where I was staying. Lol.

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dancersp119

dancersp119

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So now dolphin encounters is giving me a hard time because I'm an NCL passenger and I need to book through NCL. I heard through CC that this would be a possibility.

 

Thing is, NCL doesn't offer the sea lion excursion. So I sent an email back telling them the sea lions are not an option on NCL and that I want to book it directly with them.

 

We'll see what they say. There should most definitely be a disclaimer on their website stating their policy with cruise line passengers. I shouldn't have told them where I was staying. Lol.

 

cruised on ncl last week and booked the sea lion encounter directly with ncl....

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limeyalchemist

limeyalchemist

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I had that problem last year. This time I booked through this excursion company that charges the same/similar price that Blue Lagoon island charges, that is much cheaper than NCL. It also avoids BL not being able to book you because of their contract with NCL.

 

Here is the excursion booking site...http://swimwithdolphinsbahamas.com/blue-lagoon-sea-lion-encounter.html

http://http://swimwithdolphinsbahamas.com/blue-lagoon-sea-lion-encounter.html

 

For example, the beach day is $52 instead of $69 with NCL.

 

The sea lion encounter is $80 rather $90+ on the cruise site.

 

Hope this helps. Have a great time.

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limeyalchemist

limeyalchemist

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We booked through the swim with dolphins website. We're going to BL on March 21 for the beach day, so we'll find out.

 

I have no reason to doubt that they are legit. They are one of the main excursion operators.

 

Scubagirl - what do you think about booking through swimwithdolphins? I think the company name is Best On Travel.

 

If you go first, can you let me know how it was? The only difference between this excursion and the NCL one is that you have to catch a taxi to Paradise Island. $5 pp. If you ask, on the way back they might be able to drop you off by boat at the cruise dock if there are other passengers heading back to the ships (through the cruise line).

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melli_fera

melli_fera

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We're going on Feb 1st. I tried looking up reviews for swimwithdolphinsbahamas but didn't find anything. I noticed their reservation page isn't a secured internet site, but if I were to go through bestonbahamas dot com, it is a secured site.

 

I'm having a hard time finding reviews for bestonbahamas too.

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melli_fera

melli_fera

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I did put in a reservation request online on thursday, and they are supposed to reply to the request. I realized that when I filled out the form I neglected to mention I had a coupon, so I emailed them. They emailed back the next day that they had no reservation request from me. So I sent them my info again, via email, and that's when they told me that I had to book directly with NCL.

 

I logged into NCL again yesterday to look at my excursion options and again saw no sea lion encounter. Therefore I cannot book through NCL. I told dolphin encounters this, and I'm waiting for them to respond.

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