Nassau Pearl Island Excursion

[jktmom]

Has anyone who has stopped at Nassau on the first few sailings done the Pearl Island Excursion?

If so, a few questions?

1.) generally was it clean, safe and a good beach day experience? How’s the water and beach areas? Any shade? Are r here paved paths around the island?

2.) how long was the boat ride? Was it super crowded?

3.) do you get right off the ship and on to the boat or do h have to go through the busy terminal area or walk through town?

4.) j already know the island is reserved for Disney guests only. Any idea if Disney is requiring their vendors to be vaxed and tested?

 

[jktmom]

Gonna give this a little bump! I think this is a new excursion for DCL.

I can add some info. that I learned from emailing Pearl Island directly. The safe is not fully vaccinated (40%). They wear masks and gloves. They temp. check employees at the start of the day but they do not do any testing.

The island is reserved solely for Disney guests on the day of a Disney excursion.

Still generally looking for a review of the island and its amenities, cleanliness, beach, water, food, etc.

Thanks!

 

[jktmom]

Anyone returning from the last few sailings do this excursion?

 

[Azdisgirl]

We did this excursion on the Disney Fantasy 7 night cruise 10/9 to 10/16. Pearl Island is right across from Blue Lagoon Island (so about 25 minute boat ride). It was a lovely little island with a light house, small family beach and lots of shaded lounging areas. We did the snorkel and lunch package. We loved the snorkeling (including our 9 year old). The lunch was just ok. Clean bathrooms. Water was warm.

It was only Disney passengers - so we were in a bubble. We had already done Blue Lagoon twice before and wanted a change.

I watched a You Tube video on it before we went. Apparently, it was an excursion for another cruise line (RCL ?). Glad to have another beach option (no Atlantis options).

They had a trampoline area out in their little swimming area that the kids enjoyed. Plus, floats and other water activities that were included in the price.

 

[Goofylou]

I was googling this yesterday as we have it booked next month, the island has its own website if you look online and they have all the safety protocols like no getting on the ferry without a face mask etc.

 

[jktmom]

We did this excursion on the Disney Fantasy 7 night cruise 10/9 to 10/16. Pearl Island is right across from Blue Lagoon Island (so about 25 minute boat ride). It was a lovely little island with a light house, small family beach and lots of shaded lounging areas. We did the snorkel and lunch package. We loved the snorkeling (including our 9 year old). The lunch was just ok. Clean bathrooms. Water was warm.

It was only Disney passengers - so we were in a bubble. We had already done Blue Lagoon twice before and wanted a change.

I watched a You Tube video on it before we went. Apparently, it was an excursion for another cruise line (RCL ?). Glad to have another beach option (no Atlantis options).

They had a trampoline area out in their little swimming area that the kids enjoyed. Plus, floats and other water activities that were included in the price.

thanks so much! Was the ferry crowded? Did the island or beach seem crowded? Did you feel the employees were following good safety protocols? I emailed the company directly and they said only 40% of their staff is vaccinated. Thanks!

 

[lorimay]

Thank you for the info. we are thinking about giving it a try next month.

** Pearl Island is sold out for our cruise, but they now have Blue Lagoon available. We did Blue Lagoon a few years ago, it was very nice.

 

[Azdisgirl]

thanks so much! Was the ferry crowded? Did the island or beach seem crowded? Did you feel the employees were following good safety protocols? I emailed the company directly and they said only 40% of their staff is vaccinated. Thanks!

We had two ferries take the Disney group to the island. It was not possible to social distance each of the families on the boat. Most people wore their masks on the ferry but not all . Nobody was enforcing it on the boat.

The staff wore masks at all times except when we were snorkeling . They also required us to wear them in the food line. It was as safe as you really can get.

 

[jktmom]

One more question… because the island was limited to DCL guests, did you have free range or were you restricted to one area?

coukd you snorkel if u brought ur own or did you have to be on the snorkel excursion?

 

[Azdisgirl]

One more question… because the island was limited to DCL guests, did you have free range or were you restricted to one area?

coukd you snorkel if u brought ur own or did you have to be on the snorkel excursion?

We had free range. It’s not that big. We did the snorkel excursion that was a part of the package. We used their masks, fins etc but other people did bring their own.

 

[jktmom]

We had free range. It’s not that big. We did the snorkel excursion that was a part of the package. We used their masks, fins etc but other people did bring their own.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Sounds like a nice beach day!
Anyone else done this excursion yet?

 

[jktmom]

Anyone on the 10/22 Dream sailing that returned today do this excursion? Or are the weekend sailings CC and sea day itineraries?

 

[KaityB]

We did this excursion on 10/19. The island is super small, like you could walk from end to the other in 5 minutes small. We didn't snorkel, in the designated area for the excursion but we brought our stuff and snorkeled from the beach area. We still saw fish, crabs, starfish, and sand dollars! You don't have to walk through the port area to get to the boats, it was almost right off the ship and around a corner. The boat ride was about 20 minutes long and there was no social distancing. As a matter of fact, on the way back they packed us all in and got ready to go before their boss stopped them and asked some people to get off and grab the next boat. There were 3 boats in all, I believe. There were plenty of seats. Lunch was ok, it consisted of bbq chicken, fried fish, cole slaw, mixed veggies and rice with beans for adults and chicken and fries for kids. My husband did say the fried fish was very good. After they start lunch, someone walks around with trays with cups of water or sweet tea. Beware the sweet tea is fruity, my daughter was not happy with it, but I loved it. Any other drinks or snacks, you will need money for. On the way back to the ship, our captain stopped and pointed out several celebrity homes, which was fun. Overall, it was a very nice beach day.

 

[jktmom]

We did this excursion on 10/19. The island is super small, like you could walk from end to the other in 5 minutes small. We didn't snorkel, in the designated area for the excursion but we brought our stuff and snorkeled from the beach area. We still saw fish, crabs, starfish, and sand dollars! You don't have to walk through the port area to get to the boats, it was almost right off the ship and around a corner. The boat ride was about 20 minutes long and there was no social distancing. As a matter of fact, on the way back they packed us all in and got ready to go before their boss stopped them and asked some people to get off and grab the next boat. There were 3 boats in all, I believe. There were plenty of seats. Lunch was ok, it consisted of bbq chicken, fried fish, cole slaw, mixed veggies and rice with beans for adults and chicken and fries for kids. My husband did say the fried fish was very good. After they start lunch, someone walks around with trays with cups of water or sweet tea. Beware the sweet tea is fruity, my daughter was not happy with it, but I loved it. Any other drinks or snacks, you will need money for. On the way back to the ship, our captain stopped and pointed out several celebrity homes, which was fun. Overall, it was a very nice beach day.

thanks so much for the review! Was the beach area crowded or was there plenty of room? I’m also wondering if there are paved paths on the island?We are bringing our 2 yr old and I usually push him in his stroller during nap time until he falls asleep if we are out on an excursion.

 

[KaityB]

thanks so much for the review! Was the beach area crowded or was there plenty of room? I’m also wondering if there are paved paths on the island?We are bringing our 2 yr old and I usually push him in his stroller during nap time until he falls asleep if we are out on an excursion.

For our group, we had plenty of room on the beach. Everyone was spaced out well, even with some people kayaking and paddle boarding. Those are free to use on a first come first serve basis. Same with the water trampoline. Part of the island path is paved so you should be good to walk back and forth from the lighthouse to the bathrooms on the other end.

 

[jktmom]

For our group, we had plenty of room on the beach. Everyone was spaced out well, even with some people kayaking and paddle boarding. Those are free to use on a first come first serve basis. Same with the water trampoline. Part of the island path is paved so you should be good to walk back and forth from the lighthouse to the bathrooms on the other end.

thanks! A few more questions!

did it seem like too long to be on the island?

was everything on time? Some bad reviews on trip advisor about leaving the pier super late and lunch being late and/or running out of food

were there floats? I’ve seen a few picture with some fun floats.

did the water trampoline work? Were adults lounging on It or was it available for kids to use?

 

[KaityB]

thanks! A few more questions!

did it seem like too long to be on the island?

was everything on time? Some bad reviews on trip advisor about leaving the pier super late and lunch being late and/or running out of food

were there floats? I’ve seen a few picture with some fun floats.

did the water trampoline work? Were adults lounging on It or was it available for kids to use?

Question #1 (lol) - We though the time worked well for us. Spent 1.5 hours in the water before lunch. Ate lunch and then spent another hour or so in the water before getting out to air dry a bit and changing to leave.

Question #2 - Everything was late. We left the pier late (although I don't know whose fault it was because several families showed up to the meeting area late and the cast members said they were waiting for a go ahead from outside). We left about an hour after the meeting time. Because of this though, they extended the time on the island. We were supposed to leave around 2:15 pm but they made it 3:15. I was one of the ones that got off of the overly packed boat at the end of the day and had to take another boat. We didn't get back until some time after 4pm. Lunch was late also. I don't know if they ran out of food. We were one of the first ones in the door. lol I was kinda annoyed at the timeliness with everything, but that's just me.

Question #3 - I didn't see any floats out there, just kayaks and paddle boards.

Question #4 - We didn't get on the water trampoline. Mostly, adults were lounging on it the whole time.

 

[jktmom]

Thanks so much! This is super helpful! Standing around waiting for an hour on the dock with a 2 and 4 year old is definitely a deal breaker for us. Most people on trip advisor are reporting the same thing. I’ll check-in with port adventures when we board but we will likely cancel.

 

[KaityB]

Thanks so much! This is super helpful! Standing around waiting for an hour on the dock with a 2 and 4 year old is definitely a deal breaker for us. Most people on trip advisor are reporting the same thing. I’ll check-in with port adventures when we board but we will likely cancel.

We waited in the Walt Disney theater for an hour and then went straight to the boat on the pier. They were playing cartoons on the side screens. And not a problem with answering your questions! I’m the same way. I want to know as much as possible before a trip and set us up for success.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Thanks for all the info! I had researched before but couldn’t find much online. I think we are going to try this when we cruise in February. We considered it for our cruise this week but went with something else. We like to try a variety of different things so it’s nice to hear your feedback!