Complete Guide to Carnival's Celebration Key

Carnival Celebration Docked At Celebration Key

I’m excited to share everything you need to know for a fantastic day on Carnival’s brand-new private island destination in the Bahamas, Celebration Key.

I’ll cover how the resort is laid out, practical tips from our visit, and a sample family-friendly itinerary you can copy!

As you may know, CK is not the only private island destination connected to Carnival, but it is the newest. Carnival also operates Princess Cays and Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. Princess Cays is very close to Disney's Lookout Cay on the island of Eleuthera. Princess Cays and Celebration Key are private desitinations are like gated resorts, and not actual islands. Half Moon Cay is an actual, full island that they operate. 

View from the ship

Debarking at Celebration Key

Celebration Key is Carnival Cruise Line’s own exclusive resort on Grand Bahama Island. This island is also home to the cruise port town of Freeport. I've been to Freeport before, and visited Paradise Cove to snorkel at Dead Mans Reef. This is an outside excursion, which means you would leave Celebration Key and travel to the other end of Grand Bahama Island. We didn't book any outside excursions this time. We wanted to fully explore CK. On the app, you'll see many excursions advertised, but most of them are outside CK, somewhere else on Grand Bahama Island, unless it is a rental of some sort. 

We loved the shaded pier

Docking: Ships dock at a dedicated pier (no tendering), which makes getting off and on the ship much easier. This is great if you’re traveling with little ones or mobility needs. The dock is covered and mostly shaded. There are trams running constantly that anyone can use to get to and from the ship, and all around the port. 

There are several trams stops, at least one in each portal of the island. There are 2 tram lines- essentially, the left and right sides of Celebration Key- that each have their own lines, but they meet in the middle for transfers. 

View of Calypso Beach from the pier

What to expect at CK: 

Celebration Key can currently dock two ships at their pier, but they are expanding the docks to be able to accommodate up to 4 ships. When there were 2 ships in port, the island wasn't crowded at all, and there will be plenty of room for 4. The walk from ship to shore is about 5 minutes. Your room card will be necessary to get back on the ship and to get your free meal on the island. If you do leave Celebration Key, however, you should take your ID with you to other parts of the island. 

CK is organized into five main portals: 

1. Paradise Plaza — the central hub with the 10-story “Suncastle” and racing water-slides. The Junkanoo parade comes through the castle into the central hub. 

Stop for a pic under the sign!

Left to Calypso or right to Starfish?

2. Calypso Lagoon — large lagoon pool area with adult-friendly sections and swim-up bar options, including the swinging bar. Anyone can swing at the bar while dangling their feet in the water. Anyone can swim in this pool, although most of the kids stayed in the Starfish Lagoon There aren't any bars on the Starfish side. 

Sunshine Swings Bar

Calypso Pool Mid-day

3. Starfish Lagoon — family and kid-friendly pool with a shallow water baby pool and play areas with splash features. This pool has zero entry. Both pools have lifeguards and lifejackets available. The slides exit near Starfish Lagoon so parents can watch their kids go up and come out of the Suncastle Slides.

Starfish Baby Pool

Perfect depth for little ones

Starfish Lagoon Splashpad and pool

Suncastle Racing Slides

4. Lokono Cove — Shopping and Bahamian artisan market.

5. Pearl Cove Beach Club — a premium adults-only club with an infinity pool and elevated dining. There's also a dedicated beach area. You must purchase your Pearl Cove Passes before visiting on the app. They do sell out, as it is capacity controlled. 

Lokono Cove Markets

My Top Tips:

Our ship docked at 11:00am and another ship had already docked at 9:00am. When we got off the ship at 11:30, there were still plenty of loungers in the kids area of Starfish Lagoon. We considered renting a cabana before cruise but we decided not to because we wanted to spend more time at the beach than the pool. You can rent a daybed, cabana on sand or an over-water cabana on your Carnival Hub App under excursions. 

I booked the Racing Slides many months in advance which were about $15/person for unlimited use. My older kids and my husband enjoyed riding them. Each slide is different. 

Pick your portal based on your family. Families: Starfish Lagoon. Adults wanting chill time: Pearl Cove or if you have adults who don't want to buy Pearl Cove passes, go to Calypso Lagoon. 

Bring your snorkel sets or rent some on the app. We didn't want to pack our snorkel gear so we rented them ahead of time and picked them up from the watersports booth on the beach. While you're not allowed to snorkel under the pier, right along it is where we saw all the fish. 

Calypso Beach

Starfish Beach

Offshore storms didn't bother us

Coral shelves at the entrance to the water

Sandy area without coral

You have to step on some rock/coral shelves to enter the water at certain places. Once you get into the water, it's sandy. It was a little bit slick but not too bad, and it wasn't sharp from what I could tell. We didn't bring water shoes, but it's something to consider.  Not all spots had it. 

Food lines can spike at lunch. There are multiple casual outlets like Carnival’s “island eats” and the food trucks, but peak times get busy. We ate at the main food court in Starfish Lagoon later than usual (2:00) and some of the food offerings had run out. 

Kayak rentals 

Watersports pick up

plenty of open chairs

Souvenirs & local craft: Lokono Cove had a nice selection of Bahamian artisans — support local makers if you ccan.We purchased a bag, bracelets, and a windchime here. It was fun looking around. The locals will make deals with you if you're courteous and show interest in their crafts. They do not take your ship card for purchases, only credit cards or cash. 

Sample family-friendly day at Celebration Key 

• Walk straight to Starfish Lagoon to claim a lounger in the shade.
• Hit the splash pad or the racing slides and then swim in Calypso Lagoon. 
• Beach time (snorkel, beachcomb, paddleboard, kayak, relax)
• Lunch at an island eatery
• Relax while the kids swim or do the slides again
• Watch the Junkanoo Parade with an ice cream cone or tropical drink
• Shop Lokono Cove for souvenirs, then head back to ship 

What to pack

• Towels from the ship 
• Swimsuits and rash guards (sun protection)
• Water shoes/water socks, floaties or puddle jumpers for the beach 
• Reef-safe sunscreen (apply frequently)
• Waterproof phone pouch or dry bag

Accessibility:

Because ships dock at a pier, the island is easier to access for strollers and guests with mobility aids (no uphill/downhill or transfers). Everything is connected with paved sidewalks, and the beaches have wooden ramps and beach wheelchairs available. Check Carnival’s site or talk to your Kingdom Konsultant travel advisor for more info. 

Ramps on Starfish Beach

One of the quick service restaurants 

Delicious pizza with a cookie

Mediterranean Bowls

Riding the tram past the Basketball Courts

How Carnival could improve this port:

CK didn't have the variety of fish and other sea animals that I have seen snorkeling at Royal Caribbean's Perfect Day Coco Cay. This is no fault of Carnival’s but, they could use some artificial reefs, sunken artifacts or some stone breakwalls for the fish to hangout in, like they have at other cruise ports. 

The food offerings were good, but they started running out of certain foods and toppings by the time we ate (granted we did eat a late lunch). It wasn't an all-you-can-eat lunch like Perfect Day Coco Cay or Disney's ports. You are allowed one meal with your ship card while on the island, and additional meals are charged. They also didn't have any ice cream machines, which we are used to on other islands. 

I may have missed them, but I didn't see any towel exchange boxes to drop wet towels and pick up dry ones until we boarded the ship. 

We spent about 5 hours on the island and had a great time. Our ship was docked for 7 hours, but since we have a toddler, we had to accommodate her needs and head back to get ready for dinner. I have visited many private cruise islands and ports and this was one of my family's favorites. The activities were very affordable to book. The pools and slides were great. The toddler splashpad and baby pool were perfect for my little one!

I look forward to visiting again sometime. I highly recommend booking a cruise that stops at Celebration Key. Sailings depart from Miami, Port Canaveral (Orlando), Jacksonville, Baltimore, New Orleans, Norfolk, Mobile, Tampa, Galveston, and New York City.

If you'd like to price and plan a Carnival cruise, contact us anytime or fill out a Quote Request Form.

Summer Squires is a Carnival Cruise Specialist and a Gold Level Carnival VIFP. When she's nots snorkeling you can find her at trivia. 

Email: Summer@kingdomkonsultant.com