Visiting Carnival’s Celebration Key in the Bahamas (2025)
When traveling on a Carnival Cruise to the Bahamas, chances are that you will be visiting one of the two island destinations owned by the cruise line. The newest island experience is Celebration Key, located on Grand Bahama Island. If you are heading to Carnival’s Celebration Key in the Bahamas, there are some things you will want to know.
Getting to Carnival’s Celebration Key in the Bahamas
Unlike Carnival’s other private island, Half Moon Key, you actually can dock on a dedicated pier.
This pier is currently built to allow two ships to visit Carnival’s Celebration Key Island at a time.
You will have the choice to walk directly from the ship to the island or to take a tram.
The tram lines can back up getting off the ship to the island, and it’s better to take them when you leave the island to get back to the ship.
While the pier is long, one of the nice things about it is that it does have partial shade.
You should expect a 6-10 minute walk.
Choose Your beach
Once on the island, you will need to decide which section you want to use as your home base: Calypso Beach & Lagoon or Starfish Beach & Lagoon.
Calypso Lagoon & Beach
Calypso Beach is the Adult-Only Beach area that is made for visitors who are 13 years and older.
It features a zero-entry pool, swim-up bar, and beach area with tons of chairs and umbrellas.
Dining options on this part of the island include food trucks & snack shacks serving burgers, hot dogs, and Bahamian favorites, and a tropical bar with a kitchen that has seafood, tacos, chicken, and fish options.
Not all food on the Calypso Beach is complimentary with your trip to Celebration Key.
You will get the choice of ONE meal at a designated ISLAND EATS restaurant.
Starfish Lagoon & Beach
Starfish Beach is the family beach that has plenty of beach area for families to gather.
Littles will enjoy Guppy Grotto, which features a coral reef splashpad and a small kid-size wading pool.
There is plenty of room to swim around in the Starfish Lagoon, and guests can choose to sit beachside under an umbrella for free or pay to enjoy a floating Aquabana.
Beach Time
This Carnival island destination also has free beaches to enjoy, one for families and one for adults only.
Unlike Half Moon Key, the beaches at Celebration Key are directly on the ocean.
Because of this, there can be a ton of waves depending on the weather conditions. We went on a somewhat windy day in October, and the waves were ridiculous.
Other Things to do on Carnival’s Celebration Key in the Bahamas
If you are willing to pay up, there are other things you can do on the island.
Paradise Plaza
In the center of Celebration Key is Paradise Plaza, which features Suncastle Waterslides.
For a $15 fee, guests can plunge down the two racer slides that land in Starfish Lagoon as many times as they would like.
Near the rear of this section of Paradise Plaza are local taxis, rental cars, and various prebooked shore excursion experiences.
PearlCove Beach Club
If you so choose, adult guests can upgrade their time at Carnival’s Celebration Key by purchasing a package to visit Pearl Cove Beach Club.
This club has its own beach access, pool, bars, and restaurant on site.
Guests can choose to pay to access any or all of its amenities for around $100.
For those who would like to venture off to discover more on Grand Bahama Island also have the chance to do a few different paid excursions.
Carnival Cruise Line spent nearly 60 million dollars on creating the Celebration Key Island space on Grand Bahama Island. While I enjoyed my time on the island, there are some things I thought could have been done better.
Carnival is known for having low cruise fares but nickel-and-diming you on the extras.
The fact that you have to pay to ride a slide at a waterpark is a bit of a cash grab. How many people want to ride a slide just one time? I know I would have liked to have experienced it, but I am not going to pay $15 to ride it one time!
Next, concerning food. When you go to Carnival’s other private island, Half Moon Key, food is pretty much unlimited.
This is not the case at Celebration Key.
You can order one free meal (which is an entree only).
We ate at the Captain’s Galley Food Hall, where you can choose from a few different food stations (1 Mediterranean Bowl, 2 Tacos, or an individual Pizza).
There are no sides, but you do get one chocolate chip cookie and a drink choice of unsweetened tea or water.
There are other food options, but they are an extra cost.
Overall, Celebration Key is a nice island getaway if what you want is a pool or beach experience. While we were there, two of the smaller Carnival ships were docked, and it didn’t feel overcrowded in the slightest. Because this destination is new, I do think that they have some kinks to work out, and am sure that they will be adding more as time goes on.
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