Getting ashore
Carnival Cruise Line runs Celebration Key , a private stop on the south side of Grand Bahama. It is not a town. You cannot come unless your ship calls. The site covers 65 acres. Ships dock at a pier. You walk off. There is no tender. Paradise Plaza is a 6–10 minute walk from the ship. Guest services and the excursion desk are there. Take your Sail & Sign card. You need it to get back on the ship.
Watch-outs
Your drink package from the ship does not work here. You must be 21 to buy alcohol. Each person gets one free meal, and only at the walk-up spots in the Island Eats list. A sit-down restaurant is extra. Bring a towel from your cabin. Do not bring your own beach chair, umbrella, or tent. Those are not allowed ashore. The southwest side of Calypso Lagoon and Calypso Beach is for ages 13 and up. Pearl Cove Beach Club is for ages 18 and up, and a day pass starts at about $60. The site is smoke-free except in marked spots. All-aboard is still the ship’s time.
Getting around the island
Two tram loops run once you are ashore. One links Starfish Lagoon and Lokono Cove. The other links Calypso Lagoon and Lokono Cove. No tram fare is shown. Chairs, umbrellas, and freshwater showers are included. Beach wheelchairs are at Paradise Plaza, first come, first served. Starfish Lagoon is the family side, with a splash pad and a shallow pool. Calypso Lagoon is the livelier side, with a swim-up bar. Lokono Cove is the shops. You can walk between these areas. The walk they time is those 6–10 minutes from the ship to the plaza.
Taxis & ride apps
The guest map marks local taxis and rental cars at Lokono Cove , for trips out on Grand Bahama. It names no company, no phone, and no fare. Uber is not listed. If you take a taxi, agree the fare before the car moves. Name your ship, and leave time to be back for all-aboard. Booked shore excursions also leave from Lokono Cove. That is the other way off the site. Taxis are not beside the gangway.
What to do nearby
For a short call, stay on the site. The day is the mile-long beach and the freshwater lagoons. Starfish Beach is the family side. Calypso Beach is the adult-friendly side. Chairs and umbrellas there are included. Courts offer basketball, volleyball, and pickleball. The Guppy Grotto splash pad is for small children. The Suncastle waterslides cost extra. One lagoon cabana for up to seven people starts at about $510, for 5.5 hours. A free chair is the other choice. Book a cabana on the ship if you want shade held for you.
Going further
Freeport is not a walk from the pier. There is no published time or distance. To leave the site, use a booked tour or a taxi from Lokono Cove. A jeep tour, with lunch at the Garden of the Groves and an hour at Taino Beach, starts at about $140 for ages 13 and up, and about $120 for a child. It takes about 6 hours. The driver must be 25 and show a license. That tour does not take wheelchairs, canes, or walkers. One long tour is enough. You still have to be back at the ship.
Food & shopping
Each person gets one free Island Eats meal at a walk-up spot. Use the Sail & Sign card. The spots are the food trucks, snack shacks, and beach shacks at Starfish and Calypso, plus Captain’s Galley Food Hall at Starfish. Gill’s Grill, Mingo’s, and Surf N’ Sauce are sit-down places. They are not that free meal. A credit card also works for food. Shops are in Lokono Cove: local crafts, duty-free goods, and coffee. The ship card is not taken in the shops. Bring cash for a small souvenir, or use a credit card. The local currency is the Bahamian dollar. US dollars are widely accepted on Grand Bahama.
Opening times & connectivity
There is no town clock for this stop. Food, shops, and the beach run while your ship is in. No daily opening hour is posted. Your limit is all-aboard. If you bought internet on the ship, that plan works ashore. The Carnival HUB app still opens if you did not buy a plan. Ship internet is the connection named here. First-aid stations are marked around the site. Pharmaboxes sell ordinary medicines. Lockers can be rented, and they have phone chargers. English is the local language.
Accessibility & mobility
The guest guide does not call the gangway step-free. Ask the ship. Paradise Plaza is a 6–10 minute walk from the ship. Beach wheelchairs are at that plaza, first come, first served. To reach a cabana you walk off the paved path onto loose sand, and the floor is sand. You may bring a folding wheelchair or a cane up to that point. At Pearl Cove, some paths are loose sand, and a personal wheelchair is left at the reception desk. Trams loop the lagoons and Lokono Cove. Not every tram is described as taking a wheelchair. The waterslides are a paid activity, not a level route.