Luminous Lagoon "Glistening Waters" Tour vanuit Grand Palladium Resorts

Our driver, Jeremy, was the best part of the tour. He was funny and informative. It had rained that morning so the glowing wasn't as bright as expected. Okay tour, but not worth the price we paid.

We went as a couple and really enjoyed this unique experience, the water does really glow as you swim about and makes your arms luminous as you take them out of the water. The water is warm and a max of 4 feet deep, beware though the bottom feels very strange so I’d advise using swim shoes.

Trying to make the water glow between the hot and cold waters. The captain was great with his history and instructions.

Our driver was ready waiting for us at the resort. On the way, we stopped for a few minutes to check out some local shops. The driver was great because he talked about places as we past them. When we got to the lagoon at sunset and when it got dark we went out on the water. It was beautiful and anyone visiting Jamaica should definitely try this.

I wish I could take back the wasted time. Never again was my whole vacation ruined. The water doesn't even light up. We wondered if they took us to the wrong lagoon. My advice is to stay away.

I would give this zero stars if I could. I went with a group of eight people we show up to a bar/restaurant where there is at least 65 people waiting to get on a boat. We go up to the bar to get our “complimentary” drink; the bartender poured this rum punch from a jug and it seriously tasted like poison. Finally they put my group and about 20 other people into a boat and head for the lagoon. You could tell that the person driving the boat was thinking ‘oh crap’ in his head because literally there was no luminous water of any kind. Some people went in and there was absolutely nothing that happened. After trying to find where the luminous water would be the captain then informed us that since it was an overcast day that he knew that there would be no luminous water. HE EVEN THEN SAID DON’T TELL UR FRIENDS OR FAMILY ABOUT THIS SO THEY CAN COME TRY IT FOR THEMSELVES. Leaving me to wonder why they would have tourist pay money come out there, spend over two hours if they knew at the start of the activity that it would not work. It seemed very slimy and shady. We did not get our money back. This company is scheming tourist out of money.

Search for about an hour and did not see any LUMINOUS anything. Debbie Downer!! We got our money back.. #GirlsTrip3102020

This was a waste of time and money. We were very disappointed to find that the glow from the organisms was so mild that it could barely be seen. It was not at all as depicted in the pictures. Not even close. The captain finally drew a bucket of water out of the lagoon and attempted to show us the glow by twirling his fingers in the bucket. I really wish we had not chosen this tour.

Yes, glowing water is unique to see and experience. However, you are experiencing this with minimum of 6 other boats filled with 40+ people. On top of this, you also have to keep in mind you need excellent conditions to see the glow; full sun day leading up, and new or low light evening. We also had a tough experience because upon pickup they didn’t have record of our reservation. They ABSOLUTELY do not want to issue a refund so they were prepared to have us sit on laps. After a phone call they arranged for shared transportation with another family, this ended up being a blessing because the location was a bar with music so loud you cannot think clearly and beverages at additional cost. If this is “a must” for you, work with someone for a private LATE (like 3 or 4 AM) tour.

After reading numerous reviews and being left in limbo in regards to what the trip would be like due to the mixture of positive/negative responses, I decided to head out on the trip, as I knew that it would be amazing if it turned out as planned. Once upon the boat we appeared to do some sort of lap of the lagoon, just tohead back very close to where we left off. Whether this was for entertainment or they were looking for a specific spot, I don't know! However there was complete silence and no direction over what was happening - which would have been nice. After around 10 mins of driving around, we eventually came to a stop. I was the first to get in the water and after reading about jellyfishes was quite concerned and the prospect of swimming in pitch black darkness was also quite alarming! Despite this, once in the water and swimming around (particularly doing breaststroke) you could see the glow around you. It was quite amazing to experience it, regardless of it being quite a weak glow to what I had seen in some other images - it was faint but still very cool to observe nonetheless. The bottom was probably around 4ft deep and covered in some form of sludge/silt which was quite disgusting, however you were informed of this beforehand so it didn't come as a surprise. To their credit, the captain was very informative of what caused the phenomenon, however it may have been better if they had pulled a bucket of water out, to provide a closer look. In regards to photography, you're charged $25 US dollars for all the photos they take (maybe 5-10) - it would have been nice if this was included in the price of the trip, they weren't anything groundbreaking. To anyone wanting to go, or anyone intending to bring a camera, a few tips on how to take the photos that were done so on board, it may save you a few pennies! Have a very slow shutter speed, maybe around 1/4 of a second, with an aperture of around f/8, an iso of around 400-1000 as well as using a fill direct flash to illuminate the subject faintly. This should provide a rough setting for which to play around with to capture your images. You may be able to get something with your phone if it allows you to control these settings, however I'd advise some form of camera for the best results. I think it may be worth the tour operators advising the best times to head out and see the lagoon, as it appears to me that the water/organsisms are brighter at certain times of the year and it would be good for these to be shown. Hopefully this should provide an honest review of my experience and help others to make a decision!