Martin Aquatic Achieves Milestone with Blue Mar Basins at Carnival’s Celebration Key
Martin Aquatic, a world-class aquatic firm, has revealed that its cutting-edge technology has catered to over 150,000 guests visiting Carnival’s exclusive destination, Celebration Key, since its launch just a month ago. This new private cruise port on Grand Bahama offers visitors the chance to experience the Caribbean’s largest freshwater lagoons.
The extensive amenities at Celebration Key are supported by Blue Mar Basins technology from Martin Aquatic, ensuring the water remains crystal clear across more than 7 acres of surface area. This marks Martin Aquatic’s first installation of the patent-pending, algorithm-based Blue Mar Basins system, which has undergone several design iterations since its initial development.
“The scale of the lagoons at Celebration Key is nothing short of astonishing,” states Josh Martin, president & creative director of the Orlando, Florida-based creative design and engineering firm, Martin Aquatic.
“However, what is even more remarkable is the quality of water throughout these entirely swimmable basins, and that’s thanks to superior engineering and automation controls within our Blue Mar Basins system.”
More Sustainable Operations
Measuring 3.5 acres each, the two lagoons at Celebration Key provide unique experiences for Carnival’s guests—from swim-up bars and shallow sunshelves for in-water lounging to a DJ island and overwater cabanas.
Yet, the true marvel of these basins goes beyond their design, showcasing a more sustainable operation compared to an average swimming pool. With varying depths and concentrations of bathers, the two basins utilise the Blue Mar Basins system, which employs a patent-pending method for monitoring, treating, and responding to changes in water chemistry.
“The Blue Mar Basins system intelligently uses automation to create the right water balance at the right time, and the technology we’ve developed is continually improving,” explains Alessandro Orio, vice president of Blue Mar Basins.
Ease of Installation
Engineering a project like Celebration Key to operate sustainably is a key aspect of the Blue Mar Basins innovative approach. During the development of the Blue Mar Basins system, Martin Aquatic designed proprietary ‘smart’ controllers to manage all chemical and mechanical equipment.
In conjunction with Carnival and its ship deployment schedule, the Blue Mar Basins system utilises proprietary algorithms to estimate the level of activity in the lagoons, based on daily passenger arrivals at the port.
Currently, Celebration Key can accommodate up to 11,000 passengers daily, hosting two ships per day. When the second pier opens in 2026, it will be able to accommodate four ships and serve up to 20,000 passengers per day. On days with higher capacities, the system is optimised to operate more efficiently and employs a proprietary AI algorithm to adjust water levels based on historical trends.
This system allows the basin to leverage historical data alongside current environmental conditions to optimise chemical and power consumption for the design day. It is also designed to identify patterns in water quality fluctuations, facilitating proactive treatment of water that could pose risks to guests.
Tracking water and active learning by the system is just one of the innovations that Martin Aquatic has implemented as part of Celebration Key.
Thanks to Blue Mar Basins turnkey solutions, installing this equipment was straightforward. Despite the challenges of an island setting and local contractors doing the work, Celebration Key’s lagoons were completed first during construction, saving several months in the development timeline.
Equipment was delivered on-site in a plug-and-play manner, enabling pre-certified and trained construction crews to quickly and smoothly install complex modules. With a fully supplied equipment package, Martin Aquatic’s engineering team developed a system that reduces installation time, helping large lagoon projects open more quickly and easily for clients.
The Impact of Blue Mar Basins
Celebration Key has showcased how the Blue Mar Basins system can efficiently manage large numbers of bathers in a multi-acre facility. This technology replaces traditional water management methods, allowing developers to transform every square foot into a fully functional, swimmable water feature.
“Seeing our Blue Mar Basins system utilised in our largest project to date has been incredibly rewarding—especially for a project as high profile as Carnival’s Celebration Key,” remarks Orio. “The upcoming developments will undoubtedly benefit from the experience and insights we are gathering at this seven-acre site.”
Celebration Key is not the first Blue Mar Basins project to launch, as Martin Aquatic has been refining this technology for years through various large-scale pools, including a 1.3-acre water body that formed the centrepiece of a retail and dining complex.
Future projects will encompass surf lagoons, mixed-use development lagoons, and other waterpark attractions that benefit from a more efficient water quality management system.
“We’re excited about the future of our Blue Mar Basins technology,” adds Martin. “The lagoons at Celebration Key have made an incredible impression on guests, and our clients are witnessing what is achievable in creating the next great Aquatic Leisure Destination.”
