if you had to pick one excursion on Dis Magic 7 day east carib ?

[ganurse]

Hey guys....There are so many excursions that my husband and I find interesting but want some recommendations...What has everyone done and what would you not do? To book pre-cruise. i just call the number..Do i need my reservation number and room number? do they give me a confirmation number? thanks..amy

[DARWIN91]

I did not think the Pinel Island Tour in St. Maarten was worth it. Snorkeling was not good. I would definitely repeat the 5 star trip to St. John Trunk Bay.

[infobahn]

We took the St. John's Trunk Bay trip. The place was great, we might find another way to get there next time. The group tour (vs. the Snorkle) was a military operation gone bad.

[prymsu]

was worth every penny! Great snorkeling.

[liza]

The single best thing I did on the 7-day cruise was snuba with my son, in St. Thomas. Thank you so much to the wonderful woman on this board who posted that information and then corresponded with me about it.

This is not a Disney-offered excursion, and it is only for swimmers who are interested in the diving experience. I
was interested because we are divers who have a son who was getting to experience his first underwater experience. If you are interested, I'll describe it. If you are not, please skip over this post.

You need to be at least 8 years old and in good health. You can be a grandparent. You do NOT have to be a certified diver to do snuba. You essentially go diving, but you are limited to 20 feet depth (hence no decompression worries) because instead of carrying the air tank on your back, the tank floats in a narrow inflatable raft on the surface, and it moves with you as you go, but you don't really notice the movement. You breathe through a regulator, just like "real divers", so you have to get comfortable doing that, and you do descend up to 20 feet, so you do have to learn to equalize, which means every so often in descent you simply pinch your nose shut through the mask and blow so your ears pop (pop is too strong a word). That equalizes the pressure.

You wear all the same equipment "real" divers do -- mask, snorkel (actually in snuba they tell you a snorkel is optional, but I would alway recommend a snorkel while in the water, you never know what might happen!), fins, regulator and hose, but the tank floats on the surface above you, and weight belt. Make sure you get enough weight!

The instructor spends some time in shallow water with you standing up experimenting with your gear, while they "teach" you some things about what you'll need to know. My personal opinion is that those things take some practice to be able to do -- like really clearing your mask underwater -- the kinds of things you learn in the process of getting certified -- so I recommend this event for adults who are enthusiastic snorkelers and decent swimmers and who are interested in the diving experience, and not claustrophobic or afraid of new experiences, PLUS the children who are old enough and good enough swimmers and who want to do it.

As I mentioned, it was the single best thing I did on the cruise. I also took some underwater photos I will treasure for a long time.

I would heartily recomment this event. Remember, you have to do it on your own!

[iluvorlando]

THE GOLDEN EAGLE CATAMARAN

We had a ton of fun on this excursion. The ride over is great for people who want to get wet, the snorkling and beach are fabulous! On the way home, the crew feeds you and drinks flow (non and alcoholic), topped off with a champagne toast! The crew was great! Would definately do this again. If you do choose this one, the time at the beach is about an hour. The ride over and back take the longest time of the total excursion. Which is why you would want to be able to just enjoy the scenery and trip on the cat.:)

[SC Minnie]

iluvorlando- We did the Golden Eagle Catamaran also and LOVED it! We would definately do it again! We - me, DH, & DD- all had a great time on this excursion. There was about 30 DISers on the excrusion we were on!

[Gretel]

Golden Eagle Catamaran

Hi SC Minnie!

[Eakster]

Without a doubt, the Golden Eagle Catamaran in St. Maarten was the highlight of our trip. If you sit up front on the net rather than in the partially enclosed back, you're less likely to get sick. Probably an adrenaline thing as the waves splash you and knock you up in the air a bit. Trunk Bay was a close second, but that's because we did it on our own and had 3.5 hours at the beach. The Trunk Bay excursions only give you 1.5 hours max.

[IrishCowboy]

The Golden Eagle Catamaran is great! Lots of fun for everyone and if you take the morning excursion, you get back to the ship in time for lunch and shopping. SC Minnie mentioned that we had over 30 DIs'ers on our excursion and had a great time! Hi SC Minnie and Gretel!

Trunk Bay beach is GORGEOUS! I recommend doing this on your own. Its very easy to do. Its cheaper than the Disney excursion (about $20/person) and you'll hvae much more time on the beach.

[Towncrier]

Another vote for Golden Eagle Catamaran on St. Maarten. DD Sarah and I had a great time (along with all the other DISers). Hi to everyone IrishCowboy mentioned.

[Ginny]

We cast our vote for the Golden Eagle Catamaran!! We had a GREAT time and the crew was so incredibly sweet and attentive to DD (7) who was a bit seasick.............they made her feel very special!! Their tips were successful and she really felt much better.

The water splashing over the bow was so much fun on the ride over and DD and I built sandcastles while DH went snorkeling. Hoisting the sails was fun, too. DD just loved dancing on the way back in to the dock. Her face was worth the trip!!

[SC Minnie]

Hi all the Jan 19 cruisers!!! We can't wait to go back in October for the $99 cruise! We are tentively planning another 7 day in 2004 - western this time.

[danicaw]

12 meter regatta!

http://thatswright.com/Cruise/images/DSC00562.jpg

[momofofo]

On our cruise March 2th, we did the Golden Catamaran. We loved it a lot. It is a must.

[Shercara]

Our best day was Trunk Bay (St John) on our own!

[MarkRG]

Someone mentioned Snuba? You could go over to my favorite place on St Thomas, Click here to visit the Coral World Site! (http://www.coralworldvi.com) who does something similar where you wear a high tech diving helmet. It's a really cool place, look for the thread titled 'coral world coki beach' or something similar. :)

[KAELA'SMOM]

We also did the golden eagle! We totally agree without a doubt the best experience. I have the best picture of my 7 year old sitting with a "drink" in hand and the beautiful background. It was worth every cent to see the look on her face! GO!!!

[KeenHo]

We loved our experience too! Wouldn't have missed it and would do it again if we ever go eastern again!

Howard
:wave: :earsboy:

[scoobydoosmommy]

GOLDEN EAGLE CATAMARAN!!! MY DS6 WAS SCARED TO DEATH ON THE WAY OVER TO THE BEACH AS WE SAT NEAR THE TRAMPOLINE NET IN THE FRONT WITH WAVES SPLASHING ON BOARD. HOWEVER, ON THE WAY BACK HE COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT AND SAT INSIDE THE TRAMPOLINE AREA. BY FAR THE BEST PART OF MY VACATION! WHAT A WONDERFUL MEMORY. WHILE ON THE BEACH WE WERE GIVEN A SOFT DRINK OR BEER. BACK ON BOARD SUB SANDWICHES, CHIPS, PRETZELS, AND ALL TYPES OF DRINKS WERE SERVED - ALL AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.

I HOPE THERE'S AN EXCURSION LIKE THIS ON THE WESTERN ITINERARY.

[mcfly]

Can you tell me how much the snuba cost and where can I find more info on it? Did you get to see much during your dive?

Thanks,
-Mc Fly.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by liza
[B]The single best thing I did on the 7-day cruise was snuba with my son, in St. Thomas. Thank you so much to the wonderful woman on this board who posted that information and then corresponded with me about it.

[Dave_from_Marietta]

Originally posted by mcfly

Can you tell me how much the snuba cost and where can I find more info on it?

www.visnuba.com

[DisneyKids]

I'll go against the thread - One vote for the Champagne Catamaran for St. Thomas to St. John. From those I spoke to that had been on the Golden Eagle, it was very similar. Major difference is the duration. Champagne Cat. is 6 hours where the Golden Eagle is 4 - 4 1/2 hours. That also calculates to more $$$$. Also, Golden Eagle is from St. Marteen and Champagne is from St. Thomas to St. John. We LOVED it.

[Kristaia]

Hi, PLEASE tell me more about the regatta...
My DH is dying to do this, is it fun? What will Clare (3) and I do while he is doing this? Times? Duration?
Thanks,
Krista

[DreamsDoComeTrue]

OK, OK, The GOLDEN EAGLE CATAMARAN!!!
This was a good post worth bumping.;)

[KeenHo]

Pretty overwhelming, huh? It was fun.

Howard

[ganurse]

i cant find anything about Trunk Bay anywhere....HELP!

[KeenHo]

http://www.virginisles.com/activities/beaches.html#stjohn

This site has some general information about Trunk Beach on St. Johns. I hope it is helpful. Sounds like paradise!

Howard

[Psiklops]

ganurse:

Here's what I got from "Frommers Carribean Ports of Call" by Heidi Sarna (don't want to get in trouble for plagiarism here :D ):

<blockquote>
"For a true beach lover, missing the great white sweep of <b>Trunk Bay</b> would be like touring Europe and skipping Paris. Tourble is, the word is out. This gorgeous beach is usually overcrowded, and there are pickpockets lurking about. The beach has lifeguards and offers rentals, such as snorkeling gear. The underwater trail near the shore attracts beginning snorklers in particular. Both taxis and "safari buses" to Trunk Bay meet the ferry as it docks at Cruz Bay."
</blockquote>

This was from the 2000 edition, so I don't know if the pickpockets have been cleaned up. I'm sure there is a <strike>crap-load</strike> bunch of info out there on the web.

Hope this helps! :D

- Jim

[cruisinpenguin]

Golden Eagle....ROCKS!! or well FLOATS!! This excursion was the BEST!! Hope they offer something like it on the Western cruise!! :) Enjoy

[MickeyMagic]

Another vote for Golden Eagle Catamaran!!

And a big HELLO to SC Minnie, Gretel, Irish Cowboy and Towncrier.

[mikeymars]

Originally posted by ganurse
want some recommendations

Our ten cents: skip the excursions, which are costly, limit your fun time and march you around like you are back in 2nd grade.

Instead, do the islands on your own. Much more beach and shopping time, access to places NOT on the over-beaten path (like Trunk Bay, which 20 years ago was nice underwater but is now a just screamingly sad example of the damage snorkeling 101 types do to reefs) and generally less expensive.:smooth:

[mikeymars]

Originally posted by ganurse
want some recommendations

Our ten cents: skip the excursions, which are costly, limit your fun time and march you around like you are back in 2nd grade.

Instead, do the islands on your own. Much more beach and shopping time, generally less expensive than excursions and -- most importantly -- give you access to places NOT on the heavily-beaten tourist path (like Trunk Bay, which 20 years ago was nice underwater, but is now a just screamingly sad example of the damage snorkeling 101 types unintentionally do to reefs. Skip Trunk and do one of the better snorkeling beaches on the North Shore). :smooth:

[KeenHo]

Novice cruisers may tend to take planned excursions because they are unfamiliar with the ports of call and the logistics of pulling off an entertaining, fun and rewarding experience while at an exotic port of call.

Others, who have been around the islands a few times can appreciate the convenience of the excursions, but would rather save a few dollars and strike out on their own, knowing the risks of not making it back to the ship in time and putting the responsibility of having a great time on to themselves (going off the beaten path).

I would do what you are comfortable with knowing your goals for the cruise and at the various ports of call. On our upcoming 2nd Disney cruise in June, we are planning to do two things on our own that we did as excursions on the Celebrity Mercury in Feb. 2000.

Whatever you choose, have a wonderful time!!

Howard

[Doctor P]

Thanks for all the tips. They will be useful as we plan our cruise.