Boatswain's Adventure Marine Park

[MyOnlyStitch]

70 days and counting until we set sail on the Fantasy!! Our DS turns 6 while on "Mickey's New Boat." We are in Grand Cayman on his birthday and would like to make his day extra special. He loves all things nature, so we are thinking of doing the Boatswain's Adventure Marine Park. Has anyone done this excursion? Is it worth it. We are torn between this and just doing a beach excursion.

Thanks!!

Heidi

 

[lucky1]

If you do a search on Boatswain on this board, you will see some reviews. Some very positive reviews. unfortunately ours was not so positive. A little to do with the Weater and a little to do with what the park had to offer in when it was raining.


Please note there is no "Ocean Beach" at Boatswain it is across the road from the Ocean. The Turtles are interesting. But that just didn't turn out to be the excurision for us. We much prefer the Beach excursions. But given that it was pretty much pouring down rain most of the day, I think no excurison would have been great that day.

 

[mammacaryn]

We went on our own. And our kids loved it. Its nothing fancy, different tanks/pools with different size turtles. The smaller ones you can pick up. There is a swimming area there-not a real beach though. There are birds there as well to look at and of course a gift shop.
We liked it.

We went to the beach in Cozumel.

 

[bobbi565]

We loved it! The snorkel lagoon was amazing, especially for beginners as it is well stocked with an amazing variety of sea life. There's a large shallow beach area at the lagoon that's great for small children. The food at the dining area was very good, and we enjoyed handling the baby sea turtles. You can check out my trippie from 5/08 linked below to see some pics from way back then. I'm not sure if it's changed much in four years, but we would definitely go back again.

 

[MyOnlyStitch]

Thanks everyone! My DS would love the snorkel. He would also love the turtles. He so loves all things related to the sea. This may have to be his birthday excursion!!

Heidi

 

[Jaybear]

We stayed on Grand Cayman for several days a few years ago, and our then 2.5 year old daughter loved it. The turtles were definitely interesting, and there were plenty of other interesting areas to explore. We enjoyed feeding the birds, too. We didn't even go in the water, and we felt that it was well worth it.

Personally, I would recommend avoiding the DCL excursion and just taking a cab from the cruise port. Do it at your own pace. There's a nice restaurant within walking distance (The Cracked Conch). On our Fantasy Cruise in two weeks, we are just going to take a a cab to Boatswains, check out the turtles and grab a nice lunch at The Cracked Conch. Our now 4-year old daughter and 2-year old son will love it.

Have a great cruise!

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We stayed on Grand Cayman for several days a few years ago, and our then 2.5 year old daughter loved it. The turtles were definitely interesting, and there were plenty of other interesting areas to explore. We enjoyed feeding the birds, too. We didn't even go in the water, and we felt that it was well worth it.

Personally, I would recommend avoiding the DCL excursion and just taking a cab from the cruise port. Do it at your own pace. There's a nice restaurant within walking distance (The Cracked Conch). On our Fantasy Cruise in two weeks, we are just going to take a a cab to Boatswains, check out the turtles and grab a nice lunch at The Cracked Conch. Our now 4-year old daughter and 2-year old son will love it.

Have a great cruise!

That's our plan too. Hoping to do it early and be back onboard around 12:30 for lunch. Then DH will take ds4 on the pirate excursion at 1:45 while I take ds2 to nap. Does this sound feasible to just spend the morning there?

 

[Alexander]

We did this just last week. I booked our admission tickets right through Boatswain's website. They had 20% off for the time we were going to be there. We got off the ship (tendered) and walked a few blocks to the bus. The bus is $2.50/pp each way. For two of us it ended up costing $66. DCL was getting $92 each for this excursion. I was really happy I booked it on our own. When we were done at Boatswain's, the Rum Cake Factory is just across the road. We walked over there, bought some rum cakes and caught another bus back to Georgetown.

 

[nemofans]

We booked this directly w/Boatswain's website. Our boys enjoyed it. They got a kick out of the turtles & we swam in the pool. We also snorkeled as well. As DS (5) & I were snorkeling out further in the lagoon, we passed an iguana sitting at the side of the lagoon. DS thought that was cool. Our DS (2) played in the sand while we took turns snorkeling. We ate at the restaurant there & sat right by the snorkel lagoon so we could still see the turtles & fish swimming by. Make sure to wear tons of sunscreen & reapply b/c you fry up easily & quickly there.
We definitely want to go back to Grand Cayman again & I hope to visit Stingray City then.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We booked this directly w/Boatswain's website. Our boys enjoyed it. They got a kick out of the turtles & we swam in the pool. We also snorkeled as well. As DS (5) & I were snorkeling out further in the lagoon, we passed an iguana sitting at the side of the lagoon. DS thought that was cool. Our DS (2) played in the sand while we took turns snorkeling. We ate at the restaurant there & sat right by the snorkel lagoon so we could still see the turtles & fish swimming by. Make sure to wear tons of sunscreen & reapply b/c you fry up easily & quickly there.
We definitely want to go back to Grand Cayman again & I hope to visit Stingray City then.

I was looking at their site and if I remember correctly, it seemed the time their shuttle was running was prior to our arrival time at port. Was it a continuous shuttle, or was there one just waiting on Fantasy guests?
Also, do you think that we could do the whole thing in 3 hours?

 

[Zeppelin]

our last Disney cruise in 2009 we went on this excursion- well worth the $$$....pictures of my daughter kissing the turtles are hysterical....taking the Fantasy in late August and may go back....

 

[Alexander]

I was looking at their site and if I remember correctly, it seemed the time their shuttle was running was prior to our arrival time at port. Was it a continuous shuttle, or was there one just waiting on Fantasy guests?
Also, do you think that we could do the whole thing in 3 hours?

We were on the Magic last week and our arrival time into GC was 7:30. We took the 8:30 tender and when we arrived, we found out that the Boatswain's bus was coming around 10:00. We decided to just grab the local bus instead.

I can tell from our experience and others I have read, you should probably not rely on the Boatswain shuttle. The times are varied and not entirely reliable. There were many locals working in the area of the pier that didn't even know about the bus.

PS--If you are looking for something do not say "Boatswain" they do not know what you are talking about. ALL of the locals call it the turtle farm.

 

[nemofans]

We missed the Boatswain's shuttle so we took a local van. It was frustrating though b/c the driver filled up all the seats in the van w/people & we thought we were going to go. But he made us wait even more & got more people to squeeze in the van. We waited a long time so he could jam as many people he could in there. Other people on the van waiting w/us got very upset.

 

[RedxPanda]

We did this just last week. I booked our admission tickets right through Boatswain's website. They had 20% off for the time we were going to be there. We got off the ship (tendered) and walked a few blocks to the bus. The bus is $2.50/pp each way. For two of us it ended up costing $66. DCL was getting $92 each for this excursion. I was really happy I booked it on our own. When we were done at Boatswain's, the Rum Cake Factory is just across the road. We walked over there, bought some rum cakes and caught another bus back to Georgetown.

I was hoping it would be this easy! $92 pp is crazy! Happy to hear the local bus was easy and cheap to do. We will definitely go this route when we go to GC (hopefully next February!). I like that you can do it all on your own time.

 

[time4dis]

WE just did it through the Disney Excursion a week ago. Yes it is ridiculously overpriced through Disney but we got a guaranteed time group tender, bus, lunch and a return trip all arranged. With little kids (including an infant) it was the way for us to go. The turtle tour is fun. The snorkel saltwater lagoon is fun for beginners and has a sandy area you could play at, the freshwater pool has a waterslide, there is a nature trail, a small shark tank and a tiny bird 'zoo'. Also, if you get done early you can walk across the street to the Dolphin facility and poke around over there for free.

 

[Tinknalli]

We did it through DCL on the 4/14 Fantasy sailing. Was OK, but not worth the price DCL charges especially if your kids are picky eaters. Transportation was scheduled. You walked off the boat and were brought to the parking lot and assigned a but. You were required to meet the same bus at a specific time for the return. In our case it was a van and we had to remember the license plate number and drivers name and we were given a laminated card to use as our return ticket. After entering the facility there was a guided tour of the turtle tanks including chances to hold them and get pictures. Was a lot of people for the one tour guide. From the turtles we were brought to the restaurant where lunch was served and let loose to do as we please. We swam and did the water slide first. Our kids are excelent swimmers and at 8 and 10 were not happy that they were required to stay in the little roped off area for swimming and not use the whole pool. After that we went to lunch which was a buffet consisting of macaroni salad, cole slaw, beans and rice, chicken leg quarters and fish. Drinks included were water and fake pink lemonade. You were issued a ticket for the buffet and it was a once through thing. My picky eaters were not happy with the choices so even after the cost of the expensive excursion we spent $40 on chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks and fries. We then went to the snorkle lagoon and DH and I did not feel like snorkeling and they allowed my daughter access to the full lagoon but my son was yelled at for going past some imaginary line where kids without adults could not cross. There were no artisans on "Cayman Street" as advertised on their website. The kids liked the predator tank and there was a cool (temperature wise) underground viewing area. The aviary was OK. Overall, just Ok, but overpriced.

 

[MartDM]

We went to Boatswains on our DS4's birthday cruise; he loved it. We wandered around the front of the park enjoying the turtles & birds for about an hour & a half, then we went to the swimming area. He loved both & still talks about the turtle farm as one of the highlights of our trip.