Boatswain Turtle Adventure- Cayman - recent reviews?

[gstroop28]

Hi all! I've been searching for recent reviews of the Turtle farm excursion at Cayman and I wanted to see if anyone has been there in the last couple months.

Was it worth it? Our family (DDs 14 and 11) aren't really "beach" people, but they saw the turtles and thought it was neat. Has anyone gone with teenagers and they liked it? Trying to decide between that and the Catamaran Reef and Kittiwake snorkel trip.


Videos I've seen makes the water you swim with them in kind of murky. I know you are there for the turtles and not the clearness, but I don't want to be grossed out by tons of turtle poop.

Thanks in advance!

 

[jjones144]

Want to hear about this also, I think my boys would really enjoy it.

 

[Itinkso]

We were there at the beginning of the month. Here is a copy of my brief review:

Grand Cayman: Turtle Farm on our own. We booked through the website and paid $36/person for the full park admission. We were transported to and from the Turtle Farm on the DCL Excursion bus! So, we had no worries about returning to the ship on time! The Turtle Farm does request that you email and let them know you are booking independently and will use their transportation so they have an accurate count for their buses.

We had a great time. DD snorkeled for a bit but didn't see any turtles in the lagoon. There is also a regular large-sized swimming pool there.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[sproseilo]

Grand Cayman: Turtle Farm on our own. We booked through the website and paid $36/person for the full park admission. We were transported to and from the Turtle Farm on the DCL Excursion bus! So, we had no worries about returning to the ship on time! The Turtle Farm does request that you email and let them know you are booking independently and will use their transportation so they have an accurate count for their buses.


Would you recommend booking on your own? Did they give you a chance to stop at the beach before heading back to the boat? It's so expensive to book through Disney, but I'm worried about getting back to the boat on time.

 

[kcashner]

We did the island tour thru Captain Marvin which included the turtle farm. On the way back we had to option of being dropped off at one of the beaches (7 Mile or Sea Grape) or being returned to the tender terminal--if you wanted a beach stop, this would save one way transportation if you wished.

Our cost was $30 per adult. We had a vehicle for just our group + one other family of 3 adults. The island tour was not a "must do." "Hell" is basically a rock formation turned into a tourist trap. The turtle farm was the best part of the tour, but we did learn a bit of island history, etc. Um....the swimming areas at Boatswain's were not very clean when we were there, and I was VERY unimpressed with the buffet they had prepared for the DCL people. It sat in the heat for at least 45 minutes before they started serving (translation--it was there sitting out when we entered the turtle farm and was still sitting there when we left...and they hadn't started serving yet!)

 

[kristinfly2]

We did this on our own with our 4 youngest 11, 9, 5 and 3. We were on the magic last week. Kids loved it! Our kids love to swim and the turtle farm has the largest pool on grand cayman with a big water slide! Only our 11 yo was interested in the turtles, the other kids only cared about the pool! LOL. We didn't go over to the lagoon side where you can snorkel with fish but I walked over and looked at it. It was clean and looked fun! Do not book this thru DCL!!! They are asking 4 times as much for the same thing! And we were on the same bus! Both ways! Book online and they give you 20% off. . Everyone who worked there was super nice!

 

[Itinkso]

Grand Cayman: Turtle Farm on our own. We booked through the website and paid $36/person for the full park admission. We were transported to and from the Turtle Farm on the DCL Excursion bus! So, we had no worries about returning to the ship on time! The Turtle Farm does request that you email and let them know you are booking independently and will use their transportation so they have an accurate count for their buses.


Would you recommend booking on your own? Did they give you a chance to stop at the beach before heading back to the boat? It's so expensive to book through Disney, but I'm worried about getting back to the boat on time.

We were transported to and from the Turtle Farm on the DCL excursion buses even though we booked on our own. If you are there independently, you can take a cab from the Turtle Farm to the beach and then get another cab from the beach to the port.

 

[believinthemagic]

Can anyone tell me, if you book through DCL is the buffet included in your excursion price? Or do you have to purchase lunch.

We have the Boatswains adventure excursion booked through DCL for January. The website does not specifically say lunch included nor does it say lunch not included. I even called DCL and their rep wasn't sure.

 

[kcashner]

We did this on our own with our 4 youngest 11, 9, 5 and 3. We were on the magic last week. Kids loved it! Our kids love to swim and the turtle farm has the largest pool on grand cayman with a big water slide! Only our 11 yo was interested in the turtles, the other kids only cared about the pool! LOL. We didn't go over to the lagoon side where you can snorkel with fish but I walked over and looked at it. It was clean and looked fun! Do not book this thru DCL!!! They are asking 4 times as much for the same thing! And we were on the same bus! Both ways! Book online and they give you 20% off. . Everyone who worked there was super nice!

Note--there are several different levels of admission with different color wrist bands issued. The turtle farm alone does not include swimming. Be sure you opt for park access if you wish to swim. And yes, do not book thru DCL--easy and much cheaper on your own.

 

[kristinfly2]

Sorry I forgot to mention to buy admission for the whole park!

 

[Golden Rose]

Can anyone tell me, if you book through DCL is the buffet included in your excursion price? Or do you have to purchase lunch.

We have the Boatswains adventure excursion booked through DCL for January. The website does not specifically say lunch included nor does it say lunch not included. I even called DCL and their rep wasn't sure.

We just got back from our cruise today; we were there and did the tour booked through DCL on Tuesday. It did include lunch. The buffet was rice and beans, cole slaw, fried plantains, and a choice of barbecue chicken or fried fish. There was actually a bit of confusion, our guide at the turtle farm asked us if we were doing the deluxe tour and there was a lot of silence. Then he asked if there were any other questions, and I asked what the white ticket was for, and he looked a little surprised, said it was for the buffet, and asked if anyone else had a white ticket (which, of course, we all did.) Apparently, we were all on the deluxe tour that included everything, but no one had explained it to us. We got the wrist bands that included full access to the back areas. The back areas are the snorkeling lagoon, swimming pool, predator pool (for looking at, not swimming in), and aviary.

Our kids, ages 7 and almost 2, absolutely loved it. They spent a lot of time in the aviary looking at birds, wading in the salt water lagoon area that has the fish, holding turtles, pointing at iguanas, and getting in the small turtle pools to play with the turtles. They also both liked the lunch surprisingly well.

 

[jjones144]

We just got back from our cruise today; we were there and did the tour booked through DCL on Tuesday. It did include lunch. The buffet was rice and beans, cole slaw, fried plantains, and a choice of barbecue chicken or fried fish. There was actually a bit of confusion, our guide at the turtle farm asked us if we were doing the deluxe tour and there was a lot of silence. Then he asked if there were any other questions, and I asked what the white ticket was for, and he looked a little surprised, said it was for the buffet, and asked if anyone else had a white ticket (which, of course, we all did.) Apparently, we were all on the deluxe tour that included everything, but no one had explained it to us. We got the wrist bands that included full access to the back areas. The back areas are the snorkeling lagoon, swimming pool, predator pool (for looking at, not swimming in), and aviary.

Our kids, ages 7 and almost 2, absolutely loved it. They spent a lot of time in the aviary looking at birds, wading in the salt water lagoon area that has the fish, holding turtles, pointing at iguanas, and getting in the small turtle pools to play with the turtles. They also both liked the lunch surprisingly well.

How were the swimming areas? I have read a few people say that the water was really yucky. Is this true? Did your kids snorkel?

 

[believinthemagic]

We just got back from our cruise today; we were there and did the tour booked through DCL on Tuesday. It did include lunch. The buffet was rice and beans, cole slaw, fried plantains, and a choice of barbecue chicken or fried fish. There was actually a bit of confusion, our guide at the turtle farm asked us if we were doing the deluxe tour and there was a lot of silence. Then he asked if there were any other questions, and I asked what the white ticket was for, and he looked a little surprised, said it was for the buffet, and asked if anyone else had a white ticket (which, of course, we all did.) Apparently, we were all on the deluxe tour that included everything, but no one had explained it to us. We got the wrist bands that included full access to the back areas. The back areas are the snorkeling lagoon, swimming pool, predator pool (for looking at, not swimming in), and aviary.

Our kids, ages 7 and almost 2, absolutely loved it. They spent a lot of time in the aviary looking at birds, wading in the salt water lagoon area that has the fish, holding turtles, pointing at iguanas, and getting in the small turtle pools to play with the turtles. They also both liked the lunch surprisingly well.

Thank you! The Disney agent wasn't even sure if it included lunch or not.

 

[believinthemagic]

We did this on our own with our 4 youngest 11, 9, 5 and 3. We were on the magic last week. Kids loved it! Our kids love to swim and the turtle farm has the largest pool on grand cayman with a big water slide! Only our 11 yo was interested in the turtles, the other kids only cared about the pool! LOL. We didn't go over to the lagoon side where you can snorkel with fish but I walked over and looked at it. It was clean and looked fun! Do not book this thru DCL!!! They are asking 4 times as much for the same thing! And we were on the same bus! Both ways! Book online and they give you 20% off. . Everyone who worked there was super nice!

So, thinking about cancelling through DCL and booking this on our own. So did the turtle park take care of your transportation & it was on the same bus as the DCL excursion, or did you have to go through DCL to let them know you'd need to be on their bus?

Also did you eat lunch there at the park? And what kind of pricing is the food? Just trying to see how much we will save booking on our own. Thanks!

 

[Golden Rose]

How were the swimming areas? I have read a few people say that the water was really yucky. Is this true? Did your kids snorkel?

I'd heard that some people thought the water was yucky, but we did not find it to be. It's salt water and there were creatures in it - we saw fish, barnacles, and baby turtles. There was some algae growing, which may have been something people find yucky. It made some of the sloping entrance to the snorkeling lagoon a little slick.

We did not snorkel - we were too busy chasing and entertaining the not quite two year old. DS knows how to snorkel and had planned to snorkel with me, and we had equipment (they will provide equipment, but we actually had our own), but he ended up deciding to stay with his little sister in the shallow area of the lagoon. A lot of people in our group did snorkel. The restaurant and buffet area extends part way over this same large lagoon where people can snorkel, and the water was clear enough that we could see a lot of fish swimming in the water. There were clearly creatures to see if you snorkeled.

 

[jjones144]

I'd heard that some people thought the water was yucky, but we did not find it to be. It's salt water and there were creatures in it - we saw fish, barnacles, and baby turtles. There was some algae growing, which may have been something people find yucky. It made some of the sloping entrance to the snorkeling lagoon a little slick.

We did not snorkel - we were too busy chasing and entertaining the not quite two year old. DS knows how to snorkel and had planned to snorkel with me, and we had equipment (they will provide equipment, but we actually had our own), but he ended up deciding to stay with his little sister in the shallow area of the lagoon. A lot of people in our group did snorkel. The restaurant and buffet area extends part way over this same large lagoon where people can snorkel, and the water was clear enough that we could see a lot of fish swimming in the water. There were clearly creatures to see if you snorkeled.

Great, thank you so much.