Which Eastern Carib. excursions for young kids?

[DVC Mary]

Which Eastern Carib. excursions do you recommend for family with active 3 1/2 and 7 yr DSs? They both fear nothing. The 3 1/2 yr old cannot swim.

Thanks in advance!

 

[sbatty]

I was just bumping this up because I am also curious what other people with young kids have done on port days on the Eastern.

 

[westjones]

I was wondering this too. I had seen a picture of the tram at St. Thomas that goes up the side of a hill. That looked like fun. I wondered if we could just walk over to it on our own, or if we needed to do the 'disney' excursion (I don't want to have to find it on my own if it is out of walking distance).

Isn't there some birds at the top? A shopping plaza?

When we go, we won't be stopping at St. Marten (one of those special itenaries in 2004), but we do stop at St. Thomas.

DJ

 

[RobinMarie]

I'm anxious to read replies as well! I am looking at things to do for a 6 yo girl!

 

[DVC Mary]

bump

 

[Jamashp]

bump again. Really curious too!!

 

[axsimpson]

We are going in less than 2 weeks. We plan on doing some kind of butterfly park and there is another thing where they let the kids pet a shark.
My daughter is 2.
If you go to the cruise website they have a fun onshore link that lists the excursions.

 

[DVC Mary]

Would you please report back to this thread or start a new one? We'd love to hear how your excursions go.

Thanks if you can.

 

[DisneyKids]

We did the Champagne Catamaran Sail and Snorkel from St. Thomas with our kids. They were 5 and 9. It's a nice long catamaran ride to St. John. They anchor in Honeymoon Bay and, if you choose, you can swim ashore (not very far) and play on the beach/swim. Even non-swimmers seemed to have no issue since they give you a vest that will help a great deal. A swimming adult can bring them to the beach and back easily. There is some good snorkling, if you choose. The beach and bay is beautiful and the boat was amazing. They even allowed the kids to steer the boat. They do a nice job with lunch and it was a nice long day, longer than most excursions. It may not be for you but we really liked it. We'll be back on it in April! Have a great time.

 

[clarabelle]

I am posting my trip report from back in April with two kids 4 and 7

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=357048


The stuff about the excursions is towards the bottom

 

[RobinMarie]

Enjoyed the report - very relevant information for me! Thanks!

 

[clarabelle]

Your welcome!
I also would mention that we were on the bus a good bit.
It would probably be wise for little ones if you brought a toy or coloring book etc... with you.

 

[GoofyB]

We did the E Caribbean trek about 3 years ago, when my kid were 4 and 8. We did the beach day in St. maarten. Great beach but BIG waves! Had to hold on to them the whole time. It was beautiful, but not the relaxing lounge-in-the-sun day at the beach that Castaway Cay can be! We all had a swell time.

We did Coral World at St. Thomas. Unfortunately, it was a new jitney service and it took them 2 hours to figure out how to dock! (We did get a 50% refund from Disney) By the time we got the the aquarium, we didn't have much time. The sea turtles and other tanks were really beautiful. Beware, however, of the iguanas, which are ALL OVER! It was really novel seeing these creatures on the wall, in the trees, everywhere you looked, really. And some were huge--up to 3 feet long. the kids loved them. When we sat in the patio area to eat, however, one came over to me like a sparrow looking for french fries in a McDonald's parking lot. Before I knew it, the darned thing was crawling up me! My husband and boys said I simply lept from my seat to a wall about 10 feet away without touching the ground. To this day, it's my family's favorite memory of the trip! I wouldn't say don't go -- just shoo the iguanas away!

 

[DVC Mary]

Thanks for the great trip report. Are there any other out there?

 

[Nesnboy]

We have a 3 year old and would love to take him on an excursion for our Eastern trip in January. Do they have any snorkel trips that they allow children under 5 on. Pinel Island? St John?

 

[axsimpson]

Just a week away. When I get back we will post what we did and how much fun it was.
Arlene

 

[DisneyGator01]

We took cabs to the beaches and it was super easy and a lot cheaper then booked excursions. Kids always love a beach day!

 

[lbgraves]

I will be finishing up our trip report from the 11/15 Eastern. Our kids are 3 & 5. We didn't do excursions but just walked around the market at the dock in St. Maarten and tendered into St. Thomas so couldn't do the tram without a taxi ride so we shopped at the farmers market instead. The kids both just wanted to get back to the Mickey pool when we got off the ship...except at Castaway Cay. This is what we figured would happen so didn't commit to any excursions. We went with what they wanted to do & enjoyed an almost empty pool both days. DH actually did the Pinal Island snorkle in the am while DS was in the club & DD & I did laundry & went to the pool. I would be totally happy doing the exact same thing on our next cruise.

 

[KenP]

I'd recommend the Oceanears Club and Lab excursions... if you and your kids want you can get off the ship and Walk around at the pier in St Maarten and perhaps do the tram ride up the mountain in St Thomas. My kid loved this. In my experience (half a dozen cruises with a kid 3-5) this is the way to go.

 

[Jon in SC]

We took our non-swimming ds 3 1/2 and dd 5 to Megan's Bay in Feb. and would highly recommend it. (plus it kept my wife from doing any damage in the jewelry shops)

Short but interesting and scenic cab ride in open jittney.

The surf is as calm as Castaway Cay usually. My son had a ball playing in the sand.