1/24 Eastern Magic saga - Day 4

[minniesota]

Tuesday, Day 4

It was so cool to wake up this morning - 5:30 a.m. and sense land! I heard a dog barking and felt lights on me as I laid in bed waiting for the day. Land is a good thing, too! DH went up to Topsiders and brought some quick breakfast to the room. We had to be in Rockin Bar D at 7:30 a.m. for our Anguilla Dolphin and Stingray Encounter. Make sure you’ve signed any waivers that are in your excursion packet which is waiting for you in your stateroom. The dolphin excursion isn’t real big - I’d say they take about 40 participants and there were several observers. Once we were all checked in at Rockin Bar D, a cast member led us off the ship and to the Pier where we were to meet our boat.

This was the first of many waits this day. I was prepared somewhat for the “island time” mentality but our patience was tried many times today! AFter about a 15-20 minute wait on the pier (which included a brief downpour!), our boat arrived. We had some sun, a little rain and a heck of a good time on the boat ride to Anguilla. My daughter screeched, "this is the most fun I've had the whole cruise!" She's 12 - what can I say?

The 45-minute boat ride takes you to the dock in Anguilla where sits a small customs office that you walk through. An agent checks to be sure you’re on Disney’s list and then you board one of two busses. The bus ride took about 10 minutes and with the driving on the opposite side of the road, it was an adventure. Saw a little bit of the town area on our way. Once you are at Fantaseas, you are divided by the colored wristbands which Disney gives you at the morning check-in. Half the group is sent off to the beach for the morning and the other half are separated into four groups. There are 4 trainers and each takes five participants. Two groups get in the water with the dolphins - the dolphin area is divided so five people are with one trainer and one dolphin. If you are not with the dolphins, you are in the stingray tank or with the tropical birds and hermit crabs.

The kids got to spend about 45 minutes with the dolphins - petting them, kissing them, feeding them and playing catch. You do not hang on the dolphin and have them pull you through the water so don’t expect that. Our group then went into the stingray tank and got to feed them and pet them as well. You have to dive down to the bottom of the tank in order to interact with the stingrays. DS loved this part but he is a good swimmer/very comfortable in the water. After the stingrays, you can spend time with tropical birds and have hermit crab races. Lunch was served about 11:30 and after lunch, the morning group headed to the beach.

The lunch was not to our liking and you could tell you weren’t with Disney anymore! I just could not bring myself to eat goat! They did have hamburgers too - at least we think they were hamburgers. The kids loved the beach - great wave action and nice sandy bottom. Some parents with younger children said the waves were a bit too much for them but my kids thought it was a highlight of their cruise!

We were told to be back at the buses (about a 5 minute walk from the beach) at 2:30. Like good little sheep, we were there on time. We had already looked at the pictures and decided against them, so we were ready to get back to St. Martin and shop! We are waiting on the bus and then were told we’d leave about 2:45. Much waiting ensued and I think we finally left at 3:30. Back to the customs office/dock to catch our boat and we wait again - about 30 minutes, I think we got back to St. Martin at 5 and dinner was at 6 so we just headed back to the ship disappointed that there wasn’t enough time to shop. Well, the moms were disappointed anyway.

The dolphin excursion was great but you do need a lot of patience. We spent a lot of time on the boat, waiting, the bus, waiting, waiting. But it's island time! The kids LOVED the beach - unbelievable waves! My kids are used to the ocean - I know, we live in MInnesota - but we travel alot. ANyway, watch the little ones but the kids and DH LOVED the wave action. The dolphins were so cute and cooperative, though bring your own camera. We felt the photos were a bit steep and not that good. We took video and still - we were observers so that Tinkerbell4's kids could do the encounter. (Sign up early for this one folks!) I think you also need to make sure you and your kids are comfortable in the water. We saw a couple of younger kids who were scared to death and would not get in - scared of the water and/or the dolphins. It’s an expensive excursion so make sure your kids can handle it!

Dinner was back at Animator’s tonight -tropical night! For some reason, our servers seemed really rushed tonight and I was in my new relaxed mode. So that bugged me a little. My dinner was wonderful though. I ordered the crab and scallop fritters -yum; blackened chicken salad and the pumpkin seed-encrusted tuna. The first two courses were great but the tuna was not. I swear it reminded me of goat meat! SO I asked Herbert to bring me the Garlic SHrimp and it was wonderful. We had triple layer chocolate cake and I was starting to feel my waistband pinching! Lots of ship photographers around taking our pictures at the dinner table. I always felt like there was probably shrimp sauce or chocolate on my face!

There’s no big show tonight though Teacher’s Pet was showing in the Walt Disney Theater. I guess they’re preparing for the tropical deck party which starts at 10 p.m., my bedtime. We walked the decks after dinner and stopped in at Shutters for a peek at our growing stack of photos. The boys got autographs and the girls trailed off somewhere. Tinkerbell4 and I had another glass of wine on my verandah and watched the beautiful night sky. The air was definitely feeling tropical! Stayed up until 11 tonight - woohoo - but got the kids in early because we knew all about immigration in the morning!
Tomorrow it’s St.Thomas!

 

[av01bps]

Wow and thanks for all the info. We are also going on this excursion (in a couple weeks!!). Was the boat to Anguilla "rocky?" Did you have the chance to purchase a viseo of your swim? We are a family of four- will we be put in separate groups to swim with dolphins?
Thanks
Amy

 

[minniesota]

Hi Amy,
The ride was rocky and wild - my kids loved it but all of us took Bonine every morning. The other mom who we were traveling with did get a little seasick and she said she loves rollercoasters, etc. So I'd recommend a Bonine tablet that morning if you are at all prone to motion sickness. We brought the chewable Bonine - they are very small. DH, DD12 and I took a whole pill and DS10 took a half.

When you are checking in for the excursion Tuesday morning onboard the ship, tell the cast member you want to swim together if that's your choice. You will all be given the same color wrist band. Then when you get to Fanatseas, they have you get in groups of two and three - they take five at a time. If you want to be together, I'd just let them know. They did split up our two girls and boys - girls went together and boys together. But they were all in the water with the dolphins at the same time, just separated by a barrier wall.

They did not take video, just stills. I think the prices were like $24.95 for a 5x7 but if you bought one, for an additional $20, they'd put your family's photos on a CD so you could print out your own. You can look at the photos on a computer in the gift shop/snack bar and make your decision. We didn't think the pics were that great and we thought their printer needed new cartridges or something. We took our own stills and video so we weren't as interested in purchasing. One idea is that you and one of the kids could be in with the dolphins and DH could take pics/video when he's supposed to be looking at the birds. And then swap when he's in the water. Everything is in real close proximity and the birds and stingray encounter are more loosely run. It would be easy to film the dolphin area for awhile and then go back to the birds and stingrays. If you choose to do it this way, I'd just let the guys at Fantaseas know ahead of time. They were very helpful and aimed to please!

 

[MissDisneyTeach]

Thanks for all the info. I can't wait to do this on the March 6th! Do they have lockers for your cameras? There are 3 of us going. 2 adults and 1 child. We are all doing this excursion. Is there any way for us to take pictures of each other? I thought I read somewhere that you couldn't take water cameras in with you.
Any help would be appreciated!

Teresa

 

[minniesota]

I don't remember seeing lockers but we were observers so didn't need them. There were open cubbies in the restrooms. Maybe someone else could answer that. They do not allow underwater cameras. I think the only way you could take photos of each other is if you were in separate rotations as described in the previous post. You would all be in the same area, but just two of you would be in the water and the third person could take photos/video during his/her time with the birds. You'd just wander over to the dolphin area and take the pics. You can check out their website: www.dolphinfantaseas.com or e-mail them with questions at anguilla@dolphinfantaseas.com.

 

[ronandot]

I am wondering if you could let me know how well bonine worked for you and your family and what, if any, side effects you experienced. This is really our first cruising experience so I have no idea if we will be susceptible to motion sickness or not. I went on a cruise 15 years ago and had no problems, but a lot of things don't work the way they did 15 years ago! LOL!!! Anyway, I was thinking of doing the chewables each morning just to be safe. I have DS 9 and DD 5 and bonine seems to be OK for them unlike Dram II. Thanks in advance!!

ronandot
"leaving in 2days!"

 

[minniesota]

We took Bonine chewables every morning, starting the day before we left. It worked great and we had no side effects. DH, DD12 and I took a whole pill and DS10 took 1/2. We didn't know how we'd react either so it was more preventative. I will say that on that wild ride to Anguilla, we didn't experience any problems but our friend did (she wished she had taken some) On Thursday, we had much more turbulance on board and some people were getting sick. I did notice the motion a lot more this day, but did not get sick. Have a wonderful time and remember to relax, relax, relax!

 

[av01bps]

Our youngest, Kate, is six. Will she be able to get in the water with the dolphins?
We are already booked and excited, so hopefully you will say- yes- we saw six year olds in the water!
Amy

 

[minniesota]

I know the age limit for the Anguilla encounter is 5. There were a couple of 6-7 year olds and they looked fine - mom was right there with them. We did, however, see a boy that looked about 6 or 7 who was terrified. Though he was scared on the boat ride over and we overheard his dad say,"You're going to do this - we already paid for it - it's aonce in a lifetime -blah,blah,blah." So this poor little kid was shaking. I think they got him in the water for about 2 minutes and that was it. I think if you just explain everything that's going to happen ahead of time - that the dolphins are friendly and the trainers are right there to help - she will be fine. They do have everyone wear life vests but the area where you are with the dolphins isn't that deep. The trainers introduce the dolphins very slowly and allow the participants to get comfortable before taking them out a little further in the water. I think if she's comfortable in the water and you are with her, she'll love it!