antigua

[cruzings]

i know that disney has just started going to antigua. can anybody give us some recommendations/tips about the beaches and snorkeling opportunities there? we will be going on the sept 18 eastern cruise as a family reunion with two grandparents, four parents and 5 children (between 4 and 13 y/o).

any advice/comment would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CM_Mom]

The second edition of the Passporter's Field Guide to DCL has several pages of info on Antigua although no recommendations because of no experience. They checked what other cruise lines offer and listed some possible destinations because DCL hadn't published the excursion list at presstime. Worth checking out.

 

[mostyn17]

Disney has there excursions listed. I was just looking at them last night. Here is the link right to the antigua excursions.



Travis

Antigua excursions

 

[Hygiene99]

Since DCL to awhile to get the info out some of us did Some
Searching and planned excursions on our own..

Here is the Site .. large group Doing the Eco Tour..

in like 30 days

http://www.antiguaadventures.com/index.html

 

[DisneyNutMary]

My family is on the 9/18 Antigua cruise too!
I am travelling with a fairly large group, we have 6 kids ages 6-16, and we signed up for the Pirate Ship excursion. We thought it sounded like a good "family fun" choice.

Have you checked in at the 9/18 thread? 9/18 Eastern Magic

 

[cruzings]

thanks for all your help. we did review the dcl website regarding these excursions but find it real hard to decide which one to go to. seems like all of them are pretty exciting. anyway, we'll see you on the 9/18!!!

 

[paulcrsb]

We are on the 10 day Christmas cruise and will be looking forward to any information that all of you can provide on the excursions.

Paul

 

[Jimbo]

Originally posted by DisneyNutMary

My family is on the 9/18 Antigua cruise too!
I am travelling with a fairly large group, we have 6 kids ages 6-16, and we signed up for the Pirate Ship excursion. We thought it sounded like a good "family fun" choice.

It's been awhile - probably 15 to 20 years - but we took the Antigua Jolly Roger Pirate Cruise when we cruised with Royal Caribbean. It was a lot of fun. The ship had a big red sail with a skull and crossbones on it. It was quite a sight.

But I hope you noticed the mention about "open bar". On the way back they freely poured ungodly strong rum punches. Most people got roaring drunk, and that led to a lot of wild dancing (it was the first time I ever heard the song "Hot, Hot, Hot"). It was a lot of fun, like I said, but depending on the clientle your kids may get an eyeful. I'm pretty sure that it's the only time in 10 cruises that I didn't make it to dinner.

If it's all Disney, I'm sure it won't be a problem though. And it's possible that this thing has changed in 20 years; I know I have.

 

[JanDave]

Hi Cruzings: Welcome to the 9/18 Magic. We'll be on board -- DH and myself. We chose Eli's Eco Tour on our own. Looking forward to seeing you on the Magic. Check out our thread on the DIS Meet board. Jan

 

[tecdavidt]

We were in Antigua three years ago. You either will love it or hate it. The shopping vendors in the street were fun but if you think St. Marteen looks poor, well.... The island is known for its beaches and the beaches are beautiful. We hired a taxi driver to take us to Runaway Bay or Runway Beach(I can't remember the name) and arranged for a time for the driver to pick us back up. She was right on time. The island people that we dealt with were friendly. We loved the island.

As far as the Jolly Roger pirate cruise, well, it is a booze cruise. We booked the excursion on our Galaxy cruise and when we found out that it really would be a drunken bunch we opted out and went to the beach. When the group came back they were in terrible shape. Some were in the hot tubs and started to peel off their clothes! Thankfully secruity took care of that problem.The Galaxy was not a party ship; the average cruiser age was in their 40's so we are not talking college kids or 20 somethings here. Nothing like seeing a bunch of middle age people intoxicated lol.

I guess the type of crowd on the Jolly Roger depends on if other ships are in port when you are there. If non-DCL cruisers are on the Jolly Roger you just don't know what the group will be like, but if it is just DCL you probably will have a good non-drunken time.

What ever you all choose to do, you have to check out at least one of the beaches. They really are wonderful. Kathy

 

[westjones]

We are on the 9/18 Magic Sailing also and we decided to do the island tour that takes you to the pineapple farm. I have never seen pineapples growing, so it sounded 'educational' for all of us.

At the St. Thomas stop we are trying the Buck Island sail. My DH has developed a new love for 'sailing' and we have always been big fans of the national parks (and Buck Island is park of the National Park system).

Personally, I wouldn't mind just hanging out on the ship, but DH thinks that we will want to get off and see some things (and this may be our last 7 night cruise--so we might as well go see some things).

DJ

 

[Jimbo]

Originally posted by tecdavidt
As far as the Jolly Roger pirate cruise, well, it is a booze cruise. We booked the excursion on our Galaxy cruise and when we found out that it really would be a drunken bunch we opted out and went to the beach. When the group came back they were in terrible shape. Some were in the hot tubs and started to peel off their clothes! Thankfully secruity took care of that problem.The Galaxy was not a party ship; the average cruiser age was in their 40's so we are not talking college kids or 20 somethings here. Nothing like seeing a bunch of middle age people intoxicated lol.

That's the way I remember the JR, too. 20 years have gone by, and it sounds like it hasn't changed a bit. I guess you'd have to say they're giving the people what they want anyway.

 

[westjones]

When I showed my DH the Jolly Roger excursion (because I thought the kids would think it was fun) he zoomed in on the 'open bar' thing too. Then I found some pictures somewhere on the internet (sorry, I don't remember where they are now) and it looked like an adult party.

Now maybe with Disney people using it things will be toned down some, but we opted not to go with this tour because of that.

DJ

 

[Laurarn]

We're trying the "Lawrence of Antigua" tour on our own. It sounded nice from what I've read on other cruise boards. Has anyone done this tour or heard from others who have?

 

[Jimbo]

Originally posted by westjones
Now maybe with Disney people using it things will be toned down some, but we opted not to go with this tour because of that.

You should still try to be around when the boat returns, just to see the shape that the passengers are in. It'll be pretty funny, and then you can make fun of them for the rest of the cruise.

 

[Spaceman Spiff & Co.]

I know this is off topic but the Buck Island tour is to an island (called Buck) that is not part of the Natl Park system. There are numerous islands called buck. I just wanted to help prevent WJ from being disappointed.

We did this tour last Dec and loved it.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

I sure hope this Jolly Roger doesn't turn into a booze cruise. I purposely booked the early cruise- 8:45am, to avoid this.
My kids are pretty excited about walking the plank, and playing pirate, I would have thought that DCL had better judgement in who they deal with.
Since my group numbers 12, I am hoping that DCL has a majority of the booking on this excursion, and it turns out to be more kid-friendly than you are all advising.

 

[westjones]

Originally posted by Spaceman Spiff & Co.
I know this is off topic but the Buck Island tour is to an island (called Buck) that is not part of the Natl Park system. There are numerous islands called buck. I just wanted to help prevent WJ from being disappointed.

We did this tour last Dec and loved it.

So this Buck Island that is part of the National Park System:

http://www.nps.gov/buis/

isn't the same as the one in St. Thomas. It said it is in the V. Islands. I guess I am confused. Well I am sure it will be a lovely tour and my DH will enjoy the sailing.

DJ