Any suggestions on excursions please

[crystaldri]

Hi We are taking the Eastern cruise and I am sooo confused about what excursions to reserve through Disney. Can anyone tell me their favorites. I have a 8 and 9 year old and was thinking of the Dolphin swim on St. Maarteen but I'm not sure if this is the same excursion that someone was saying is overpriced and has a dirty pool .Please help!! Crystal

 

[Dreamer04]

Hi! Welcome to the DIS!
We're booked on the same excursion that you mention. Yes, it is the same that someone described as "dirty". Funny, I am also reconsidering this excursion.

We also have parasailing booked on Castaway Cay.

 

[crystaldri]

We are cruising in April but my children don't weigh enough to do the parasailing on Castaway Cay although that does sound fun. I did really want to do the Dolphin swim but need more information cause I would hate for it to be a disappointment after spending so much money. Crystal

 

[Robert and Kelley]

When we visited St Martin we did a See and Sea tour. It was an Island tour along with an ocean tour in one of those underwater viewing boats. The island tour was nice but the seas were rough so we never got to do the ocean part of the tour (they did refund that part of the fee). We did enjoy the tour though. My son and I climbed up a big hill to an old French Fort that used to defend the harbor while my DW and DD did some shopping.

We did an Island tour in St Thomas that was ok.

We rented bicycles on Castaway Key (We do every time now) and had a wonderful ride. We have tried snorkelling but the kids dont quite get the hang of it and the salt water doesn't help.

 

[TheWog]

We did the Atlantis submarine ride in St. Thomas. My DS6 loved it and I thought it was pretty cool as well. How many times will you get the chance to go in a sub almost 100 feet under water?

St. Maarten we just hung out on Great Bay Beach, used the water taxi and did some shopping in Philipsburg. Great Bay had jet skis, water trampolines, charis and umbrellas, etc. It was actually a lot of fun. We swam all morning, returned to the ship to shower, change and have lunch, then water taxi'd back and did some shopping. It was a very nice relaxing day.

 

[april riddle]

The Doubloon sail in St. Thomas is the greatist! You will not be disappointed and you get alot of bang for the buck. They are very good about acknowledgeing the kids and they seem to really enjoy their jobs. I think everyone on the boat had a great time and the kids ranged from about 5 to teenagers. We went to shipwreck cove instead of turtle cove since there were alot of kids on our excursion. The banana benders after the snorkling are very good. They have a website but I don't have the link sorry.

 

[tvguy]

12 Metre Regetta on St. Martin is great.

Did the submarine in St. Thomas 17 years ago, it was great, but it was already sold out 60 days in advance so couldn't do that this time.

 

[chasbos]

crystaldri-your kids do not have to weigh the 90 lbs if you would fly tandem with them. I was concerned about this too because my 2 oldest are at the 90 lbs and my third who is 9 is no where near 90 lbs. But she will be going tandem with DH. So maybe you can do the parasailing after all.

 

[poconoboatniks]

We did the dolphin swim in St. Maarten and loved it. Yes, it is a bit pricey, but it was the chance of a lifetime. We didn't notice the dolphin pool being dirty and the staff was friendly and accomodating. Our ds 6 was very timid in the beginning and by the end he couldn't get enough of Al our dolphin. Our only complaint was with the buffet lunch. They ran out of food and were not too quick to refill the chafing dishes. Having said that, the rest of the afternoon was wonderful. The beach was spotless and gorgeous. We rented floats from some locals for $5.

The DCL tour group was divided into 2 groups - morning & afternoon. Then they divided us into groups of 5. Each group circulated among the exotic birds (we have great photos of our kids with the two birds), hermit crab races (kind of hokie) and stingray tank (very small). After lunch, we spent a couple of hours on the beach. It was sooo relaxing and beautiful. Be very careful, even with SPF 30 sunscreen our dd and ds ended up a bit "crispy".

Pocono

 

[crystaldri]

Concerning the parasailing what exactly happens when you go tandem? Iv'e never parasailed. My children are 8 and 9 but only about 70 pounds each. My son says he wants to gain 20 pounds by April so he could do it. Funny,thats why he was stuffing himself. I did the dolphin encounter in the water at Sea world so I'm still wondering if its worth the money in St. Marteen. If anybody else too has done this please let me know.Cause Iv'e heard one good review and one very bad review. Thanks!! Crystal

 

[Terry in NJ]

I've parasailed twice by myself. Once was absolutely wonderful. The second time was not so pleasant, because the seas were too bouncy, and it was too windy to be up there. The company never should have let us go up. I tried to signal to get back down (I was 45 at the time, I'm not a kid, I paid attention to instructions) and no one "got" it down below.
SO MY RECOMMENDATION, do not let "tweeners" go up by themselves. It is really high up there. If the wind is blowing just a "titch", boy, you can feel it. Rather, go in tandem. Besides, I thought it would be so much more fun to have someone to talk to!!!!
I am not trying to scare you. I do pretty much every thrill ride. This was different. If you're swaying too much, and no one pays attention down below it's awful. Stay with your children at this age.
Terry in NJ

 

[crystaldri]

Iv'e decided not to let my kids parasail at this time. I guess I didn't realize just how high up you really are. Thanks for the information. I think we will just try the bananna boat instead! Crystal

 

[mickeyfanmom]

Here's the link for the Doubloon sail and snorkel website:

http://www.doubloon.com/

I have this excursion booked for January and have heard nothing but good things about it.