DCL excursions in Key West?

[cruisnfamily]

Ok, our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 kids ages 6 & 10) will be taking a Western Cruise in September and wondered if anyone can give specific feedback on these DCL excursion….we are not adventurous enough to book on our own so we will book with DCL. Are any of these particularly good or particularly bad?

Catamaran Racing (2.5 - 3 hours)
We are not a very “active, sporty” kind of family….would this be too much work?

Western Union Schooner Sunset Sail (3 hours)
Key West Catamaran Sail & Snorkel Tour (3-3.5 hours)
Western Union Schooner Day Sail (3 hours)
Glassbottom Boat Tour on The Pride of Key West (2-2.5 hours)
If we wanted to do a “boat thing” which one of these is the best?


Old Town Trolley or Conch Train Tour (1-1.5 hours)
Which one allows you to get on and off?

So, did you do one of these excursions? Did you like it? Did your kids? Details please!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

We've done the Catamaran sail and snorkel tour. I like this a lot. They take you out on this giant catamaran to a reef which is designated a National Park. They anchor off the reef for snorkeling. On a clear day, there's lots to see. On the trip back in, there's an open bar (they don't let you back in the water once you start drinking). The crew is friendly and very helpful with beginning snorkelers.

On the way back to Key West, you can see the ship before you can really see the island. The ship is basically bigger that just about anything on the island.

 

[floridaminnie]

To be able to get on and off the tour of Key West you will need to book on your own. When you book this excursion through DCL, it is just for DCL residents and does not stop to allow you on and off.

 

[tbuot]

We did the DCL booked excursion for the Trolley tour (me, DH, SIL, BIL, DS2,DS5 and MIL( handicapped senior cit.)and FIL. We really enjoyed it...the tour guide was very informative. The above post is correct you can not get on and off when you book through DCL. Afterwards(can't remember the name of the excursion but it was a package with the trolley) we did the tour of the Aquarium and the Shipwreck Museum...this excursion was great for my age boys and worked well as a total family excursion.

Hope this helps

 

[cruisnfamily]

Senor Ferrari,

The catamaran sail and snorkel sounds pretty good so far. I'll have to look at the times listed and see if we can also fit in a trolley tour...not sure I want to do both though.

Is the catamaran the type of boat someone would get sea sick on? Just wondering, I've read on here mention of some boat ride or another where everybody was throwing up and I wondered if dramamine was in order before we do this.

Were there lots of kids on this excursion, Senor? Or mostly adults?

Thanks everyone! any more responses?

 

[Señor Ferrari]

Sonya,

There were plenty of kids on this trip. I think it's a good trip for the kids because they put several crew members in the water to keep an eye on everything and to help out the kids. They'd often point out some cool-looking fish and they try to keep everyone from straying to far from the boat. As I said, I thought the crew was great with all the guests.

The boat ride itself was pretty smooth. It's a pretty large catamaran, 65 feet. I don't recall anyone getting sick. I'm sure it depends on how the seas are on a given day, but I don't remember being tossed around very much, and to be honest with you, I was pretty hung over, so I probably would have noticed. Here's a link to a picture of one of the catamarans. Here's their WebPage.

We did the afternoon trip. I think we met in Rockin' Bar D at 12:30, so you might have a little time in the morning to explore on your own. The scheduled arrival is at noon, but we were actually there by around 10:15am. You get back at around 4:00pm, so you have some more time in the port afterward. I don't know if you'd have time for another structured tour, but you could probably hop the trolley yourself and buzz around for a little while before it gets dark.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Thanks!

I think this is the one for us in Key West.

We live in FL and the kids snorkel out at the beach (for sharks teeth) and my DD has snorkeled at Castaway Cay (she thought it was cool) so I imagine this would be a real "wow" kind of snokel trip. You did see lots of fish, right?

Ok guys, my next request (on a new thread) will be for Grand Cayman or Cozumel excursions so be on the look out for it. You have all been very helpful regarding Key West.

If anyone else has info on Key West DCL excursions I am still interested.

Thanks again

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi Sonya. My DS9 and I went on The Western Union Schooner Day Sail and I highly recommend it. There were a good number of children onboard when we sailed and I would say everyone had a wonderful time.

A musician played seafaring songs on her guitar and sang during our tour. The captain gave insightful information about the history of the schooner and Key West. Everyone helped raise the sails. There was ice-cold water and soda for the taking and we were served key lime pie.

My son expressed an interest to help sail the Western Union, so one of the crew members put him to work. He "helped" her realign some of the ropes on the bow. She also showed him how to make several sailor's knots and told him a couple of stories about her adventures on the high seas. He was fascinated and, in time, a number of other children joined them.

I am sure you will have fun no matter what shore excursion you choose!

 

[cruisnfamily]

Thanks Buckaroo's Dad....and Senor Ferrari and everyone who has given their opinions. We have time to decide but I wanted to start narrowing down the options and now I've got some great feedback to help me!

 

[TnRobin]

We did the glass bottom boat thingy. I was not impressed.

Of course we did not get to visit the coral reef as the tide was too strong that day. (I don't know how often that happens) plus while my Bonine did wonders to keep me from getting seasick on the Ship, it did nothing for me on the glass bottom boat.

I think next time we are doing the trolley tour