Do they allow 3yr olds on excursions?

[Scotsman]

Will they allow a 3 yr old to ride on the boat, for example, out to a snorkel trip on some of the excursions. When it says 5-9yr olds is 5 the minimum age? If so does that mean we have to split up if our 5yr old wants to snorkel etc.????

 

[aprilgail2]

If you book through Disney then the minimum age is the youngest they let go...they wouldn't let my 2 1/2 year old on lots of excursions the first trip we went on...the second time around she was still to young for Disneys excursions but we found that by booking them on our own she was able to go...we wanted to do Stingray city on the Western so we just booked through Captain Marvins instead of going through Disney.

 

[Scotsman]

Can you book on the same excursions or does Disney block each one for themselves?

 

[markm0926]

This is a good question. There doesn't seem to be many excurisions that allow kids around that age.

 

[jenlovesdisney]

We are on the 3 night Wonder and I am takng my 3 year old on the Dolphin excursion. I only saw two things that she could do and was a little bummed. But then again it may be a good time for my son and I to spend some good time together!

 

[Scotsman]

jenlovesdisney, Have you already booked the dolphin excursion? If it was through Disney did they say it was ok to let her go?

We want to take our 5yr old and let the 3yr old just ride on the boat, for example.

 

[jenlovesdisney]

Scotsman~ we did book through Disney already. I booked for all three of us. But now I am thinking she will not get enough out of it to justify the $88, so we might leave her in the kids club(I think she will be OK). But there is only one of me so I had not thought about taking her with us on the boat but not on the excursion.

 

[Scotsman]

jenlovesdisney, Disney did not ask the ages when you booked? We are going on the Sept. 18. 7 night eastern and we wanted to snorkel and let our 3yr old sit on the boat and we could take turns sitting with her. When they allow reservations tomorrow I will try and book and then deal with it on the ship!

 

[jenlovesdisney]

I sent them an email and gave them all our info, names, reservation number, ages and dates and we got a confirmation email back. They never asked anything else, so I think we are OK!

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by Scotsman
jenlovesdisney, Have you already booked the dolphin excursion? If it was through Disney did they say it was ok to let her go?

We want to take our 5yr old and let the 3yr old just ride on the boat, for example.

DCL will not allow an under 5 YO accompany anyone on a snorkle excursion for insurance purposes, even you intend to keep the child on the boat. The excursion the other person is talking about doesn't involve going on a small snorkle boat. The Dolphin Excursion on the 3 night Wonder is located on Blue Lagoon Island and the boat to get there is a VERY large boat, not a small boat or catamaran. Once on Blue Lagoon, the Dolphin swim takes place from a platform, and others, especially small children, can stay safely away. DCL is very strict, and will only let you take the 5YO, you'd have to leave the 3YO onboard to take the excursion. If you want to do a snorkle excursion, you'll need to book it privately. The age limits if they start at anything oter than 3, don't allow children under that age. The Dolphin Excursion has an age limit of 3 and up, so little ones are allowed to accompany.

 

[Scotsman]

jel0511, The snorkel trip we would like to take is "Doubloon Sail and Snorkel" at St. Thomas. I already talked to the operators and they said they had no problem with a 3yr old but that it was up to Disney as they did not take private bookings.

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by Scotsman
jel0511, The snorkel trip we would like to take is "Doubloon Sail and Snorkel" at St. Thomas. I already talked to the operators and they said they had no problem with a 3yr old but that it was up to Disney as they did not take private bookings.

As I stated, DCL won't allow a 3Yo on this or any snorkle trip due to insurance reasons. They are required to take out insurance for cruise-sponsored excursions and regardless of the operators rules, theirs are different. I've tried before, and they don't allow the 3 YO to even accompany you, even if you offer to pay. For example, DCL uses an operator called Captain Marvins in Grand Cayman. A DCL passenger under the age of 5 can't go on the DCL sponsored excursion, but luckily Captain Marvins does allow private bookings, since they allow all children booked directly through them. DCL is partially responsible for what happens on the snorkle boat, and they don't have the liability insurance to cover such small children, who usually don't know how to swim. Hence, the age limitations on snorkle excursions. Sorry.

 

[janetlynn]

I was thinking about this too, we will be cruising with 17 mo DD, what excursions can she go on? (Glass Bottom Boat)

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by janetlynn
I was thinking about this too, we will be cruising with 17 mo DD, what excursions can she go on? (Glass Bottom Boat)

Looking at the St. John/St. Thomas excursion form, I don't see a Glass Bottom Boat excursion here, I think there is one on St. Maarten though. The only ones that list available for all ages are the St. Thomas beach day, St. John island tour (no beaches visited), St. Thomas island tour (no beaches visited) and a visit to Coral World. All others have an age restriction of 5 years old, with the exception of the Atlantis submarine, which allows 4 YO's at least 36 inches tall.

 

[tlrotzoll]

My niece will be 3 1/2 on our Oct 31 cruise. We were able to book the new Blackbeard Cay excursion. With this, we do get to interact/swim with the stingrays. I have spoken with someone who has done this and they loved it, although, they did say it was a little rushed. We were very excited to find a fun one that she can go on. Check out that excursion, it is very new!

 

[Scotsman]

What island is the Blackbeard Cay excursion on?

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Scotsmen,

We just did the Doubloon 2 weeks ago. It was really fun BUT I went directly to thier office (you can walk from the ship) and asked to add my DD 4 to our excursion. I was told NO. They said they will not risk upsetting Disney as it is too big a customer. I do not blame them at all. Anyway I was lucky enough to have Grandma to babysit on the ship. We enjoyed the trip on the sail boat, it was not the best snorkel trip I have ever done but we did see 3 turtles.

The sub was parked right next to us in Turtle Cove so they most likely saw the same turtles.

Have fun!

 

[princessdaisy]

Anyone have any details on that excursion? I am also curious?

Thanks

 

[Scotsman]

Disneycrazymom, Thanks for replying. We are trying to book a private excursion as Grandma won't be coming!

Did you do any excursions in Antigua?

 

[Disneycrazymom]

We are very lucky to have Grandma, especially one that does not care to snorkle! We were on the San Juan trip and did not go to Antigua.

The beaches in St. Thomas and St. John are very easy to do on your own.

You could try booking a boat on your own at: http://www.sailwinifred.com
or
http://www.sailallura.com

We looked into both but decided it might be risky if the weather changed the direction of the ship and we didn't make it into the port.

We have spent time (on a trip totally in St. Thomas) on the Heavenly Days out of Bolongo Bay Hotel and really enjoyed the trips. You might have some luck booking directly with them.