Doubloon Sail & Snorkel...anyone???

[2tinksmom]

Has anyone done this excursion? It looks really fun on their website and my daughters love the idea of a "pirate" trip!! Any info or opinions would be greatly appreciated!
Michele

 

[TinkHappy]

My DF (and I) did this two years ago on our last cruise. We had a BLAST!! We were actually suppose to be on a diff excursion, but it was cancelled and we decided to do this last minute. We were so glad we did. We sailed (no engine noise) on the beautiful ocean, it wa wonderful. The snorkling was great. It was a small group of people, so it was not too crowded. The people that ran the excursion were wonderful, they were very helpful and very knew their maine life. They brought canned cheese and fed it to the fish and before we knew it...there were beautiful, colorful fish all around us.
There was also a bathroom on the sailboat
They served punch, spiked punch, soda and beer after snorkeling. They also served snacks, like chips and dip. They sell t-shirts and hats after and they also accept gratuities (just an FYI-choice is yours, of course ) We had a wonderful time and would not hesitate to do it again. My DH and 2 DD's (7 & 5 at the time) still talk about it.

 

[2tinksmom]

Thanks, TinkHappy! Sounds like an awesome time! Do they still do the pirate "tatoos"? I usually don't let the girlies wear them...but this is a special occasion and, aargh, we all be pirates! Won't tell you where I'm putting mine, tho !
Michele

 

[hydster]

2tinks..how old are your girls?? I have 10, 9 and 5 year old kids and I am hoping that this would be something appropriate for them. I just emailed the doubloon people directly but wondered if your girls were older than my kids

Heidi

 

[2tinksmom]

hydster, my girls will be 11 and 6. The youngest age allowed is 5, so I'm sure that they'll have a great time. They'll be wearing life jackets and we are going to practice snorkeling in the pool before we sail in May. If my youngest chickens out, DH and I will just take turns on the boat with her...hey a few spiked punches and chips and dips don't sound bad at all!!

 

[DoomBuggieDriver]

Is this on the Magic Eastern itinerary or on the Wonder? I hadn't heard of it, but it sounds like a blast.
Kathy

 

[hydster]

2tinks...hey I like your way of thinking with the spiked drinks and some dips and chips.....mmmmm...me thinks tonight is Mexican night at our house complete with Margaritas to get us in the excursion planning mode.....hey any reason to have a margarita is good with me


My youngest is 5 and is pretty good with a snorkel so I guess we may have to try it as well.

Heidi

 

[PhotoLisa]

We've done the Doubloon twice and would do it again in a heartbeat! We were there last week.

On our first trip, my daughter was 11 and loved it!

On the second trip, my granddaughters were 10 and 6 and thought it was really cool!

The crew of the Doubloon are absolutely wonderful! Buck Island's cove is sheltered from rough seas. It is a great place to snorkel! The crew will guide you so that you can see all there is to see.

The rum punch and banana whatchamacallits are awesome!

Lisa

 

[jlawall]

This is a really fun excursion, they make it extra special. It definitely has a pirate feel to it. Eastern itinerary.

 

[gottaluvEeyore]

Sounds like a lot of fun!!!! When are we going to sign up for this, 2tinksmom?

 

[2tinksmom]

hydster...I think several themed planning trips should be in order!!
gottaluvEeyore...you and Dr. J. give us a call!!
PhotoLisa...I am so getting a banana whatchamacallit!!

 

[PhotoLisa]

My mind is a little clearer today-- I think it is called a Banana Bender. The recipe is on their site too!

I haven't checked to see if our pics are up on their site (Party Pics link) from the week of 2/21. Guess I'll head there now.

Lisa

 

[TMTIP]

We will be on the May 15 cruise as well! Does anyone have the website for this pirate boat? Sounds like a lot of fun.

Tracy

 

[2tinksmom]

TMTIP...the website is www.doubloon.com.

 

[hydster]

Well we did it! We booked this last night after our "meeting" at the Mexican restaurant!

We showed the kids the website when we got home and it looked like a blast so we just did it! I hope we have as good of an experience as all of you have had on it!!!

Heidi

 

[TinkHappy]

When we did this, DD was 5, she was a little nervous and really didn't do the snorkle part (she didn't understand the breathing part of it). DH and I took turns swiming (snorkling) with her on our backs. You are wearing a life vest and there is so much salt in the water, you will have no problem floating. DD had a great time doing it this way. She did wear the mask and vest, she would hold her breath and just put her face in the water to see the beautiful fish when she was ready. DD 7, had no problems at all. You are going to have a BLAST!!

 

[tink5697]

Are the drinks included? (Refering especially to the yummy sounding Banana Drink)
Is there a good place to sit if someone in our group is not going to snorkel?
Silly question, but do they have ladders or stairs to get off the boat to snorkel?

TIA for any input!

 

[FirstMagic]

Tink,
Yes the Doubloon ship had a ladder to get into and out of the water, I know since I used it, my husband just jumped off the side.

We too had great fun, we took the Doubloon excursion on a Disney cruise, there were a lot of kids along, and the crew really went out of their way to make sure the kids had fun and got involved from what I could see.

The drinks are nice, they serve both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, but it seemed the crew was careful not to let anybody get too smashed, like on some of those party cruises, they kept it a family atmosphere type of thing.

Drinks are free, and they passed around a big container of tortilla chips and salsa, also free. Nothing fancy, but nice to have something to nosh on after snorking.

They also come around and take a digital picture of everybody (also free) and post it on their web page.

We were quite impressed, had a lot of fun, and would go on the Doubloon again in a heartbeat! Snorkling was great the day we were by Buck Island too, lots of variety of fishies to see.

 

[2tinksmom]

We booked the Doubloon!! After reading the posts here, I can't wait to go! We'll be practicing snorkeling with the girlies in the pool since they've never been before. They are actually more excited about the pirate "tatoo", lol.
Michele

 

[Popovich]

This sounds like fun! Did you book through Disney or directly through Doubloons.com????


Thanks!
Gailyn