Eastern Cruise excursions - Care to Share?

[Loveysmommy]

Hi,

Can anyone please share their recent experiences on the Eastern Shore Excursions (St. Thomas/St. John/St. Maarten). We are going on 8/24 Magic Cruise and want to pre-book excursions.

Any suggestions/comments?

We have a very non-adventurous 6 yr. old daughter to consider - so we are limited!

Thanks -

 

[SJCSuzy]

We (DH, myself and DS8, DD4) took the Eastern cruise last May. We rented a jeep on St. Maarten and just drove all around the island. We stopped at the Butterfly farm and a few local beaches and then a little shopping in Marigot. It was a wonderful day.

On St. Thomas we did the Sapphire beach excursions through Disney. It was a great day of swimming and playing in the sand. We rented a float there and the kids had a great time.

We'll be doing the Western cruise the week before you so we'll try and leave the ship in good shape.

Have a great time,

 

[DisneyFanJanM]

Just came back (boo-hoo) from the June 15-22 eastern Magic cruise. We took the 5 star Trunk Bay snorkel excursion to St. John and loved it! They took us by boat to Trunk Bay beach, about an hour ride, then you could snorkel from the boat or they'd take you ashore in a dinghy. My ds, 8, doesn't really swim, but had no trouble snorkeling. The water was a beautiful blue and clear, the sand was amazingly soft and the water temp was great. Rum or fruit punch on the ride back, though >50% were asleep. Only about 1 1/2 hours to snorkel, but I was exhausted by then. They also have a photographer who, for $10 will email 2 pictures to up to 4 email addresses. We plan on cruising again in 2 years, we'll definitely do this excursion again.
Booked the getaway package on castaway cay and found we really didn't have enough time to use all the equipment we had, wouldn't do that again.
Hope this helps a little.

 

[scduckman]

On St Maarten I would book the Golden Eagle Catamarran. When we went in January there was 39 people from the boards. It was a great time. You ride out for about an hour, then snorkle for an hour and 1/2 and then sail back. Your daughter could play on the beach or swim near the shore. The ride back was like an hour roller coaster with the waves crashing over the front. You can sit out front like I did or you can just sit back and enjoy the ride. On the way back the serve some sandwiches, beer, wine, and champagne.

 

[PiperG]

Hello scduckman,

How was the weather in January? It must have been nice enough to snorkel. What about CC?

Silly me to even ask. . . . . . . just being away from Minneapolis in Jan is a treat

 

[IrishCowboy]

I agree with scduckman, the Golden Eagle Catamaran was great.

Try going to St John's...its gorgeous! If you can, do it on your own. You'll get to spend more time on the beach and save a few bucks.

Have a great cruise!