Excurisions

[minim]

Hi. We are going on the 7 night eastern magic cruise in April. Me, Dh, DS 10 and DD 9. Can you please advise me on which excurisions to pick, how do I book them and is it worth booking in advance?
We would like to do a gorgeous beach and also see some of the sights. We are not big shoppers and basically just want to unwind, relax and not be stressed out. Thanks.

 

[DisneyKids]

At St. Thomas, we took the Champagne Catamaran excursion to St. John and loved it. It was a bit more expensive than others but it's longer, too (6 hours vs. 3 or 4). We skipped excursions in St. Maarten and only did this one.

<u>From the DCL site</u>:

<b>Champagne Catamaran Sail and Snorkel (6 hours) </b>

Your champagne wishes will be granted as you glide via catamaran from St. Thomas to a palm-fringed beach on St. John. Relax during the 2-hour ride between islands, then once you arrive in Honeymoon Bay, take time to snorkel (equipment provided), swim or beachcomb. A delicious champagne buffet lunch is provided after snorkeling.

Adult Price: $90 (ages 10 and above)
Child Price: $65 (ages 5-9)

We have 2 kids (5 and 9) and they both loved it. The beach was be gorgeous. St. John is another world! The only sites aside from the beach are along the 2 hour ride (each way). They were beautiful but didn't take you through the islands, if that's what you are looking for. You can book excursions in advance. My wife just called DCL (there may be other ways, she took care of it all). I think some do sell out so you may want to prebook but check the cancellation policy <b>just in case</b>.

Have Fun!

 

[minim]

Thank you so much for that suggestion, I didnot even consider that one. Should we do that or Trunk Bay? Did you get seasick on the Catamaran? Was the snorkling good? In St. Marteen if you do not do an excurision can you just walk somewhere? Thanks so very much.

 

[minim]

Thank you so much for that suggestion, I didnot even consider that one. Should we do that or Trunk Bay? Did you get seasick on the Catamaran? Was the snorkling good? In St. Marteen if you do not do an excurision can you just walk somewhere? Thanks so very much.

 

[scduckman]

You can walk the streets in St Maarten and do some shopping. It starts just past where the ships dock.
We did the Golden Eagle Catamaran excursion in the morning of St Maarten and had plenty of time to go back to the ship for lunch and return for shopping. The Golden eagle was a lot of fun. They take you on about an hour ride and then you snorkel for 1 1/2 hours before the hour ride back. On the ride back they serve rum punch, champagne, and beer. i believe the cost was about 60 for adults and 36 for children.

 

[RellingTwin]

In St Martin we took a cab to Dawn Beach. $20 each way for a family of 4. Rented beach umbrella/2chairs $12.00 and relaxed! It is a beautiful uncrowded beach (this was just 2 weeks after 9/11 so I am not sure if that's way it was so quite)
There is a small resturant with bathrooms right there. The cab returned at the requested time. It was a wonderful day!
Have a fun time, whatever you decide to do.

 

[DisneyKids]

Some did get seasick on the Champagne Catamaran excursion but none of my family (wife, kids - 5&9). The one thing we really liked about it was that being a longer excursion (6 hours), there was time to relax. The ride there and back were very nice and there was time to really take it in. You get 2 hours at the beach. Plenty of time to play, swim, snorkel, etc. The snorkeling was decent. Good clear water, decent number of fish. The food they served was good (cold buffet) and of course there were drinks! Champagne, beer, others including a drink that the crew called Pain Killers. Never had them before...not too bad. In addition, the crew was excellent!

Can't help you with Trunk Bay, never went.

When we were at St. Maarten, we took the water taxi to the shopping area for an hour or 2. Mostly, enjoyed the ship wile others were running around.