Excursion ideas for eastern caribbean with small kids

[DietCokeMommy]

That’s awesome! I’m wondering if we can do the beach then Coral world? Or if we will feel too gross?

Any ideas for Tortola? Which beach to do?

For us it might be kind of hard because we bring tons of stuff with us. Towels for 4 people, sand toys, snacks, etc. If you travel lighter than us or you don't mind hauling a bunch of stuff around, you'll probably be fine.

We didn't go to Tortola, our cruise was a repo from San Juan to PC and only stopped at St. Thomas and Castaway. I think any kind of beach excursion would work with my kids. Maybe consider the ferry to Jost van Dyke? My kids would enjoy the boat ride over and then the beach.

 

[uandmfan]

That’s awesome! I’m wondering if we can do the beach then Coral world? Or if we will feel too gross?

Any ideas for Tortola? Which beach to do?

We are planning beach and then coral world in February. I'll let you know!

 

[cheermom2four]

We leave Jan 12. We're doing ST57, it goes to Secret Sands beach 8:15-11:45. Haven't been there before, but can give you a review once we return if you're interested. I've read that it's a nice beach and doesn't get as crowded as some of the others. Includes a chair and water/soda for each person. Since it's just a few hours in the morning, we plan on eating luch once we get back on the ship and then doing the Aquaduck/mini-golf.

We are booked for this Secret Sands beach also but on the March 21st cruise! Please do report back! We wanted something relaxing for the four of us as your youngest (7 yr old) is ok swimmer but not enough imo for snorkeling in the wide ocean LOL

 

[lklgoodman]

I'll report back about Secret Sands beach for those that have asked. Once we return I can answer any other questions anyone has. We've been to St Thomas before on another Disney cruise, but that was nearly 20 yrs ago. We did a river kayaking on St Johns then. Don't know if Disney still does it, but it was a lot of fun.

 

[lucyddr]

If money isn't a huge issue, I'd highly recommend chartering the Rumbaba Sailboat for just your family in St. Thomas. We did this with our 5yo twins this past September, and husband and I have sailed her twice before kids. Our children loved getting to help with the sails and "driving," and the snorkeling was fantastic! He serves great snacks and lunch with unlimited drinks, so it's just a fabulous day without crowds! I would, if it's rainy/stormy, give your children bonine/dramamine before leaving the ship. Our son apparently didn't tolerate the rocking as we left the harbor and vomited in the boat. While my husband and I were worried it would be an issue, the Capt. just rinsed the deck off with a 5 gallon bucket and never batted an eye! Here are some photos for ideas....

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

I'll report back about Secret Sands beach for those that have asked. Once we return I can answer any other questions anyone has. We've been to St Thomas before on another Disney cruise, but that was nearly 20 yrs ago. We did a river kayaking on St Johns then. Don't know if Disney still does it, but it was a lot of fun.

That would be fantastic!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

We are planning beach and then coral world in February. I'll let you know!

Great!!!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

This looks amazing! Thanks for the idea!

My daughter has the same swimsuit!

If money isn't a huge issue, I'd highly recommend chartering the Rumbaba Sailboat for just your family in St. Thomas. We did this with our 5yo twins this past September, and husband and I have sailed her twice before kids. Our children loved getting to help with the sails and "driving," and the snorkeling was fantastic! He serves great snacks and lunch with unlimited drinks, so it's just a fabulous day without crowds! I would, if it's rainy/stormy, give your children bonine/dramamine before leaving the ship. Our son apparently didn't tolerate the rocking as we left the harbor and vomited in the boat. While my husband and I were worried it would be an issue, the Capt. just rinsed the deck off with a 5 gallon bucket and never batted an eye! Here are some photos for ideas....

 

[lklgoodman]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will try to write a post with a review of the Beach Express in Tortola and the Secret Sands in St. Thomas either later tonight or tomorrow. We just got back very late last night. Our flight home was cancelled, along with just about everyone on the ship that I talked to. We were lucky that we were able to get new flights, but then had to deal with mechanical issues and severe turbulence in which I thought our plane was going to drop out of the sky. My dd loved it though and kept saying "Weee, this is just like a roller coaster". I feel so bad for those that were leaving yesterday on a cruise. I hope everyone who had cancelled flights getting into Florida were able to get new flights and made it in time for their cruises. We had a hard time getting home yesterday, but at least it was after our cruise. Anyway, I will say that I was very happy with both of these excursions and would book them again. I will give as much info as I can and will answer any questions that you have.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will try to write a post with a review of the Beach Express in Tortola and the Secret Sands in St. Thomas either later tonight or tomorrow. We just got back very late last night. Our flight home was cancelled, along with just about everyone on the ship that I talked to. We were lucky that we were able to get new flights, but then had to deal with mechanical issues and severe turbulence in which I thought our plane was going to drop out of the sky. My dd loved it though and kept saying "Weee, this is just like a roller coaster". I feel so bad for those that were leaving yesterday on a cruise. I hope everyone who had cancelled flights getting into Florida were able to get new flights and made it in time for their cruises. We had a hard time getting home yesterday, but at least it was after our cruise. Anyway, I will say that I was very happy with both of these excursions and would book them again. I will give as much info as I can and will answer any questions that you have.

Really looking forward to your post. Also I’m very sorry about the scary ride home!

 

[lklgoodman]

Just wrote about Tortola's beach express in thread titled EC excursion for those that asked(or something like that). I tried to give as much detail as I could. If you have any questions, just ask on that thread and I"ll try to answer if I can.

 

[Juan M]

Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing what you think. My husband loves snorkeling.

Just got home today from our Eastern cruise and I can say that we absolutely loved our catamaran charter with Aristocat in Tortola. The catamaran holds about 38 passengers but they cap spots at 25 so that it doesn’t feel too full. I think everyone on with us that day was also from the Fantasy, with what seemed like 10 kids ranging from 1 year old to id say about 9-10 yrs old. We did 3 snorkeling spots around Norman Island over the 7 hours we were with them, they served a lunch on board at the 2nd stop. They had sprite, Diet Coke, ginger beer, Amstel light and Carib beer in the cooler, along with punch both with rum and without. They had plenty of masks, vests, noodles and a couple of paddle boards for everyone to use, and while they didn’t overly cater to the young ones at the expense of the older guests, the children were just as welcome and accommodated as everyone else.
The only issue I encountered was the marina where they dock was a bit confusing to find, but I also didn’t ask for directions from locals until I was nearby. It wasn’t more than a 5 minute walk from the cruise ship pier, it just wasn’t well advertised from the main road.

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Just got home today from our Eastern cruise and I can say that we absolutely loved our catamaran charter with Aristocat in Tortola. The catamaran holds about 38 passengers but they cap spots at 25 so that it doesn’t feel too full. I think everyone on with us that day was also from the Fantasy, with what seemed like 10 kids ranging from 1 year old to id say about 9-10 yrs old. We did 3 snorkeling spots around Norman Island over the 7 hours we were with them, they served a lunch on board at the 2nd stop. They had sprite, Diet Coke, ginger beer, Amstel light and Carib beer in the cooler, along with punch both with rum and without. They had plenty of masks, vests, noodles and a couple of paddle boards for everyone to use, and while they didn’t overly cater to the young ones at the expense of the older guests, the children were just as welcome and accommodated as everyone else.
The only issue I encountered was the marina where they dock was a bit confusing to find, but I also didn’t ask for directions from locals until I was nearby. It wasn’t more than a 5 minute walk from the cruise ship pier, it just wasn’t well advertised from the main road.

Thank you so much for that information! I'm looking into it!

 

[DisneyMom2000000]

Just wrote about Tortola's beach express in thread titled EC excursion for those that asked(or something like that). I tried to give as much detail as I could. If you have any questions, just ask on that thread and I"ll try to answer if I can.

I read it all!! Thank you!!!

 

[cheermom2four]

and the Secret Sands in St. Thomas either later tonight or tomorrow

Cant wait to hear about your Secret Sands port excursion as thats the one we are booked for in St Thomas!!! We wanted down time after a snorkeling excursion in Tortola the day before. Plus we will have our dd7 with us (she wont be going on the snorkeling the day before as she's a great swimmer but has never snorkeled).

 

[lklgoodman]

Cant wait to hear about your Secret Sands port excursion as thats the one we are booked for in St Thomas!!! We wanted down time after a snorkeling excursion in Tortola the day before. Plus we will have our dd7 with us (she wont be going on the snorkeling the day before as she's a great swimmer but has never snorkeled).

I added info about Secret Sands, the post is on page 2. We really enjoyed our day, hope you do too. It was minus 4 degrees when I got up this morning. I keep looking at my photos wishing I were still there!!!

Here's the link with the info on Secret Sands, first part is Tortola, but has info on transportation for both. Secret Sands info is in second post.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/ec-excursion-reviews-for-those-that-had-asked.3730385/

 

[cheermom2four]

I added info about Secret Sands, the post is on page 2.

Thank you!! I thought it was only for the Tortola one LOL. I'm glad we picked a relaxing one for our upcoming cruise. I'm really glad they limit the amount of people at the beach because there are 4 ships in port that day and one of them is one of the really large RCL ships (has like 3k more people than the fantasy does). Do you think its ok to bring our own snorkeling stuff? We always have on our previous cruises (except the Med one) as we prefer our own snorkel masks etc.

 

[mousefan73]

Just got home today from our Eastern cruise and I can say that we absolutely loved our catamaran charter with Aristocat in Tortola. The catamaran holds about 38 passengers but they cap spots at 25 so that it doesn’t feel too full. I think everyone on with us that day was also from the Fantasy, with what seemed like 10 kids ranging from 1 year old to id say about 9-10 yrs old. We did 3 snorkeling spots around Norman Island over the 7 hours we were with them, they served a lunch on board at the 2nd stop. They had sprite, Diet Coke, ginger beer, Amstel light and Carib beer in the cooler, along with punch both with rum and without. They had plenty of masks, vests, noodles and a couple of paddle boards for everyone to use, and while they didn’t overly cater to the young ones at the expense of the older guests, the children were just as welcome and accommodated as everyone else.
The only issue I encountered was the marina where they dock was a bit confusing to find, but I also didn’t ask for directions from locals until I was nearby. It wasn’t more than a 5 minute walk from the cruise ship pier, it just wasn’t well advertised from the main road.

How did you book this? Were there bathrooms onboard. Can an elderly woman sit confitabley on board in shade and observe ? My mom is traveling with

 

[lklgoodman]

Thank you!! I thought it was only for the Tortola one LOL. I'm glad we picked a relaxing one for our upcoming cruise. I'm really glad they limit the amount of people at the beach because there are 4 ships in port that day and one of them is one of the really large RCL ships (has like 3k more people than the fantasy does). Do you think its ok to bring our own snorkeling stuff? We always have on our previous cruises (except the Med one) as we prefer our own snorkel masks etc.

I would say you could bring your own stuff. It's a public beach, not a private resort. The lady I talked to that was renting a house on the island was carrying her own folding chairs. Our host wasn't "policing" the beach. He told us where everything was at when we first arrived, walked by asked us if we needed anything once and then he sat by the drinks he had right where you first enter the beach area. Don't remember him coming to the beach area again until he came to tell when it was time to leave. We had brought our own drinks/snacks and the family next to us had sand toys they had brought. He saw us all with them and didn't say anything about it. I don't know if the people on our excursion used their own or his snorkels. He did mention again that he made his living by getting tips, but he wasn't overly rude or anything about it.

 

[ajo]

I’ll look into Coral World! Thanks!

@DisneyMom2000000
We just got back from our Eastern cruise and did the Disney excursion to Coral World. We had a big group with ages from 2 to 75 and it was just right in terms of time and activities. The kids loved the touch pool and being able to hold the red-footed turtles.