excursions on 7 night Eastern

[ronandot]

I am traveling 2/7 on the 7 night eastern with my wife and two kids (5, 9). I am looking for some recommendations regarding the excursions that are offered on St. Mart and St. Thomas. I have looked at a list (but not for our dates specifically because we just booked) and I honestly don't see anything that jumps out at me. All seem a bit overpriced based on the description. I am wondering if just taking advantage of a less crowded ship wouldn't be a better choice. I look forward to your inputs. This board is great!

 

[kcashner]

With kids that age, I'd recommend Coral World, but I'd do it on my own (not the DCL package). You can get a taxi right at the port. There is a tourist stand by the port that has discount coupons for Coral World tickets. That way, you can miss the crowds, and stay as long as you want. THe kids get to touch marine life, there is an undersea viewing area, lots of trails to hike, and a nice aquarium area. There is also a beach right outside the entrance. You can take towels from the ship if you want to swim.

I've been told that there is free transportation to the beach area, but I can't speak to the details of this. The beach is free, but they will be happy to rent you chairs, towels, equipment, etc. The beach is "swimsuit optional," so probably isn't the place for young kids....however, you can use their transportation and walk across the street to Coral World.

My DD loved it at 8 or 9

 

[ronandot]

Thanks for the information especially the tip about the beach

 

[berly1657]

We will be on the same cruise - kids 5 & 8. We do plan on doing Coral World by ourselves. So if you see another family of 4 looking like they don't know what they are doing trying this by ourselves - it is us!

Our friends who are traveling with us will be doing the submarine with their children - that was too pricey for us for the 20-30 minutes you are actually underwater...

 

[stulaurie]

How about the tram ride in St. Thomas. I looked up their website and found the price for the tram to be the exact same as DCL. We don't want to pre-buy tickets with Disney just incase we decide not to go at the last minute. How far is it from the Dock? What happens if you get tendered in, I heard something about dropping you off at a different location? Can we buy tickets at guess services right before we get off of the ship?

 

[stancan]

When we got to st.marten we rented a jeep for the whole day. It cost $127. us . We went to numerous beachs , drove the whole island , we did some shopping. You can rent jeeps from HERTZ right on the pier and we did not make any reservations.

 

[ronandot]

This may be a stuuuuupid question, but do they drive on the right or left side?

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

We charted a Cigarette boat in St. Martin and spent the day in Anguilla. It was beautiful. You take take a peek at some of my other posts for more descriptions.

They have a web site: www.offshoresunsations.com. Click on testimonials and read our description. We're the family from Des Moines.

 

[ronandot]

Thanks for the tip. I have e-mailed them for more information. Do you consider it to have been worth the money and what kind of charter should I ask for? All day, 1/2 day etc.

By the way, I wanted to look up more of your posts, but every time I click on search, it says that function has been disabled. How do I search this board? There has to be a way.

Thanks

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

We booked 1/2 day and while we were out decided to change it to a whole day since they didn't have anything chartered for the afternoon and we loved it. If you can find another family to split the cost with on your cruise, the boat holds 12. It was the most memorable day of our vacation.

I think you should be able to search on doogierunner for my other posts. You could try to search on offshoresunsations?

 

[NCRedding]

kcashner: Where are you getting the info regarding the swimsuit optional beach at Coki?? I've never read anything about Coki begin swimsuit optional, and EVERYONE the day we were there was in swimsuits--no topless either. The guidebooks don't say that Coki is swimsuit optional, and when I e-mailed Coki Beach Dive shop, they knew I was bringing my DD (age 9) and didn't mention anything about clothing optional.

There were several families the day we went. Also, Coki is next to Coral World--there isn't a "road" to cross, only a very small parking area, so it is very safe children. We were going to do the snuba with Coki Beach dive, and they would pick us up at the dock included in our costs. We would have been responsible for getting back to the ship had we done this.

 

[NCRedding]

ronadot: In St Thomas they drive on the left side of the road.

 

[ronandot]

doggierunner: read your review on Jack's website. We are currently talking to him about a possible charter. What is not included? (tips for the crew, lunch etc) Is there a place for younger kids to rest and get out of the sun? Thanks.

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

Drinks are included. The boat has a large area in the front where kids can get out of the sun. Jack will do what ever he can to accomodate folks. He was wonderful. Our kids were exhausted at days end. You can have your cabin steward or room service pack a day lunch for you. We stopped at a few places during our day that the we could have ordered lunch. I wish we would have taken the lunches or more snacks from the ship.

 

[ronandot]

Soooooo you guys did or did not bring a lunch from the ship? Jack has offered to pack snacks. I don't know if that is normally included or not. I think that he would very much like to keep the boat busy that day. The family we are traveling with have kind of left it up to me on the decision but could go either way. The list of excursions don't really look that appealing and seem expensive for what you get. I hesitate to push for this and then have them be disappointed. Jack guaranteed me that I would be the hero and not the goat! Was there any problem with seasickness for you guys? Finally, what do you suggest as a tip for the crew. How many are there? Thanks for your help.

Decisions, Decisions

 

[BGN]

I think the Coral World idea on your own is great. We just were there Jan 14 & if I could do it over, I'd go on my own. The bus took us on a mountain drive 1st & stopped at a little local mall with junky suveniers. Wasted about an hour. Then went to Coral World & had to rush through. The beach is RIGHT there & my daughter was very sad we couldn't go. Had we gone on our own, it would have been great. The pools on the ship are TINY and CROWED so the beach would have been great. The bus tried to stop at another flea market type place on the way back to town, but luckily everyone said NO!

We did the Dolphin Fantaseas excursion from ST Maarten & LOVED it. It IS expensive, but you get the entire day there. When you're not with the Dolphins, you're at a beautiful big beach that's almost void of people. Wait till you see the pools on the ship....being able to MOVE around in water without running into someone is worth ALOT! It's a 45 min boat ride to Anguilla but it's lots of fun

 

[ronandot]

Is Dolphin Fantaseas a Disney excursion or did you do that one on your own? There is a dolphin encounter that is on the Disney list but it doesn't sound like the same one. It's 180 & 135 per adult and child. How was yours priced?

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

Ronandot,

We did not bring a lunch from the ship. I'm sure Jack will do whatever it takes to accomodate his guests, he did it with us. I've corresponded with him several times since our trip via e-mail. He's genuine, honest, and service oriented. I wouldn't think snacks would be a big deal. Yes, it costs money, but considering the time and the things we got to see, it was worth it. We plan to do it again on our next Eastern. You will love the trip!! Don't worry about your travelling friends; I think everyone would love it. It was unlike anything we'd ever done. We're the most basic/boring run-of-the-mill midwestern family . I've got lot's of digital picutures I can send you from our day if you want. You can post your email or you can send me a PM with your e-mail from this site. No, we didn't have any sea-sick problems.

The reason I wish I'd have brought food is because on our last stop, our son smelled chicken cooking on Sandy Island. (He loves chicken!!) Unfortunately for us and he I said "No" . It was near the end of the day and we'd be boarding and eating dinner. (Sorry, bad dad here, I should have realized we're on vacation, let the kid have whatever he wants )

One other suggestion is to search the web for some of the beaches in Angullia and have an idea in mind those that you would like to visit. We really liked Little Bay and Sandy Island.

As far as a tip... that's up to your discrection. All I can say, the 3 Disney Cruises we've been on were wonderful, but still don't match the personalized service we got that day from Jack and Ritz, his driver.

 

[DOOGIERUNNER]

Ronandot,

One more thing. If you do decide to goto Anguilla, send me a trip report.

 

[ronandot]

DR....just sent you a PM...hope it gets through. We just booked our charter with Jack and we are really looking forward to it. He offered to provide snacks along with the beverages so I am going to hold him to it. It is a good bit of money, but considering we will get to split with our traveling companions it's not too bad. Not much more than many of the excursions that are offered by DCL. Any more tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Is Jack actually on board for the day as a crew member?