Excursions on Eastern

[Cruising Dreams]

We are planning our October cruise and have been trying to decide on excursions. We have two DD's 11 and 7 and we would like to take them to some fun snorkling places. Anyone have suggestions and should we consider not using the DCL excursions and go local? Thanks

 

[kidsmom]

My DH and I did the Golden Eagle Catamaran and absolutely loved it! We took the catamaran over to an island off St. Martin had a couple of hours to snorkel (gear provided) or hang out on the beach and then sail back to the main island. Beverages (soda & adult) were provided along with a snack (I think it was a sandwich). We thought this was one of the best excursions we've been on. The crew was great and even has you help hoist the sail.

If traveling with children be aware that the island we visited was "clothing optional" (as are most of the beaches in St. Martin) and yes, we did see a few people enjoying this option. The catamaran was anchored a ways off from where these individuals were so it wasn't like they were right there next to us.

I, however, got a little disoriented when snorkeling and wound up going right through a group of "naturalists"! My DH thought this was the funniest thing ever and still teases me about the interesting things one can see while snorkeling!

But even with that, I would definitely recommend the excursion!

 

[DIS NURSE]

Can you please tell me the age limits of the Golden eagle Catamaran? It seems DCL is pretty strict about age limits. We will be traveling with a 5 y.o and 8 y.o. Do you think this would be good? They are both water lovers. Did the excursion have an am time and a pm time as choices? What was your experience with disembarking? Was there the chance of getting sea sick while on the catamaran? Tell me more....tell me more! You say you were on land part of the time or at least a choice?.....a beach as an option on one of the stops?

Thank You!

 

[kidsmom]

DIS NURSE,

The ages for the Golden Eagle are 5 and up. You get on the catamaran right down the dock from the Magic -- it was a very short walk. Then you sail on the catamaran for approx 45 minutes to an island. There the catamaran anchors off the beach and you swim over to the beach or put on your snorkeling gear and head out. The beach was very close and the water might even be shallow enough to walk to (although I don't know for sure since we went snorkeling right away). The beach was really nice and the kids on the excursion seemed to really enjoy it. You are at the beach for 1-2 hours (sorry I can't remember exactly). Then you load back up on the catamaran and head back to St. Martin.

I think there were both an am time and a pm time. We went about 1:00 in the afternoon which gave us time to explore St. Martin in the morning. Since we had the late seating for dinner we were in no hurry to get back.

As for seasickness, our catamaran ride was very choppy as there were about 8-10 foot waves and we crashed through them which made the ride rough. We were in the very front of the cat, and we simply held on tight and let the waves hit us straight on. I have to say it was an absolute BLAST! We loved EVERY minute of it!! In fact, there was a 5 yr old girl who was right up front with us and she didn't stop laughing the whole way. She just sat there with her goggles on and yelled "big wave comin' " and then we'd get splashed and we'd all start laughing. There were a few people who did get seasick. We didn't have a problem with it at all even though we were right in the middle of it.

I don't think the seas are always as rough as they were that day. I would imagine it is usually a relatively smooth sailing (as far as catamarans go). We plan on doing this same excursion in April '06. This time we'll have DD 14 and DS 9 with us. We actually are hoping for rough seas as it seemed to add to the excitement. I guess we're a set of thrill seekers!

Sorry for the long post, but I hope I've answered some of your questions.