First post, Q about shore ex with kids..

[Sue Sullivan]

I have been just devouring these pages since I booked our first ever cruise (Nov 13, Eastern). Thank you all for the amazing information. My question is this; My son will be 4.5 when we sail. Is he not allowed on the snorkeling excursions that say 5 and over, or just not allowed to snorkle. If they stop at a beach, my husband and I can take turns playing on the beach with him and taking our 6 year old snorkeling. Or do they snorkly off the boat? I don't mind paying for him since he will be taking the boat ride, although he may be sad that we all get to snorkle and he doesn't. Thanks again.

Sue

 

[Cruisin]

Hi Sue
Can't help you with your questions, sorry.

I just wanted to be the first to say and welcome to the DISBoard.

Someone else will be sure to come along with an answer for you.

This is a great place to find all the answers to all of your questions.

 

[jrabbit]

Lots of the snorkeling excursions are off of a boat, but not all. Here's my advice/opinions for the eastern cruise.

St. Maarten - the snorkeling there is iffy because of the wind that kicks up the sand and can make the visibility poor. I would either go to a beach on my own or do the Golden Eagle Catamara excursion (don't know if there is an age limit). It looks like fun, everyone I've talked to that has done it has had a great time. Its a sail, snorkel and beach party all rolled into one trip.

St. Thomas - now here is where you want to go snorkeling. Go to St. John's and see some increadible reefs and fish. I think on one of the excursions to trunk bay you snokel from the beach. Its one of the worlds best beaches (according to the travel channel)

 

[mickeyboat]

St. John is amazing for snorkeling. Trunk Bay is great, especially for beginners. There is a marked snorkel trail as well. We saw a lot of fish and a sting ray at Trunk Bay. We snorkeled at a couple other beaches on St. John as well where we saw sea turtles and a small shark.

As far as your age question goes, I would probably call DCL on that one.

Good Luck!

Denae

 

[cotomom]

I don't think they'll "sell" you a ticket for him if he's under the age limit. For liability reasons. I would definitely call and ask!

 

[jel0511]

Originally posted by Sue Sullivan
I have been just devouring these pages since I booked our first ever cruise (Nov 13, Eastern). Thank you all for the amazing information. My question is this; My son will be 4.5 when we sail. Is he not allowed on the snorkeling excursions that say 5 and over, or just not allowed to snorkle. If they stop at a beach, my husband and I can take turns playing on the beach with him and taking our 6 year old snorkeling. Or do they snorkly off the boat? I don't mind paying for him since he will be taking the boat ride, although he may be sad that we all get to snorkle and he doesn't. Thanks again.

Sue

Yes, that's the case. Since your son will be under the age of 5, they will not allow him on the boat (even for the ride) for any reason due to insurance. If you wish to take a snorkle excursion, you'll either have to leave your son back in the clubs, not a great option if you ask me. Or, you'll have to try to find an on-island vendor who will take a child under 5 out. Most of them will, but you'll have to book this separately from any DCL excursions. We find ourselves in a similiar situation on our Nov 6th Western cruise, so we're booking our snorkling excursion separately.

 

[Sue Sullivan]

Thanks so much for the information everyone. I suspected that my 4 year old would not be able to take the shore excursion. Since I would never leave him at the clubs while the rest of us snorkled, we will probably do something on our own that we can all take part in, maybe a trip to Coral World with Coki Beach thrown in. How easy is it to do this on your own?

Sue