Golden Eagle Catamaran

[dthogue]

Looking for any details on this excurison in St. Maarten. If you did this one, what did you think? Was it worth the price? Did you do the am or pm? If you did the am what did you do in the afternoon? Will I be able to take my collapisble cooler on-board? How long was the actual sailing part vs. the snorkeling? Was there any snorkeling instructions? Did they provide any type of swim float?

Thanks,

 

[jrabbit]

Disney REQUIRES all of their vendors to provide BC's (Buoyancy Compensators - a mini life jacket) to ALL guests while snorkeling. The do make snorkeling from the surface easier. If you meant floatation mats, noodles or tubes - I don't know.

We did not do this excursion because we really wanted to go snorkeling. Our first choice got cancelled due to visability problems. We got this one as a replacement and they said the snorkeling was not going to be good on this on either - and let us cancel at the very, very last minute.

This excursion is "advertised" as haveing three componets: Sailing, Snorkeling and beach time. Looking at the people on the catamaran as they sailed back into port, you could tell that they had a great time. Talking to some of them, they said that they really enjoyed it.

Snorkeling at St. Maarten seems to be an iffy proposition. It may depend upon the time of year. We were told that the island gets a lot of wind and that stirs up the sand and that makes the water visibilty disappear.

We ended up going to Orient Beach on our own and it was beautiful - and a lot cheaper than any of DCL's excursions.

 

[MBFergie]

We did this excursion on our 7/26 cruise. It is one of the highlights of our trip!! The snorkeling was so-so, the boat ride a blast and the beach was very nice. I don't know if the snorkeling was only average because it was a bit rough out or because I am use to snorkeling in the Florida Keys. You shouldn't need a cooler onboard. When you get on they have sodas for you (not allowed to drink until after snorkeling) and then at the beach they bring coolers of beer and waters. Trip back we had rum punch and champagne for adults and more soda and water for the rest, along with some sandwhiches. My DD of course had a stash of chocolate chip cookies from room service! We felt it was worth the money and would do this again. My son still talks about the ride on the catamaran.

They gave everyone a BC, they also had a bunch of noodles to use at the beach or while snorkeling. We had about 1 1/2 hours to snorkel and hang out.

We did the am trip. We went back to the ship and my DS wanted to go in the camps, DH went into St. Martin to gamble at one of the casinos and me and DD went shopping. I took the ferry ($5 for me all day, free for DD) over to the shopping and DH took a cab ($5 each way i think) to casino. There is a beach right across the way if you would rather just hang out.

 

[krhardy]

DH and I did this excursion July 2002, and plan to do it again July 2004. We had soooooooooooooo much fun. What I haven't seen in any of the posts taht I've read on this thread so far, is how much fun the crew was. You could tell that they genuinely enjoyed their jobs. The snorkeling was not bad....I don't know if they take every voyage to the same spot or not. They made some of the best rum punch I've ever had in my life, and you got as much as you wanted!!! DH and I were celebrating our anniversary, and were actually at St. Maarten ON our anniversary. Everybody gets a glass of champagne, but they gave us a bottle to bring home with us. We drank it for our anniversary this year, and it brought back such great memories.
The ride was a little rough, and DH did feel a bit queasy once or twice, but they're well trained in how to handle that....if motion sickness bothers you, sit in the back of the boat...not a whole lot of motion there. The ride back was awesome....they fed us (basic fare...subs and chips) and we sang and danced almost the whole way back (after we finished gorging ourselves that is). On the whole, worth every penney.

 

[scduckman]

We did this excursion in January 2002. We had 38 or 39 DIS'ers on the morning excursion. The weather was too rough to go to the normal snorkeling spot so I can't really comment on the snorkeling. The ride back was amazing as we headed into the waves. The waves crashed over the catamarran. It was like a one hour roller coaster. I've got a picture at work of me sitting on the edge of the catamarran.
The crew were great as they served the drinks and hardly spilled a drop despite the rocking and rolling. I would highly recommend it and would definitely do it again

 

[amtmommy]

Is this something that kids could enjoy? My DD will be 6.
It sounds like a blast for adults but as far as kids?
Thanks

 

[Angebecky2]

We took this excursion during our cruise this June. We had a blast. Five year old son, (few days shy of six), had a blast too and still comments about how fun it was every now and then. The snorkling was so-so, but the ride to and from made it well worth the money. I am not sure if they were trying to get rid of some alcohol, but they were handing out beers to anyone who would take them (age appropriate, of course) and pouring more champagne into plastic cups then you could possibly drink. It was a great time and I would recommend it young or old.


P.S. I was unpreppered because I did not think about bringing cash on the catamaran, but they do sell t-shirts at the end and also ask for gratuites. The staff certainley deserved it. They did an excellent job of taking care of us.

 

[Gina]

Hi! Does anyone have any pictures of the catamarans themselves? Like how/where you sit, what they look like when you're on them?

Thanks!!

-gina-