I do not recommend Capt Brians!

[CVW]

At Wavegirl's recommendation, I was also on the 10/11 Captain Bryan's with two young boys (8 and 4), and we had an ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC time.

The walk to the house was horrible. (That house puts the "shackle" back in "ramshackle".) But keep in mind, it's RIGHT NEXT to Captain Marvin's! It's an awful walk to either one (despite their comical note about a "scenic 4 minute walk"). So the walk to either excursion is a draw.

Standing around for a few minutes was really no big deal. It was truly less stressful than waiting in line for dinner onboard with the kids. I REALLY liked that it was next to the pastry shop. I took my kids there. There WAS a gate much closer to it that the previous poster may have missed. If you wanted to go there from Marvin's, you would have had to cross a very dangerous intersection.

LOCATION ADVANTAGE: CAPTAIN BRYAN'S.

Captain Marvin's definitely had a prettier bus, but I thought ours was fine. Either one was more comfortable than a ride on a Disney Magic elevator. The gasoline stop on the way back was comically inappropriate. I was the one saying (from the back row of the bus) that I hoped he wasn't due for an oil change, or we'd miss our ship. We went five minutes without A/C in 80 degree weather. Poor form? Absolutely. Enough to sour the whole trip? Hardly.

Further, I never expected to be taken back to port, so I was surprised that others were surprised. Does Captain Marvin's take you back to port? If so, that's a huge advantage I would have liked to have known.

TRANSFER ADVANTAGE: CAPTAIN MARVIN'S

As for the ship itself, I suppose it's a matter of preference. But Captain Bryan's catamaran made me feel like a Kennedy summering off the coast of Hyannisport. The people on Captain Marvin's dinghy looked more like Marky Mark in "The Perfect Storm".

Our Captain put a stingray in my arms, positioned my wife and boys around it, and took our picture (yes, with my own camera) without me ever asking. I told the assistant my mask was leaking. He took the one off his own face, cleaned it and gave it to me. Both of my boys got to sit in the captain's seat. The snorkeling was wonderful, and they accommodated my 8 year-old who wanted to stay on board during that part.

EXCURSION ADVANTAGE: CAPTAIN BRYAN'S

In short, I was not overly impressed with Captain Bryan's, but it was mainly because of the transfer itself, NOT the excursion. By that standard, I shouldn't have even gone on the cruise. (Have you been through airports with three screaming children?) It was a great excursion once we got there. And it left me in a good enough mood to be laughing at the gasoline break on the bus. (Normally I'd get mighty crabby about poor customer service.)

If I did it again, I'd probably do Captain Bryan's, but not with religious enthusiasm. If Captain Marvin's TRULY takes everyone back to the port (does anyone know?) then I'd probably switch to Marvin's.

As for Tulirose, the self-appointed arbiter of good parenting, thankfully my children do not fit the descriptions in your diatribe. I would encourage others to categorically ignore Tulirose's thoughts about children, and decide for yourself.

We went there with the thought that our two boys might sit on the ship without ever getting in. Even then, it would have been loads of fun for them to ride the catamaran. But they GOT IN! And enjoyed it immensely. Now that we're home, they're not talking about kid's club. They're talking about stingrays.

If children ruin your experience, steer clear of the Disney Magic. Try the Carnival Ecstacy. (Personally, I'm less offended by rowdy kids than drunken libidinous adults.)

 

[Jules1]

I would highly recommend Captain Marvin's. We snorkeled in a couple of different places besides going to Stingray City. We were on a small boat - only about 15-18 of us. It was great. The guide was fantastic, lured eels out so we could see them while snorkeling.

 

[Tulirose]

Ouch. I guess I deserved the harsh tones of Videoman and CVW. Reading the posts over, I see the tones in their posts are reflections of what was heard in mine. I could have worded my post differently so as not to come off as "the self-appointed arbiter of good parenting". I am well aware that things are not always as they are seen to be and ReadyForDisney's situation certainly has reinforced that concept. I am far from the perfect parent, having made my share of mistakes, as every parent does. So your assumption is very wrong, Videoman, for I am a parent and have been acting parent for one of my many nieces/nephews, although I find the point of my parenthood (or lack thereof) irrelevent.

Videoman was correct in saying that a parent knows their child best and they are the ones to make the decisions on where to go and when. I apologize for coming across as trying to tell people what to do. This board is for informational purposes and I felt people should know (as the original poster did too about the excursion operator) that things are not always hunky-dory. I was not upset about crying children. It was more of a concern initially, which I promptly decided was none of my business a short while into the excursion itself. Obviously, I should not have let the concern resurface again when I read this post.

I need to set the record straight about one other thing since my choice in cruise lines was brought up. I adore children. I prefer them smiling and laughing rather than crying (I know, it's not natural for children not to cry) but I do adore children, especially the little ones. As as matter of fact, on Capt. Brian's I found myself defending the children of DCL to another couple who were from another ship. She turned to me and stated how she was so looking forward to this excursion but how was she to know that the Disney Magic would be in port the same day. She was quite surprised when I informed her that I was also from the Disney Magic and she wondered how I could stand it with "all those kids running around". I quickly gave her my input on the joys of traveling with DCL.

Again, I apologize for offending and also for going off topic a bit just now but felt the need to rebuttal some statements. I'll remember to steer clear of controversial topics in the future

 

[CVW]

Tulirose,

Nicely stated and duly noted.

By the way, does anyone know if Captain Marvin's takes you back to the port? That alone would be reason enough to switch to their service.

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Good morning CVW.

does anyone know if Captain Marvin's takes you back to the port?

No, you are taken back to their offices and each adult is given a small Rum Cake.

Also, one other difference I've noticed is that on Captain Marvin's the tour guide showed us how to feed the Stingrays and there was enough food for everyone in our group to experience this additional thrill...

 

[MemereMouse]

Just got back from the 10/11 Magic and can't say enough good about Capt. Marvin's. We had chartered our own boat since there were 10 of us. The check-in was smooth and had our own air conditioned van to the boat. They upgraded us to a larger boat with a crew of two (father and son) who were terrific. The boat and equipment were in top shape and the father kept cleaning up as we went along. Took us snorkeling out at the reef where the son lured out a moray eel for our group to see. Of course the kids thought this was great. Then out to the stingrays where we had plenty of food to feed them. The son showed us how to hold the stingrays and we took pictures of us with them. Rinsed us all off with fresh water when we got back on the boat. When we got back to shore we were given a 10% discount on any souvenirs and each family was given a rum cake. The staff here were friendly and helpful. We did have to walk back to the Magic but enjoyed our walk on this beautiful island. We all would highly recommend Captain Marvin's!!!!

 

[minniemouse1]

I was also on the same captain bryans trip and thought it was terrible. The only thing I disagree with is the comment about not taking young children on the tour. I had a 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old and they loved swimming around with the stingray. When we stopped at the snorkling spot I stayed on the ship with my children while my dh snorkeled and the dd's ate lunch and relaxed. I would definately bring my children to sting ray city again on another trip, but definately not bryans.
all that was said is true about waiting in a chainlink pen with 30-45 other people, 2 five foot benches and chickens!! the shack was only big enough for about 10 people to stand inside if he were to let more than one person in. Oh and did someone mention that it was over 90 degrees with abousolutely NO breeze and the humidity was about 97%. So I was most definately envious of the people waiting in an air conditioned office and bus.
Capt marvins is also a shorter walk than to captain bryans and in that heat it is a plus!
One thing that is possitive about bryans is that the people on the ship were very friendly and helpful with everything from helping us in and out of the water with our children to making sure we had a picture of all of us with the sting ray.

 

[knilsen]

Just got back from Magic Halloween Cruise. We used Captain Bryans for our sting ray excursion and had a wonderful time. I researched several others prior to booking Captain Bryans and chose him because he had a catamaran. I wanted to be able to sit in the sun. I'm glad I did, the catamaran was great!!! We had about 25-30 people, but did not feel crowded at all. There is plenty of room to spread out, but is very little shade. My sister did the Disney sting ray excursion the same day and said it was crowded, but still enjoyable. We saw them being herded to the excursion. I guess it just depends on the number of people going on your excursion. I would not recommend bringing small children unless you are sure they will enjoy. I planned on bring my DD2 and changed my mind last minute. I'm glad I left her on the Magic. I don't think she would have enjoyed it as much and I was able to relax and have a wonderful time. FYI, they dropped several people off at 7 mile beach on drive back and the rest of us right at port.