Just Back From 10/16 Eastern Magic. Any Questions?

[Zandy595]

They kicked us off the Magic yesterday. We had the BEST vacation ever!!!

We did See & Sea on St. Maarten; Coral World and Paradise Point Tramway on St. Thomas.

If anyone has questions, I would be more than happy to answer them, if I can.

 

[Disneyfan37]

How did you enjoy the paradise point tram in St Thomas?DH and I are doing the exact same things that you did except for St Maarten we are doing the Under 2 Flags Island Tour.The only excursion we are doing with Disney is the under 2 flags.It is great to hear you all had a great time.I hope to see photos and read a trip report!

Thanks!

Maria

 

[Zandy595]

We did Paradise Point on our own so we had to walk from the ship. The walk wasn't that long, but it was hot and I had a whiney 8 year old with me. The traffic was quite heavy and crossing the street was a bit tricky. The cost is $16 for adults, $8 for children. The tram cars are not air conditioned and only have a small open window, which doesn't give you much of a breeze. It was an uncomfortable ride in the heat. The views at the top are spectacular though and almost make up for it. They have a drink called the Bushwacker. It tastes like an alcoholic chocolate milkshake, very good. There is a parrot show, which we missed. BTW, taking pictures of the birds is prohibited. They want you to have your picture taken with them and then buy the picture.

I'm glad I went on the tram ride because I got some great pictures, but I won't be doing it again. I think I would have enjoyed it much more if it wasn't so darn hot.

 

[Disneyfan37]

We are going on the December 11 Eastern Cruise,so hopefully by then the weather won't be so hot in St Thomas.It will be just dh and I along.It is good to hear that it isn' t too long of a walk there.I have heard the view up there is something else which is why I want to do it as when I was there in 84 I didn't get to.This will be dh first time there.The Bushwacker sounds good.We will have to get one.Where can we find these drinks at?Should I plan on bringing cash along for this,or do they allow you to use your credit card?I will have to remember no photo taking of birds.I am with you I don't like it when it is so hot either!Thanks for all the great tips!

Maria

 

[SQUIGGLE]

Sandy - Did you like the See & Sea Ttour? We're going to try that this time.

fran

 

[scrapcreator]

Hey, Sandy They dragged us off, kicking and screaming, too! We had a blast and dd is ready to go again. Hope you don't mind if I add my thoughts here, too.

We did the Golden Eagle Catamaran in St. Maarten. Didn't make it to the French beach 'cuz the surf was too rough, so we ended up at a Dutch beach and didn't see too many fish (except jellyfish). Still had a good time and the kids had a blast "surfing" on the catamaran netting on the way back. St. Maarten shopping area is under "renovation" but we did manage to find the Last Mango in Paradise (for Jimmy Buffet fans), the Guavaberry shop (local liquor that makes a pretty pink Piña Colada) and the shop that has the color changing fingernail polish.

We walked to the Paradise Point Lookout on our own, too. We had a whiney 9 yr old who wanted to be on the airconditioned ship(guess we should have teamed up, Sandy). It was HORRIBLY humid that day. One time was fine, great view, took pictures, but won't do it again. We shopped right around the dock area and I found some beautiful earrings, dd & dh found tshirts and a picture frame and we found some local liquor to take home.

Castaway Cay was our family favorite. Dh said they could have just parked the ship there and he would have been happy, LOL! We reserved snorkeling gear, floats and bikes on board. We shopped first (I would recommend that) and then hit the beach. We snorkeled out and took lots of pictures of fish and all the things Disney has placed in the reef (including Mickey), lazed around on our floats (the beach was crowded!), rode our bikes out past Serenity Bay on the bike trail (away from the crowds). The bbque was good and the Konk Koolers were yummy (with or without alcohol)! Got to get that recipe. Our only disappointment was that the day was just not long enough, LOL, and that the lines for character pictures were just too long to spend valuable beach time waiting in.

Jeanne

 

[Zandy595]

Maria ~ Once you get to the top of the tram ride you can take stairs up to an observation area. There are also stairs going down to the bird show/gift shop/restaurant level and from there you take more stairs down to the bar level, where you can get a Bushwacker. Lots of stairs! Yes, take cash! My DM tried to buy a magnet at one of the shops and they wouldn't let her use a credit card unless she spent $20 or more.

Fran ~ Hi! Hope you made it through the hurricanes OK. Yes, we liked the the See & Sea tour. The bus ride was a little long, but the seats were comfortable and it had A/C so it wasn't bad. First we stopped in Marigot to do some shopping, or if you're up for it, you can climb the steps to Fort Louie. The semi-submarine was nice, but we didn't see a lot of sea life. I'm glad I did it because I'd never been to St. Maarten before and you do get to see a lot of the island, but if we ever go on another 7 night Eastern I'll probably stay on the ship. Again, the heat made it a little less enjoyable.

 

[Zandy595]

Hi Jeanne ~ I don't mind at all if you add your thoughts here.

We went to a very nice mall in Marigot (French side).

At CC we took our time getting off the ship, didn't want to stand in line. The store was crowded by the time we got there, but by 12pm the lines were much shorter.

 

[mickeyfanmom]

Sandy and Jeanne-

It doesn't sound like either of you did it, but did you hear anything (good or bad) from folks that did the Doubloon Sail & Snorkle?

We really want to do it, but the site makes it look like kind of a wild time which DH and I wouldn't mind as much if we didn't have a 9 year old and 5 year old with us. So I was wondering if either of you had heard anything about it.

Anything that we definitely can't miss?

Thanks for posting- sorry that you couldn't stay in paradise forever!

 

[Disneyfan37]

Cool!An observation area!I best start getting my exercise so I can walk up and down all those stairs<G>.Thanks!I will make sure we take cash then.You would think they would want your money regardless.I will have to make note of that.Again thanks for all the great information!

Maria

 

[suz72]

I keep reading about the heat and humidity. How hot was it?? Do you remember the temps?

Susan

 

[tvguy]

I just looked up the weather for Wednesday October 20 in St Thomas on www.wunderground.com
The high was 87, humidity 62%, heat index 95.
I guess it depends on where you are from as to whether that is hot or not. A heat index of 95 would be a mild summer day here.

 

[wide awake]

It was very hot...the humidity was the killer. I'm a Sacramento girl and 110 degrees is fine by me, but we have a dry heat here...you don't notice it. At the moment I'm thanking myself for skipping the trams that day...just had a feeling there was no air conditioning. We took a taxi to Megan's Bay and the views on the ride over and back were enough to make us decide the tram wasn't necessary. Also DH told me that one of the local jokes is that the trams are free after the ships leave...don't know if that is true or not but if so just one more reason not to buy a ticket.

 

[scrapcreator]

I'm from southern California. We get plenty of heat - dry heat! It was the humidity.

Jeanne

 

[cramam]

Mickeyfanmom, We did the Capt. Nautica snorkeling tour, but saw the Doubloon. It looked like fun and had all ages on board. They snorkle at one of the same areas as Capt. Nautica then sail back to the ship. Water varies from 5-20 feet. Very clear. Light chop. Saw sea turtles and stingrays there. Not sure a 5 year old would do well with the snorkeling. Castaway Cay snorkeling would probably more appropiate unless they are very strong swimmers and have previous snorkeling experience. The second site we visited with Capt Nautica was very calm and only about 4-10 feet deep. Easy snorkeling and very beautiful. I can highly the Capt. Nautica excursion as having something for everyone.

 

[JenB]

Welcome Back Sandy! Sounds like you had a blast. How did the door signs look???
The kids and I were counting days tonight in the car...19 to go!!!
We are signed up for the Golden Eagle and Doubloon-Can't wait!!!

 

[lbgraves]

You made me remember how hot & humid it was last November in the ports when we were on the Eastern. Whew! That surprised me at that time of year.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

What movies are playing on the Magic?


Teri

 

[Jimbo]

We'll be in St. Thomas in a little over a week, and had planned to take the tram in the A.M. But I checked the ling term forecast, and it says 88 and humid. We've got a couple of kids too, plus there's a couple of whiny adults in our group. I think we'll pass.

 

[jlawall]

We did the Doubloon Sail and Snorkel two summers ago and it was not a wild time. They really were a top quality program where we snorkeled and then they served something but it was nice. Next they took our pictures and put them on their website when we came home. The only thing I wasn't happy about was that we couldn't go on the beach b/c birds were nesting and I needed some solid ground to take a break from the rocking. It has a very pirate theme which is fun too.