Looking for inexpensive things to do on the Eastern Islands

[TinkerBellMom]

My financial situation has suffered a drastic hit since booking this cruise. I'm looking for fun family things to do on the islands and ideas to SAVE $$. Sailing with me are DD 10 and Beautiful niece 27. (Husband jumped ship at Christmas after 13 yrs of sailing smooth waters together) We are determined to have fun without him!

 

[mickeyboat]

I can't really help you out with the excursion information but I wanted to say I am sorry to hear about your personal and financial situation.

I am so glad to hear that you are still planning on taking the cruise. You will have a great time and it sounds like you deserve it.

I think the beauty of a cruise is that you can spend as little or as much money as you want: food, lodging, entertainment and transportation is all included.

One suggestion for saving money would be not not wander too far from the ship so you can return for lunch, or to order room service sandwiches to take with you whie you explore St. Maarten and St. Thomas. Bring a small soft-sided cooler.

Have a wonderful time.

Denae

 

[aaronamy]

Hi Tinkerbell Mom. Sorry to hear about your troubles, I have a good friend (her husband was a good friend also) whos husband left her and his 4 sons, ages 11 to 3. He would disagree because he still spends time with them but in my opinon. he left them all! We did the Eastern last Jan. and never went on the Disney excursions. In St. Maarten we rented a jeep (I think it was about $80, for the day) Weve done this twice on St. Maarten and I love it. It is very easy to get around and so small if you get lost someone will help. Anyway we went to Dawn Beach, very few people, great sand and water, it even has a little snack bar that had very cheap BBQ. My daughter had her hair braided there(she was 10) by the locals on the beach, it was only $1.00 per braid. In St. Thomas we took a shuttle to Meagens Bay, it was very pretty, calm water, it was fun but I love St. Maarten and the waves. Another way to cut costs is to bring a soft sided cooler and order room service the night before you dock, they will pack you chips sandwiches, and cookies so you can picknik right on the beach. Have fun!

 

[kcashner]

First, you can stay on the ship. THere is no adult programming, but the kid activities continue. You can hang out at the pool, etc. Alternatively, go off the ship but stay in the general local of the port and eat on the ship. There is a shopping mall at the dock at St. Thomas.

There is a beach by Coral WOrld on St. Thomas. You can take a cab to Coral World, but I've been told that free transportation is available to the beach (Not sure how as I've never done it). If you want to do Coral WOrld, you can then walk across the street. There are discount coupons available at the tourist agency at the dock. This is a "swimsuit optional" beach.

The best way to save $ with a 10 year old is to do any excursions on your own. DCL calls a 10 year old an "adult" for pricing purposes, but most other people start adult rates at 12 or 13. This can make a huge difference! Almost any excursion that can be booked thru DCL can be done on your own at a savings. There are a couple exceptions where DCL has booked the whole place for a day, but these are rare. Another advantage to going on your own is that you miss the crowds.

Buy or borrow(from friends at home) your own snorkel equipment--snorkeling at Castaway is free, but you need to have equipment. Buying it is about the same cost as a day's rental. Alternatively, rent one set and the adults can take turns.....snorkel vests are required but are free. You can always exchange flippers if needed for size reasons.

 

[mike2beach]

We also packed a soft cooler with food from room service. Just grab a taxi from the pier to Magens Bay. It was approx. $10-$15 each way for the 4 of us and $1 each to get into the park. You can rent kayaks and other water craft on the beach if you wish.

 

[musicgirl]

From what I understand, at St. Maarten, Great Bay beach is right next to where the ship docks. No Taxi necessary! We are thinking about going to this beach ourselves.

 

[Nesnboy]

In St Martin, the beach is just a short walk from the ship. And the town is right there. It doesn't cost anything to wander through the little shops and take in the local flavor.

Remember... a vacation is a nice break from everyday worries... especially one that is pretty much paid for already. Have a wonderful time!

 

[Hersh]

We did not do any excursions on the eastern. We went to Great Bay beach on St. Martin and took a taxi to Coki beach in St Thomas. That was great. Get there early and there is a man that sells dog biscuits 4/$1.00. Get in the water knee deep--put the bone right under the water--the fish just come and eat from your hand. My kids will never forget it ! Come early because other ships will bring tours and it gets crowded. We didn't feel we needed to pay for Coral World. We also took a picnic lunch from the ship.

 

[NCRedding]

kcashner: are you sure Coki is "swimsuit optional" When we went, everyone was dressed in swimsuits. I don't think I would have gone if I thought it was swimsuit optional--since I was taking DD, I really didn't want to answer those questions. We had a great time at Coki and Coral World. Taxi over and back was @$14 per person (this is negoitable) it cost @$22 for the 2 of us to get in Coral World (look for discount coupons on line and in the "what to do book" ) Coki does have a restroom, but I was very glad we could use the one at Coral World, plus it was nice to shower in their fresh water shower prior to taking the taxi back. I prefered doing the excursion on our own better than the ship excursion we took in St Martin. Whatever you do, have a great time.

 

[dianthus]

The clothing optional beaches are on the French side of St. Martin. Orient is best known for this, but we've seen nudity at Dawn Beach too, which I think is still the Dutch side. St. Thomas & St. John require bathing suits- no clothing optional.

Maegan's Bay is beautiful. A taxi ride runs about $5 PP each way & Admission is cheap too. Take a bagged lunch from the ship & you have a cheap excursion, as others have suggested. Do a little window shopping in town. They have straw market type vendors there for cheap, but nice souveniers.

Rent a compact car at Port & take a drive around the island at St. Martin- cheaper than a taxi. Marigot is so nice. Have lunch there & take in the vendors in the square for some great bargains. Nice pareos, tote bags.

You will have fun just being on the Magic, so even if you don't get off the ship, you'll have a great time!

~ Linda

 

[Dean]

I can't speak for DCL and am not the world expert on cruise excursions but can give you my take. We've been on 4 cruises and I can honestly tell you that there was only one excursion we'd do again and only one other we were halfway glad we did. Things we've done, for a fee, include the Tulum tour from Playa del Carmen, Dunn's River Falls with an island tour and shopping on Jamaica, Atlantis sub at Grande Cayman, island tour on St. Thomas and a nightclub show on San Jaun. There was also a tour on Nausau that we did but I forget what it was, I still wouldn't do it again, LOL. The one we'd do again was the night club show and possibly he atlantis sub. In addition we've done the shopping and looking around in Cozumel, St. Thomas, Nausau, Key West etc and generally enjoyed it, especially Key West. I almost every instance we wish we'd just looked around the town a little and spent most of the time on the boat.

We have a cruise coming up in two months and based on our past experiences are planning on doing very little off the boat. We don't like beaches and would rather relax and just enjoy.

We just had a nurse who works for the same companey I do who has 13 month old Triplets. Dear Hubby came in one day a few months ago and said he didn't want to be married anymore and in 3-4 days he was gone and moved hour hours away. Low Life.