Bill Seattle
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 24, 1999
- Messages
- 261
From what I could tell the Pirate Boat Sail & Snorkel Adventure was one of the most popular excursions in PVR and sold out on our cruise. Overall, in our opinion, it was worth the time and money we spent.
The group was told to gather by 7:30am in the Walt Disney Theater. We grabbed a quick breakfast at Parrot Cay when they opened at 7am. Beach Blanket opened at 6:45am. The expectation was to be boarded by 8am. Since there is no tenders in PVR we were immediately allowed to leave the ship once we arrived at the theater. We lined up with the group in front of the ship and they slowly boarded everyone, taking our tickets and getting a lunch count for those that wanted meat, chicken or vegetarian and all included pasta. Since kid’s tickets are discounted they are expected to have kids meals, which included chicken nuggets and something else. Once you have boarded the ship you remain seated through much of the journey and every seat has a pretty good view of the action, even upstairs. We sat upstairs and liked it.
Now it was pretty interesting to watch the crew since they wore so many hats. From entertainers, to servers, to deckhands, to directing activities on the beach and even bartenders. It is quite impressive to watch them change roles so quickly. The staff attempt to keep your entertained throughout the whole two hour trip to the beach and I have to admit the time went by faster than I originally expected. Only one little girl got sick - the boat does rock a bit but you are out in the open so it’s not so bad in the nice weather. The first group went downstairs inside the ship to eat breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs or cereal, coffee and juice or milk. Nothing to write home about but it broke up the first part of the journey. I was glad we ate something before we left the Wonder.
No alcohol is served on the first part of the trip because someone complained in the past that their spouse got too drunk so that was a bummer but I would come to realize that there would be plenty of time for drinking when we reached the beach. We passed right next to a huge whale where two whale watching ships were viewing it. The pirate show stopped so everyone could look at the whale and one family refused to look because they said they already paid for a whale watching trip on another day and did not want to spoil it. So throughout the whole journey they are working hard keeping us entertained and even bringing us non-alcoholic drinks.
When we reach the quiet beach ofr Majahuitas everyone is loaded into small motor boats and taken ashore. People snorkeling remain onboard and are taken to another location slightly away from the beach.
Once we reach the beach the party begins. Suddenly the staff puts their bar together and the beer and rum start flowing. From this point on it is all you can drink. Kids play in the sand, there are plenty of chairs for lounging but the water seems pretty cold to me. The snorkelers come back to the beach a short time later saying it was a bit too cold. They attempt to get volleyball started but that never works. The banana boat rides were popular from beginning to end and they even have kayaking available if you are looking for a workout.
Once the treasure hunt started that kept the younger kids completely entertained from beginning till they finally found the treasurer chest of chocolate coins.
We left the beach after an hour and half or so. I would say that the excursion is pirate cruise first and secondly a beach break. But I felt it was plenty of time on the beach for us. I had several delicious beers in the hot sun and was having a great time.
Once back on board they served a hearty lunch, which was actually pretty good. Of course, we are all spoiled from the wonderful food on DCL but it was much better than I expected. They continued to serve drinks and the show continued until we reached port. I was really worried about the 6-7 hour duration but it went well. Please feel free to ask any questions.
1) Be sure to bring cash for tips. The staff works so hard it is remarkable the amount of roles they serve. They collect at the end and personally I would give $20 per family or at least $10.
2) Wear your swimsuit on the cruise (under your shorts/top maybe).
3) They give each person a big bottle of water so there was no need to bring any beverages with us.
The group was told to gather by 7:30am in the Walt Disney Theater. We grabbed a quick breakfast at Parrot Cay when they opened at 7am. Beach Blanket opened at 6:45am. The expectation was to be boarded by 8am. Since there is no tenders in PVR we were immediately allowed to leave the ship once we arrived at the theater. We lined up with the group in front of the ship and they slowly boarded everyone, taking our tickets and getting a lunch count for those that wanted meat, chicken or vegetarian and all included pasta. Since kid’s tickets are discounted they are expected to have kids meals, which included chicken nuggets and something else. Once you have boarded the ship you remain seated through much of the journey and every seat has a pretty good view of the action, even upstairs. We sat upstairs and liked it.
Now it was pretty interesting to watch the crew since they wore so many hats. From entertainers, to servers, to deckhands, to directing activities on the beach and even bartenders. It is quite impressive to watch them change roles so quickly. The staff attempt to keep your entertained throughout the whole two hour trip to the beach and I have to admit the time went by faster than I originally expected. Only one little girl got sick - the boat does rock a bit but you are out in the open so it’s not so bad in the nice weather. The first group went downstairs inside the ship to eat breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs or cereal, coffee and juice or milk. Nothing to write home about but it broke up the first part of the journey. I was glad we ate something before we left the Wonder.
No alcohol is served on the first part of the trip because someone complained in the past that their spouse got too drunk so that was a bummer but I would come to realize that there would be plenty of time for drinking when we reached the beach. We passed right next to a huge whale where two whale watching ships were viewing it. The pirate show stopped so everyone could look at the whale and one family refused to look because they said they already paid for a whale watching trip on another day and did not want to spoil it. So throughout the whole journey they are working hard keeping us entertained and even bringing us non-alcoholic drinks.
When we reach the quiet beach ofr Majahuitas everyone is loaded into small motor boats and taken ashore. People snorkeling remain onboard and are taken to another location slightly away from the beach.
Once we reach the beach the party begins. Suddenly the staff puts their bar together and the beer and rum start flowing. From this point on it is all you can drink. Kids play in the sand, there are plenty of chairs for lounging but the water seems pretty cold to me. The snorkelers come back to the beach a short time later saying it was a bit too cold. They attempt to get volleyball started but that never works. The banana boat rides were popular from beginning to end and they even have kayaking available if you are looking for a workout.
Once the treasure hunt started that kept the younger kids completely entertained from beginning till they finally found the treasurer chest of chocolate coins.
We left the beach after an hour and half or so. I would say that the excursion is pirate cruise first and secondly a beach break. But I felt it was plenty of time on the beach for us. I had several delicious beers in the hot sun and was having a great time.
Once back on board they served a hearty lunch, which was actually pretty good. Of course, we are all spoiled from the wonderful food on DCL but it was much better than I expected. They continued to serve drinks and the show continued until we reached port. I was really worried about the 6-7 hour duration but it went well. Please feel free to ask any questions.
1) Be sure to bring cash for tips. The staff works so hard it is remarkable the amount of roles they serve. They collect at the end and personally I would give $20 per family or at least $10.
2) Wear your swimsuit on the cruise (under your shorts/top maybe).
3) They give each person a big bottle of water so there was no need to bring any beverages with us.
