Need your opinion Please

[mhb]

Okay, What is your opinion on doing the Golden Eagle excursion on St Marteen? We are a family of 5 and can only really afford 1 excursion.

Here is my thought, go on the Golden Eagle, get back to the ship for lunch, go to Orient Beach, Dawn Beach or Maho Beach, then come back to the ship before we sail. Have a resie for Palo at 7:30 pm. Give the kids room service.

So, is this a good plan. I'm stressing cause I've never been on DCL. I'm trying to do the best for all involved. I think I'll see the lights of St Marteen as we pull out and the kids can have fun in the clubs or shows while we're having dinner.

Thanks for all thoughts

 

[PoohJen]

Sounds like a great plan! I also have family of 5 and am planning to go light on the excursions. Probably do just one (if any) and, like you, are planning to take a cab to the beach.

For St. Thomas, we may cab to beach in a.m., then ship for lunch, and clubs for kids in afternoon, while DH and I wonder around St Thomas for a little while. (I know my kids will love the clubs; but, if they don't like this plan, I will change it)

Happy Planning!

 

[mhb]

It's not St Thomas I need help with, it's St Marteen. But hope you enjoy yourselves. We are doing the Sky Tram, shop and Coki Beach.

 

[ThreeCircles]

Hello Mhb--

We tried the Golden Eagle on our cruise this past May and had an outstanding time. The staff and crew of the operation are great and the beach that the excursion visits is beautiful. During our trip we had some pretty rough seas and the captain of the Golden Eagle couldn't stop at the regular snorkeling spot so we missed that but I would still rate the overall experience as an A+!

 

[mhb]

Threecircles, What time of year did you go? We are going in early Nov.

What about the rest of the day, does anyone think this sounds like a good idea. See I'm planning for 8 people. 4 children, (2) 15, 13, 11 and 4 adults.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

We had the best time on the Golden Eagle Catamaran in St Maarten. We enjoyed the boat ride over to Flat Island (I think that's the name of it). The crew was fantastic! Very helpful and lots of fun!

The catamaran parks a teeny bit offshore. The swimming was great! We could jump right off the catamaran into the crystal clear water. The water where the catamarn parks, is over your head, so make sure no one has a problem with that. They provided plenty of those water noodles to float on.

Great island music all the way there and back - sandwiches and drinks included. The sandwiches are similar to mini-subs, so are more of a snack than a full lunch, unless you eat several of them , so you might still be hungry enough for lunch on the ship. We were happy to have booked the earlier excursion.

I can't say enough good things about the Golden Eagle Catamaran. While St John 5 Star had the most beautiful beach/scenery, the Golden Eagle was definetly the most fun for us.

One word of caution - there were some people who got sea sick on the boat ride over. We spent the entire week on Bonine, so had no problem, but be prepared.

Tink

 

[chasbos]

I might be able to give you some advice on the beach selection for St. Maarten. We spent a week at the Maho this past December and the beach is very nice (a bit small but very calm waters compared to some of the others. ) Orient and Dawn beach are more open to the sea whereas Maho is in a little bay area. There are also some caves along the resort area that are interesting to explore when it is calm. Also, Maho is not very far away from Philipsburg and it is a short inexpensive taxi ride (they are all waiting on Front Street to take you where ever you want to go (and don't forget to ask for a deal - there are many available and go with the taxi with the best price.) The only thing with Maho (good and bad) is that around 2-3 all of the major airlines are landing (Air France, KLM, American Airlines) and they land right over your heads and also take off only 100 ft from the beach! It is amazing to watch but very loud if you are looking for a quiet afternoon at the beach. Now saying that my 4 kids 12, 10, 8 & 5 could not wait to go and spend everyday at the beach when the planes where coming and going!

Hope this helps.

 

[mhb]

Thank you for all your opinions. Golden Eagle sounds great, but I'm not the greatest of swimmers. Do I need to be able to swim well? Are you swimming against the current?

Still thinking about the beach. Has anyone been to Dawn Beach?

 

[mhb]

still need help

Thank you

 

[MBFergie]

Golden Eagle was a major highlight of our trip last year. If we were going to St. Martin we would do it again!!

You do not need to be a good swimmer. First everybody goes in with a vest that you can blow as much or little air into. Second when we got off the boat they threw a bunch of noodles for those who wanted them.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Originally posted by mhb
Thank you for all your opinions. Golden Eagle sounds great, but I'm not the greatest of swimmers. Do I need to be able to swim well? Are you swimming against the current?

We did not snorkle. We chose this excursion for the beach only and had a ball! IMO, you do not have to be a great swimmer. The crew guides you off the catamaran and you ease yourself into the water off a ramp/ladder type thing (from what I remember). You are very close to the beach. The waters were very calm. You can use one of the many noodles they supply, to float on, so it's not like you have to swim to keep yourself up. You would have to be comfortable getting into water that is over your head and making your way (a short distance) to the beach, while floating around on a noodle. It was so relaxing to float around in the water and just a really fun morning.



Tink

 

[musicgirl]

We did Dawn Beach this past June. It was $42 roundtrip for the 3 of us. It was nice. The snorkeling was nice. But if you are just coming off of the excursion, it will seem a little tame. The water and the beach are beautiful.

However with that said, I wouldn't do it again. We would just go to Great Bay beach at the port. We had intended on going there after the morning at Dawn Beach, but we were just too tired. We went back to the ship, ate lunch, got cleaned up and took the water taxi's into town for some shopping. Taking the water taxi was quick and well worth the $5 for unlimited trips. We ended up going back into town a second time after we ran out of money the first time (lol) and to drop off ds-13.

Whatever you do, go to the guavaberry store!!!!!! It's not hard to find. If you don't get there, at least go to the bar right at the dock that sells guavaberrycoladas!!!!!

Lorie

 

[mhb]

Tink: Did you say you swim up to the beach. I didn't know that. I thought that sunbathing was done right on the Catamaran!! silly me

Do you know which beach it was?

Lorie: How was Dawn Beach, because that is one I have read about on these boards. I have also heard that Great Bay beach was not what I would think of as an island beach. I also heard it was man made. Anyone heard this?

Thanks,
Michelle

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Originally posted by mhb
Tink: Did you say you swim up to the beach. I didn't know that. I thought that sunbathing was done right on the Catamaran!! silly me

Do you know which beach it was?

Thanks,
Michelle

Yes, you swim up to the beach. It's more like you swim off the catamaran and stay and play in the water - or you snorkle. It's a lot of fun. We actually didn't go onto the sand until our beach time was almost over.

I believe they called it Flat Island. That's all I know about it.

Tink

 

["Ginger"]

mhb I know you said you didn't need help while at St. Thomas but here is a suggestion for you while your there.
I was thinking since you'll be going to Coki Beach plan a visit to Coral World which is located next door to Coki Beach. A great place for the kids to see and learn about the what lives in the waters they are swimming in. We found it more interesting and much more entertaining than the Ski Tram.

We've been to Oreint Beach be warned that it is clothing optional.