Parasailing?

[holie]

Is there anyone who has done Parasailing on CC?
I was booked to do this on my last cruise, but it got cancelled due to bad weather, so I was unable to go on, but I'm going to book it again for my next one!
Anyway, does it go really high? (the higher, the better) and are cameras/video cameras permitted in the air or is there a safety risk?

 

[stevenpensacola]

Went parasailing on CC this past Wednesday. We were about the same height as the top of the stacks on the Dream...maybe slightly higher. Total time in the air...about ten minutes.

Did not remember any camera restrictions....will need to be waterproof though. Guy with us had a head strap mount for his camera.

 

[WDWboy]

Went parasailing on CC this past Wednesday. We were about the same height as the top of the stacks on the Dream...maybe slightly higher. Total time in the air...about ten minutes.

Did not remember any camera restrictions....will need to be waterproof though. Guy with us had a head strap mount for his camera.

Holy cow this is the guy with the head strap camera, I e-mailed your para sailing pics this afternnon let me know if they open ok lol

 

[stevenpensacola]

wow...let me go dig through my pile of emails and see if they are there....

got 'em...and they look great! Thanks again for doing this for us.

Just glad we were not scheduled for the Saturday para-sailing.


oops...now my secret identity has been revealed...

 

[gichicdoc]

My DH and I did the parasail on CC a few years ago and this was something I would never have considered on another cruise line. I figured that since it was Disney, they would only hire the BEST and that we would be safe above all. I was not disappointed. The group that did our excursion was very professional, explained everything, took their time with us and gave us plenty of "hang" time. We got to dangle our toes in the water at our request - asked us before we started- and landed soft and safe back on the boat at the end. I took a water-proof disposable camera with me and shot lots of pictures. In retrospect, I could have easily taken a digital water-resistant camera and would have used that with no problem.
Do it! You will not be sorry.

 

[TXDCLfan]

Is there anyone who has done Parasailing on CC?
I was booked to do this on my last cruise, but it got cancelled due to bad weather, so I was unable to go on, but I'm going to book it again for my next one!
Anyway, does it go really high? (the higher, the better) and are cameras/video cameras permitted in the air or is there a safety risk?

There is a misconception when they tell you 600-800 feet...actually that is how much line that they let out ( yes I asked because there was no way that I was up 800 feet) any way using a little high school geometry ( A squared+B squared = C squared ..with 800 being c squared) my fair guess is that you are around 300 feet at the highest time.

 

[holie]

Great! Thanks, gichicdoc, for explaining the process, it helps a lot! I was soooo disappointed when they cancelled the para-sailing (AND I had lost my camera in Nassau the day before, so I was not too happy that day), so I'm REALLY hoping they won't cancel it this time...considering the first time, the conditions didn't seem too bad and they cancelled ALL of the water activities, not just para-sailing, and the weather cleared up within an hour (around 9am) and had BEAUTIFUL weather.. I was so grouchy.

any way using a little high school geometry ( A squared+B squared = C squared ..with 800 being c squared) my fair guess is that you are around 300 feet at the highest time.

That is a GREAT way to think of it. I never would have thought of it that way, I thought I would be around 1000 feet in the air, and that seemed a little TOO high. :\ Still cool, though!

Thanks for the info, guys! I just plan on using a waterproof case for my camera instead of buying a new one just for the waterproof aspect of it. I saw some universal cases on amazon that I'm looking into...they seem to look ok.

 

[Kanga1]

DH, DD(10), and I went parasailing a few weeks ago at CC. It was AWESOME!!! So smooth, peaceful, and extremely quiet up there. We did go pretty high. I'm not sure of the height, but it looked to me like we were higher than the Dream. I took pictures and my DH took some video. They were both waterproof cameras. They asked if we wanted to be dipped before returning to the boat and we said yes. They dipped DH ALL the way under (I told them too!) and they dipped DD and I up to our necks. It was thrilling. You don't have to be dipped at all if you don't want to. We spent about 8-10 airborne. Here are some pics I took. You can see the top of DD's head in one of them. I was trying to show how far away from the boat we were.

 

[Zippydacat]

I am seriously considering doing this myself with my DD in October. I read where they have the weight restrictions, which we have no prob with, but my DD is 8, and is 45lbs soaking wet, will she have any issues? She really wants to do this and so do I!

 

[Kanga1]

I think it's more of a "total" weight issue, so if you went tandem with her (as I did with my DD10,) you'll be fine.

 

[holie]

Wow! Thanks so much for posting those pictures! Those look fantastic!
I'm totally getting dipped, that would be so fun, too!
Thanks a lot, guys! I'm more excited now!

I am seriously considering doing this myself with my DD in October. I read where they have the weight restrictions, which we have no prob with, but my DD is 8, and is 45lbs soaking wet, will she have any issues? She really wants to do this and so do I!

The minimum weight is 90 pounds and max is 375...you'll be fine

 

[2disneycruzrs]

DH and I do the parasailing every cruise. See my link in the signature to get to our website for videos I took as we flew away from the boat. It is the best experience!

A couple suggestions - book as early as possible. If the weather is bad and it gets cancelled, you're more likely to get a call if openings are available for re-booking later in the day. That happened last cruise, and we got both experiences for free (only flew once but out on the boat twice).

If you wear glasses or sunglasses - be sure to have a strap. I've seen a man lose his eyeglasses (that was a really windy experience and he was last to go as a result of the high winds and getting tossed around - it was a little freaky) and he was without the remaining of his trip.

Definitely take a digital camera up with you but if you have an "old" one, use that and an SD card other than the one you used for all your other pix...again, in case anything happens.

Don't leave your flip flops or shoes on the dock as they suggest. Keep all of your possessions wrapped in a towel then in a bag you can store under the seat. It is likely to get wet slightly thus the towel. DH lost one of his flops that someone knocked off the dock while we were out on the excursion.

One last thing...for adults going, if you could go separate, that's best both for the experience and picture-taking. Your fellow passengers will take photos if you don't have someone with you or if you have a child with you but if the crew lets you, go separate.

Just passing along advice from our six experiences. So worth it!

 

[stevenpensacola]

Did he lose the flip or the flop?

Sorry...

 

[2disneycruzrs]

Good question

 

[Billm3360]

I took my 82 y.o. mother up tandem with me a couple of years ago and she absolutely loved it! We are planning a cruise in April 2012 and she wants to do it again.

 

[Makayna]

I'm thinking about para-sailing on our Dream trip in 2012. I've ALWAYS wanted to go para-sailing, but I've ALWAYS decided against it because of the time vs. money dilemma and so, just like EVERY other time I've considered doing it, I'm again having a very hard time justifying this. When I look at the cost, I see many, many, many other things that we could do for roughly the same cost that take 2.5 - 4 hours. Or, for 5-10 minutes worth if air time, we can go para-sailing.

So, for those of you out there that have done it many, many, many times, or for those who've done it just once or twice but would do it (or ARE doing it again) on future trips, what makes it worth it? What makes it MORE worth the money than, say, the walking and kayaking nature tour (that I'm also really wanting to do, since I LOVE kayaking and FH loves walking and taking pictures, etc...) which is a LONGER excursion and actually costs less? Or, like the extreme getaway package that comes with the stingray adventure AND snorkeling AND bicycling AND tube rentals?! What makes para-sailing MORE worth the money than these other things that are much, much, much longer excursions?!

I'm just trying to justify the expense for such a short amount of air time.

 

[holie]

Along with parasailing, I had booked the nature tour and kayaking.. fortunately, it was beautiful while walking (got aaa lloooot of sun) and our guide (ricky), was HILARIOUS. If you're into that sort of thing, do it. I wouldn't book it again, though because the tour ended up being 2 hours instead of 45 minutes and we only did like, 20 minutes of kayaking..which I ended up hating because it was hard . We started at like, 9 and didn't get back to the ship until 12:30 WAY TOO LONG

Next time, I'm not booking anything other than parasailing, because adrenaline trips are always worth the price, though it might not be as long as other excursions, and enjoying CC the rest of the time...which was the only good thing that came out of my parasailing being cancelled.

 

[Makayna]

Along with parasailing, I had booked the nature tour and kayaking.. fortunately, it was beautiful while walking (got aaa lloooot of sun) and our guide (ricky), was HILARIOUS. If you're into that sort of thing, do it. I wouldn't book it again, though because the tour ended up being 2 hours instead of 45 minutes and we only did like, 20 minutes of kayaking..which I ended up hating because it was hard . We started at like, 9 and didn't get back to the ship until 12:30 WAY TOO LONG

Next time, I'm not booking anything other than parasailing, because adrenaline trips are always worth the price, though it might not be as long as other excursions, and enjoying CC the rest of the time...which was the only good thing that came out of my parasailing being cancelled.

Thank you for your post.

I'm a little confused. On the DCL website, it says that the kayaking/walking tour is 2.5-3 hours, which is right about what you said it was. Although, I'm a little bummed to hear that the kayaking part was only 20 minutes! The website says that the kayaking part lasts an hour. Has anyone else ever done it and had the same experience?!

FH and I both enjoy "adrenaline" rushes, but we also enjoy more active, physical exertion activities such as hiking, biking, kayaking, etc... So both would be right up our alleys. I frequently (at least 2-3 times a year) go on 14+ mile canoe trips that we complete in one day and FH is known to hike up mountains and hike 30 some-odd miles a day. So, I have no doubt that the difficulty of the kayaking/walking would be fine for us, so that's not a concern.

I just want to know why people prefer para-sailing over all of the other many activities there is to do at CC? How much of a "rush" is it? Let me add that I've gone bungee jumping, FH and I have both been zip-lining, and we often do more "adrenaline rush" type things, so we DO enjoy that. But, is it worth the money to only be in the air a few minutes? I'd still really, really, really like to do this, but I'm not "convinced" yet that this is for us. So, keep the comments coming!

TIA for your comments!

 

[Makayna]

bump. Anyone else?!

 

[stevenpensacola]

How much of a "rush" is it? Let me add that I've gone bungee jumping, FH and I have both been zip-lining, and we often do more "adrenaline rush" type things, so we DO enjoy that. But, is it worth the money to only be in the air a few minutes? I'd still really, really, really like to do this, but I'm not "convinced" yet that this is for us. So, keep the comments coming!
TIA for your comments!

I went parasailing for the first time ever last week at CC. To me, it was not an adrenaline "rush" of any kind, but it was a very enjoyable experience...not sure that there is any other place you can "fly over the top" of a Disney Cruise Liner.

For someone who is afraid of heights, I'm guessing they could get a "rush" from the experience...it's just that you're really moving so slowly-when being let out...and when you're pulled back in. Even the dip in the water happens in slow motion...definitely was not a plunge.

Parasailing does not offer the same "rush" as a good roller coaster or water slide. Was I glad it did it...yes. Would I do it again...maybe...but I live near the beach and can go parasailing anytime I want...Was fun watching the others as they took their turns...got to meet some nice people...enjoyed talking with the "operators" also.

I say do it...there's no other place that I know of that you can "fly" around the Disney Dream, Wonder, and Magic. Make sure you take a waterproof camera to capture photos of the ship from the air.