Pirate Cruise for kids

[DisneyPoohBear]

Everyone's pictures are great! We are sending my son for his 5th birthday in two weeks. It will be a surprise and I picked YC since I have never been in that area and I really want to try Beaches and Cream.

 

[mgjmom615]

Thank you so much for the pics you posted. They are great. I am excited I just booked his cruise. I will have to send him with a disposable camera.


I hope he gets the bandanna with the ears....if not it is okay.

 

[msvlg]

Just an FYI, we've done four cruises at two different locations and have never gotten the Mickey Ears bandannas. We've always gotten the plainer bandannas in the first photo set.

My grandchildren went on the pirate cruise from GF in APril 2009 and they got the Mickey ears bandannas. They were so darn cute and they really had a good time!

 

[msvlg]

Do they get off the boat and look for treasure? He is 10 but young for his age. He is the baby of 3 and the only one around most of the time. The other are 15 & 18. I guess he is young for his age. He wants to do it but I wish I knew more about it.

Anyone have pics????

Yes they made a few stops and the photopass person assigned to the group took lots of pictures- I just don't know how to post them! Sorry...

 

[RFrank9504]

OK-I'm kinda all about the ear bandanas too-seems silly I know...anyway I called the IPO AKL to ask if I could request (not be guaranteed) a set of the mickey ear bandanas for my son's bday cruise and the IPO agent said its not an issue to request them that the GF is the ONLY resort the has the ear bandanas every trip. He went on the say that some of the other resorts occasionally get them but not all the time and that my son will most certainly have a pair for his bday. He told me the cruises are offered from the GF 2 days a week-and it fills quick.
SO FYI if you're all about the ear bandanas his advice was book GF Kids Pirates Cruise 90 days out.
I'm kinda excited for him-not gonna lie. I know it seems petty-big deal ear, but its his special day and I think thats part of the magic. I know he's gonna have a great bday!

 

[crisi]

My grandchildren went on the pirate cruise from GF in APril 2009 and they got the Mickey ears bandannas. They were so darn cute and they really had a good time!

The ear bandannas are really cute. They can be bought at the shop outside Pirates of the Caribbean. There is a set floating around our house somewhere. But we did not get them when we went on the pirate cruise sailing out of the Grand Floridian - perhaps they were just out the day we went.

 

[mindybiz]

Can anyone tell me the cost of this and how long it is? Thanks

 

[mgjmom615]

Mindybiz the cruise cost $31.95 and it is a 2 hour sail. I signed my 10 year old up at the GF cruise. I know people have said that he maybe to old. but we are adding to his trip when he gets off. This way he will get some better treasure to fit his age.

 

[carj]

My then 7 year old son was so excited about going on the Pirate Cruise from the GF. (He did get the pirate ears, by the way.)

He is a very eager, friendly kid and loved everything at WDW. He did not enjoy his cruise at all. He came back very tired, hot and seemed ready to cry.

I asked him about what they did and he was able to explain a good bit of it. After talking to him, it sounded like there were kids who had been on the cruise before and knew where all the clues were. He said that by the time he got to the clues, they were already coming back. I don't know if the group was particularly rowdy or pushy or what the issue was, since I wasn't there. I am not blaming Disney, but it wasn't a fun experience. It wasn't terrible, just not good. I hope that makes sense.

So... while I am not trying to discourage you, I feel like you should hear from the other side. The cruise took all morning, including travel time. I wasn't bothered by the loss of the $30, but I was disappointed that we had wasted our vacation time on an activity that was not fun for him.

Like I said, I was totally surprised by his experience. He loved everything that we did at WDW, and has no trouble making friends or going places without us.

 

[PiratesCove]

Maybe I'm just too obsessed, but I can't bring myself to allow my child to go with complete strangers for two hours! DH and I thought this would be very fun for our DD who loves Pirates, but were disappointed when we discovered that she would set sail without parental supervision in a public place

 

[jockey]

Maybe I'm just too obsessed, but I can't bring myself to allow my child to go with complete strangers for two hours! DH and I thought this would be very fun for our DD who loves Pirates, but were disappointed when we discovered that she would set sail without parental supervision in a public place

I know what you mean about leaving the kids with strangers. I want to go with DS too! Do they give you a pager just incase your child wants to return?

 

[crisi]

So... while I am not trying to discourage you, I feel like you should hear from the other side. The cruise took all morning, including travel time. I wasn't bothered by the loss of the $30, but I was disappointed that we had wasted our vacation time on an activity that was not fun for him.

The entire morning is a definite downside to this. I suspect a lot of people book the pirate cruise trying to fit in 'everything' - you aren't going to fit in everything at Disney unless you stay a month so you have to choose. The cruise is a nice thing to choose, but by the time you do activities like the pirate cruise, book a sit down ADR every day on the dining plan, get your kids to a waterpark, spend an afternoon at DTD, get in BBB, make sure to get your kid in the front row early for Jedi training - I wonder how people find time to ride BTMRR. (We've always told our repeaters to hang back - but they've gotten off the boat saying 'the other kids who knew where stuff was weren't waiting - why did you make us wait!' - so I suspect that isn't an uncommon issue).

jockey - they give you a pager, but its in case there is an emergency. The kids have two hours to finish a script that takes two hours. They can't take time from the other kids because one kid wants to go back to Mom - nor do they have the staff ratio to dedicate to that sort of 'emergency.' If you think separation is going to be an issue, this is a bad choice of activities.

 

[jockey]

The entire morning is a definite downside to this. I suspect a lot of people book the pirate cruise trying to fit in 'everything' - you aren't going to fit in everything at Disney unless you stay a month so you have to choose. The cruise is a nice thing to choose, but by the time you do activities like the pirate cruise, book a sit down ADR every day on the dining plan, get your kids to a waterpark, spend an afternoon at DTD, get in BBB, make sure to get your kid in the front row early for Jedi training - I wonder how people find time to ride BTMRR. (We've always told our repeaters to hang back - but they've gotten off the boat saying 'the other kids who knew where stuff was weren't waiting - why did you make us wait!' - so I suspect that isn't an uncommon issue).

jockey - they give you a pager, but its in case there is an emergency. The kids have two hours to finish a script that takes two hours. They can't take time from the other kids because one kid wants to go back to Mom - nor do they have the staff ratio to dedicate to that sort of 'emergency.' If you think separation is going to be an issue, this is a bad choice of activities.

Thanks , probably more on my part than my DS's... maybe I am just a bit over protective, would hate the thought of DS being 4000 miles from home and feeling "lost" although he is very social it's always nice to think he could have the option to return

 

[crisi]

Thanks , probably more on my part than my DS's... maybe I am just a bit over protective, would hate the thought of DS being 4000 miles from home and feeling "lost" although he is very social it's always nice to think he could have the option to return

I know - my kids have always had each other - although they don't necessarily "like" each other, at least they don't feel alone. And when my nephew went, he had my kids - my son is ten - probably not old enough to take care of a "man overboard" situation, but old enough to hold a four year old's hand while they walk around the resort looking for clues.

 

[jockey]

I know - my kids have always had each other - although they don't necessarily "like" each other, at least they don't feel alone. And when my nephew went, he had my kids - my son is ten - probably not old enough to take care of a "man overboard" situation, but old enough to hold a four year old's hand while they walk around the resort looking for clues.

Yes I know what you mean.....maybe I should wait until DD is old enough then they can do it together, I think i would just worry the whole time he is away that he may be lonely!!