Pirate Cruise from GF

[ttfn3]

I'm looking for feedback on the Pirate Cruise. Any recent reports would be great. Also, didn't someone on this list have a link to a lot of great pictures of the Pirate Cruise? We're considering sending our DS age 6 on this cruise this month.

Thanks!!!

 

[eeyore0062]

Your DS will LOVE the cruise, you really should let him go... and make those reservations quickly... they go extremely FAST!!!

DD went when she was 6 and loved it! The cruise starts at the GF marina, and you have to arrive 15 minutes prior to scheduled time so the kiddies can be fitted with proper life vests, get their pirate gear, and you can sign the papers, and pay.

From the GF, they sail to the beaches of the Polynesian, the Contemporary, and the Wilderness Lodge looking for pieces of their pirate map. Once they have assembled the pirate map, they sail to the beach by River Country to dig for treasure. The treasure actually consists of mainly pirate style party favors. After they dig, they get back on the boat, and sail for GF. During this time they do have a snack of juice, and in my DD's case, grapes. The booty is divided evenly among the kids when they return. You must keep your receipt that you were given prior to the cruise to claim your kid at the end.

There are 4 adults who work with the Child/Life department who go on the cruise... usually, it is 3 or 4 kids per adult. 2 of the adults are certified lifeguards. I felt very save with my DD going with them.

Hope your DS has a great time!

 

[tnkrbell]

My DD loved this!! We went in Sept she loved the lunch of peanutbutterand jelly,ricecrispy treat,gummy worms and a mickey juice box! Also the "booty" she thought was great!!!! We are going to do this again in January!

 

[Mish]

My DS(4) just went last week Nov 4. He had a ball. He was a little nervous about going but when he came back he was so excited. When you arrived they all put on a life vest, and are all given a bandana then off they go. When they get back they are all given a bag filled with treasures from the buried treasure that they find. For lunch they are given a peanut butter sandwich, rice crispy treat, gummy bears and a treat. Michelle

 

[Ronda93]

We took our twin godsons to the Pirate Cruise last Wednesday. They are five and had a blast. They are told to find a buddy and stick with him through the cruise. They are built-in playmates to one another so this worked out well.

There was one boy, around eight or nine, who didn't go. He was crying loudly and repeating that he wanted to go, but was scared. His mother was trying to console him, the father seemed to be pushing and the grandmother ran to the end of the dock to stop the boat... "Wait, we have one more", but they had cast off and left.

As we put our cameras away and headed to the GF for breakfast we passed by the family unit. Kid is still crying. Mom is mad that they didn't wait. Dad is telling Mom that she should find out their first stop and get the boy over there.

So, would they get a refund? Would they let him join the cruise in progress?

If you child is not afraid of water/boats and doesn't have stranger or separation anxiety it should be fantastic. The boys chattered on about the good pirates, the booty, and did "aye Matey" for the rest of the day. If your child gets nervous in new situations or has been showing other signs of stress during your vacation (ride anxiety, character shy, etc) I'd be cautious.

Here's the boat:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2cf30b3127cce918a2d1be85b0000000010

 

[vicb]

Oh, how sad for that child. My two children loved the cruise, they were 6 and 9 at the time. Both were a little nervous but really enjoyed the experience. I agree that if your child is comfortable in new situations to go.

 

[ttfn3]

Thanks everyone for your feeback. I'm so sorry to hear about the incident with the boy. I hope the family was able to recover from their experience.

My DS is not shy at all so I'm sure he will be fine. In fact, he absolutely loves to be with other children and makes friends easily.

If anyone has anymore pictures, I'd love the link. I want to show my DS what to look forward to.

 

[Ronda93]

This is always a mystery... we get pictures as the pull away and return. Who knows what happens in between. I think someone with an older (10-11) child had her take some pictures recently. Maybe they can get posted again.

Here's a link to our pirates. They get a bandana and name tag. It rained while they were on the boat. We were worried about them, but everyone came back wearing a WDW poncho.

http://www.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=67b0de21b30eaddb256c

 

[cinder1]

Has anyone's kids been to both the tea party and the pirate cruise? If so, which did they like best? My girls have been to the tea party and are going back in March. They are interested in the cruise, but they really enjoyed interacting with Alice and the Mad Hatter at the tea party. Should I try to talk them into the new experience or leave it alone?

 

[K P & J's Grandma]

ttfn3
You stated that you were considering sending your DS on the cruise this month -- do you already have your reservations for this?? If not, I would try calling every day to see if there are any openings for when you want to have him go!!! Hope that you can get him on - seems like the kids have a lot of fun - we have 2 of our grandchildren signed up for December, they are excited about it!!!

 

[ttfn3]

Ronda93

Thanks for sharing your pictures! The boys are adorable!

Yes, I have a reservation for my DS. I was just having second thoughts since it is a bit pricey. However, you all have convinced me that it's worth the money. My DS will have a ball. I'll post a review when I return.

Thanks!

 

[eeyore0062]

DD did both, she liked both, but I think she tended to lean more toward the tea party, as there were characters there.

 

[Janet2k]

My daughter just did the Pirates Cruise, the Grand Adventures in Cooking Class, and the Wonderland Tea Party. That was two weeks ago (note: she's done all three events twice a year for the past three years). I have photos of all three events posted in my on-line photo albums: click here for my photo albums (just look for the appropriate albums). I will be loading a few more photos into those albums probably over the coming weekend (I attempted to last weekend but Yahoo was having problems).

Which is my daughter's favorite event? That's a tough one but I'm going to go with the Pirates Cruise, followed by the Cooking Class, followed by the Tea Party. Or maybe that was the Cooking Class, followed by the Pirates Cruise, followed by the Tea Party? Then again, maybe it was the Tea Party, followed by the Pirates Cruise, followed by the Cooking Class? Oh, I give up! She does all three events each trip and has the best time. My whole family is in love with Drew (he's the head of the GF's children's activities). And this time we fell in love with Susan and Kris (they are CMs who work with Drew and were in attendance at all three activities two weeks ago).

 

[ttfn3]

Thanks for the link to the pictures! That's exactly what I was looking for. I'm sure my DS will enjoy the cruise. I'll post a report on our return.

 

[Alice28]

My son is going to go to the Pirate Cruise- he is 5. Do you think if I gave him a disposable camera and asked the CM to take a picture of him digging for treasure, they would be able to do it? Anyone ever tried this before? I know the CM's will be plenty busy keeping an eye on the kids, but I'm hoping they can take a shot or two of DS for the scrapbook!