Pirate cruises

[Caramia01]

I'm thinking about scheduling a Pirate cruise for my 8 year old son. I'd love to hear everyone's feedback on any cruises that their children have attended. I am having a hard time finding any specific info about all the different ones that are offered. Can anyone direct me to where I can find info?

Thanks!

 

[dgagnon519]

Children’s Adventure Cruises



The Walt Disney World resort offers several different adventures specifically for kids!



Choose from four different adventures for your little explorers, ages 4- 10:

Grand Floridian Pirate Adventure - Children wear pirate bandannas and follow clues to search Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon for buried treasure. They sail to many exotic "ports of call" (Resort Marinas) to collect treasure. Offered Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 9:30-11:30 am.

The Bayside Marina near the Yacht Club offers the Albatross Treasure Cruise. Children will wear bandannas as they follow clues and sail to many exotic "ports of call" around Crescent Lake and Epcot looking for treasure. During the voyage, children will hear a reading of "The Legend of the Albatross." At the final port of call, children will have lunch and will split up the "buried treasure." Held Wednesday 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.



Port Orleans Riverside offers the Sassagoula River Adventure Cruise. Children travel along the Sassagoula River to learn the "Jester's" way of life. Along the way they explore the Sassagoula River and finally meet the character known as the Jester. The cruise is held Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.



Island of the Caribbean Pirate Adventure located at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort where young adventurers, wearing pirate bandanas, will board a boat to sail the Ports of the Caribbean, just like Captain Jack! They will be told the story of Old Port Royale and of the pirates that used to sail the waters. They will find props and signs leading to treasure. Once they recover the treasure, they will say to Fort Cay and trade for some grub (lunch). When they return to Old Port Royale, they will unlock the treasure chest and bounty will be shared by all. Operates Tuesday from 9:30am - 11:30am.



Children must be potty trained- no pull-ups allowed.



Cruises include lunch for the children. Sample lunches include peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables, gummy bears, gold fish and a juice box.



Cost is $28.17 per child plus tax. Advance reservations are required. You may book up to 180 days in advance. You must guarantee this reservation with a credit card, and if you need to cancel, you must do so more than 48 hours in advance to avoid cancellation penalties.



To book call 407-WDW-DINE or ask your travel agent for more details

 

[Caramia01]

Thanks for the quick response!! Can anyone share their experiences with any of these cruises?

 

[disnut8]

Well, for specific feedback this will take a while. My granddaughter loved the one at the Grand Floridan.

First of all, get your child to the cruise departure point at least fifteen minutes a head of time. You will need to check them in and fit them for a safety vest. You will also want plenty of time for photos with your would-be pirate. We checked our granddaughter in at 9:00 for the 9:30 cruise and weren't sorry. No other pirates in sight so had time to take lots of photos with her.

When you check the pirate in, you will be given a beeper and a receipt. Both will be needed when "claiming" you pirate at the end. The pirate will be given a bandanna with their name on it (stick on name tag). Then you fit the pirate with a life vest. A Cast Member will check the fitting before boarding. At precisely five minutes before boarding, the pirates will be gathered together and given their instructions. Parents can be close by but aren't included in the circle. (But you can definitely hear it). At precisely the boarding time, the pirates will be lead onto the ship (it's not a boat, it's a ship) two by two. If your pirate doesn't have a pirate buddy when he/she arrives, they will quickly have one when they leave.

Then the ship will leave and you will say goodbye. One hour and forty-five minute minutes later you will come back to welcome the pirates home with their booty. You will want to be there early, trust me. And have a video camera if you can.

The pirates will leave the ship one by one (or two by two if with a sibling) but only if an adult has BOTH the beeper and the receipt.

Then the adult will listen non stop for the next half hour about how cool the cruise was.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mickeygolf]

What do you mean the next half hour, try the whole day. My three DS8, DS7 and DD7 thought it was a complete blast. They were all lucky enough to each find a treasure at one of the stops. They loved their booty and cherished it the rest of the day. They still like to get out their pirate ears and play. It was well worth the money spent. They did the cruise from the Grand Floridian which was really nice for DMIL, my wife and I to be able to check out the resort and relax. It was a very fun start to our day

 

[Minniemouse07]

Dd (6yo) did the cruise at POR in December. She insists that it was the "most favorite" part of her trip... even now 5 months later!

A few corrections from previous posts!

The POR cruise is the "Bayou River Adventure." They changed the name of it last summer and it now is a pirate themed cruise like the other three.

When we checked dd in for her cruise, they did NOT give us a beeper. When I inquired about it they said that our cell phone number would be just fine. We hadn't given them (nor were we asked for) a cell phone number and it turned out there were "new" forms w/ space for it on there. They called all the parents back and had them add their cell phone numbers to the forms. The CM did say that if we wanted or needed a beeper they could give us one.

The cost of the cruise including tax was $30.01!

Dd loved this SO much that she is passing on BBB to do another pirate cruise at the GF this July!! We gave her the choice and that is what she wanted. We were floored because she adores her princesses (all kinds of swag in her room including a castle bed!).

 

[danielle782001]

We are planning on booking this for our two boys for our trip in Nov... It makes me sad that we won't see them during their experience but I really think they will love it... I will make sure we take tons of pics before and after.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

My dd is 8 and will be doing her third Pirate Cruise on our trip in May. The first two were from the GF, we're trying something different this time and doing the one from the YC. She loves it, it's a chance to just run around and have fun and blow off some steam without the worry of "hurry up, we have to be at ......" at whatever time. She's also done the BBB twice and is doing that again this time too, but she's with her cousins who she never gets to see because they are out of state, so it's a chance to have some fun girl time for them while they're together.

 

[Caramia01]

One more question..for now anyway!!

Is there one that is any better than others? I was kinda leaning towards the one by the boardwalk (so we could walk around) or the one at the Caribbean Beach (so we could hang out there - we love it)... how do these compare to the others?

Sorry for all the questions..I've read tons of posts but haven't heard a word about all this!! Thanks!

 

[mom2aandj]

Our DS did the Albatross cruise at the YC/BC and had a great time. I thought it was special that they got to sail into the world showcase at Epcot before it opened and get off the boat and search for treasure in some of the countries. I found that incredibly cool!!!

 

[riu girl]

DD and DS did the CBR one in December. They LOVED it. I thought it was great since there were only 8 kids participating and 2 CMs.

 

[jrandtysmom]

I'm thinking of booking my 2 boys on one of the Pirate Cruises. I will then be by myself for the 2 hrs. Which one would you suggest booking that would have something for me to do alone while waiting? I was going to do something at the GF spa but all of the treatments there were way more then I'd pay for them at home so I'll skip those. Any suggestions?

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Rats! Why don't they do any of these pirate cruises on Fridays? My almost-6-yr-old would LOVE that, and the Friday of our trip would be the best day. Grrr.

 

[jrandtysmom]

Rats! Why don't they do any of these pirate cruises on Fridays? My almost-6-yr-old would LOVE that, and the Friday of our trip would be the best day. Grrr.

I believe the Albatross Cruise is on Fridays because I was thinking of doing that one on a Friday?

This is from the wdwinfo.com ~

Albatross Treasure Cruise - Yacht and Beach Club Dock on Wednesday and Friday. The two hour voyage begins at 9:30am

 

[disnut8]

I'm thinking of booking my 2 boys on one of the Pirate Cruises. I will then be by myself for the 2 hrs. Which one would you suggest booking that would have something for me to do alone while waiting? I was going to do something at the GF spa but all of the treatments there were way more then I'd pay for them at home so I'll skip those. Any suggestions?

My daughter-in-law and I went on a monorail resort tour. She had never seen the resorts so I was tour guide. But even if you have seen the resorts before, it makes a nice time. I would recommend that you get off the monorail at the TTC and walk to the Polynesian and then enjoy some beach time on your own. Then walk over to the Grand Floridian. Because you will walk right by the Wedding Pavilion. VERY great opportunity to see that up close and personal. My daughter-in-law and I happened to be there when a wedding was finishing up. The dreams we had for my granddaughter 25 years in the future.

Take a camera and be a shutterbug. If the photos don't turn out the way you like them, delete them and no one will know!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I believe the Albatross Cruise is on Fridays because I was thinking of doing that one on a Friday?

This is from the wdwinfo.com ~

Albatross Treasure Cruise - Yacht and Beach Club Dock on Wednesday and Friday. The two hour voyage begins at 9:30am

Thank you! I was just looking at the info posted above and it was only listed as Wednesday.

I wonder how quickly they book up. I'll talk to my husband and see what he thinks!

 

[disnut8]

What do you mean the next half hour, try the whole day.

Actually, she went with her parents for the rest of the day! She could have been talking about it for the entire time!

 

[jrandtysmom]

Thank you! I was just looking at the info posted above and it was only listed as Wednesday.

I wonder how quickly they book up. I'll talk to my husband and see what he thinks!

From what I've read on these boards, the cruises book up pretty quickly (as it seems with everything in Disney these days. )

 

[jkjs]

Our DS did the Albatross cruise at the YC/BC and had a great time. I thought it was special that they got to sail into the world showcase at Epcot before it opened and get off the boat and search for treasure in some of the countries. I found that incredibly cool!!!

This sounds great. How many countries did they visit?

 

[lugnut33]

DD 8 and DD5 did the Albatross Cruise and had a good time. Wasn't their fondest memory, but they did enjoy it. To this day we still walk around yelling "Arrrrrrrrrrr" and turning our hand into a hook.

However, let me warn you, be sure to use tons and tons of sun screen for your little one. They are out there on the water in the Florida sun for hours.