Shore excursions - Eastern / Atlantis Submarine Adventure

[DVCcruise]

I would love to hear some suggestions on great excursions to take with my DH, DS (9) and DD (7) on our June 26th cruise. We like to snorkel, but aren't limited to water activities. Thanks!

 

[LAMPSKIES]

The Golden Eagle Catamaran is a DEFINATE MUST DO. It's a St. Maarteen excursion. We did it in Dec., it was awsome!!

 

[AnnMorin]

I can't say enough about the Anguilla Dolphin Swim, it was fantastic!! (st. Maarten port)
Trunk bay is also beautiful (st. Thomas port) we did the 5 star on our first cruise, a great excursion.

 

[DVCcruise]

Thanks for the info...Do you know how many people go on the Catamaran? I also wanted to hear from anyone who did the Butterfly farm....are you out there?

 

[CRB#33]

Butterfly Farm Thread

 

[jeanie]

Lampskies,

I would love to do the GoldenEagle but I burn even with SPF 45
applied often! (I am the one on the beach with the huge hat and the long sleeve t-shirt )

If we were to go on this; Would there be any shade to get out of the sun for a bit? Also, did you go in the morning or in the afternoon?

Would the afternoon be better if trying to avoid the midday sun?

What time would we get back to the ship from the PM excursion? I have main seating and was wondering if there would be enough time to get to dinner at 6:00.

Thanks!

 

[Colestat]

Can anyone recommend any St. Thomas or San Juan excursions?

 

[slmjam]

jeanie -

If you are worried about the sun either on the ride over or back, there is a covered area on the catamaran that you can be under and not worry about the sun. When we went last year, we took the morning excursion. The beach they took us to was pretty secluded; (it wasn't the regular spot; they had to go to an alternate area because the water was so choppy) I don't remember any umbrellas to sit under, maybe a few trees??

DVCcruise -

There were quite a few people on our catamaran - I'd say approximately 30-40. It is a blast ....... we did this last June and my kids still talk about it!! Most of the kids will sit up front on the netting on the way over to the beach.....they're pretty much soaked by the time you get there. Snorkeling is ok in St. Maarten, but if you really want something great, make sure to go on the 5-star snorkle to Trunk Bay in St. John. It is THE BEST.

 

[justcruisin]

Would a 5 year old enjoy the catamaran?

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Jeanie......we did the early. We were back to the ship before the buffet closed and got a bite to eat took a shower and were able to get some shopping in. The catamaran has an enclosed part if you didn't want to get sun on the ride. I don't remember if there were beach umbrellas available.....but I'll bet there are.
Justcruisin....there were some youngsters on our atamaran.....they LOVED being up front getting splashed by the waves.

 

[DVCcruise]

I went to check out the Butterfly Garden site...I think my 7 and 9 will definitely enjoy the catamaran ride. Now, I did want to know why the 5-star snorkeling is better than the other snorkeling trip at St. John. I trust the recs, but was just wondering.

I'm having the best time on the site...I just wish I read it before out first cruise.

 

[AnnMorin]

well we did the five star on our first cruise, they were great! Friendly to the kids, and gave a nice "tour" talk on the way out.. pointing out ship wrecks, famouse people's houses etc. They were very helpfull with the snorkling, had a nice shower to rince off the salt water, they took us to a beautiful cove where no one was in sight, it was lovely. Other tours may be as good I just was very pleased with the way they operate.

 

[mobetsy]

Jeanie and others who worry about sun exposure (which really ought to be every one of us!): yhttp://www.ritdye.com/sun_guard/ou should check out Rit SunGuard

You wash it into your laundry and it gives those items the equivalent of SPF 30 for 20 washings; if you use two boxes, it is like SPF 50. I think I paid about $2.50 per box at the grocery store last spring. I did virtually every t-shirt our family owns, plus a few other items, in two loads total; I figure that keeps us covered through until next spring. I didn't want to have to try to remember which shirts I'd done and which I hadn't! Combined with sunscreen, this gave us excellent protection throughout the summer, especially during a week-long beach vacation. It even provides protection when the item is wet. Obviously it won't help with areas that aren't covered, but if you wear a lightweight long-sleeve and collared shirt and long pants, it will give you some significant added protection.

Sorry to stick this in this thread (which I was reading because I think we are going to go on the Golden Catamaran!), but it seemed timely

 

[tvguy]

12 metre regatta in St. Martin was great. You can be as active, or passive as you want.
In St. Thomas, we wanted the Atlantis submarine (wife and I did that 16 years ago and it was great), but it was sold out. We did the Coral World/Island Drive, was okay, nothing great. We also bought tickets for the tramway up the mountain. The view is great, but this is very little to do at the top. A few small shops and a hiking trail.

 

[NCRedding]

We did the butterfly tour on St marteen. Enjoyed the farm, although our time was too short there. Also like stopping at the open markert where DH and DD got their clothes for tropical night. The thing I didn't like about excursions was the waiting--wait for people to show up, wait to leave, wait to meet the buses. On St Thomas, DD and I caught a taxi and went to Coral World and Coki Beach. It was a great day, and very easy to do--although the taxi riide was a bit of an adventure. I highly recommend this-DD was doing a project on marine life--we learned alot and took pictures at Coral World, and then enjoyed the beach--where the small fishes came right up to us. Then we used our wristbands to get back into Coral World to use their restrooms, and their fresh water showers before catching a taxi back to the ship.

 

[S. C.]

Originally posted by DVCcruise
I would love to hear some suggestions on great excursions to take with my DH, DS (9) and DD (7) on our June 26th cruise. We like to snorkel, but aren't limited to water activities. Thanks!

We will be right there with you, our GS age 11 will be with us. Heres hoping we all have a wonderful cruise with great weather.

 

[DVCcruise]

I'm so excited to hear from someone going on our cruise. We were also on the Wonder in 2003. We cruised the 4 day on July 13...were you there too? We are going to pick more excursions on this cruise because of the 3 days all at sea. We stayed on the ship on the Freeport day last summer, but we didn't have a day at sea. I've gotten some great excursion ideas from this site. I'm truly addicted.

 

[S. C.]

Originally posted by DVCcruise
I'm so excited to hear from someone going on our cruise. We were also on the Wonder in 2003. We cruised the 4 day on July 13...were you there too? We are going to pick more excursions on this cruise because of the 3 days all at sea. We stayed on the ship on the Freeport day last summer, but we didn't have a day at sea. I've gotten some great excursion ideas from this site. I'm truly addicted.

Wow...Almost at the same time. We cruised on the wonder the week before you did on July 6 2003. GS's first cruise last year and he requested...er ummm....begged... if we could do a 7 day next time.

 

[DVCcruise]

My two kids were the same way. It's all they talked about after we returned home. We also spent 6 days on property, but the cruise won hands down. Santa brought them a ticket to cruise for Christmas this year. Even though it's not until June, it was their favorite gift. Does you GS like the Lab? My 9 year old would stay there from 9 to midnight, if we let him. The CM do such a great job

 

[S. C.]

We could hardly get GS out of the lab he wanted to stay there till they closed. GS chose the lab over watching the fireworks right after we left nassau, I think he would have slept in there if he could.
Before the cruise we told GS we would like him to have dinner with us every nite, by day 3 & 4 he was enjoying the lab so much that we let him go ahead and eat with all of his new friends. After the cruise all he talked about is how much he missed his counselers and how much fun the lab was.
How cool....I would loved to have seen your kids face when they got cruise tickets from santa.