ShoreTrips.com?????

[ksouma]

My son and I are on the Eastern cruise and we are really not all that interested in the Disney offered excursions except for the parasailing on Castaway Cay.

I found 2 that he would love but hope someone can help out with further info.

--Has anyone used Shoretrips.com? If so, what was your experience with them....

Here are the 2 excursions we are interested in. If anyone has done them and can provide detailed info it will be greatly appreciated.

--In St. Maarten he wants to do the Beginner SCUBA Dive. Here is the link to the excursion...
http://www.shoretrips.com/common/search4.asp?rcode=CAR&lcode=SXM&tcode=003322

--In St. Thomas he wants to do SNUBA. Here is the link to that excursion...
http://www.shoretrips.com/common/search4.asp?rcode=CAR&lcode=STT&tcode=000468

Thanks in advance for any info that can be provided on either of the excursions or on Shoretrips.com

 

[disneysailor]

ksouma- I'm not trying to scare you, and those might be very reputable companies, but I just wanted to share an experience that we had. Quite a few years back, my husband and I took a Carnival cruise. When we docked in Mexico, all excursions were cancelled do to bad weather. One of the passengers decided to go find a SCUBA excursion on his own. Tragically, he ended up loosing his life.

I'm just bringing this up to make people aware that you need to be careful when you're not familiar with the reputation of the people you're dealing with. I think you're smart to get feedback from others ksouma before booking.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[rae519]

We had shoretrips.com excursions but had to cancel with them. The money was refunded promptly!

I want to remind everyone that if you are on a DCL excursion that you are protected by Disney (just in case you are late and the ship leaves without you - they will get you back on the ship!) but if you are on a non-DCL excursion and miss the ship, you are on your own.

Same with airline travel - always best to fly in the day before rather than chance missing the ship (especially if you make your own arrangements).

And get the travel insurance! Small price to pay for coverage and peace of mind!

Rae

 

[callahanjulie10]

I used Shore Trips.com when we cruised on the 2nd DCL Western. We booked the horseback riding tour. Shoretrips is based out of the states and has contractors in each port. The contractor did not show up to take us on the trip. I called the lady who owns the company and she found out that the contractor went to the wrong port. We didn't get to go on the excursion. I must tell you that she refunded the $$ with a full apology. She also gave me a credit for the amount we had paid which we used for the horseback excursion when we went to St Maarten the next cruise. Everything went great on this one! I would not have a problem using them again if the price was right or the ship didn't offer an excursion I wanted.

 

[ksouma]

Thank you for the responses.....!

Yes I am concerned over the reputation of the company’s and also due to the fact that we will no longer be in the US, their safety record...

I found the actual company websites for these 2 excursions and will post them here....

I also learned that the DCL sponsored 'certified' drive that DCL offers in St. Maarten is the same company that does the beginner dive but for some reason DCL does not offer the beginner dive as an excursion....

St. Maarten SCUBA
http://www.thescubashop.net/

St. Thomas SNUBA
http://visnuba.com/index.htm

I also received an email from the SCUBA company in St. Maarten. I will post it here in case others are curious about this excursion....

---email---
Hi
Normally all bookings for diving are done on board your ship , but as Disney do not offer the discover scuba program , you will be able to book directly with us. The cost is , at the moment and may change before November, $60,00 per person. The minimum age is 10 years old. The Discover scuba program is a non certification program , and as the name say's it is purely a try out to see if you like scuba diving. It consists of a short lecture , a short training session in shallow , 3 foot , water where you learn how the equipment works . It is then followed by a dive to a depth of around 35 feet with an instructor. The whole program is around 3 hours and the dive last around 35 min . The groups are small , with 4 person per instructor.
You will see a load of fish , star fish , wrecks and if you are luck a turtle or 2. We are around a 10 min walk from the cruise ship port or a 5 min water taxi ride. Yes , you may take a underwater camera with you on the dive and we do have them for sale . Closer to the time you can drop us a email and we can make a booking for you. We will need a 20% deposit to secure your places.
Please let know if you need any more information.
Please check out our web site for more information.
Regards
Karl Svendsen
Operations Manager, Dive Safaris
Phone: 011-599-542-9001
Fax: 011-599-542-8983


Any info on these 2 will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

 

[RKB]

I used shoretrips.com to book the Dolphin Swim in Cozumel just this January. We were very happy with their service. They emailed me to confirm then emailed when I came home to see if everything was to our liking. They promised a full refund if we weren't able to do the excursion do to weather or the ship not making it or whatever. I just didn't want everyone to think that shoretrips.com was not reputable. At least from my experience it was great - but I was not risking my life scuba diving!!

 

[ksouma]

Thanks for the reply, I also recieved an email from this company, Aqua Mania Adventures, as well about the SCUBA in St. Maarten......

--email--
Hi

Thank you for your email.

You could join our Discover Scuba class at 10am, and enjoy a video, pool lesson and 2pm shallow dive. We usually return around 4.30pm.

The afternoon dive is about 30 minutes depending on your air consumption. We chose a calm dive site that gets to around 32’. We anchor the boat is about 10’ of water.

The reef dive is busy with colorful fish, squid, small eels, puffer fish and occasionally turtle and rays.

Underwater cameras are great, but best left to use once you are comfortable under the water. The dive instructor can also take some pics for you, and of you diving.

Cost is $90pp.

You could take a cab from the cruise ship port to our marina at Pelican Resort, Simpson Bay. About 15 minutes away.

I have attached a booking sheet if you would like to have reservations.

Best Regards
Debby Lind
Aqua Mania Adventures
PH: 599 5442631 / FAX: 599 544 2476
Visit us at www.stmaarten-activities.com - Your one stop Vacation Shop!!!!


I think I have enough info about the SNUBA dive in St. Thomas to go with it, but still need some help on the SCUBA dive in St. Maarten...

Has anyone done the SCUBA with either Aqua Mania Adventures or Dive Safaris?????

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[ksouma]

Friendly bump...

 

[disneybride96]

ksouma-
Your cruise is not until November. Why not get certified at home prior to your trip....or at least take a discover Scuba class? They are usually much cheaper in nonscuba areas. Class work is normally done in a pool environment.

I know when I was certified, it was nice to have all that pool work and practice before I took my first view of the deep blue sea.
Check out: www.padi.com for dive operators in your area.

Also check out Rodale's Scuba Diving for info. They used to give really good reviews of dive operators around the world. Not sure if that info is on their web site, but you may find the magazines at your local library.
http://www.scubadiving.com/home/1,7359,0-0-0-0,00.html

 

[ksouma]

Thank you for the recommendations. Yes my son and I are taking a basic course (in pool) about a month before leaving. I figure it will help him get use to the equipment and become familiar with it before going on the excursion. I hope that it will add to his enjoyment on the excursion as he will be more comfortable doing it and he will have a little more confidence....