St Maarten Excursions

[PMDR59]

Went to book excursions, and we were going to do Dolphin encounter, but I really do not want to spend $700 on an excursion, that only is 30 minutes with the dolphins but is an 7.5 hour day. Any suggestions on what to do, or is there a beach near the port that we could just take a cab to and hang out on for awhile.

How do you all find stuff to book on your own and how do you get there????

 

[msaseifert]

We did this dolphin excursion this past February..............we had a great time but it is pricey. It was worth it the first time but I would never spend that much again. You get off the ship, onto a boat to take you to Anguilla - 45 minutes. Then you get off the boat and get on a bus ride that takes you to the actual dolphin place. It was interesting to see the locals and how they live but at the same time its sad because most of what you see is very poor. The bus ride is about 15 minutes, then you get into the dolphin place, get your pics taken with some exotic birds, they split the whole Disney group into 2 groups and one goes to the dolphins first and the other go to the GORGEOUS beach first.

The sand was so white and the water was so clear and blue, it was awesome! We got to be there for about an hour and then it was our turn to swim with the dolphins. We donned our life vests and then were in the water and I would say we were in the water for at least 30 - 40 minutes. It was so cool, we got to tough the dolphins tongue, teeth, learned a lot about the blow hole and how dolphins breathe. We were up close and personal for a kiss and a hug and we danced with them as well. We got to spend some time with each dolphin (there were four I think). Then we went to the room where they do the sell on pictures. We did buy pics of our kids, what wonderful photos they are and they were big too. I had mats made for them at Michaels, the kids were thrilled!

After that we ate a decent lunch not much to write home about but we were full when we left. Then it was back on the bus and then the boat and then the ship again. It was a full day. When we got back the kids and I fell asleep and DH got off the ship and did some shopping, he had a good three hours to do some shopping (he enoyed himself too which is rare when my husband is shopping). Got some really cool priate shirts to wear at Pirate night.

We were on the first excursion and when we were leaving the second excursion was arriving. We got off the ship by 8am and were back by 2pm. All in all is was totally worth it and I would recommend it as long as you can afford it. You only live once! Have fun!!

 

[LarryC]

Any suggestions on what to do...?

Go get "nekkid" at the Orient Beach nudist club, a short ride from the boat (on the French side of the island).

You only live once! Have fun!

 

[PMDR59]

lol lar Trust me I dont even want to see me nekkid.
I'm sure my boys would find the nudie beach to be the memory of a liftime!!!!!

I was considering just taking a cab to Orient Beach, the north side (i read on cruise critic that is the clothed side)

I guess it is just not meant to be for the Dolphins ---We were supposed to do a Dolphin swim in the Bahamas when we went to Atlantis but thunderstorms got us cancelled, then we had it booked in Cozumel last year on the western, but wound up in Costa Maya due to the hurricanes. I dont recall it being so expensive in either of the other places.

 

[TiaMaria]

We did some research on our own and also got some good info from a fellow DIS'er and we decided to take a taxi to the French side to a beach just south of Orient near the Butterfly Farm. It's called Le Galion beach and also sometimes Coconut Grove. There is a website for a restaurant there (Tropical Wave) that has a nice menu and clean bathrooms. They also rent umbrellas and chairs inexpensively.

The DIS'er (Thomprod I believe) said the beach was beautiful and uncrowded with warm, shallow, calm water extending out about 100 yards - there is a natural break that keeps the big waves out.

Apparently you can make arrangements for your taxi driver to come and pick you up at a pre-arranged time to head back.

Sounds lovely and very family friendly!

 

[PMDR59]

Thanks Tia That sound exactly like something I would enjoy. I'll have to google it and see what I can find.

 

[TiaMaria]

Hey Maureen, just noticed your name - I'm Maureen too!

 

[PMDR59]

Don't come across many other Maureens.
We are a great bunch arent we?

 

[TiaMaria]

Don't come across many other Maureens.
We are a great bunch arent we?

OK a little OT, but when I was little I never knew ANY other Maureens (except my mom ) and didn't really appreciate that until high school. We used to have a local (I think it was only local) pre-school show on one of the channels called "Romper Room". Miss Lois had kids on set and always talked to the kids "at home" too. At the end of the show, she would hold up her Magic Mirror (hollow inside the frame, lol) and say goodbye to all her friends at home, "I see Karen, I see Sarah, I see Jenny, etc". I was always SO disgusted that she NEVER saw me! LOL. Now that I am an adult, I can truly appreciate not being a Karen, or Sarah or Jenny!

 

[PMDR59]

OMG! I LOVED ROMPER ROOM!!

And it made me real mad too when the never said my name. My other pet peeve, I rarely ever find personlized items.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Just to add to the off topic here. My DD's birthmom is a Maureen and she is the most wonderful person I have ever met! Also my little sister got to be ON Romper Room! Pretty cool!

On topic, Do you know how long it takes to get to LeGalion?

 

[DutchsMommy]

OK - just to set the record straight - Romper Room was not local as we also got it in Canada and they did NOT spy SARAH through that damn magic mirror!!! I waited day after day and NOTHING!!!!!!!

And strangely enough when I was born (70s) Sarah was not a common name according to my parents but now I have at least 4 close friends who are Sarahs.

So - to all the Sarahs in the crowd a big to you. LOL

 

[mattmommy]

We did a beach excursion on St. Maarten. Thank God DS5 was only 6 months old. There were some "nekkid" people that really need to put a suit on. There were no Chippendales or Playmates here. Most people had clothes on, but a few were just...well I just can't get the image out of my head.

 

[castlegazer]

Oh you people with such normal names as Maureen or Sarah - you have no idea the true angst one can feel with the magic mirror until you have a totally made up name and don't know it and watch Romper Room - that is my first lesson in true disapointment in my life. Now, I like having a truly unique name.

OK - back to topic. We actually loved the Sea & see tour - it took us to both Marigot and to Grand Case and then to top it off we got an amazing undersea adventure!

Just throwing it out there!

 

[TiaMaria]

OK all of us with "uncommon" names that felt left out of the Romper Room fun should seriously book a Disney Cruise together and start our own cruise meet thread - we can call it the "Disney Magic Romper Room Reject Cruise!". We can plan a DIS meet and bring our Romper Stompers, our Punch-a-Ball and that scary blow up Clown punching bag. Maybe someone can dress up like the Do Bee!

OK, back on topic, Maureen, I'm not sure how far to Le Galion Beach, but it is about a mile down the road from the Butterfly Farm. Maybe we can find some info to see how far that was from the harbor. Or maybe someone who has been to the Butterfly Farm can chime in?

 

[EWL]

I thought I read somewhere that there is a decent beach that you can walk to from the ship. Anybody know? We're traveling with our DD4-1/2 and aren't sure we want to go off on one of the multi-hour beach excursions. Any ideas? One month to go!

 

[Skallywag]

The beach stretches around the bay in front of the shops and is about 10/15 minutes walk from where the ship docks but there were boats available if you did not wish to walk.

 

[PMDR59]

Ewl, thats pretty much what I want to do. Just find a beach and chill. I do not want to spend a lot of $$$$$ on an excursion to go sit on a beach.

We did spend alot on the Western. In Grand Cayman, paid for the excursion to Stingray City and Rum Point Beach. Sting Ray was a bust, the kids freaked. (Me too!) Those stingrays were HUGE! DH had a great time. Then to Rum Point beach. Was NOT impressed. Maybe we will just chill on the ship by the pool, I'm sure we will have it mostly to ourselves.