To excursion or not to excursion? (with young children)

[SweetSpot]

I know this has been asked before but I was hoping that I could get your opinion on excursions with young children. We are going on the 7 day Magic Eastern in November. My children DS12, DS10 and DD6 will be going on any excursion we would pick and I was wondering how children tend to deal with snorkeling, etc.
I have been reading the excursion list provided by DCL and am now leaning toward not choosing any of the excursions because none, other than beach excursions, seem to fit my childrens ages and interests. It seems from what I have read here that I can visit a beach fairly easily on my own without the expense and the time restriction. I am concerned that the kids will be done and want to leave and I will still have a couple hours until it is time to return to the ship. (My oldest is high functioning autistic and when he is done, he is done.)

Is it fairly easy to get a taxi from the port and then from the beach to return to the port? Are the taxi's safe and are they able to fit a family of five? Is the shopping geared toward adults or could a child enjoy the shopping near the port? Will I really regret not planning any excursions and staying on the ship enjoying it less crowded?

Your input is really appreciated. My head is spinning and was hoping hearing others experiences and opinions, who had to bring little kids along, would help ease the spin.

 

[luckymom]

We did the Eastern on July 27, which is the "slow" season. November will be more crowded. With that said. At St. Martins we did the Bus Island Tour in the am, went back to the boat for lunch and then to the beach right near the port at lunch. In St. Thomas, we went to Coki Beach - via the Coki Beach Dive Club - where the kids scuba dived after a beginner class and my husband did a two-tank reef dive. This was definitely the highlight of our trip. Coki beach was a bit crowded by noon - but it was great. I would not recommend the Bus Tour in St. Martins - just do to your own beach and bring your own mask and snorkel. Actually, our kids just used goggles. If we went back - we would do Coki again. The other family we were with joined us on the St. Martins day. But at St Thomas, they got their own taxi "for the day" which they loved. The taxi driver took them all over the island with different stops and different drinks at all sorts of placed. They meet up with us at Coki in the afternoon and their taxi driver picked them up promptly and brought them back to the ship in time. Cost them about $20 for a family of four. Good luck with whatever you decide. This board has a lot of great ideas.

 

[SweetSpot]

Thank you Luckymom. I didn't realize that November was the busy season, I assumed that July would be much more crowded than November. Thanks for the warning.

My time to book excursions is coming soon and I didn't want to let the day come and go without being sure we didn't want to go on any DCL excursions. I have always been an extreme planner and was hoping to feel more comfortable knowing what to expect if I was going it alone. I guess I'll have to wing it for once.

 

[luckymom]

With the ages of your kids and if I had to do it again - I would do an excursion on St. Martins (where I never really had to see the island itself) like sailing or snorkeling ( I had a 12DD, and 9 DD, 14mo DS). But on St. Thomas - I would go to Coki Beach Dive club or St. John on our own. Whatever you do - have fun!! Just a note, when we went to Coki which was for 5 hours - I did order room service the night before for sandwiches and I brought our own sodas - and were not bothered by "sales folks" because they saw our cooler! Next time I would try to get the panini sandwiches from Outlooks and the chicken fingers from room service because they were the best!!!!!! It was so much fun!! I wish we were going back soon!!