We returned on Saturday, June 5, from the 7-night Eastern Caribean cruise. First, a thank you to all the regulars on this board. Although this is my first (and perhaps only) post, my wife and I have been lurking here for months and have gotten some great tips. Our cruise was greatly enhanced because of this message board. Thanks. Now, on to the trip report (and a word of warning
its a long one!):
Overall impressions: We loved it and want to do it again, but finances wont allow that for quite some time our next cruise wont be for at least two years. Its quite expensive, especially for a family of six. My wife and I are both Catholic school employees, so we dont make a ton of money and a vacation like this is a tremendous treat.
BEST DAY:
St. Martin. We loved this island. We booked no excursions, but rather rented a Jeep for the day (about $70 total, including taxes and fees). We took the top down and crammed our family of six inside. Three sons sat in the back seat (ages 6, 7 and 11), with my wife riding shotgun and holding our 3-year-old daughter in her lap. Not the safest situation, I know, but we threw caution to the wind and had a great day. We drove all around the island, with many stops. Lots of side trips off the main road. Probably trespassed on private property more than a few times, but if there was no sign specifically saying Keep Out, we went in. Spent an hour or so at a spot we named Goat Beach since there were goats and chickens roaming nearby. There was a bit of a mangrove swamp behind the beach, and we explored that and saw lots of fish, crabs, birds, etc. The boys caught hermit crabs, and enjoyed chasing them around. We drove past the famous Orient Beach and admired the view, but decided to move on. Found an old shack by the water where the owner kept horses and a pet monkey that swang from a hammock on the porch. Stopped for a swim at the beach by the ferry-boat landing to Pinel Island. Got a cheap (and delicious) picnic lunch from a vendor there. Drove to Marigot (the French capital) and spent some time there, including a drink at a lovely sidewalk café. Bought the kids ice cream which they promptly fed to a passing dog which wondered into the café (much to their delight). The boys wanted to go to a beach with big waves, since both Goat Beach and the ferry landing had been in very calm, sheltered areas. We went to Long Bay and found a fantastic stretch of beach that we had virtually to ourselves. Great waves, wonderful sand, clear water. We had a great time there for an hour or two.
We got a bit lost trying to find our way back to the ship, but that turned out to be fun, too. We went the wrong way around the airport, and when we turned around to get back on the main highway, we had to take a road that goes right past the end of the runway. We were stopped and told we couldnt pass until a plane had completed its takeoff. Then, a big 747 jumbo jet from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines taxied out to the end of the runway, and took off. It was incredible. I could not believe it. We were so close that we had to hold our ears. Ive never seen a jumbo jet get airborn so quickly. Once the plane lifts off, they immediately bank hard to the right to avoid a mountain. Quite a sight to see.
We didnt do anything in Philipsburg, the Dutch capital. Just drove through it on the way back to the ship. It didnt look nearly as nice as Marigot, but perhaps thats just sour grapes since we didnt have time to explore it.
SECOND BEST DAYS:
St. Thomas. Again, we booked no excrusions. We planned to use taxis and ferry boats to make it over to St. Johns on our own, but we slept in and got too late a start for that. Instead, we took a cab to Cokie Beach on St. Thomas, which is where Coral World is. fifteen-minute ride in an open-air cab. Lovely beach, with decent snorkeling. Not great snorkeling, but for my boys (only one of whom has ever snorkled before, and only once) it was fantastic. The two older boys couldnt get enough, and were entranced by being so close to all those colorful fish. The beach was not too crowded. A local vendor rented snorkeling gear to us for $10 per person. The cab ride was less than $30 each way for my family of 6. We opted not to go to Coral World, but instead looked at the coral on our own with the snorkeling gear. Got back in time to clean up and change out of our swimsuits and head back out to stroll around the town and do some shopping. Im not a shopper, but I stopped in a local grocery store and bought a couple bottles of good beer and enjoyed those as we strolled, which helped make shopping considerably more tolerable.
My sons say that their favorite part of the trip (after St. Martin) were the days at sea. They loved the freedom of roaming the boat and getting ice cream from Scoops and pizza from Pinochios whenever they wanted. They loved the shows. They loved ordering room service.
Funny story: We allowed my oldest to stay back at the room while we went to dinner. He decided to order chicken tenders from room service. He didnt want any of the side dishes that come with a meal he just wanted the chicken tenders. So, he called room service all by himself and ordered six chicken tenders. In his 11-year-old, take-everything-literally mind, this meant he ordered six small pieces of chicken. Well, the waiter showed up with six chicken tender meals. Six whole platefuls of food! He was all by himself and he was mortified and didnt know what to do with all the extra food. It was really funny. Wasteful, but funny.
My 3-year-old daughter says the best part was meeting Snow White and Belle and Sleeping Beauty and Mickey and so on and so on. She loved the characters.
LEAST FAVORITE DAY:
They were all good days, but we were underwhelmed by Castaway Cay. It was nice, and we had fun, but it was by far our least favorite day of the cruise. Perhaps it was because we were pretty tired by that last day. It was EXTREMELY crowded at the family beach. We didnt go snorkeling, but my brother and nephew who did said it was not as good as St. Thomas. We tried to rent a kayak to paddle around, but the tide was out and they closed the kayak rental because the water was too shallow. It was just so crowded, with music blaring all the time. The beaches we had visited at St. Martin and St. Thomas were far more serene, natural, beautiful, relaxing and fun. My brothers (who do not have young children) visited the adult beach (Serenity Bay), and had good reports, including sighting some rays as they swam there, but they also agreed that it was their least favorite stop on the cruise.
THINGS WE BROUGHT BUT WISH WE HADNT:
Clothes. I packed way too many. I didnt wear half the shorts I brought. Wed spend the day in bathing suits, and then change into nice clothes for dinner. The in between clothes (i.e. nicer than bathing suits and tee shirts but not nice enough for dinner for example, shorts, tennis shoes, etc.) rarely got worn. We did some laundry while on board because the boys went through clothes rapidly when it was time to change into a swimsuit, theyd throw the clothes they were wearing on the floor. Even if they had only worn them to breakfast, they were thrown down and considered dirty. If wed monitored them a bit more closely, this could have been avoided. But it was just easier to do a couple of loads of laundry. No trouble getting an open machine. Just a buck to wash and a buck to dry. Next time, Ill pack half as many clothes knowing that doing a load of laundry is no big deal.
Two-way radios. Waste of luggage space. Tried them once, but never used them again. While on shore, we stayed together as a family. While on board, if our sons werent with us we didnt really care where they were and when they were coming back. That freedom was part of the vacation for both them and us. Thats just us your mileage may vary.
THINGS WE WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT TO BRING BUT FOR THE GREAT ADVICE FROM THIS BOARD:
Heavy-duty clothes pins and suction-cup clips. Great for hanging wet stuff. We did not have a veranda, and had to hang these things inside the room.
Small electric fan.
Tons of one and two dollar bills for tips (porters, room service, etc.).
BEST TIPS WE GOT FROM THIS BOARD:
Order the All Hands On Deck platter every night. Our nightly ritual was to order two of these platters, plus a few croissants. Then, my oldest son and I would go up to the coffee station on deck 9 and get hot chocolates for everyone. Wed get the kids in their jammies, munch on cheese, crackers, fruit and croissants and drink our hot chocolate while we talked about our day. Great endings to great days!
Get on board early and get reservations at Palos. Our party of six adults had a wonderful meal there on Thursday night. Just fantastic. Our server was an English girl named Jemma. An earlier poster complained that their server acted as though he had to pay for the food himself and tried to talk them out of ordering extra dishes. Our experience was the opposite. For every single course, she brought us an extra dish or two that we hadnt ordered and put them in the middle for everyone to share. We were there for over two hours, enjoying ourselves.
Buy wine before you board. We had our shuttle driver stop at a grocery store where we bought some last-minute items, including about a dozen bottles of wine for our party of six adults. At night we would go aft on deck 9 (outside of Topsiders) where there was no wind. Wed stop at one of the bars and get wine glasses (they were happy to oblige), and enjoy our wine and the moonlight on the ocean. We had a full moon during the cruise, and clear skies. We had wonderful evenings there.
Dont Bring A Stroller. It does not seem to be well-publicized in the Disney materials, but strollers are available free of charge on board the ship. They require a $100 deposit which is billed to your account. You can keep the stroller all week, and use it on board as well as taking it ashore. Give it back at the end of the week, and they credit your $100 deposit back to you. Good, high-quality stroller, too.
Arrive early. We flew down the night before and stayed in an inexpensive hotel at the Orlando airport. My brothers flew in from other parts of the country and we all met at the hotel late on Friday night. The next morning, we had arranged for a private shuttle service to meet us at the hotel at 9:00 a.m. with a large van (we had a party of 12). The driver stopped at a grocery store for us and then delivered us to the cruise terminal by 10:30 a.m. Boarding started a little after noon, and we were among the first one or two hundred people to board. The private shuttle cost us $220 round trip (plus tip, which brought it up to about $240-$250). Including the tip, thats about $20 per person. A great deal. They were waiting for us in the parking lot when we got off the ship, and had us back at the Orlando airport by 10:30 a.m. on departure day. No hassles at all. Found the shuttle service via the internet. There are tons to choose from.
RANDOM THOUGHTS AND TIPS OF MY OWN:
I enjoyed the sports bar, Diversions. Fairly good selection of beers on tap. We were there for British Pub Night on Friday and that was a hoot. Went to the beer tastings held there on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Had fun with my brothers, but was unimpressed with the speaker, who was just flat-out wrong about several things. Not to brag, but I know more about beer than that guy does.
I hardly stepped foot inside Rockin Bar D. I think I would have enjoyed a couple of the acts that were there (magician/comedian type stuff) but just never got around to it. Once the acts were over, it was a music/dance club. Loud music and dancing is just not my thing. Also, the only bar with the good beers on tap was Diversions.
However, my family and I loved the family dance parties and family karaoke nights at Studio Sea. Very fun, very wholesome and sweet to dance with your kids on a cruise.
At meals, if you cant decide which selection to order, get them both. Holds true whether its appetizer, soup/salad, or dessert. My teen-age nephew even ordered two entres a couple of times. Thats a bit too much for me, but hes a growing boy.
For some unfathomable reason, its not legal to pay for gasoline by credit card on the island of St. Martin. We had spent most of our cash, and planned to top off the tank of our rental Jeep by putting the gas on a credit card. Stopped at 3 different stations, but none accepted credit cards. We learned that NONE of the stations on the island accept credit cards, apparently by law. Go figure.
A tip for those with digital cameras: There is a photo processing shop just a few steps from the ship in the port in St. Thomas called Blazing Photos. For just $12, they took all three of my memory cards and burned all the photos onto a CD. Then, I was able to delete the photos from the memory cards and start all over. They wanted almost $50 for this service at the photo shop aboard the ship.
Think twice about booking shore excursions through Disney. They seemed extremely overpriced to me. When we stepped off the ship and walked around, we saw lots of vendors offering the same types of excursions for less than half what Disney was charging on board. We enjoyed doing things on our own, and had a wonderful time on both islands without booking any excursions.
When I learned we would be on a fully-booked ship, I feared we would be waiting in a lot of long lines, and struggling with lots of overcrowding. But that was not the case at all. The ship is so well laid out, and the staff does such a good job that we felt very little negative impact from being on a full ship. Other than the on-board pools (which were very crowded during the days at sea), and the family beach at Castaway Cay, we never noticed any crowds or lines for anything.
Thanks, again, to all on this board for your invaluable tips.
Overall impressions: We loved it and want to do it again, but finances wont allow that for quite some time our next cruise wont be for at least two years. Its quite expensive, especially for a family of six. My wife and I are both Catholic school employees, so we dont make a ton of money and a vacation like this is a tremendous treat.
BEST DAY:
St. Martin. We loved this island. We booked no excursions, but rather rented a Jeep for the day (about $70 total, including taxes and fees). We took the top down and crammed our family of six inside. Three sons sat in the back seat (ages 6, 7 and 11), with my wife riding shotgun and holding our 3-year-old daughter in her lap. Not the safest situation, I know, but we threw caution to the wind and had a great day. We drove all around the island, with many stops. Lots of side trips off the main road. Probably trespassed on private property more than a few times, but if there was no sign specifically saying Keep Out, we went in. Spent an hour or so at a spot we named Goat Beach since there were goats and chickens roaming nearby. There was a bit of a mangrove swamp behind the beach, and we explored that and saw lots of fish, crabs, birds, etc. The boys caught hermit crabs, and enjoyed chasing them around. We drove past the famous Orient Beach and admired the view, but decided to move on. Found an old shack by the water where the owner kept horses and a pet monkey that swang from a hammock on the porch. Stopped for a swim at the beach by the ferry-boat landing to Pinel Island. Got a cheap (and delicious) picnic lunch from a vendor there. Drove to Marigot (the French capital) and spent some time there, including a drink at a lovely sidewalk café. Bought the kids ice cream which they promptly fed to a passing dog which wondered into the café (much to their delight). The boys wanted to go to a beach with big waves, since both Goat Beach and the ferry landing had been in very calm, sheltered areas. We went to Long Bay and found a fantastic stretch of beach that we had virtually to ourselves. Great waves, wonderful sand, clear water. We had a great time there for an hour or two.
We got a bit lost trying to find our way back to the ship, but that turned out to be fun, too. We went the wrong way around the airport, and when we turned around to get back on the main highway, we had to take a road that goes right past the end of the runway. We were stopped and told we couldnt pass until a plane had completed its takeoff. Then, a big 747 jumbo jet from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines taxied out to the end of the runway, and took off. It was incredible. I could not believe it. We were so close that we had to hold our ears. Ive never seen a jumbo jet get airborn so quickly. Once the plane lifts off, they immediately bank hard to the right to avoid a mountain. Quite a sight to see.
We didnt do anything in Philipsburg, the Dutch capital. Just drove through it on the way back to the ship. It didnt look nearly as nice as Marigot, but perhaps thats just sour grapes since we didnt have time to explore it.
SECOND BEST DAYS:
St. Thomas. Again, we booked no excrusions. We planned to use taxis and ferry boats to make it over to St. Johns on our own, but we slept in and got too late a start for that. Instead, we took a cab to Cokie Beach on St. Thomas, which is where Coral World is. fifteen-minute ride in an open-air cab. Lovely beach, with decent snorkeling. Not great snorkeling, but for my boys (only one of whom has ever snorkled before, and only once) it was fantastic. The two older boys couldnt get enough, and were entranced by being so close to all those colorful fish. The beach was not too crowded. A local vendor rented snorkeling gear to us for $10 per person. The cab ride was less than $30 each way for my family of 6. We opted not to go to Coral World, but instead looked at the coral on our own with the snorkeling gear. Got back in time to clean up and change out of our swimsuits and head back out to stroll around the town and do some shopping. Im not a shopper, but I stopped in a local grocery store and bought a couple bottles of good beer and enjoyed those as we strolled, which helped make shopping considerably more tolerable.
My sons say that their favorite part of the trip (after St. Martin) were the days at sea. They loved the freedom of roaming the boat and getting ice cream from Scoops and pizza from Pinochios whenever they wanted. They loved the shows. They loved ordering room service.
Funny story: We allowed my oldest to stay back at the room while we went to dinner. He decided to order chicken tenders from room service. He didnt want any of the side dishes that come with a meal he just wanted the chicken tenders. So, he called room service all by himself and ordered six chicken tenders. In his 11-year-old, take-everything-literally mind, this meant he ordered six small pieces of chicken. Well, the waiter showed up with six chicken tender meals. Six whole platefuls of food! He was all by himself and he was mortified and didnt know what to do with all the extra food. It was really funny. Wasteful, but funny.
My 3-year-old daughter says the best part was meeting Snow White and Belle and Sleeping Beauty and Mickey and so on and so on. She loved the characters.
LEAST FAVORITE DAY:
They were all good days, but we were underwhelmed by Castaway Cay. It was nice, and we had fun, but it was by far our least favorite day of the cruise. Perhaps it was because we were pretty tired by that last day. It was EXTREMELY crowded at the family beach. We didnt go snorkeling, but my brother and nephew who did said it was not as good as St. Thomas. We tried to rent a kayak to paddle around, but the tide was out and they closed the kayak rental because the water was too shallow. It was just so crowded, with music blaring all the time. The beaches we had visited at St. Martin and St. Thomas were far more serene, natural, beautiful, relaxing and fun. My brothers (who do not have young children) visited the adult beach (Serenity Bay), and had good reports, including sighting some rays as they swam there, but they also agreed that it was their least favorite stop on the cruise.
THINGS WE BROUGHT BUT WISH WE HADNT:
Clothes. I packed way too many. I didnt wear half the shorts I brought. Wed spend the day in bathing suits, and then change into nice clothes for dinner. The in between clothes (i.e. nicer than bathing suits and tee shirts but not nice enough for dinner for example, shorts, tennis shoes, etc.) rarely got worn. We did some laundry while on board because the boys went through clothes rapidly when it was time to change into a swimsuit, theyd throw the clothes they were wearing on the floor. Even if they had only worn them to breakfast, they were thrown down and considered dirty. If wed monitored them a bit more closely, this could have been avoided. But it was just easier to do a couple of loads of laundry. No trouble getting an open machine. Just a buck to wash and a buck to dry. Next time, Ill pack half as many clothes knowing that doing a load of laundry is no big deal.
Two-way radios. Waste of luggage space. Tried them once, but never used them again. While on shore, we stayed together as a family. While on board, if our sons werent with us we didnt really care where they were and when they were coming back. That freedom was part of the vacation for both them and us. Thats just us your mileage may vary.
THINGS WE WOULD NEVER HAVE THOUGHT TO BRING BUT FOR THE GREAT ADVICE FROM THIS BOARD:
Heavy-duty clothes pins and suction-cup clips. Great for hanging wet stuff. We did not have a veranda, and had to hang these things inside the room.
Small electric fan.
Tons of one and two dollar bills for tips (porters, room service, etc.).
BEST TIPS WE GOT FROM THIS BOARD:
Order the All Hands On Deck platter every night. Our nightly ritual was to order two of these platters, plus a few croissants. Then, my oldest son and I would go up to the coffee station on deck 9 and get hot chocolates for everyone. Wed get the kids in their jammies, munch on cheese, crackers, fruit and croissants and drink our hot chocolate while we talked about our day. Great endings to great days!
Get on board early and get reservations at Palos. Our party of six adults had a wonderful meal there on Thursday night. Just fantastic. Our server was an English girl named Jemma. An earlier poster complained that their server acted as though he had to pay for the food himself and tried to talk them out of ordering extra dishes. Our experience was the opposite. For every single course, she brought us an extra dish or two that we hadnt ordered and put them in the middle for everyone to share. We were there for over two hours, enjoying ourselves.
Buy wine before you board. We had our shuttle driver stop at a grocery store where we bought some last-minute items, including about a dozen bottles of wine for our party of six adults. At night we would go aft on deck 9 (outside of Topsiders) where there was no wind. Wed stop at one of the bars and get wine glasses (they were happy to oblige), and enjoy our wine and the moonlight on the ocean. We had a full moon during the cruise, and clear skies. We had wonderful evenings there.
Dont Bring A Stroller. It does not seem to be well-publicized in the Disney materials, but strollers are available free of charge on board the ship. They require a $100 deposit which is billed to your account. You can keep the stroller all week, and use it on board as well as taking it ashore. Give it back at the end of the week, and they credit your $100 deposit back to you. Good, high-quality stroller, too.
Arrive early. We flew down the night before and stayed in an inexpensive hotel at the Orlando airport. My brothers flew in from other parts of the country and we all met at the hotel late on Friday night. The next morning, we had arranged for a private shuttle service to meet us at the hotel at 9:00 a.m. with a large van (we had a party of 12). The driver stopped at a grocery store for us and then delivered us to the cruise terminal by 10:30 a.m. Boarding started a little after noon, and we were among the first one or two hundred people to board. The private shuttle cost us $220 round trip (plus tip, which brought it up to about $240-$250). Including the tip, thats about $20 per person. A great deal. They were waiting for us in the parking lot when we got off the ship, and had us back at the Orlando airport by 10:30 a.m. on departure day. No hassles at all. Found the shuttle service via the internet. There are tons to choose from.
RANDOM THOUGHTS AND TIPS OF MY OWN:
I enjoyed the sports bar, Diversions. Fairly good selection of beers on tap. We were there for British Pub Night on Friday and that was a hoot. Went to the beer tastings held there on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Had fun with my brothers, but was unimpressed with the speaker, who was just flat-out wrong about several things. Not to brag, but I know more about beer than that guy does.
I hardly stepped foot inside Rockin Bar D. I think I would have enjoyed a couple of the acts that were there (magician/comedian type stuff) but just never got around to it. Once the acts were over, it was a music/dance club. Loud music and dancing is just not my thing. Also, the only bar with the good beers on tap was Diversions.
However, my family and I loved the family dance parties and family karaoke nights at Studio Sea. Very fun, very wholesome and sweet to dance with your kids on a cruise.
At meals, if you cant decide which selection to order, get them both. Holds true whether its appetizer, soup/salad, or dessert. My teen-age nephew even ordered two entres a couple of times. Thats a bit too much for me, but hes a growing boy.
For some unfathomable reason, its not legal to pay for gasoline by credit card on the island of St. Martin. We had spent most of our cash, and planned to top off the tank of our rental Jeep by putting the gas on a credit card. Stopped at 3 different stations, but none accepted credit cards. We learned that NONE of the stations on the island accept credit cards, apparently by law. Go figure.
A tip for those with digital cameras: There is a photo processing shop just a few steps from the ship in the port in St. Thomas called Blazing Photos. For just $12, they took all three of my memory cards and burned all the photos onto a CD. Then, I was able to delete the photos from the memory cards and start all over. They wanted almost $50 for this service at the photo shop aboard the ship.
Think twice about booking shore excursions through Disney. They seemed extremely overpriced to me. When we stepped off the ship and walked around, we saw lots of vendors offering the same types of excursions for less than half what Disney was charging on board. We enjoyed doing things on our own, and had a wonderful time on both islands without booking any excursions.
When I learned we would be on a fully-booked ship, I feared we would be waiting in a lot of long lines, and struggling with lots of overcrowding. But that was not the case at all. The ship is so well laid out, and the staff does such a good job that we felt very little negative impact from being on a full ship. Other than the on-board pools (which were very crowded during the days at sea), and the family beach at Castaway Cay, we never noticed any crowds or lines for anything.
Thanks, again, to all on this board for your invaluable tips.
. 
Hope to hear more about your trip!
Thanks for the wonderful trip report ! What a wonderful way to see St Martin ! Gives me good ideas for our cruise next month ! Did your kids go to the Oceanears Club ?
