Disney Cruise Line Excursion Reviews

[Disneyfalcon]

Juneau, Alaska -

Mendenhall Glacier Float - May of 2011

We were so so about this excursion. I think if you know what you're going to get, you may really enjoy it. We were hoping for something a little more fast paced.

We started off on a bus ride to Mendenhall Lake where we got on our protective rain gear.

They gave us a lot of warnings and instructions about what to do if someone fell out of the boat. No one was ever in any real danger of that.

Our boat launched from the side of the lake where we floated for a while with beautiful views fo the Mendenhall Glacier. After we veered off into the river we embarked on a 6 mile float with some class II and III rapids. There were a coupe of fun rapids, but we were mostly just floating. This trip made us all wish for a real white water rafting trip.

When we finished, we were treated to some snacks and a free souvenir photo before the bus ride home.

We're ready to get wet:

One of the boats and the glacier:

About as rough as it got:

Floating:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Ketchikan, Alaska -

Southeast Seas Kayak - May of 2011

We did this on our own, it wasn't even offered by Disney. I think it was everyone's favorite excursion on our Alaskan cruise. The whole experience was wonderful.

Southeast Seas Kayak met us at the ship and we piled into their van for about a two mile trip to their home base. We got our rain gear on, signed the release forms, and loaded onto a boat to take us to the kayaks. The boat ride took about 30 minutes through some beautiful scenery. When we arrived we transferred boats and loaded into the kayaks. Kayaking was super fun. It was exhausting when we were headed into the wind, and much easier on the way out. We saw jellyfish, seals and eagles. The guides were awesome.

When we got back to the boat they had smoked salmon and souvenir water bottles waiting for us. We relaxed for a while and then tranferred boats to go back to Ketchikan.

Boat ride out:

Kayaks:

Eagle:

Jellyfish:

Snacks:

The girls were worn out on the boat ride back:

 

[ChuckElias]

Who is this paragon of cuteness? (I have my hunch. . . is it an old picture?)

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Who is this paragon of cuteness? (I have my hunch. . . is it an old picture?)

ME!!! :lol: Old picture. Our very first cruise!

I need to go back and put dates on these.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Nassau, Bahamas

Atlantis on our own – September of 2008

We wanted to see Atlantis but didn’t want to pay the steep excursion price, so we booked a night at Comfort Suites for around $150. The excursion for 4 would have been about $700. We caught a taxi to Atlantis right outside the port. We checked in and out of Comfort Suites at the same time and they gave us a receipt to take to Atlantis. We walked over to Atlantis and wandered around for a little while before stopping at a towel stand to show our receipt and get our towels and wristbands. There was so much to do at Atlantis we had blast. The lazy river was the best one I’ve ever been on. There were slides and pools everywhere. When we finished for the day, we walked out to the front of Atlantis and caught a taxi back to the ship. Easy as can be!

Atlantis:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Nassau, Bahamas

Paradise Island Public Beach on our own – January of 2009

We decided to take the water taxi over to the public beach next to Atlantis. If you’re not interested in walking though Atlantis, don’t do that! It’s a very long walk. A taxi would have gotten us much closer and that’s what we did on the way home.

The beach was very nice with some vendors here and there renting beach chairs and water excursions. The taxi ride was just a few dollars a person.

The Beach:

The blue blue water and me:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Tortola –

Dolphin Discovery on our own – May of 2009

We decided to book Dolphin Discovery directly with the company so our friends could take their two year olds among other reasons. We caught a taxi right by the ship. After a short safety talk we got our life jackets and broke into groups. We had about 30 minutes in the water with the dolphins. The dolphins swam by us, we took turns swimming with them, and then went again because we still had time. After we were done they showed us the videos and pictures they had taken and we bought a few. Then we caught another taxi back! It was amazing!

Dolpins:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Valletta, Malta – April of 2010

On my own

We walked around town on our own in Malta. The town was a short, but uphill walk from the pier. There were several lovely cafes at the pier. Including some that had free Wi-Fi. We spent a couple of hours roaming the streets and taking in the sights. It’s a lovely little town and worth spending some time on your own there. We ended at the beautiful Gardens at the top of the town. They had gorgeous views of the town and harbor area.

The pier:

Town:

View from the gardens:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Naples, Italy - April of 2010

On my own

When we disembarked, we turned down about 15 cab drivers (one who followed us for about five minutes while we said “no” over and over again) as we walked to the train station. The train station was supposed to be about a 20 minute walk away, but it took us about 35. If you don’t want to walk, there’s a bus stop right across the street from the pier and the bus ride is cheap to the train station. With a little help from some friendly Italians, we caught the train to Pompeii. It took about 20 minutes.

Pompeii was absolutely massive. We walked for hours and didn’t see it all. Definitely worth the trip though.

Vesuvius from the ship:

Naples:

Train to Pompeii:

Pompeii:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Rome, Italy (Civitavecchia) April of 2010

On my own

We went on our own for Rome too. When we disembarked we caught a shuttle to the front of the pier. It’s a very long walk, definitely worth waiting for the free shuttle. The train station was about a 10 minute walk from the pier. Once inside we purchased a BIRG all day pass from the newsstand. At the time it was only 9 Euros for unlimited train, bus, and metro rides for the day. We also bought a map of Rome to help us out.

We got off at the Vatican and toured St. Peter’s Basilica first. Then we walked around the outside to the entrance for the Sistine Chapel. We had purchased our tickets online ahead of time and bypassed most of the lines. The Sistine Chapel was a long walk, but definitely worth it.

Next we caught a bus to the Trevi Fountain. Then we walked through town to the Coliseum which we had also purchased tickets beforehand for.

Then we caught a bus to the Pantheon followed by a walk to the Spanish Steps. We stopped in a nearby McDonalds and then boarded the metro to the train station.

Rome was super easy to do on our own.

The walk to the train station:

St. Peter’s Basilica:

The Vatican:

The Walk to the Sistine Chapel:

The Trevi Fountain:

The Coliseum:

The streets of Rome:

Spanish Steps:

IMG]http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m258/tammyfalcon/5MedCruise107.jpg[/IMG]

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Florence and Pisa (La Spezia)

On my own – April of 2010

We tendered into La Spezia and then walked to the train station for the train to Pisa. At the train station in Pisa, we purchased bus tickets to get to the Leaning Tower of Pisa which was free to walk around. We weren’t interested in climbing the tower which did take tickets. After we were done we took the bus back to the train station and the train back to La Spezia.

La Spezia:

Train:

Pisa:

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Villefranche (Cannes, Monaco, Nice)

On my own – April of 2010

We tendered into Villefranche. The train station was a couple minute walk away. We took a train to Monaco. The train station in Monte Carlo is at the top of the town which is built into the side of a mountain. We walked down into town and over to the castle for the changing of the guard. After some more wandering and taking in the sights, we walked back up to the train station. There we caught the train to Nice. We got off at the first stop when really we should have waited. The other stops get you further into town. So we just walked into town. We walked down to the beach, ate in local café and went back to the train station.

Villefranche:

Train Station is down to the left:

Monte Carlo train station:

Monte Carlo:

Castle:

Nice:

 

[flynnibus]

Nassau
Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter

This excursion includes a ferry ride from the pier to the Blue Lagoon island. The excursion starts with a short presentation about the animals on the island and then you move to the dolphin area. The area is an inclosed area with several stations where they will put you in a group of about 10 people.

Here is a view of the platforms and dolphin areas

The interaction starts with everyone on the platform

Shortly after, everyone moves out in the water. The instructor has the dolphins interact with individuals by turn. You get to pet, feed, dance, even hug the dolphins.

The climax is the dolphin swim itself, where one by one, each person gets to float out, and then have the dolphins (one for small folks, two for most adults) swim up and push against your feet and you skim across the lagoon propelled by the Dolphins. The video shows it best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdsi0To0N3s

This encounter really gets you up close and personal with the dolphins and all in our family were satisfied with the amount of time they got with the dolphins.

They will film your entire encounter and sell you videos and pictures. But they will also let others take photos as long as they stay up on the pier (where all these photos were taken).

After your encounter, you have the option of staying on the island to enjoy the beach. The beach is on the sheltered lagoon, which isn't huge, but is still a nice clean beach. Also of interest are the 'activities' they have on the beach, including the large inflatable play items out in the lagoon for the kids.

Those tall ones are probably 20+ ft tall. That also gives you a bit of an idea of the size of the lagoon. The beach continues to the right in that photo.

Overall while the dolphin swim encounters are expensive ($199 each when we did it in 2011), for the 'once in a lifetime' type of trip, it is well worth it.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Excellent review, Flynnibus!

 

[flynnibus]

Castaway Cay

Stingray Encounter

This experience is available separately, or as part of the other bundles for your day on Castaway Cay.

The experience starts with a short presentation where they talk about the rays and their care. You are broken into groups of about 6-8, where you are lead over to the beach.

The rays are kept in a netted area of the beach, where the water is at most waist deep, so everyone can do this, even if you can't swim!

You start with instructors leading you through a feeding session where the rays swim up on a platform, where you hold a tofu like material in your hand while the rays swim over your hand and grab the food. After the rays feed for a bit, you are free to swim around with the rays.

The area has a ton of rays.. you can be surrounded by them!

You are given amble time to swim and explore the ray area at your lesiure using a mask and snorkel provided for the experience. You can not take the mask/snorkel out of the area after the experience. Eventually your time is up, but most people are done before that.

When this is bundled with the other offerings on the island, this is a pretty decent deal. It's certainly worth doing at least once.

 

[Phonedave]

Nassau
Blue Lagoon Dolphin Encounter.

Having done this excursion myself, I can agree with all that was posted, with this additional information.

Women - wear a one peice swimsuit.
Men - Wear trunks with a good drawstring

OIherwise after the dolphin push, you will be hunting for your swimsuit.


Food on the island is a bit pricey, but that is to be expected. There is a cafe that we bought ice cream at, but skipped in insane lunches because we were heading back to the ship.

Speaking of back to the ship. Tenders return to the cruise port roughly every hour starting at 11:00 AM, which is very nice. If you want to extend your stay to enjoy the beach or wander around and look at the vairous sea life pens, you can do so. Or if you want to get back to the ship to do something on-board or just hit up Nassau, you have that option as well.


-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Blackbeard Cay Stingray Experience (Nassau)

This is an excursion that is done in Nassau.

You will leave early in the AM, walk from the ship to the harbor, where you will board a tender to go to the island. It is about a 30 minute ride to the island. You see a lot of run down shipping areas and harbors on the way. You also pass some large houses.

On the island you are given snorkling equipment and let into the stingray pen area. The stingrays are in a beach area that is fenced in to keep them there (and to keep larger fish out). The rays all have their barbs clipped. It is pretty much a self guided adventure as you just sort of swim around a look at the rays - there are a LOT of them, no trouble seeing any. After a while, the operators will have everyone stand in two parallell lines facing each other and they will hand out food (mainly squid) The rays know what is comming, and will jostle and push to try and get fed - it scared my 6 y/o at the time as the rays pushed against and through her legs.

You can pretty much stay in the ray area all you want, but multiple groups do come in.

The excursion included lunch, which was pretty much a burger, chips, and a soda. Additional food was available for purchase. In addition there was an (overpriced) gift shop.

The island also has a swimming beach with float rentals on it and a bathroom / changing area. Not the cleanest facility, but passable.Think wet and sandy, not dirty and nasty.

Our main complaint was the trip back to the ship did not leave until well into the afternoon. We were forced to stay on the isand. After a while the kids and I wanted to leave, but we could not. We caught the first tender heading back to the ship and we JUST had time to get on board, shower, and make our first dining seating.

I would do the excursion again, except for the fact that they strand you on the isand for most of the day, where all you can do is spend money.


*pictures will be up shortly *

-dave

 

[Ralphlaw]

This thread is an amazing gem that anyone who has looked at this sight only in the last year probably missed. Seriously, the pictures alone are worth it, but the advice is just as handy. I've been waffling about a Mediterranean cruise in 2014, but I think your photos here clinched the deal. I'll have my family thank you after I book it in a couple weeks.

Thanks.

 

[Disneyfalcon]

This thread is an amazing gem that anyone who has looked at this sight only in the last year probably missed. Seriously, the pictures alone are worth it, but the advice is just as handy. I've been waffling about a Mediterranean cruise in 2014, but I think your photos here clinched the deal. I'll have my family thank you after I book it in a couple weeks.

Thanks.

Oh you will love it, Ralphlaw!

 

[Ralphlaw]

In one week, we leave on the Fantasy. Does anyone have a review of port excursions on San Juan, Puerto Rico?