Anyone been on the Jolly Pirate recently?

We are on RCCl repo in a couple of weeks and I wanted to see if anyone has been on the Jolly Pirate recently. We were all set to book but then I read the 11/29/05 post that said the excursion was horrible and the ship was falling apart etc... There are a some posts after this that contradict this opinion but most are from early 2006. Any input from someone that has done this excursion recently would be great! We are an extended family of 8 with kids ranging from 5-9.

Thanks:)

We did the Jolly Pirates tour in Aruba last week while we were on the Adventure. This was by far the best tour I have been on. We did the 930-230 tour. The lunch was really good. The snorkeling was excellent. The guys on this ship were very nice and helpful and they put on a very entertaining show. The rope swing was a lot of fun and they did all sorts of flips and dives. The ship is in great condition. You can sit and lay out anywhere on the ship. every the very front where the nets are. I have pics but have yet to upload them since we just got in last night.

Thanks Luvjftffc. I was a little nervous about booking outside the cruise line. I was hoping someone would reply postivley because it looked really cool and we wanted to book it.

Anyway I just booked it and we are looking forward to having a great time.

Was it crowded when you went?

There was around 30 people on board including a few kids. If there is more then 35 they bring out both ships. The excursion is right by the Holiday Inn...maybe a 10-15 cab ride. You will have so much fun.....

We did Jolly Pirates about 2 years ago now and it was our BEST excursion we've done in Aruba (been there 4 times)... can't wait to sail again w/them.

Great ship, great crew... yummy food, good drinks... good value for $$. Even leaves you w/beach time afterwards if you so choose.

You'll enjoy. Don't worry.

Carolyn

Is Jolly Pirates a good excursion for older kids or do you think they would find it too kiddish? We are going next April with two boys ages 17 & 14, and I would like to hear from people as to whether they think this is a good choice for that age kids. They want to do the jeep tour but after reading about how rough it is and that people have been cut and injured, I'm a little leery of my husband and I (in our early 50s) doing this. Since our ship doesn't leave port until 1 a.m. the following morning, we will have a lot of time in Aruba and if we do Jolly Pirates, we will still have plenty of time to do something else as well. Any advice would be helpful.

sun lover

My question is the opposite of yours :)

Knowing that the drinks are free flowing and having done a pirate ship in Barbados, my question is whether the trip is too "adult" for our 12 year old. He has been around us when we drink but that doesn't mean I want to subject him to a party boat :)

thanks

dac

Though it's been almost 2 years since we sailed on Jolly I can answer that it's NOT a party boat... there will be mixed drinks offered (as well as soft drinks, beer (I believe) and juices). But it's a "family" atmosphere. There's places to sun as well as shade on the ship. You go to 3 snorkel spots (I believe) one being the Antilla. Everyone has an enjoyable time... there's a rope swing that they let out after lunch is served and all who want to try get several turns... young adults... parents... kids and a grandmother who was with a group of her kids and grandkids ... all of whom were "cheered" on.. it's alot of fun and afterwards there time to explore/relax at Palm Beach area near Marriott/Hyatt hotels. If you're ship's in port for the "whole day" you could even rent a jeep at the pier... drive it up to Moombas to go on Jolly Pirates and then at around 2PM go on an island exploration before returning jeep. The island isn't that large and the roads are very easy to navigate.

Carolyn

Sun Lover,

I just re=read your posts... Alex was 12 when we sailed. He was doing "flips" off the rope swing and I know that they had a video clip of him on their website last year.. not sure if it's still downloaded (Alex has bright red hair). Do Jolly and then rent a car and explore... go to natural bridge etc. in the afternoon.

Carolyn

I think we've decided to go ahead and book the tour it sounds fun! I like the fact that it only holds about 30 - 35 people. We aren't in port as long as the other ships but I think we will still have time to check out either Palm Beach or Eagle Beach afterwards.

dac

I am a bit disappointed with Jolly Pirates way of doing business. I tried to book an excursion for December 2nd & their policy is no credit cards charges under $40. I want to take their afternoon cruise/snorkel trip which is $30 & sent them 2 emails, 1 last week & 1 this week, to the address they list on their web site. I have not received any responses to my request. Does anyone that knows them have any suggestions or advice?

Thanks,

Cory Lynn

Cory Lynn,

Please do not be disappointed.

I have replied to both of your messages.

Not sure why you have not received them.

I am guessing that if you take a peek in your "spam" box, perhaps they are there or perhaps you have some type of filter which is preventing these fm coming through.

You could send me another email address for me to get back to you, if you like.

Carla

Everything is fine with Jolly Pirates. The email response was sent to the wrong email address. I received the info and booked my trip. Thank you Carla. I did make a mistake in the trip I booked & sent an email correcting the error. Look forward to being on this excursion!

Regards,

Cory Lynn

And is this the same ship that can be booked through shoretrips? Is there any advantage in doing this on our own or through shoretrips? We'll be in Aruba the first week of April and want to get booked. Thanks.

Thanks Luvjftffc. I was a little nervous about booking outside the cruise line. I was hoping someone would reply postivley because it looked really cool and we wanted to book it.

Anyway I just booked it and we are looking forward to having a great time.

 

Was it crowded when you went?

It is crowded. I think it's a nice excursion for kids. Drinks are available, but they are not strong, and it's not a party boat. The snorkeling is the highlight of this excursion.

Aprilrad: If your ship has this as an excursion, you may not be able to book it privately. One advantage of the ship's tour is that transportation to Moomba Beach is included [at least it was on our recent trip]. It is a nice trip - our boat wasn't too crowded. The snorkeling was good and the trip was fun; lunch was just so-so. [You might want to take Purell for cleaning up before/after lunch.]

One week ago today we were on the Jolly Pirate. Sniff, sniff, wish I was there today given the wicked storms coming! We had a wonderful time. The sail, the rope swing, the lunch, the crew were all just perfect. The snorkeling was a little rough because there was a storm off Venezuala and we had a hard time seeing throught the murky water. That was not the fault of the crew, just a mother nature thing. Carla was wonderful and she called a cab for us, confirmed my dinner reservation at the Flying Fishbone. It was not crowded at all. Thank you Jolly Pirate for a wonderful day in Aruba!

We were on the Jolly pirate on 11/30 (last Thursday). We had a great time. The ship was not overly crowded but I wouldn't have wanted too many more people on it. We were able to have sun or shade depending on what we wanted at the time. Agree with poster above, no alchohol in the drinks LOL so definitely not a party boat. We were doing enough drinking in the evenings and had our kids with us so this was fine by us :)

The boat is nice, the kids love it. Snorkeling was good although I can tell it would have been better had there not been a big rain storm the day before and the possibility of rain that day. Water at Boca Catlina was murky due to the waves from the approaching storm. Saw the most fish at the wreck. Be warned though that it is rough at there. My 12 year old son got out before I even got in. He saw the wreck and some fish and that was good enough for him. Once in I was happy he wasn't in, I had enough trouble just worrying about myself. If you go to the wreck make sure you swim far enough to go to the back side, there were millions of fish back there!

The last stop is at Malmock, a pretty spot. We had lunch and the rope swing was nice. Again due to waves the water was a little murky but calm enough to snorkel.

Aruba's water is absolutely gorgeous!! and I would definitely consider spending a week here!

dac