Jolly Pirates?

Trying to decide what to do in Aruba. Will have DH and myself plus teen son and pre-teen daughter. Jolly Pirates looks like it would be a lot of fun with the snorkel sites and rope swing but I'm a little concerned about it being a "booze cruise" and reports of lewd dancing, bare bottoms etc. on some of the reviews. Others have said it was OK for families. Anyone done JP lately and have input? How was the snorkeling? We are not hard-core snorkelers but would like to see some pretty fish and interesting marine life.

Also, we don't want to book in advance because it may be cutting it close to get there after our ship docks and we don't want to risk losing our money. Can it be booked at the port or would we just have to take a taxi to the beach and hope there are spots available?

Plan B is to just do a beach day - possibly at Surfside Beach since it looks like it has a pool available or possibly at a beach where we could rent snorkel equipment and snorkel from the beach. Any advice? (Trying to keep costs low.) Thanks.

Your experience on Jolly Pirates will depend upon the group on board at the time. Our personal experience was one of families and a very enjoyable "fun" atmosphere. No drunken brawls. At one time I even considered a second trip with my 97 yo grandmother however she would have had trouble boarding the ship.

Surfside Beach does not have snorkeling.

All beaches in Aruba are public so you can go to any beach and lay down your towel for free.

Snorkeling from the beach in Aruba - Help please! Post 15

can we rent fins and vest at Boca Catalina

Arubalisa is always an excellent source of trusted information.

Just saying we have found Jolly Pirates to be a fun but in no way a wild & crazy party cruise. Your children will have an amazingly fun time and, yes, the snorkeling is good. :)

LuLu

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We enjoyed very much our Jolly Pirates cruise a few years ago. There were people having fun, but no way was it lewd or a drunken brawl. I don't believe alcohol is even offered until after the snorkeling. My 79 yo mother did it and I did it. Plus I have access problems on many boats, but not this one. The access was very easy. Your kids would have a blast!

I would be very hesitant to not have reservations, though. Our time was tight, but we with time to spare. We got off the ship and right into a taxi that took us straight to Moomba Beach Club, where you meet Jolly Pirates.

We loved it so much we booked it again for this May. We originally booked the afternoon tour, but we were changed to the morning tour by JP. I questioned the timing (1/2 hour after the ship docks) but we were assured that they would get us on the boat! So e-mail and ask. You have nothing to lose doing that.

I would be very hesitant to not have reservations, though.

I think we'll be booking the Jolly Pirates afternoon tour for our stop in Aruba in April. Our time will be tight since we port at 1pm and the website says the tour starts at 2pm. I've emailed them to confirm if we can make it.

I'm wondering about the beach snorkel stops ... are you OFF the beach or do you have the opportunity to actually GO to the beach? Both stops are beaches I wanted to visit. Trying to find a happy medium between hubby's desire to snorkel and my desire to lie motionless on a beach. ;)

Also, what is the visibility like at the Antilla? Are there good sights to see from the surface?

Thanks!

No beach on the Jolly Pirates, you are "off the beach" and out on the water.

The tour does leave from Palm Beach though so you could hang out on the beach there after your sail is over.

Malmok Beach is a small beach

As is Boca Catalina as well

Thanks for the info (and pics!) Lisa.

OP here. Just got home from our cruise and wanted to report back on this. We corresponded with JP and were advised to wait and book once on Aruba or we would lose our money if the ship was late and we couldn't get there in time. Our itinerary said docking at 1:00 and though the JP tour says 2:30, they actually want you there by 2:00 so they have time to load the tender and take you out to the ship.

We were off the ship at around 1:15 and went immediately to the tourist info booth in the terminal. The lady there let me use her landline to make a local call to JP and ask if they had room on the afternoon sailing. They did so we gave JP our cc # and told them that we would be on our way. We took the bus and told them that we needed to get off at MooMba beach. The walk from where the bus let us off was quite a ways and we ended up running to make sure we got there on time. (In retrospect, it would have been easier to get off at the Holiday Inn, walk through it to the beach and then down the beach a tiny bit to the JP hut but we just got off where the bus driver told us to. We caught the bus back at the Holiday Inn.) We paid and went straight onto the tender where they had already loaded and were waiting for us and then took off immediately. I think, that had I not called from the terminal and given them a cc payment, we would have been out of luck. So if you do this, be sure to be one of the first off the ship and consider taking a taxi on the way there and a bus on the way back.

We really enjoyed our excursion. It was a highlight of the cruise. Snorkeling over the shipwreck was interesting. There really weren't a lot of fish there but the water was clear and we could see the remains of the ship very well. There were more fish at the 2nd stop but not the wide variety we've seen in other places. A novice snorkeler would think it was fine. Someone into serious snorkeling would be disappointed.

The best part was the rope swing at the end. My 16 year old son was the first one on it and jumped multiple times. Even my husband and I tried it! It was a little scary at first but loads of fun. The booze was available the entire trip but there were signs cautioning that alcohol and snorkeling don't mix. Most people didn't drink a lot until the 3rd stop and even then no one was really wasted. They had "virgin" pina coladas for the kids and those who don't drink. My 13 year old DD loved them!

As far as beach time, by the time you return to the shore, it will be almost time to head back to the ship. I wanted to go for a walk on the beach so my family sat at a table at the beach bar while I went for a walk. You could easily put a towel down for about 45 minutes when you come back. Also, you don't have to snorkel while on the boat. You could just stay onboard and lie in the sun while the others snorkel.

I booked an independent excursion through Jolly Pirates. For $51.00 each, we stopped at 3 snorkel locations, had lunch and got to rope swing off the boat. To get to the location we took the public bus which was $2.30 per person each way. No problems with the transportation. The first snorkel stop was at the Antilla shipwreck; a WWII ship. This was very cool to do. I have read reviews that suggest this stop is for experienced swimmers/snorkels due to the current and waves. I would not characterize myself as a strong swimmer. I had no problems at this spot and in fact really enjoyed this stop. The other two stops were in more shallow water or closer to shore. I had my fill after the first stop as I get headaches from the water easy. My DH snorkeled at the third stop. Lunch was BBQ chicken, ribs and rice and beans. I had preordered a vegetarian meal and they confirmed this via email before we left for vacation and again at check-in. However, there was no meal on the boat. They gave me beans and rice which was fine. Another highlight of this excursion was the rope swing. My DH with his 3rd degree separated shoulder got in line and did a flip into the water. Crazy man! At least he had fun. The ships near us all stopped to watch us; you could tell they were jealous! The way back they played music and everyone seemed to be having a great time. I would highly recommend this excursion to everyone. We would do this again if we returned to Aruba.

Thank you for the review.

Keith

Thank you for the review. What time did you dock and what time did you get off the ship in order to get to this excursion?

I believe we got to port at 8am and left at 7pm. We were scheduled for the 9am excursion. We got off the ship immediately and because we did not take a taxi but rather public transportation, it took a bit longer to get to the hotel location. I think we arrived at about 8:50. We had a bit of trouble discerning where to pick up the bus. We checked in and were told to go to the end of the dock. We waited there for probably another 20 minutes. I don't think we left exactly at 9am.

They said they want us there at 8:30 AM for the 9:00 trip. Our ship arrives at 8:00, so we will be taking cabs to get there as quickly as possible. They are aware we are arriving by ship and said they will wait for us, but we don't want to hold up the show! There are 11 of us, so I do think we would be missed.;)

We did the afternoon snorkel with them a couple weeks ago. Only 2 snorkel stops, then the rope swing and no lunch but the price is less. Had a great time! Snorkeling over the wreck was interesting though there weren't many fish there. Like you, I didn't find the current difficult but wore a lifevest just in case. My teen son was the first in line for the rope swing. Even DH and I tried it.

They said they want us there at 8:30 AM for the 9:00 trip. Our ship arrives at 8:00, so we will be taking cabs to get there as quickly as possible. They are aware we are arriving by ship and said they will wait for us, but we don't want to hold up the show! There are 11 of us, so I do think we would be missed.;)

I don't think you will have a problem unless your ship is super late into port. They work on Island Time from what I could tell. Enjoy!