Jolly Pirates Time Frame Concern

So, I emailed Jolly Pirates:

"So far we have a group of 11 or more. I found out that there will only be the Breeze in port that day (May 14th). It docks at 8, your check in is 8:30. You mention its a 15 minute ride. I'm assuming with such a large group, you will wait should we be unable to make it by then?"

Their response?

"Sorry Paul, We cannot wait the ship! If you're running late, I can give you a tel number to call from your cab and we can do out utmost to get you aboard a trip which may have started. Please pop me an email and I can give you some tips which you might find helpful."

Should I be feeling a bit nervous about this?

This is why I HATE prepaying for excursions.

What tips did he give you? We have this excursion booked as well in March. Does the tour start at 9? This would make me nervous too!

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They are a highly respected "mom and pop" operation on the island.

They do handle excursions with cruise passengers all of the time. I am sure they have some excellent tips for you. ;)

I am not saying it is YOU, but picture the scenario where someone says our group may be late and the ship says, "no problem we'll wait for you."

Then the group decides well no need to rush. When we travel with our family group of 10+ my one niece is ALWAYS late. She would take this as a "license" to be as late as she wanted. ;)

How are all those people sitting on the Jolly Pirate waiting for x amount of time going to feel?

You can make the boat in a timely manner by using the "tips" you are given. :)

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm ALWAYS early to any function.

Since this is a prepaid excursion, I worry about things beyond my control. Traffic, lack of available taxi's, delay of cruise ship allowing passengers to disembark (had this happen once, luckily the tour guide was patient and waited for us) etc.

I have NEVER not shown up to a tour, prepaid or not. When we travel with others, I tell them to be at a certain spot at a certain time. If they aren't there when requested, we leave. I understand the tour's concern about waiting. I just thought with such a large group (and its growing), they would understand.

I have not emailed him yet. I was hoping others would tell me their thoughts. I will email them tomorrow.

So, I emailed Jolly Pirates:

 

"So far we have a group of 11 or more. I found out that there will only be the Breeze in port that day (May 14th). It docks at 8, your check in is 8:30. You mention its a 15 minute ride. I'm assuming with such a large group, you will wait should we be unable to make it by then?"

 

Their response?

"Sorry Paul, We cannot wait the ship! If you're running late, I can give you a tel number to call from your cab and we can do out utmost to get you aboard a trip which may have started. Please pop me an email and I can give you some tips which you might find helpful."

 

Should I be feeling a bit nervous about this?

I would be very nervous. Just because the boat is scheduled to dock at 8am doesn't mean you'll get off at that time since it needs to clear customs. Hopefully, you might get off earlier. If you get off at 8, depending where the ship is berthed on the dock determines how long of walk to get to the street and get cabs which eats into your time. It's a 5-6 mile ride, which will take all of 15-20 minutes, from town to Moomba's where the Jolly Pirate office is located. Personally, I would have booked the excursion thru the ship. Also, each cab can only take 5 people so you're looking at 3 cabs for the 11 of you (4 cabs if your group goes to 16 people). So now, you have get 3 cabs at the same time along with everyone else trying to get a cab. To be on the safe side, I'd try to cancel the reservation and book thru the ship. The Jolly Pirate is a fun day. I've done it 3 times since I go to Aruba twice a year since 1989 and stay on the island. Good luck.

thanks for the info. My group has 5, but others from our rollcall are also coming. I only have to worry about my group. :D

The tour doesn't actually leave until 9am. We will be standing at the door ready to go. I understand why you would choose Carnival, but since I'm paying for 5, the cost difference is a lot.

thanks for the info. My group has 5, but others from our rollcall are also coming. I only have to worry about my group. :D

 

The tour doesn't actually leave until 9am. We will be standing at the door ready to go. I understand why you would choose Carnival, but since I'm paying for 5, the cost difference is a lot.

As long as you only have to worry about your group, you are a lot better off. As we know, there's always someone, even if thru no fault of their own, who can screw things up. Get you cab and tell the others you'll see them there. I recall you saying 8:30am. Here's the deal.

The Jolly Pirate boat does not dock at the pier. They have an oversize dinghy boat that brings people out to the ship itself. Depending on how many sign up for that day's trip, they can usually get everyone on the first trip from the pier to their boat. I would say if you're running tight, ask the cabbie to call and let Jolly Pirates know you're on your way. This way they can judge what time they will ferry people out to the boat. They would prefer to get everyone on the first trip.

If for some reason, there are no cabs when you get past the gate, walk very fast to the Renaissance Hotel on the other side of the street, about 3 blocks south, and get a cab from there. That's the only other place in town where cabs will be queued up.

I wanted to report back our experience last week. We made it to the excursion by 8:20 am no problems. The ship docked in time. We waited on deck 3 until announcement was made and took stairs down to gangway deck 0. Off the ship in mere minutes through the terminal and in a taxi quickky. We arrived very early. We were on the Conquest port arrival time was 8am and all went smoothly. Hope all goes well for you too!

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I wanted to report back our experience last week. We made it to the excursion by 8:20 am no problems. The ship docked in time. We waited on deck 3 until announcement was made and took stairs down to gangway deck 0. Off the ship in mere minutes through the terminal and in a taxi quickky. We arrived very early. We were on the Conquest port arrival time was 8am and all went smoothly. Hope all goes well for you too!

 

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Thank you sooooo much for reporting back. I will pass this info on to my fellow cruisers!!!

Thank you for sharing this information. Looking forward to doing the Jolly Roger next June. I did the one in Barbados many years ago and had a fantastic time.