Ferry to Anguilla and Royal Dolphin Swim

Brandonclan,

Is there an opportunity on this excursion to spend all your time in Anguilla at the beach.. Ie. skip the dolphin swim if you chose to? Is the Dolphin swim area near the beach in Anguilla?

Thank you for your input.. appreciate the original review of your excursion..

Brandonclan,

 

Is there an opportunity on this excursion to spend all your time in Anguilla at the beach.. Ie. skip the dolphin swim if you chose to? Is the Dolphin swim area near the beach in Anguilla?

 

Thank you for your input.. appreciate the original review of your excursion..

Well, the excursion price is hefty for just beach time alone. I suppose you could do that if you so choose to. You might as well enjoy the dolphins too! They have an excursion that is a little cheaper that does not include the swim, just basic interaction. The dolphin area is part of the beach, and yes you get some beach time included after the dolphin swim.

I suppoe you could just take the ferry on your own to Anguilla and enjoy the beach. The dolphin encounter stand is just a short walk from the ferry dock in Anguilla. The beach is just over the hill but they did take us down in a bus. The beach we were on seemed like it was for dolphin encounter folks only. There might be other beaches you could go to after the ferry ride. Ferry ride was about 40 minutes or so.

Brandon, thanks for your review.

I'll be on Carnival and I'm not doing a dolphin swim. I'm going to Anguilla on my own. I've heard about taxi tours, but have no idea on costs. I've been on the page for Anguilla and requested information, but so far nothing.

Glad you had a good time and thanks for the information on the length of the ferry ride.

Leo,

Be careful with the information that you're pulling from this thread.

It appears that Brandonclan was on a ship's excursion, which apparently changes everything. It sounds more like a charter than a 'ferry'.

I'm not aware of a ferry to Anguilla that leaves from Great Bay. Most travelers taxi to Marigot to catch the ferry, but there are also shuttles that leave from the airport.

This is the first time that I've ever heard of visiting Anguilla without having a passport in hand. That, also, must have something to do with it being a ship's excursion.

More information required before you plan your trip.

gary

Leo,

 

Be careful with the information that you're pulling from this thread.

 

It appears that Brandonclan was on a ship's excursion, which apparently changes everything. It sounds more like a charter than a 'ferry'.

 

I'm not aware of a ferry to Anguilla that leaves from Great Bay. Most travelers taxi to Marigot to catch the ferry, but there are also shuttles that leave from the airport.

 

This is the first time that I've ever heard of visiting Anguilla without having a passport in hand. That, also, must have something to do with it being a ship's excursion.

 

More information required before you plan your trip.

 

gary

Thanks for the info, Gary.

I've researched on my own outside of this board; a passport is required for me. Also, I'll be taxing over to the French side to take the ferry. :D

But I've since found more information and may be nixing this all together because I'm solo and no one from my roll call wants to head over to Anguilla.

The ferry ride is $20 each way and the tour is $55 for up to two people for two hours. I don't want to spend $95 for a tour and ferry and that doesn't even include the cost for the taxi to the ferry.

I may walk around in St. Maarten and find a local store so I can buy some Carbolic soap.

Thanks for providing your review. Did you need your passports when you entered Anguilla?

I am assuming this is because it was booked thru the cruiseline...anyone going on their own would need a passport.

Also, the main review for St Martin states the ferry time as 25 minutes, not 40.

Is the Anguilla beach actually any less crowded than the beach near the ship? I would love to go to Anguilla, but I need more reason than a pretty beach, especially if I am ferrying back and forth for nearly two hours. Anything besides dolphins?

Thanks for coming back to post, sounds like you had a great time even if you were exhausted afterward!

This was the swim, but what if you just do the encounter, is that different? Thank you for posting your experience. It was very helpful.

This was the swim, but what if you just do the encounter, is that different? Thank you for posting your experience. It was very helpful.

Yes the encounter is different. You can go to their website to see more detailed description of each option.

dolphin discovery .com anguilla/anguilla-location-overview.asp

I had to put spaces in but you get the picture.....

How long of a ride is it to get to where you get the ferry? Are you in a bus? Is there any way to go back to the ship sooner instead of staying at the beach to swim after you do your dolphin excursion?

How long of a ride is it to get to where you get the ferry? Are you in a bus? Is there any way to go back to the ship sooner instead of staying at the beach to swim after you do your dolphin excursion?

We walked from the ship to the ferry, then took ferry to Anguilla, so no, there is not a way to get back earlier than the rest of the folks, unless you figured out a way to take the ferry back on your own?

Thanks Dan. How long of a ferry ride was it? Did you take the excursion through Royal Caribbean? Did you have time to do any trinket shopping when you got back to the ship? I am assuming there are shops around where the ship is docked. Is that true?

Thanks Dan. How long of a ferry ride was it? Did you take the excursion through Royal Caribbean? Did you have time to do any trinket shopping when you got back to the ship? I am assuming there are shops around where the ship is docked. Is that true?

As I said earlier in my review of our day, the ferry ride was about 40 minutes and a little bumpy. We had about an hour left before we had to board the ship and there are shops there at the dock area. We chose to have a few drinks in the open air bar that was right there. You should have a little time for shopping when you get back off the ferry by the ship. Yes, we booked this through Royal.

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much!

No problem.....DO IT!! Have fun! It was the highlight of our Oasis cruise!!

We walked from the ship to the ferry, then took ferry to Anguilla, so no, there is not a way to get back earlier than the rest of the folks, unless you figured out a way to take the ferry back on your own?

When reading this I read that you walk from the ship to the ferry and this ferry takes you to Anguilla. Is this truly a ferry or perhaps an excursion?

When reading this I read that you walk from the ship to the ferry and this ferry takes you to Anguilla. Is this truly a ferry or perhaps an excursion?

Not sure how to answer that. We booked this through Royal, it was the dolphin swim in Anguilla. reading the description is says that we will ride a ferry to Anguilla to do the swim. This was more like a water taxi I guess but they called it a ferry boat. It only held passengers though. Hope this helps, it was all set up through the ship.

Not sure how to answer that. We booked this through Royal, it was the dolphin swim in Anguilla. reading the description is says that we will ride a ferry to Anguilla to do the swim. This was more like a water taxi I guess but they called it a ferry boat. It only held passengers though. Hope this helps, it was all set up through the ship.

There is no public water ferry from Philipsburg or the pier that takes you to Anguilla. There is a public ferry from Marigot that goes to Anguilla.

It sounds like this so called "ferry" is really an "excursion boat" and that is what I am finding confusing. You took the boat from somewhere within walking distance of the pier in St. Maarten. Correct?

There is no public water ferry from Philipsburg or the pier that takes you to Anguilla. There is a public ferry from Marigot that goes to Anguilla.

 

It sounds like this so called "ferry" is really an "excursion boat" and that is what I am finding confusing. You took the boat from somewhere within walking distance of the pier in St. Maarten. Correct?

Not sure what difference it makes, I have tried to explain what we did, best I can. I never said it was a public ferry, that's just what they called it was a ferry.

We got on a boat/ferry/whatever... and it took us to Anguilla and yes we walked from the pier to the ferry/boat/whatever. There were plenty of boats/ferries/whatever there transporting people all over the area. If you are doing the dolphin swim excursion offered by Royal it is all arranged for you included in the fee.

Not sure what difference it makes, I have tried to explain what we did, best I can. I never said it was a public ferry, that's just what they called it was a ferry.

We got on a boat/ferry/whatever... and it took us to Anguilla and yes we walked from the pier to the ferry/boat/whatever. There were plenty of boats/ferries/whatever there transporting people all over the area. If you are doing the dolphin swim excursion offered by Royal it is all arranged for you included in the fee.

The difference is that if there is a ferry from St. Maarten to Anguilla many folks including myself would be interested in taking it to enjoy the glorious beaches of Anguilla for the day. A ferry and an excursion boat are two different things to me. Sorry that these relatively easy questions have made you upset. Have a nice day.

The difference is that if there is a ferry from St. Maarten to Anguilla many folks including myself would be interested in taking it to enjoy the glorious beaches of Anguilla for the day. A ferry and an excursion boat are two different things to me. Sorry that these relatively easy questions have made you upset. Have a nice day.

Who's upset???

I hope my relatively simple answer, to your relatively simple question, was answered to your liking.

You did not state your intentions, I see why now, that it would make a difference to you.

They called it a ferry, so I called it a ferry. It was not public, it was an RCI excursion.

Who's upset???

I hope my relatively simple answer, to your relatively simple question, was answered to your liking.

You did not state your intentions, I see why now, that it would make a difference to you.

They called it a ferry, so I called it a ferry. It was not public, it was an RCI excursion.

So glad that you are not upset. Sometimes it's just difficult to tell. Enjoy your day.

Does anyone know if the Ferry to Anguilla can be done with just a Passport Card?