Jolly Pirates Cancelled this week

Just got an email from Jolly Pirates refunding my money and cancelling the tour for this upcoming week. They said they had a problem getting a part in for the boat since appearantly it comes from Indonesia.

We were really looking forward to it so its a bit disappointing. What else should we do?

Try www.arubayourwaytours.com They offer a lot. Jeep Tours, Horseback Riding, Motorcycles, Deep Sea Fishing, etc.

Sorry about it being cancelled.:(

Sorry this has happened. :(

Other Snorkel Excursion Websites

Octopus Sailing Cruises

Mi Dushi

Coral Quay

Private Snorkeling Excursions

Roberto's Watersports

Morning Star

Mi Dushi - Review As Requested

Tranquilo Sailing Yacht their website http://www.tranquiloaruba.com/

Our Day Aboard Tranquilo

I don't think Tranquilo does their southside snorkel cruise on Saturdays, but perhaps you could get a group together from your roll call for a private charter.

Another option, if you have your own snorkel gear, is to take the bus to the Boca Catalina area and snorkel on your own.

Thanks ArubaLisa. We were really looking forward to Jolly Pirates based on your posts, but thank you for giving us some other options!

ArubaLisa, could you post about the bus one more time. We were

also going to take the Jolly Pirates. Boca Catalina sounds great.

Thanks

Check these two posts. I prefer sticking to Boca Catalina. Imo, safer with less currents. Arashi itself is a white sand beach, you can swim further north to snorkel, but you are up closer to the tip of the island. As an advanced diver and a strong swimmer, I personally would not advise anyone to go into the water there unless the wind was dead and conditions were absolutely perfect. If that happens one or two days a year, you are lucky.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=13919311&postcount=4

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=203507&highlight=bus+malmok

I am so disappointed. After reading the OP, I sent an e-mail to JP asking if they will be fixed by next week. Was told not to worry.

Just checked e-mail. Got a message canceling my reservation and they are issuing a refund - part not in yet.:(

Guess I'll have to make a bee-line for the shorex desk on AOS to book Mi Dushi- if space still available.

After all the research- I gave JP the edge.

JP you did not make my day.

Arubalisa- Don't have time to research and send e-mail to other private company. Do you think ship's excursion will be available -or are the all pre-booked? I usually prefer private tours - except when they are not available. Any advice?

I already had to book a ship tour in St. Thomas, as we are arriving in time for Carnival and want to make sure we get to and from St. John.

This time of year is no longer high season in Aruba. I do not see why you would have trouble booking an excursion.

If you wanted to try to throw something together on your own last minute check out some of these links:

Other Snorkel Excursion Websites

Octopus Sailing Cruises

Mi Dushi

Coral Quay

Tranquilo Sailing Yacht their website http://www.tranquiloaruba.com/

My review of our day aboard Tranquilo including our green moray sighting

Private Snorkeling Excursions

Roberto's Watersports

Morning Star

We have them booked for next Tuesday, I was wondering if anyone knew if they were back up and running. I haven't gotten a cancellation email yet, but they haven't responded to my message asking about the status.

Dear Earthbound and Sealegs,

Sorry we had to disappoint you. I apologize.

This was one of those things out of my control.

Disappointing our guests is never something I

want to do. Perhaps you might try us next time.

Hi Mizzen,

We have two ships.

(With the exceptions of Tuesday trips) ,

Most guests were easliy accommodated on the one JP ship

(during the time the other ship was not in service)

ANy-hooo , fortunately this situation is all sorted out now.

I apologize and not sure how we missed your email. Perhaps we thought your message was an older one. We are usually good about prompt replies and this thread I blv generated lots of messages to keep us busy.

Looking forward to welcoming u aboard.

Sunny regards,

JP

Glad to hear things are back to normal. We look forward to reserving a sailing with you in June.

Unfortunately, the information provided by Jolly Pirates in response to my original post was incorrect. One of the ships is still broken, and our trip was canceled. The representative told us that the ship was, in fact, fixed when they responded to my post - but it had since broken again.

They did not send me an email informing me that the trip was canceled until 11:30pm the night before our 9:30am excursion, so we wasted our money on cab fair to go all the way to Moomba beach before finding out about the cancellation.

We found a smaller operator with a catamaran that took us to the same snorkeling spots for $10 cheaper. I recommend going this route vs. using the big operators like Jolly Pirates or MiDushi...less crowded, better service, etc.

Dear Earthbound and Sealegs,

Sorry we had to disappoint you. I apologize.

This was one of those things out of my control.

Disappointing our guests is never something I

want to do. Perhaps you might try us next time.

 

Hi Mizzen,

We have two ships.

(With the exceptions of Tuesday trips) ,

Most guests were easliy accommodated on the one JP ship

(during the time the other ship was not in service)

 

ANy-hooo , fortunately this situation is all sorted out now.

 

I apologize and not sure how we missed your email. Perhaps we thought your message was an older one. We are usually good about prompt replies and this thread I blv generated lots of messages to keep us busy.

 

Looking forward to welcoming u aboard.

 

Sunny regards,

 

JP

Sorry to hear that, mizzen3x. We understand how you feel.

We boarded the AOS early and waited in line (2nd in line!) for the shorex desk to open. We got lucky and booked Mi Dushi. Most of the group we were traveling with pre-booked with Mi Dushi.

It was a fabulous day! Great company of our "Mixed Nutz" group AND the crew on Mi Dushi was fabulous.

We saw the one operating Jolly Pirates ship anchored near us on our third snorkel stop. That was a pre-booked excursion thru RCCL and did not include lunch.

We had lunch on the Mi Dushi and 3 snorkel stops. The ship was not crowded (or was it that we were among friends).

Glad to hear the smaller excursion you were on worked out, too.

I too, was on the AOS. I booked through Jolly Pirates directly...at the time I thought that would be better than booking through the ship. The AOS excursion still went out, and those of us who privately booked were left standing on the shore watching it sail away.

I am still not sure if JP's explanation about the broken part is the whole story. In their original response above, she said "we sail with two ships, with the EXCEPTION of Tuesday trips" (our canceled trip was on a Tuesday - so was it that the ship was broken, or that they don't do two trips on Tuesdays, or something else?).

I don't want to make any accusations but all the pieces don't seem to fit together to me (and maybe it is just me). The fact that our cancellation email came at 11:30 PM the night before makes me think there is something else going on here.

Glad to hear you enjoyed Mi Dushi, but if you were there at the same time as a Jolly Pirate ship...that means there were at least 80 people snorkeling at one spot at the same time (assuming there were NO other boats there). Some people may consider that crowded, but I guess its a personal thing.

Sorry to hear that, mizzen3x. We understand how you feel.

We boarded the AOS early and waited in line (2nd in line!) for the shorex desk to open. We got lucky and booked Mi Dushi. Most of the group we were traveling with pre-booked with Mi Dushi.

 

We saw the one operating Jolly Pirates ship anchored near us on our third snorkel stop. That was a pre-booked excursion thru RCCL and did not include lunch.

 

Some people may consider that crowded, but I guess its a personal thing.

Yes, it is, I have seen it first hand. But there are other options on the island which go to other spots, or at a different time of day. ;)

We have the JP booked for June so will let everyone know how we make out.

Unfortunately, the information provided by Jolly Pirates in response to my original post was incorrect. One of the ships is still broken, and our trip was canceled. The representative told us that the ship was, in fact, fixed when they responded to my post - but it had since broken again.

 

They did not send me an email informing me that the trip was canceled until 11:30pm the night before our 9:30am excursion, so we wasted our money on cab fair to go all the way to Moomba beach before finding out about the cancellation.

 

We found a smaller operator with a catamaran that took us to the same snorkeling spots for $10 cheaper. I recommend going this route vs. using the big operators like Jolly Pirates or MiDushi...less crowded, better service, etc.

Dear Mizzen,

Again, I am sorry for ur disappointment and I can imagine ur cancellation not ideal. :(

( Perhaps u opened ur email late evening as Yvonne finishes wk at 3pm. )

We knew u and two other couples were aboard the cruise ship and figured there was a chance u wld be hvng way too much fun and wld not be cking messages.

So to make sure we had a Plan B for you, the day before, we organized an alternative trip for u w/ a smaller co, on Robertos Catamaran. Roberto does a great job, takes out small groups and visits the same snorkel sites. I recommend them very much and often we help out each other, when these types of things come up. We had no doubt that u wld enjoy ur day w/ Roberto.

While I know u had 1st planned on sailing w/ us, I sure thought it was nice that Yvonne took care of u, w/ a great option and walked u personally over to meet w/them. Okay it wasn't what u had planned on and I know u feel badly about the JP not being ready for you, but we all do our best to keep you happy and it is nice to read here that u enjoyed ur cruise with Roberto and wld recommend them.

I am not sure how I can further assure you that it all adds up.

Again, sorry we cldnt accommodate you, but thrilled you enjoyed your day with our good friends and their fine company.

For more info about then here is the website;

http://www.robertoswatersports.com/

whoops hit 2x