Welcome to those of you joining me from I Am a Mommy Nerd and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the final stop on our Magical Blogorail.
A Disney Cruise is my family’s most sought out adventure, one we have yet to embark upon and one that is at the very top of our adventure seeking list. When day dreaming about Disney cruising, my thoughts always make a beeline to the Caribbean Islands where warm sandy beaches and swaying palms trees reside. But when I was asked to write about a Disney Cruise and their excursions I had to reach out to my good friend Jennifer, who in my book is a veteran Disney Cruiser. Jennifer and her family have embarked on three Disney Cruises. What Jennifer is not a veteran of is cruise excursions. She feels they are very expensive and can take much time to transport to and from the ship in a timely fashion.
What Jennifer does seek out are beaches that are in close proximately to the port as to not waste too much time traveling when she could be running her toes through the sand. She shared her Dawn Beach excursion experience with me.
Dawn Beach is found on the island of St. Martin or St. Maarten, (depending if you are speaking from a French or Dutch perspective).
Before setting sail on the Fantasy, Jenn researched the best and most efficient way to travel to Dawn Beach. She found valuable information on blogs and travel guides. Her research led her to taking a short 15 minute cab ride to Mr. Busby’s, a bar and lunch location where you can rent chairs and umbrellas and beer is only a $1.00 each!
Access to Dawn Beach is found around the back of the bar but no purchase is necessary to use their beach access.
(view of St. Bart’s from where she sat on the beach)
Another unofficial excursion is simply taking in the sights within each islands town. One of Jennifer’s most memorable town day trips was in Key West. This island is painted with brightly colored pastels and structures fitted with a laced gingerbread architecture.
It is a mix of quaint cottages, bars, bistros and great shops to browse about.
If you travel to the very end of this strip lined with liveliness you will find a beach which marks the most southern tip of the United States!
Thanks for stopping by to share in my friend Jennifer’s Disney Cruise unofficial excursions.
Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Orange this month. We will be back on November 20th with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney info, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ Disney with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers – Castaway Cay Excursions
2nd Stop ~ Disney Mamas – Submarine Excursions on Grand Cayman
3rd Stop ~ Adventure in the Great Wide Somewhere – Stingrays, Stingrays, Every Where!
4th Stop ~ I Am a Mommy Nerd – Walt Disney Family Museum and Views of San Francisco
Final Stop ~ Two Moms and Mouse – When You Can’t Afford an Excursion
Ha! This isn’t my advice, but it could be! From another Jennifer, we HAVE done several excursions on various itineraries and our favorite memories are still wandering the towns and making our own fun. It’s what we’re doing on our upcoming trip, for the reasons thatJennifer mentioned. Great point of view!
Thanks “another” Jennifer!
Thanks for sharing your friend Jennifer’s cruise experiences with us today! I tend to be a major cheapskate, so if I ever do get the opportunity to cruise, I’m sure I’ll be the same way. Too cheap for a “real” excursion, but wanting to create my own! Great way to wind up this month’s topic!
Thank you Heidi ! When I am able to take a cruise one day.. I have all these great posts to pull ideas from!
Heidi, we have found the most amazing things by setting off on our own…I think I would do less of it when I have kids because at least everything with through the Cruise Line is regulated. However, you never know what you can find by doing a little research. I mean, look at that water! How could you go wrong?
I loved visiting Key West! It is so beautiful there! We only had a few hours to spend there, but someday I’d like to go back and stay there for a few days.
I would love to visit Key West.. for now I have to be happy with Key West Resort in WDW 🙂
What incredible photos, that looks like a beautiful beach community! I’ve only been on one cruise and for sure, going off on our own offered great real-life experiences. It helped that we were in Mexico and I was accompanied by Spanish-speakers! 🙂
We did something similar when we toured Key West by ourselves. I’ve found that I have some favorite memories on “official” port adventures and some favorite memories just lazing around in a hammock or getting lost in search of Key Lime jelly beans. If you could go on any cruise, where would you go?
Excursions can be expensive! Our last cruise to the Bahamas we opted to stay on the ship. It’s always good to research alternatives so you can enjoy the port of call without spending a fortune!
We have found that just staying on the ship can be a great substitute for the excursions! We aren’t fans of Jamaica, so after disembarking we spent about an hour off the ship and then got right back on. The cruise line cast members really go out of their way on port days to keep those on the ship entertained, plus you have significantly fewer people at the pools!
This is great! When I think of a Disney cruise, this is what I think of! Getting off the ship, wandering around the port of call and hitting the beaches! While I’d love to do a paid excursion, I’d love to just meander too!
I love this idea. I did this on a trip to Porto Rico and and had one of the best days ever!