JOLLY PIRATES is the BEST

[Morning glory]

I e-mailed them last night on the children information and they responded within 2 hours . . . I'm very impressed by them!!

 

They indeed assured me that it is family friendly and that they have life vests in all sizes. They even suggested I bring a stroller along for my 2 1/2 year old, so they must have dealt with this before. Honestly, I didn't even think of it!!

 

This will be our excursion in Aruba, for sure!

[browndog]

We booked our trip with them on line (cruise line did not list them). Not a Problem. Carla got back to us within 24 hours. We even had a few follow-up questions, which we got prompt responses back as well.

 

The snorkeling was great, the boat was great, the food was great, the crew was great. Even if you don't necessarily want to snorkel, you can enjoy the scenery from the boat.

 

Getting to the pick-up location from the dock where the ship was tendered was very easy. Just let the people at the port know where you want to go and they will make sure that you get the proper transportation. We even shared a ride with another passenger to make the fare even cheaper. Once off the boat, we went to the nearest hotel and got one of the cabs just waiting there for passengers who would come out of the hotel lobby.

 

It was very easy to get around from one point to another. It was also fun to talk to the taxi drivers about how the area has changed over the years.

[Copper_beeches]

Can anyone tell me how difficult is it to get on the boat from the pier, off the boat to go snorkelling, and back on the boat after snorkeling? I'm trying to convince my mother that we should try either this or Mi Dushi, but she's concerned that she'd have trouble, She's not handicapped just a bit older and slightly "agility impaired"

 

You're help is very much appreciated!

[Deloresgardella]

From what I understand it is no problem to get on the boat. I was also concerned because I am agility impaired also. I don't swim or snorkel but they said there is a lot of people that stay on the boat.

[browndog]

There is a skiff that will pick you up at the beach. They park the skiff within a few feet of the beach and put a ramp from the front of the skiff to the beach itself. That would be very easy to navigate. Stepping into the skiff is still not tricky, but since the skiff is floating on the water, it can move around a bit. If someone were unsteady on their feet, the crew is more than willing, and actually assist almost everybody getting into the skiff.

 

As far as getting in/out of the boat for snorkeling, there is a ladder from the edge of the boat into the water. Someone with limited arm strength may have a little more of a problem since if is a little awkward transferrring thier body weight over the edge of the boat and downward until thieir feet made contact with the rungs on the ladder. Getting back into the boat might be a little easier, especially since at least one of the crew is with the people in the water and could help a person while they are still in the water until they were able to get a firm grip on the ladder to start to get back into the boat. Meanwhile the crew on the boat would be right there to lend a hand, literally, the help that person back into the boat.

 

All in all, unless they are very immobile, I think that they would be able to get around just fine.

[cmjaffe]

Regarding boarding Jolly Pirate, there were folks with a baby stroller (think the child was 6 mos old w/extended family on board... grandparents (grandma actually did the rope swing) parents, aunts/uncles and cousins too). There was another couple w/college/young adult daughters and 2 couples that had been on the Jolly before and do it each time they're in Aruba (we can't wait to go on Jolly Pirate next/any time we're in Aruba).

BTW, Carla if you're checking these posts, have you received the e-mail Mike sent you w/video of Alex doing a 1 1/2 flip off the rope swing?

I'll repeat it again, we've been to Aruba 3 times now... first time was a 2 day prior and 2 after cruise and 2 times day-tripping on cruises and Jolly Pirates is the BEST excursion we've done there (and also a highlight of excursions we've done in general in the 12+ cruises we've gone on as a family).

You can't go wrong with Jolly Pirates.

Carolyn

(PS... please don't confuse it w/the Pirate excursion/party boats that the cruise ships offer.... it's not "that type" of environment lol)

[ptabo]

Hi everybody,

 

I just got done with a Destiny cruise last week. My wife and i booked Jolly Pirates because of all the great things we had heard about them through this site.

 

 

This was one of the best excursions that we did. By all means this is not a "Party Boat" or "Booze Cruise". My wife and I did not want to do that kind of trip. There were no obnoxious people or drunken snorklers.

 

 

You wait by the beach and they put everyone on a water taxi and then you board the ship.

 

 

Once you are on board they have two main areas where you can sit, either in the shade or in the sun. I believe I counted at least 40 people on the boat and it did not seem crowded. There is music on board but it is not loud or obnoxious. The crew was extremely nice and helpful. Even though there was an open bar no one on the boat had too much to drink. There were people of all ages on the boat including small children. No one got out of hand or acted childish. Even the lunch they gave was not bad.

 

 

The three snorkeling places were amazing. Someone from the ship was always in the water and they had snorkeling equipment (including flippers) for everyone on the boat. Some people stayed on the boat and sat in the sun.

 

 

I think a lot of people get Jolly Pirates confused with Jolly Rogers in Barbados because when we told people on the ship we were going to Jolly Pirates they would say they did not want to go on a Party Boat.

 

Like I said THIS IS NOT A PARTY BOAT. I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone going to Aruba and who wants to snorkel.

[Pistachio42]

ptabo: Very nice review. We were on a large double decker 'party raft' in St. Thomas and besides the drunks and some obnoxious folks, it was loaded with cigarette and cigar smokers. My poor old lungs are relatively sensitive to smoke, so we had to hide out downwind whenever we could .. which wasn't often enough. Did this pirate ship have lots of smokers?

[ptabo]

I don't remeber there being one smoker on the ship. My wife would of definitely

 

mentioned something to me since she hates smoke.

[Pistachio42]

Thanks.

[mwpyle]

I am not sure how it might apply to everyone, but when I was surfing up info for the JOLLY PIRATES excursion, I found that they have a coupon off the following link. I'm thinking of using it when my wife and I are down with the DESTINY in early May. You might give it a try also!

 

http://www.nightspublications.com/aruba/coupons.htm

[SMNYCruise]

Trying to decide between Jolly Pirates Sail, snorkel, swim & swing tour (9:30-2:00pm with lunch) or Somethings fishy's tour (3-6pm no lunch). We could save $ by eating lunch on AOS and the afternoon tour, which is the same as the morning, is $20 cheaper. Any opinions on which is better? We have late seating so getting back to the boat for dinner is not a problem.

[ski ninja]

I just got back from Aruba and went with Jolly Pirates. This was my favorite snorkle trip. They were very well run. The lunch was chix kabob, ribs, pasta salad, and cole slaw, as well as free flowing drinks alcoholic and non. There were 3 stops, the first one didn't have much to look at, the 2nd had lots of colorful fish and thats when they pulled out the rope swing. I crew were entertainers, when the rope swing was out they got out and performed on it. The time on it was nice because it gave plenty of time to hang at the beach, see the town, and still hit the town or have dinner on the ship.

[tinkerme1]

I want to thank all of you who reported back and recommended this tour! We had a great time and enjoyed the crew and all the fun.

 

One recommendation, bring long sleeved shirt if you burn easily since you'll be in the sun all day. We thought the snorkeling was great and the water extremely refreshing. The morning tour was good since we had the rest of the afternoon to rest up, have lunch and then head out again to have some fun in town in the evening.

[LDR]

My family and I did this last year when we were there on the Destiny. It

was the best! Great food, great crew and lots of fun, I even tried the rope swing :) When we go back to Aruba this will be on our list of things to do again.

[makethegrade]

My family and I did this last year when we were there on the Destiny. It

was the best! Great food, great crew and lots of fun, I even tried the rope swing :) When we go back to Aruba this will be on our list of things to do again.

 

Can you give any details on this snorket trip?

[makethegrade]

Sorry

I meant do you have have any details on how to contact the Jolly Roger? How long the trips are? etc.

We are only in port one day (on the Summit) and I am researching different snorket trips.

[SMNYCruise]

We were on Jolly Pirates a few weeks ago. The trip was approximately from 9:30am to 2pm. I found the boat to be extremely crowded. Because of this, it was hard to move around the ship. There was a large group on board who got off the "wait list" that morning. I actually saw people standing to eat. On a positve note, the crew was great. Very organized with the distribution of snorkel equipment, drinks, and lunch. My kids loved the rope swing (got some great pictures). The snorkel sights were good, especially near the rocks on the first stop. I also enjoyed snorkeling over the ship wreck. Definately a great trip....just make sure you don't go on a crowded day.

[makethegrade]

Joyce, great info, thanks.

 

A lot of these tours are hit or miss unless you get a review that is helpful. We have done Red Sail tours (who operate on Aruba) in the Grand Cayman and they were very good. I did want to see what the other options were. The rope swing sounds cool.

 

As you know, One of the things of only being in port one day is that you are basically stuck with the one or two trips that you can do...

 

Did you book this direct or through the cruise line?

 

We have had this happen often. I call to reserve a trip from home, and they tell me it's a 12 person boat, and then we get there and there are 20 people along...

In a way I can't blame them since it's how they make their living, but it is bad business.

[SMNYCruise]

We booked Jolly Pirates directly through their web-site. E-mails were promptly answered and there was no problem with the booking. I understand that these companies want to fill the ships but they should be careful not to ruin a good trip by squeezing on 10 extra people.

[makethegrade]

Does anyone have the web site?

 

www.jollypirates.com would seem to make sense... but it isn't working... thanks.

[SMNYCruise]

You got the right web site. Maybe the site was down. It is working for me.

[makethegrade]

worked later.. may have been my connection.

 

I logged on and ask for info. They got back to me in 15 minutes...

Excellent cust service..

 

I'll post my notes here..

[makethegrade]

I asked about whether they provided transport to the launch or not...

 

Dear Steven,

 

Thank you for your message and interest in our ship!

From the cruise ship terminal, you can grab a cab if you like. There are plenty of taxis in the terminal. You can expect a 15 minute cab ride and cab fare to MooMba to be apprx $10 each way.

 

You might also choose to take the public bus which is also easy and convenient.

 

Directly across the street from the cruise ship terminal you will see the brightly colored main bus station. The island is long and skinny and the busses all run either north towards the hotels or south towards the airport and San Nicolas.

 

You would take the bus which reads, "HOTELS".

 

Everyone is very friendly here and will point you in the right direction, should you have any Q-s at all. Everyone on the island makes it a point to make things very easy for our visitors. All of the hotels in Aruba are basically beside each other in one long strip. The public bus fare is $1.20 each way. First you will pass all of the low rise hotels and then you will see all of the high-rises one after the other. First you will see the Phoenix and Wyndham, Radisson, Hyatt and Holiday Inn. Jump off at the Holiday Inn, walk through the lobby and onto the beach. When your facing the beach, we are just to the right. You will see the large thatched roof tops at MooMba. Meet us at the MooMba Bar.

 

When you reserve your tickets on our website, you will save 15%. Our online booking form is secure and easy to use. Pls click here for our schedule and descriptions of our tours.

http://www.jollypirates.com/tours.htm

 

 

[makethegrade]

thanks for the quick response. the trip sounds great. The summitis supposed to port at 7 am. I am sure we won't have trouble getting to your slip by 830 then,

 

Boarding for the Jolly begins at 9am.

 

some questions for you.

 

How many people go on each trip?

 

our 85ft ship can accommodate up to 65-70 persons. we like to limit our guests to 50-ish.

 

How long do you stay at each snorkel stop? (I am sure it depends on conditions to some degree).

 

our normal routine would be apprx one hour at each (3) site.

 

We have our own gear (masks and snorkel) but we tend to use fins (so not to carry them all over)... is this an issue?

 

not at all. we have plenty of gear.

 

Do you run a trip directly through Celebrity that I might have to book with them (we haven't gotten our shore excursion list yet)?

 

no, at this time we do not hv a contract with the Celebrity. (however, just recently we were approached for information)

 

How is the weather in general in Aruba in November? (Not meant to be a stupid question, I am sure it is beautiful, more asking about seasonal conditions).

 

I wldnt worry about the weather. However, November wld be a rain-ier period than the other months where it never rains. It rains very infrequently here.

 

The only reservation (hee hee) I have is if we book now, and have a change of plan, how far ahead of the trip do we have to cancel?

 

We are still a relatively small company and do not have an official cancellation policy. We do not offer refunds for sunburns, hangovers and change of heart, or lucky / unlucky casino nights. We would issue a refund in sickness or in the unlikely event of bad weather. If you are not sure yet, I wld recommend waiting until your plans are firming up. There is still plenty of time.

 

If you have any other Q-s or concerns, pls feel free to pass them along!

 

Has a friend referred you to us at the Jolly? I was wondering how you learned about us.

 

Sunny regards,

 

 

Carla