Jolly Roger Excursion - through ship or private

[bahami]

My son really wants to on the Jolly Roger pirate adventure and I'm wondering for those who have been on it, should I reserve directly through them or through RCCL?

[dz63]

You would probably be better off booking the excursion through your cruise ship as the Cayman Pirate Encounter has a special tour time for cruise ship passengers. With Carnival this excursion runs from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and includes a mock attack on the cruise ship. If you would book independently, the tour would start at 2:00 pm. and end at 4:00 pm. If your ship leaves early in the afternoon this would cause a problem! The cost for this trip independently is $35.00/adults, $25.00 for kids ages 3-12. The cost through Carnival is only slightly higher at $39.00/adult and $34.00 for kids.

 

We booked this exact excursion through Carnival because of the time factor. Our ship leaves port at 4:30 and since we need to catch the tender to get back to ship, the 2-4 o'clock excursion would be cutting it way to close to get back to the ship on time--so booking through the cruise ship and getting their special morning Pirate Encounter time was the only way to go!

[Disneycrazymom]

I e-mailed and asked if we could book directly through them and was told only through the ship if they offered a ships tour. Probably a contract issue.

[CHAMPDDS]

Is this more oriented towards younger kids (ie. my 9 YO son), and would by 13 and 15 YO daughters be bored (they are very cynical)..

 

Thanks

 

David:D

[jerseygirl63]

Great question. I also would like to hear from folks who have done this excursion. Would my 13 year old daughter be bored? I know my 9 year old son would love it!

[nomarfan5]

DH and others from our group did the Jolly Roger through RCCL in April and were bored, kids included. They had previously done that excursion in Barbados (I think) and had a blast. They definitely were not impressed with the Jolly Roger in GC. The crew really didn't interact with them that much, they didn't have as much time to do the rope swing or swimming and the rum punch was so-so.

[nimbex1970]

ugh! what happened to this excursion?? Last time we were in the caymens was after IVAN and the J.R. was in refurbishment so we had to skip it and just hit the beach (like thats a bad thing;) )

 

Anyway, this used to be a must do.... is the same company still running it? Or are there possibly two jolly rogers one through the cruise lines and another one private?? The old reviews had this listed as a very active fun and party atmosphere:confused:

 

Does anyone have a comparison from a few years ago to now or know if it's the same company or am I just an idiot confusing ports??

 

thanks

[nomarfan5]

I don't know if they are all run by the same company but I do know that the JR in Barbados was a LOT better than the JR in Grand Cayman. Maybe the difference is in the ports. There was a 2-year difference between the Barbados JR and this year's Cayman JR. DH told me that there was another JR that was going out when their JR was coming in. He said everyone looked like they were having more fun than their group was. The group my DH was with are partiers so that wasn't the problem - the crew was the problem. Hopefully other recent JR people will share their experiences with you.

[dz63]

Just got back from Western Carribean on board the Triumph (July 7-14) and our family of five did the Grand Caymen Pirate Adventure. This is not the same as the Jolly Roger which we have done in the past in Barbados.

 

The first part of the excursion was a bit lame. Kids swore a pirate oath and had to scrub the deck with brushes to avoid getting ocean water dumped on their backs. Our 12 and 15 year old boys were not impressed but our 8 year old thought it was OK.

 

The second part of the excusion was enjoyed by the whole family, but way too short (only about 20 minutes) The ship anchored off shore and we were able to jump off the ship's railing into the ocean. You were able to jump off the upper deck (approximately 15 feet above the water level) or walk the plank (approximately 10 feet above the water level). The kids really liked this part. Some kids were doing front and back flips off the upper deck - neat! Our boys (who are "into" more risky type activities) really enjoyed this part.

 

The drinks were free on board (soda and rum punch). Jumpers were required to wear an inflatable life vest. A tender boat was used to transport people from shore to the pirate boat. The pirates on board did fire a small cannon at the cruise ship several times when we past.

 

More details and photos to follow when we write our Triumph review.

[caymanjohn]

You need to check this carefully because last time I saw the JR the masts were off and part of the superstructure was being replaced.

 

However, they have another boat, the Valhalla, which is bigger and I think better.

[cinnamon123]

hi everyone,

we booked the pirate exc.through carnival. we're going in nov. on the liberty. our time slot is 10a.m.-12 noon. it's $39 p.p. our ship sails at 4 p.m. hope this helps.

cinnamon123