Green Grotto Caves w/ Lunch?

[OhThePain]

My wife and I are considering maybe doing this port adventure while in Falmouth in September. Has anyone done it that would like to give their opinion? Does anyone know if it tends to sell out or if it is something we decide last minute to do is there usually availability?

TIA!

 

[muse7mom]

We are signed up to do this on our June 7 cruise. I'll post a review!

 

[dzneprincess]

we did this last year followed by dunns river falls. It's very hot and humid and make sure you wear good shoes as the are a few areas my 58 year old mother had a tough time navigating

 

[OhThePain]

We are signed up to do this on our June 7 cruise. I'll post a review!

I will hold you to that. Enjoy!

we did this last year followed by dunns river falls. It's very hot and humid and make sure you wear good shoes as the are a few areas my 58 year old mother had a tough time navigating

How was it? Is there any walking in water or are sneakers ok? Did you do it through Disney or on your own (interested to hear how the lunch is if done through Disney)? How were the bats and snakes?

Any other thoughts or experiences are more than welcome.

 

[Majordis]

We just did this excursion in May (through Disney) and enjoyed it. There is no special footwear required and you never walk in water (although there are steps to climb down to an underground lake). The tour guide at the caves was great and really engaged the children. The lunch was served at the beach and there were plenty of tables. The excursion was a lot longer than scheduled. We expected to get back to the ship around 1 but it was closer to 3. The only issue we had was leaving the ship. The guide did not wait for everyone to exit the ship and instead walked very quickly through the Port. Those of us at the end eventually found the buses after wandering around the Port. No snakes but lots of bats. Happy to answer any questions

 

[dclwonderprincess]

We did this excursion last Nov. and the beach portion is much longer than stated. The food was good and I enjoyed the caves. Just remember that you are on Jamaica time.

 

[OhThePain]

We just did this excursion in May (through Disney) and enjoyed it. There is no special footwear required and you never walk in water (although there are steps to climb down to an underground lake). The tour guide at the caves was great and really engaged the children. The lunch was served at the beach and there were plenty of tables. The excursion was a lot longer than scheduled. We expected to get back to the ship around 1 but it was closer to 3. The only issue we had was leaving the ship. The guide did not wait for everyone to exit the ship and instead walked very quickly through the Port. Those of us at the end eventually found the buses after wandering around the Port. No snakes but lots of bats. Happy to answer any questions

We did this excursion last Nov. and the beach portion is much longer than stated. The food was good and I enjoyed the caves. Just remember that you are on Jamaica time.

Thank you both for sharing. The caves seem to get a lot of good reviews on TA, longer beach time would just be a bonus. Was the tour booked solid at all or were there still openings? My wife kind of wants to leave this as a last minute decision incase she is looking to get off the ship (this is our first DCL cruise and she doesn't know how much time she is going to want to spend away from the ship).

 

[dclwonderprincess]

I don't believe it was sold out on my cruise but neither was our ship. I would book a port adventure for Jamaica if you plan to get off the boat, the vendors aren't as pushy as the ones in Cozumel but it's not somewhere I'd just go explore on my own.

 

[Stinasmom]

We just did this excursion in May (through Disney) and enjoyed it. There is no special footwear required and you never walk in water (although there are steps to climb down to an underground lake). The tour guide at the caves was great and really engaged the children. The lunch was served at the beach and there were plenty of tables. The excursion was a lot longer than scheduled. We expected to get back to the ship around 1 but it was closer to 3. The only issue we had was leaving the ship. The guide did not wait for everyone to exit the ship and instead walked very quickly through the Port. Those of us at the end eventually found the buses after wandering around the Port. No snakes but lots of bats. Happy to answer any questions

Yea! I was hoping to hear from someone who has done this!
We're booked for June 25th.

I am curious about the lunch/beach part:

How was the food served? Menu selections or was it all prepared and handed out? Lunch is included in the price? I am Gluten and Lactose free, hope I can eat something!

Is alcohol available? Should we bring cash for this if we want it?
Do you need cash for anything else as part of this excursion?

What was the beach like?
Waves? Calm? Busy with tourists?
My DS13 is hoping to find an area away from swimmers to do a little fly fishing... Could you see this working out? He's asking me to ask you if it's "sand flats" or rocky?

thank you so much for the info!

Marcy

 

[Majordis]

Yea! I was hoping to hear from someone who has done this! We're booked for June 25th. I am curious about the lunch/beach part: How was the food served? Menu selections or was it all prepared and handed out? Lunch is included in the price? I am Gluten and Lactose free, hope I can eat something! Is alcohol available? Should we bring cash for this if we want it? Do you need cash for anything else as part of this excursion? What was the beach like? Waves? Calm? Busy with tourists? My DS13 is hoping to find an area away from swimmers to do a little fly fishing... Could you see this working out? He's asking me to ask you if it's "sand flats" or rocky? thank you so much for the info! Marcy

There was no menu. We lined up and were served our food. I didn't see alcohol but there was a store with a very small selection - couple of bags and maybe some dresses - not much. The beach was small but sandy. The water was wonderful and shallow. There were chairs and umbrellas for free. Not sure if you could find a spot for fly fishing. We only used cash for tips and shopping at the port.

 

[Castawaygrl]

Just did this last week.
It was an interesting excursion & we are glad we did it.
No walking in water, but I would definitely recommend wearing sneakers and havîng hand sanitizer with you. Some parts of the tour are very steep. There are handrails for the most part, but they are pretty much covered in bat poo. The steps are cut out of the cave rock, so some can be uneven, or taller/shorter than others. There are also some spots where the you need to bend down pretty far to get through the spaces. It's not too bad, but could be difficult for some. Didn't see any snakes inside, but saw a large one hanging from a tree outside along the walking path from one area to another. It was very hot, and would suggest bringing a bottle of water and a spray mister fan. The cave tour guide was very knowledgeable, as well as the guide on the bus. We brought bug spray along, but did not use it as it wasn't ñecessary.

The beach area was nice, maybe a little crowded. The water was just beautiful! There are chairs & umbrellas, you must bring your own towel. The ship will offer them to you before you leave. Go with your swimsuit on to save time. The changing areas are not very private, and there are 2 tiny restrooms. There is a small bar & gift shop. We didn't visit either, due to wanting to make the most out of our beach time.

The 'Lunch' was very good, but you don't get much. A spoonful of red beans & rice, a jerk chicken wing flat, spoon of cole-slaw type of salad, and a piece of fry bread. You also get a cup of some kind of punch, which is really tasty!

We even had plenty of time to get back to the ship, grab a bite to eat, and change afterwards to do some shopping! Have fun!

 

[n8nally]

The 'Lunch' was very good, but you don't get much. A spoonful of red beans & rice, a jerk chicken wing flat, spoon of cole-slaw type of salad, and a piece of fry bread. You also get a cup of some kind of punch, which is really tasty!

Thanks for this! I was wondering if it would be gluten-free and dairy-free for my son. Sounds like some of it will be! Were you allowed seconds? Or was there any other food available for purchase? With a growing 16 yr old BOY I'm gonna need more than that, or to bring snacks along!

 

[Stinasmom]

Thanks for this! I was wondering if it would be gluten-free and dairy-free for my son. Sounds like some of it will be! Were you allowed seconds? Or was there any other food available for purchase? With a growing 16 yr old BOY I'm gonna need more than that, or to bring snacks along!

I am gluten-free/dairy free too and will be doing this excursion on June 25th.
I'll report back!

 

[Majordis]

Thanks for this! I was wondering if it would be gluten-free and dairy-free for my son. Sounds like some of it will be! Were you allowed seconds? Or was there any other food available for purchase? With a growing 16 yr old BOY I'm gonna need more than that, or to bring snacks along!

They asked on the bus if anyone was vegetarian so they have other lunch options besides the chicken. They may have something that works for you. The servers asked if we wanted more so I think you will be ok. Someone asked if the fruit punch was made with filtered water or tap and they said it was tap water. None of us got sick but I thought I would mention it.

 

[Stinasmom]

Yea! I was hoping to hear from someone who has done this!
We're booked for June 25th.

I am curious about the lunch/beach part:

How was the food served? Menu selections or was it all prepared and handed out? Lunch is included in the price? I am Gluten and Lactose free, hope I can eat something!

Is alcohol available? Should we bring cash for this if we want it?
Do you need cash for anything else as part of this excursion?

What was the beach like?
Waves? Calm? Busy with tourists?
My DS13 is hoping to find an area away from swimmers to do a little fly fishing... Could you see this working out? He's asking me to ask you if it's "sand flats" or rocky?

thank you so much for the info!

Marcy

Well, I can answer my own questions now!

First, this excursion includes walking on VERY uneven terrain, up and down "stairs" carved into rock There were railings on most of it, but there were times when you just held onto the rock wall while decending spiraling stairs.

There were some people in our group unhappy about how physical this was.
It's also pretty warm even down into the caves.

However, I thought the caves were really interesting with the history and stories that go along with them. So, if you are OK with a hike, you'll be fine and should enjoy the cave part of this trip.

It took almost an hour to get there from the port. I don't mind this, it's a way to see a bit of the countryside, which is vastly different from the port.

About 2/3s the way back to the port, we stopped at Chuuka beach which was just Disney excursion people. They were BBQ-ing the jerk chicken right there then serving it with cole slaw, rice & beans, fry bread, and punch. You line up and they put food on your plate as you go by.
I ate all but the fry bread as I am Gluten Free/Lactose Free. So yea! Good meat!

The beach was really nice. Water was deep enough to actually swim - unlike Grand Cayman the day before. You'll have about an hour to eat and swim.
There is a bar there where you can purchase beer or a rum drink, but I never got a chance to do this.

Overall, I thought this was an affordable way to see some of Jamaica, hike in some interesting caves, eat jerk chicken (not too spicy), swim at a Jamaican beach and still get back to the ship with time to do other things.

BTW - I did tip the cave tour guide $5 as he did a great job. I noticed only one other gentleman did this. I also tipped the tour guide on the bus, she gave us lots of information along the way about Jamaica. I had a couple dollars left for the driver of the bus too. It's Jamaica, they need it.

 

[OhThePain]

Well, I can answer my own questions now!...

It seems like you enjoyed it. Thanks for tracking this thread down to give your review.

While we have it booked, we unfortunately might have to cancel it. I just found out this morning that I am going to need minor arthroscopic surgery on one of my knees. The doc told me the recoup time is only a few days to a week, but the surgery is going to be just a month before our cruise. We are probably going to hold out until about a week before the cruise before we decide, but we could end up just canceling it.

 

[Stinasmom]

It seems like you enjoyed it. Thanks for tracking this thread down to give your review.

While we have it booked, we unfortunately might have to cancel it. I just found out this morning that I am going to need minor arthroscopic surgery on one of my knees. The doc told me the recoup time is only a few days to a week, but the surgery is going to be just a month before our cruise. We are probably going to hold out until about a week before the cruise before we decide, but we could end up just canceling it.

Ah, yea. I doubt this is the right excursion for you.
Hopefully you will recover well enough for all the walking on the ship!
Getting from one end to the other is quite a trek on it's own!

You should still see if there is something to take you away from Falmouth and see some real Jamaica... 'cause the Falmouth port isn't it!

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

 

[ALMinVA]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences on the Green Grotto. I am planning this excursion for our December sailing. I will have my 13 year old DD and her best friend also 13 and then my 7 year old DS. Do you think this will be too physically strenuous for my 7 year old?
tia

 

[Majordis]

Thank you all for sharing your experiences on the Green Grotto. I am planning this excursion for our December sailing. I will have my 13 year old DD and her best friend also 13 and then my 7 year old DS. Do you think this will be too physically strenuous for my 7 year old? tia

.

There were a lot of children on our excursion, including pre schoolers. They all seemed like they were having a blast. I think it is fine for a 7 year old.

 

[soniam]

Thanks for the feedback guys. We plan to do this in about 2 weeks. We've been to Dunn's River Falls before we had our son. I felt it was pretty insane and slick then, and I scraped and twisted my ankle.

So, we decided we should do something else with our son. However, i just recently find out that there are stairs next to the falls. Maybe they weren't there when we went >10 years ago. I think the cave will be good though. He'll love the beach.

Plus, if I get to avoid the pushy vendors near the falls, that's another bonus. I mean really. There's only so many bongs and Bob Marley t-shirts that I can have before they start drug testing me at work