Let's talk about Jamaica excursions!

[tinkerbell1112]

We just returned from Jamaica and can't say enough WONDERFUL things about Chukka tubing tour in Falmouth Jamaica. If you have any questions let us know. We are a family of 4 and had an outstanding time. The Martha Brae river is so beautiful and the guides are funny, nice and accommodating. The transportation to and from the port was wonderful. The BEST port excursion we have ever done and just LOVED it!!!! Highlight of our trip for sure!
Lesley

Lesley, do you have a trip report or any additional details on why you loved it? I have been considering this one - I have a 10 DS and 8 DD and we'll be there in March next year. My DD thinks it looks fun, my DS thinks it looks boring. I think of Texas rivers when I think river, and think snakes & "other" things. Can you help with why it was so great? Thank you. I would love to see some of Jamaica while we're there, but my kids want nothing to do with the Falls. We watched on youtube and they don't see anything fun about walking up a water fall and jumping in. LOL. I'm glad they felt that way because I'm not sure my body could handle that much climibing.

TIA

 

[KaryCam]

Lesley, do you have a trip report or any additional details on why you loved it? I have been considering this one - I have a 10 DS and 8 DD and we'll be there in March next year. My DD thinks it looks fun, my DS thinks it looks boring. I think of Texas rivers when I think river, and think snakes & "other" things. Can you help with why it was so great? Thank you. I would love to see some of Jamaica while we're there, but my kids want nothing to do with the Falls. We watched on youtube and they don't see anything fun about walking up a water fall and jumping in. LOL. I'm glad they felt that way because I'm not sure my body could handle that much climibing.

TIA

Jlynn,
I hadn't really noticed that excursion before until now. It really does look good. In the pictures, it looks like you have to hold hands going down the river.
DH may not like that it says "cool" river. LOL

 

[tinkerbell1112]

Jlynn,
I hadn't really noticed that excursion before until now. It really does look good. In the pictures, it looks like you have to hold hands going down the river.
DH may not like that it says "cool" river. LOL

I hadn't paid much attention to it until my DD and I were looking and she pointed out the picture. Must have really caught her eye! LOL I would have assumed we'd be roped together? But we watched the youtube video and it doesn't appear to be the case.

 

[mmi]

We did not book an excursion at Falmouth since we spent $$$ on the dolphin swim and stingrays at Grand Cayman. We did get off the ship and go to Margaritaville which was nice.

DS wanted a t-shirt, so we walked around the shops, and the more shops we entered we noticed that they were not run by Jamaicans, but by people from India. Did anyone else notice this? We have been in ports where this was the case for a few stores, but this was the case for all of the stores at Falmouth that we walked in. There is a small area for local vendors that sell crafts. The area 'outside' of the port looked sketchy so we did not venture outside the gate. Personally, if we are going to visit a port, we would rather spend our money with the locals and help their economy. Just my opinion.

 

[esmom]

Hi All,

I'm planning our 1st cruise (not until Aug. 2015) and I greatly appreciate all your comments and opinions on the excursions!

I was hoping you could tell me how far out in advance do you book your private excursions? I was thinking of one of Courtney's trips for my family but I don't know when to contact him. I know the Disney ones can sell out but I don't know if a smaller private company sells out quicker.

Thank You!

 

[huggins2013]

on a full-day excursion and visited all his favourite gems.

From the Blue Hole/secret falls (visit this site before it becomes a tourist trap) and Dunn's River Falls (tourist trap, but a national treasure worth visiting regardless) to all the local foods (Juici Patties, local fruit and veg stands, Scotchies and Devon House I-Scream) Courtney really created a customized and incredible day for us. He was flexible, friendly and patient (he stopped pretty much anywhere our hearts desired). He was also quick to respond via email, on time to pick us up from our hotel and navigated the sometimes precarious roads really well.

If you don't have the luxury of doing a full-day private tour, a visit to the Blue Hole with Courtney Taylor is a must!

Blue Hole Contact jamaicairietours at yahoo .com

 

[n8nally]

on a full-day excursion and visited all his favourite gems.

From the Blue Hole/secret falls (visit this site before it becomes a tourist trap) and Dunn's River Falls (tourist trap, but a national treasure worth visiting regardless) to all the local foods (Juici Patties, local fruit and veg stands, Scotchies and Devon House I-Scream) Courtney really created a customized and incredible day for us. He was flexible, friendly and patient (he stopped pretty much anywhere our hearts desired). He was also quick to respond via email, on time to pick us up from our hotel and navigated the sometimes precarious roads really well.

If you don't have the luxury of doing a full-day private tour, a visit to the Blue Hole with Courtney Taylor is a must!

Blue Hole Contact jamaicairietours at yahoo .com

About how much does a typical full day tour run?

 

[bobdcl]

Luvavacation:

We are going to the royalton (thru DCL ) on our west carb leaving 8/2 -- your's is the first review of royalton I have seen on the DIS boards.
I too tried to contact royalton direct, but was also unsuccessful

iI have a couple of questions if you please:
1. Are there locker for use ( I like to carry a bunch of camera equip and don't feel comfortable leaving on the beach when we all want to go into the water)
2. What about showers for day guests??
3. Do we have to bring towels from the ship or does royalton supply?
4. Received a call a few days ago from DCL saying start time was pushed up from 9:45. To 8:45. -- what time did leave and did you get back to the ship??--was there any time to shop in the port??

5. Any issues with sea lice?? I bought a bottle of sea safe for castaway cay, do I need a second bottle for the royalton?

Any other suggestions??
Thank You,
Bob

 

[KarBear]

Has anyone tried the Amazing race excursion thru Chukka tours? I read about it on Disneys site but can't find anything else?

Has anyone tried this?

 

[oklamomof4boys]

Has anyone tried this?

I'm having trouble finding out much about this. I hate to plunk down that kind of money for 6 of us without hearing some reviews!

 

[KarBear]

I'm having trouble finding out much about this. I hate to plunk down that kind of money for 6 of us without hearing some reviews!

Me either. It seems like fun but why hasn't anyone tried this - that makes me question it.

When are you traveling? Maybe you can go first and tell me - lol
We travel Aug 2015

 

[oklamomof4boys]

Me either. It seems like fun but why hasn't anyone tried this - that makes me question it.

When are you traveling? Maybe you can go first and tell me - lol
We travel Aug 2015

We are end of May 2015- if we do it I will let you know. I'm thinking about emailing the company to try and get more info. My youngest has a heart disease and I have to give his cardiologist more info before he will approve it. He is 15 and is obsessed with the Amazing Race- because of his heart this is the closest he could ever do (if he can do it). But it makes me nervous that I can't find anyone anywhere on the Internet who has done it!

 

[Prose]

Well, after sitting down as a family and checking out YouTube videos of our top choices, we decided to go with the Chukka Dune Buggy excursion. It starts at 7:45 am, so we figure we will have plenty of time to check out the port area afterward, or just go back to the ship and pretend it's a sea day if we want.

 

[huggins2013]

Hi All,

I'm planning our 1st cruise (not until Aug. 2015) and I greatly appreciate all your comments and opinions on the excursions!

I was hoping you could tell me how far out in advance do you book your private excursions? I was thinking of one of Courtney's trips for my family but I don't know when to contact him. I know the Disney ones can sell out but I don't know if a smaller private company sells out quicker.

Thank You!

I think you can book at anytime cause they have a nice fleet in their company.

 

[battiskm]

Luvavacation:
Any issues with sea lice?? I bought a bottle of sea safe for castaway cay, do I need a second bottle for the royalton?

OK... this is the first I've heard of this... Going in Nov of 2014. What exactly are the sea lice. And where are they supposed to be. Details please...

 

[TinkerMama88]

I'm having trouble finding out much about this. I hate to plunk down that kind of money for 6 of us without hearing some reviews!

Me either. It seems like fun but why hasn't anyone tried this - that makes me question it.

When are you traveling? Maybe you can go first and tell me - lol
We travel Aug 2015

One of the reasons that there is limited reviews is because its an excursion exclusively for DCL guests and between that and the relative newness of the Port...I think reviews are going to trickle in slowly. Occasionally people post reviews on their Facebook page about it so maybe you want to check over there https://www.facebook.com/ChukkaCaribbean?ref=stream&hc_location=stream.

I was doing research on it for a while..and ran into the same problem but I thought that it was a cool way to do both the zip lining and river tubing which both have great reviews. but then DH veto'd the idea since we tend to be too competitive and he wanted our day to stay pleasant We are doing the Tranopy Adventure instead.

 

[jcgonczi]

Based on all of the posts here I am considering an excursion to The Blue Hole with Courtney Taylor Tours. I have a few questions for those who have done this.

First, my kids are 12, 9, and 7. They have never been out of the country. We have birth certificates for them, but not passports. Is that an issue since we wouldn't be on a Disney excursion? Also, do you think the kids are old enough?

Second, I have a fear of not making it back to the ship in time. Do you think that would be a problem?

And what is Scothies and why is it so fantastic? Curious minds need to know.

Thank you everyone!

 

[tinkerone]

if anyone has booked the Hilton rose hall, I just checked and the rate has dropped to $128. it will probably be back up tomorrow though.

 

[Michellynn]

I still haven't seen anyone post a review on Great House and Plantation Tour yet...but I've seen a few people asking about it. So thought I would share what I found.

Just hop over to trip advisor and type in "Good Hope Plantation" in to the search engine and you will find some reviews of the excursion (just have to sort through the reviews). Some mention the buggy tour that is offered here as well.

Most seem to have really liked it, although I did see a few comments about thinking the lunch wasn't very good (apparently it isn't actually at the estate but nearby).

Soooo...still interested in see any review from folks on here. Particularly opinions on the lunch if you went with that option, since there is also the option to not have the lunch (as well as the buggy tour option).

 

[FergusBC]

We did an excursion with Courtney last Nov so can try to answer a couple of the questions

Based on all of the posts here I am considering an excursion to The Blue Hole with Courtney Taylor Tours. I have a few questions for those who have done this.

First, my kids are 12, 9, and 7. They have never been out of the country. We have birth certificates for them, but not passports. Is that an issue since we wouldn't be on a Disney excursion? Also, do you think the kids are old enough?

Can't really answer the passport question as I'm not from the US. For the ages, it would depend on the adventureness (?) of the kids. My youngest was 8 and she wouldn't jump into the first pool. That however had more to do with her grumpiness at just waking up (from the car ride). There's no place to just walk into the water - you have to jump and be able to float. There is life jackets there for kids if needed. My older daughter was 12 and very cautious, but had no problems. The falls area up above is beautiful and easy to navigate, plus there are smaller pools to paddle in.

The lower pool with the rope swing required a bigger jump. I went in from the lower area, about 5 feet into the water, or there's a higher spot to for jumping. While we were there there was a family with boys younger than my kids who did the higher jump. So yeah, depends a lot on the kids

Second, I have a fear of not making it back to the ship in time. Do you think that would be a problem?

Oh, you and me both! Drives my husband nuts how antsy I get Didn't have any worries with Courtenay. However, we did ask to go back to the port about 2 hrs before the ship left. The drive from Ocho Rios to the port is about 40 minutes so just keep that in mind, allow a little extra time 'just in case', and then relax.

And what is Scothies and why is it so fantastic? Curious minds need to know.

My DH is still drooling about Scotchies! It's a restaurant in Ocho Rios (other locations as well) serving jerk chicken, etc. If you think you've had jerk chicken before, try it here and realize you haven't had jerk chicken before!

Sigh...so jealous. We'd love to go back. You're going to have an awesome day!