Help with Dominica Shore Excursions...

[DFD1]

Dominica is one of the ports of call on our upcoming Volendam Cruise (11/26/04). It has been years since we were there...and never on HAL. Please help us out if you have any preferences of the shore excursions offered there by HAL. Thanks DFD1
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28 cruises on 22 different ships
since 1965 (Wish it were more.)

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

We have been to Dominica several times. We are not interested in HAL's all day bike rides or hiking adventures - too old for that.

One time we did do the rain forest drive and emerald pool. It was very lovely. It was a steep walk down to the emerald pool and many people were not able to make it. But it was so lovely.

:)

[lb0103]

If you can a lot of walking the rain forest was the best. In April we went on Carnival and it was beautiful. We went to 2 National parks, the one with the Emerald Pool and also Trafalga Falls. Well worth it, but there is a lot of walking and stairs, if you call them that, through the paths. It also rains a lot, duh, rain forest, but very beautiful.

[2rg]

We were there in March and the Rain Forest is the trip to take. We rode up and walked half way down. The real highlight of the trip was the bus ride up and back, I've been on roller coasters that were less thrilling. Enjoy your cruise.

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

I agree that the ride up to the rain forest was well worth the trip. Gave a chance to really see the differences in landcape on the island. The tour started with a visit above the city for a great view, a stop in the local park with a brief tour of the local plantings, then along the coast before driving up to the rain forest. Even though we did not go all the way down to the pool or falls in the forest part of the walk, just being able to see the falls from a short distance was worth the trip. The stop along the return trip to see local dancers and view the plants and flowers in the area added to the trip.

George

[BCEagle78]

I am glad that this question is being asked. My wife Debbi and I are booked on the Volendam on Nov 26 also.

[RaffinOrganGrinders]

I am glad that this question is being asked. My wife Debbi and I are booked on the Volendam on Nov 26 also.
One thing I forgot to mention, the minivans used for the tour on this island are the smallest in the world. Wear comfortable clothing with lots of flexibility.

George

[hunterafri]

We were on the Noordam last year and the highlight of the trip was a shore excursion by boat arranged by HAL for whale watching. While on that trip we saw 14 whales, 9 of which came right up to the ship. Afterwards, the boat took me snorkeling and again this was great.

Of all of the shore excursions on this and other cruises, this was by far the best and by far worth every penny of it.

Vic

[cei3]

Ditto for the whale watching trip. It was terrific!

[BCEagle78]

Sold! We will definitely seek out this excursion... This is very helpful! Thank you. :)

[h2so4]

For those of you recommending the whale watching/snorkeling excursion - what time of the year were you at Dominica? We'll be there in mid-December and are wondering if that is a good time for whale watching.

[hunterafri]

We were on the Noordam in Mid March.

Vic

[stanjj111]

We have the Dec 26th trip which includes this island. The information was helpful. Did anyone take the ship tour vs going by yourself?

[the2ofus]

I was on the whale watching excursion in December 2001. We did not see any whales on that trip but I still loved it because of the snorkeling. They took us to a bay where there were volcanic vents in the ocean floor. The warm water currents attracted a lot of colorful fish. It was wonderful swimming thru the currents because they were full of bubbles, kind of like swimming in champagne. The rum punch on the way back was not bad either :D (They did not offer it to the snorkelers until after our time in the water.)

I have also done the rain forest/emerald pool tour and loved that also. In fact Dominica is one of our favorite caribbean islands.

[dogsdogs]

Whichever tour you decide on, take some insect repellent with you. We took a bird watching boat tour and the mosquitoes were relentless. We looked like we had the measles when the trip was finished. We were there on a January cruise.