Bug'sMom

I'm stumped as well. We are going to Falmouth on the 23rd. We have been to Jamaica a few times. Last time we took Peat/Courtney Taylor tours to the Blue Hole (near Dunns River Falls) and Bamboo Blu beach and while we loved it (because we LOVE the Blue Hole...at least we use to but not as much since they have commercialized it :( ) and it took over an hour and a half to get there one way and we saw several bad accidents....made me glad that we didn't drive on our own. I typically have no problem taking private tour operators instead of cruise line tours but Jamaica always gives me pause. Anyway, this time we don't want to spend 3 hours of our day in a car so I think we have decided to go to the all inclusive Hilton Rose Hall Resort in Montego Bay - about 1/2 an hour away. I have looked and looked for excursions that are closer to Falmouth and have come up empty handed. The Falmouth port has a lot of shopping but once you venture outside of the port area, it is a tad scary. The vendors are pretty aggressive. Please share if you find something! :)

Kathy

When we went there two years ago, there were no motorized water sports at all. No jet skis!

I guess I just don't understand the differences other than one is narrated and one is not. Is one more reliable than the other? Does one go to more locations? I understand that it is very crowded during the summer but we will not have a car and want to spend Sunday July 24th seeing as much as we can. We are planning on using the hotel bikes to go see Stanley Park and the seawall. Also want to see Granville Island Sun morning.

(We only have two days and Sat afternoon we are going to Capilano, hanging out at the hotel (FPR) and walking over to catch a glimpse of the fireworks that night).

Thanks for any help!

Capilano closes 2 hours before the fireworks begin.

 

The issue is getting back into the downtown and planning where to eat. That requires some planning around the congestion for the best experience.

Perhaps I am being naive since I have no idea what I am doing in a new town but I was assuming that we would take the free shuttle back to Canada Place around 7:00ish (during the summer the schedule says they run until 8:00 pm) and then just picking up something quick around our hotel (the FPR) (fast food?) and then just leisurely walk over towards English Bay around 9:00ish and hope for the best. I don't imagine that we will be able to get near the water so perhaps just see the ones in the sky.

May I say XLXO that you are most helpful! In my pouring over the travel message boards, I have noticed that you are always quick to jump in and offer up your insight and experience! Thank you so much!

We are staying at the Fairmont Pacific Rim on July 23rd and 24th. We won't have a car. We are wondering where we could catch a good view of the fireworks from around that area. We could possibly use the complimentary hotel bikes or even the town car service to get somewhat closer. Don't really want to go all the way to English Bay however due to the crowds. I was thinking we could either ride or walk to the Burrard Bridge pedestrian walkway? Or would construction not make that feasible? Any suggestions? Thanks so much for your help!

Kathy

(Also posted on Trip Advisor by the way ;) )

Thank you SO much for your input!! We have cruised the Caribbean and been to Florida MANY times but Vancouver is a whole new experience and I feel like a fish out of water!

Kathy

With a little planning.... I vote for GOOD IDEA.

 

• Let's start with your scheduled YVR arrival time... we need to discuss your arrival window and when the last Capilano shuttles operate.
  
• After 4:30pm.... the Capilano Bridge starts to get quiet until they close at 8pm.
  
• if you can't make the last shuttles around 6pm... public transit is an option to the Seabus ferry. Avoid the taxi's and buses that go over the bridge.
  
• We also need to discuss your dinner plans. Many downtown restaurants will be busy and reservations may be filled. You may choose to eat at one of the North Vancouver restaurants that evening before taking the ferry downtown. If you want to eat at the Observatory.... your gondola ride to Grouse Mountain is FREE! Although the meal price will be up there too.
  

We arrive at 12:30 pm. Figured that would give us enough time to get to our hotel - the Fairmont Pacific Rim and then catch the free shuttle up to Capilano. I am not sure if we want to do Grouse Mountain. I am from Utah and it sounds a lot like what we have up in our mountains so I'm not sure it is worth the extra expense. Also, I am spending a small fortune on our shore excursions as well. We don't plan to eat out at any fancy restaurants while we are in Vancouver. Maybe a Japadog or Go Fish - definitely on a smaller scale. I just wondered if the crowds would be less at Capilano around 5:00ish since everyone would be heading to the English Bay area. Seems like mornings are the most crowded time there....

We fly in Sat afternoon July 23rd and I was thinking that if we went to Capilano late afternoon we might miss the early morning crowds and perhaps most of the people heading to the fireworks in English Bay? Good idea or bad idea? Is fireworks traffic just going to make going anywhere impossible? We won't have a car. We will either utilize a shuttle to Capilano or we will have access to our hotels bicycles or even a town car service to putz around the seawall and Stanley Park...OR am I crazy to even think that I can navigate the crowds that night? Maybe we should just hang out at the hotel pool (Fairmont Pacific Rim)??? We aren't big into going out to eat so don't need suggestions for going and having a nice dinner somewhere.... Thanks in advance for any insight!

Kathy

We arrive at the YVR airport Sat July 23rd around 1:30 pm. Staying at the Waterfront Pacific Rim (got a decent deal - not that we can afford it ;) ) We - that would be my hubby and myself and our 14 yr old son - are planning on taking the Skytrain to the waterfront station and then walking to our hotel from there. We are going on an Alaskan cruise on Disney on Monday morning but here is what we think we want to see...I'm just not sure about what order would be best/most effective? We want to utilize the complimentary hotel bicycles and see Stanley Park and check out the Sea Wall. Also want to see the city i.e. Granville Island, Gastown, Chinatown, etc. I am thinking that perhaps doing the Hop on/Hop Off bus would be good for Sunday since we have the entire day? We are also interested in checking out the Capilano Bridge but not necessarily Grouse Mtn. We get back Monday morning Aug 1st and thought the Bridge might be less crowded then as opposed to the weekend before. After a few hours there, we thought we might go on a whale watching tour in the afternoon out of Steveston so we could check out Storybrooke as well and then head for the airport where we are staying Monday night for a 6:00 am flight on Tues. When I booked this vacay, I didn't realize that there were going to be fireworks Sat night so I know that is going to make downtown crowded. Is it feasible to walk to the Burrard bridge from our hotel to watch them? Maybe even our hotel's town car service would drop us off earlier in the night? Also, will Monday still be overly crowded due to the Pride Parade the day before or will it have cleared out a bit? Any suggestions would be most appreciated! Thanks in advance! :)

Kathy

We are going to St. Maarten (again) this Oct. and I really want to do this tour but this time we are going with family that has a 4, 6 and 8 yr old. They don't snorkle and I think the mom has motion sickness issues. Will they do alright? They don't have to snorkle (they could watch from the boat and/or enjoy the shallow water of Pinel Island) and the mom can take Bonine/Dramamine, right?

Please tell me I'm right? lol!

Kathy

We are going to St. Maarten (again) this Oct. and I really want to do this tour but this time we are going with family that has a 4, 6 and 8 yr old. They don't snorkle and I think the mom has motion sickness issues. Will they do alright? They don't have to snorkle (they could watch from the boat and/or enjoy the shallow water of Pinel Island) and the mom can take Bonine/Dramamine, right?

Please tell me I'm right? lol!

Kathy

When is the very best Royal Caribbean cruise line sale? I know about the Tuesday sales but I am wanting to book a June cruise and want to known when the best sales are offered throughout the year. I thought there was a great one earlier last year that was either kids sail free or buy one get one free.

Thanks!

Kathy

We did this excursion last October through Disney cruise line so maybe you could contact Disney and ask them who their tour operator is and then contact them directly. When I was on the Twister boat last time, I specifically asked the guys driving the boat if this tour could be booked directly through them and NOT through a cruise ship and they said "absolutely yes - just find us online." I never tried because we had just taken the excursion but planned to do so should we return so I didn't have to pay as much as the cruise lines want. The boat ride was AWESOME. The beach was just so so. The food was inclusive but everything else was extra. The day we went was a tad stormy so maybe that's why I wasn't thrilled with the ocean - didn't think it was that blue, didn't have an easy entry into the water either (it got deep quickly) and it had sea weed. Ick. The actual beach was beautiful...picturesque...just like a Corona commercial. The Disney crew members that had the day off were there so I guess that tells you something. It was funny to see them dancing and drinking and having a good time! Good luck booking it! Lots of fun!

Kathy

This website seems to be able to take reservations: http://www.cozumel-tours.com/twister-jet-boat.htm

Do they offer the kids camp on the island or do they stay on the ship. We will be traveling with our two kids but would like to take some time to go to the adult's only beach.

You (and your kids!) will love Castaway Cay! We usually spend the morning together as a family, eat lunch and then drop our child off at Scuttle's Cove (the kids area on Castaway Cay). When my child was young enough to go to the Lab/Club, he never ever wanted to leave! The kids area is really nice. They have a water play area and buried whale bones to dig up and all kinds of activities! There isn't a lot of shade though so make sure you put sun screen on them.

Now that he is of the age to go to Edge, they still have an area for those kids with great activities. Last time they all did Pelican Plunge together, got ice cream, and went to the sports area and played games. I think my son said that all the kids talked about what they wanted to do when they were on Castaway Cay earlier in the week so that they kind of had a plan in place. We dropped him off where the Edge/Vibe kids meet and we took the tram to Serenity Bay and had the afternoon all to ourselves. Awesome.

My only complaint is that we are not there long enough!

Kathy

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Rum Point! Just got back from spending a day there! On a past cruise we did the Stingrays, the snorkeling and then Rum Point with Nativeways which is probably one of the best excursions I've ever been on but having said that, I could have skipped the snorkeling. The three times we have snorkeled at that reef, the water has always been choppy and it is exhausting trying to see anything. I totally recommend Rum Point though!!!

Kathy

I love Costa Maya! It's along walk from off the ship to the port area which is a very commercialized area but it is still nice. (it has all been rebuilt since Hurricane Dean demolished Cost Maya in 2007).

We usually take a $2 taxi ride to the little town of Mahajual which is only about 10 minutes away. It is like a boardwalk of shops and beach bars that face out towards the ocean. You can see your ship from here. The beach bars are all in a row....most charge $$ for an umbrella and chair but we found Tropicante. It is run by Steve (formerly from the U.S). If you contact him, he will reserve a beach chair and umbrella AT NO CHARGE!!! Who does that? Steve does. He does want you to purchase some food or drinks from him...which is easy to do and not that expensive. You pay as you go (or rack up a tab). We just ordered some frozen fruity drinks. He can also arrange all kinds of activities if you are interested. We rented some jet skis and had a ball. We saw a couple of sea turtles! It was the most affordable place out of all of our port stops. I want to say $50 for half an hour! Massages were like $10 - $20 bucks! The water is fairly shallow for a ways out which is nice if you have kids and its really warm! After we hung out here we walked back through the port area on our way back to the ship and bought souvenirs and they have a HUGE pool area right in the middle of it where my son promptly jumped in again! It was awesome and lots of fun! Probably the two things I like the most were 1) I didn't have to race off the ship because I knew the chairs were reserved and 2) it was the cheapest day of the whole trip! I'm not sure why people think that they have to pay the rates at the "exclusive" beach clubs when you can get a fairly similar experience for so much less.

I have always wanted to go to Passion Island on the Twister boat but it has never worked out on past cruises...this time it is! I am actually taking a ship excursion to do this (and out of ten cruises, I have never taken a ship excursion). I will be there Oct 2nd and I will try to notice or take pictures when we get off the ship to see what is available to book (if any) by local vendors and then I will post my findings when I return...hopefully that will help you!

Kathy

Are there any waves to frolic in?

Kathy