Dunn's River Falls

My wife and I will be on the Regal Feb 25 out of FLL. We have signed up for the Dunn's River Falls excursion. My questions are, do we take bathing suits, is there somewhere to change or do we wear them. Secondly will there be somewhere secure to store personal and ship ID that we have to carry????

I have only recently found this forum and have been really impressed with all the great information from experienced cruisers (which we obviously are not!!). Any info would be greatly appreciated.

We wore our bathing suits with cover-ups. Yes, you can store your personal items. One thing I would strongly suggest is buying your own water shoes to wear on the excursion. It is a fun excursion!

We just left our shirts & wallets on the bus (not much cash) without any problem. The guides will be looking for a tip when you exit the falls & they won't let you leave without giving them something so you'll have to carry some cash on you.

I wore my crocks to climb & on the bus.

We just left our shirts & wallets on the bus (not much cash) without any problem. The guides will be looking for a tip when you exit the falls & they won't let you leave without giving them something so you'll have to carry some cash on you.

I wore my crocks to climb & on the bus.

I don't normally have an issue with a tip but the text I have highlighted above would really p|$$ me off. Nobody is "owed" a tip. If I was told I "had" to tip I likely would tell them to stick it.

I don't normally have an issue with a tip but the text I have highlighted above would really p|$$ me off. Nobody is "owed" a tip. If I was told I "had" to tip I likely would tell them to stick it.

I do agree with you but until you've actually experienced the Dunn River Falls guides you won't fully understand. They basically stand in front of you to block you from leaving the area.

If what you give them isn't what they feel is appropriate they'll let you know in no uncertain terms.

What also gets me is that even if you climb the falls on your own they feel that you're obligated to tip them.

Many years ago on one of our first trips there a woman lost her glasses & the guide who was prepared with a snorkel mask found them for her. At that point the negotiations began for a reward. It went back & forth for 5 or 10 minutes until they settled on $25.

Not sure which specific excursion you have booked as many include Dunn's River Falls but these are the notes on the online description of most of them:

Dunn's River Falls can be very slippery in places. Wear sturdy rubber soled shoes or rent them shoreside. Jumping from the falls is not permitted. Bring a swimsuit and towel; storage lockers are available at the falls for a nominal fee. The photo service at Dunn's River Falls is not affiliated with or provided by the cruise line or tour operator. Any photos purchased from this service will be the passengers' responsibility. Persons with medical conditions to include heart condition, diabetes, back pains, pregnancy are not permitted to climb the waterfall. Minimum age to participate is 3 years old and maximum weight is 300 pounds. Tour sequence may vary.

This to me is a bit different as for most beach/river/watersports excursions Princess usually specifically recommends wearing your swimsuit under your clothes when departing the ship. Which is what I would do not knowing how quick one can access the lockers.

Yes, they are pretty aggressive at Dunns River Falls about tipping. Don't even expect to take a picture without being harassed for a tip.

But, it is a great thing to do in Jamaica nonetheless.

Definitely wear your suit and if me, would just wear a cover up over it. You should be able to leave this stuff on the bus without worry. For money and camera, phone or those items, just go to Amazon and purchase a waterproof bag that you can wear around your waist or around your neck. You can get them for well under $20. We use those for all our snorkeling excursions, waterfalls, rafting, beach trips, etc. They work well and you don't have to entrust someone else with your stuff.

They have lockers you can rent for a small amount. They even refund part of it if you return the key to them. As for asking for a tip, I had no cash with me, and yes they asked, but I couldn't give what I didn't have. They did not follow us.

Do NOT rent plastic shoes at the port prior to getting on the bus. You can purchase at the falls for the same price and they are yours to keep and not plastic either. I now pack them in my suitcase on all cruises, just incase I need for other places.

People in Jamaica are extremely aggressive looking for money from us rich Americans

They have lockers but be sure that your receipt doesn't get wet. We returned the key to get back our deposit, but because our receipt was wet from the falls they wouldn't give us our deposit back. So we kept their key. Total ripoff. The falls were amazing and well worth it. Our guide was great and made our climb great. He took care of my camera and took pictures for us.

Also, if the exit path is past vendors, do not in any way show any interest in what they are hawking as they will become very aggressive in trying to get you to purchase something. Just try to get past that area as quickly as possible.

I don't normally have an issue with a tip but the text I have highlighted above would really p|$$ me off. Nobody is "owed" a tip. If I was told I "had" to tip I likely would tell them to stick it.

I agree with you on this. However in Jamaica you will find they are very very aggressive in getting their tip and keep in mind that you are the visitor and they the native so who do you think the police will believe. Just resolve yourself that you will tip in Jamaica. The vendors will get right in your face and not accept no so the advice to not look at or make eye contact with these wolves is the order of the day.

Personally if I never go back to that h#ll hole it will be too soon. There are a lot of safer and more hospitable islands in the Caribbean. Just my opinion evidently shared by many on here.

My wife and I will be on the Regal Feb 25 out of FLL. We have signed up for the Dunn's River Falls excursion. My questions are, do we take bathing suits, is there somewhere to change or do we wear them. Secondly will there be somewhere secure to store personal and ship ID that we have to carry????

 

I have only recently found this forum and have been really impressed with all the great information from experienced cruisers (which we obviously are not!!). Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Now this is just me one of those Rich Americans. :rolleyes: After reading all the post why would anyone want to even go there?? You may call them guides. I prefer to call them thieves. Maybe not all of them?? But it seems like most of them are from what has been said in most of the post. See post #9 and #12.

Tony

If you do book this excursion privately, you should also think about going to Scotchies for some really delicious jerk chicken - it's a chain all over Jamaica, and there's some nearby. We used Richard Brooks of Excursion Ocho Rios for our transportation, and were glad we did this tour privately since we had our 3 year old, and also went to a Dolphin place nearby.

They have lockers but be sure that your receipt doesn't get wet. We returned the key to get back our deposit, but because our receipt was wet from the falls they wouldn't give us our deposit back. So we kept their key. Total ripoff. The falls were amazing and well worth it. Our guide was great and made our climb great. He took care of my camera and took pictures for us.

You should have inserted the key into the locker & broken it off so they would have to call a locksmith and pay to have it removed. :evilsmile:

Visited Dunn's River Falls on an excursion from an AI resort we were staying at. We enjoyed climbing up the falls and we felt that the guide who helped us on the climb was well deserving of a cash gratuity in the order of $5 or $10. I did not find the guide to be aggressive. As you exit the park though you will have to weave through a "souvenirs" market and the vendors are VERY "persistent". That said, they were never rude or hostile. We chatted with a few yet bought nothing. For me, part of the beauty of travel is experiencing different cultures and ways of life. Would I wander alone the streets of Kingston Jamaica? Never. Would I recommend a visit (once) to Dunn's River Falls? No hesitation.

We went to Dunn's River Falls on an NCL sailboat excursion on our first cruise in 1989. I walked up the falls barefooted. DH wore tennis shoes. We did not find the guides back then too pushy about tips. It's our experience in the town where we felt threatened. We will not get off a ship in Jamaica again.

To all of you who posted, thank you so much. I now feel like I have a pretty good sense of what to expect on the excursion. As I type I have what I hope is a waterproof plastic holder with a piece of paper in it submerged in a sink full of water. We do have the rubber soled water shoes and will heed the other good advice posted. Thanks again!!!

After one trip to the falls we have no desire to return to that particular hellhole or the country it is in.

We climbed the falls probably 12 years ago. We opted not to go in one of the 'chains' of people going up the falls but did use a guide who was very helpful. He took a picture of us and I think we paid about $10 total for the picture and his help.

The trip through the market right at the head of the falls was not pleasant at all; you need to just walk through with no eye contact or looking unless you really, really want to buy something.

On another trip to the falls, our guide for the day (Phil Lafayette) was very helpful in explaining how to avoid the extremely agressive people in the market; at that time there was a way to avoid them by talking a side path. He also kept our things safe in the bus. There were places to change, although we just wore our swimsuits under our clothes.

You can avoid the guides, I think, at least our adult children managed to climb the falls on their own. Personally, I was glad of the help (age about 60 at the time) as our guide showed us where to climb that was less slippery, etc.

I don't think the souvenir sellers realize that I, at least, might actually buy something if they weren't so aggressive, bordering on scary. That turns me off immediately and I won't even stop to look. Does that intimidation really work with anyone? We've been to quite a few markets throughout the world where the sellers are in your face, but nothing like Jamaica.

We were booked on this exact cruise, until we had to cancel!!!

Anyhow, our plan for Jamaica has always been to stay on the ship.

I had wanted to see Negril and Rick's again, but it is just too far.

Nothing else on Jamaica is worth the hassle that is being mentioned.

We did a river tube float, Dunn’s River Falls climb and visit to Bamboo Beach Club through an independent company and loved it. The guide on the tour set us up with 2 guides at the falls and then led us out of the area back to the bus. We did tip the guides and were not bothered by the vendors when we were leaving.

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I don't normally have an issue with a tip but the text I have highlighted above would really p|$$ me off. Nobody is "owed" a tip. If I was told I "had" to tip I likely would tell them to stick it.

Big deal.....if it means that much to someone why not just give it to them..

Big deal.....if it means that much to someone why not just give it to them..

In my case it's the principle of giving someone what amounts to extortion. They do nothing for me what so ever- just hold out their hand & expect to be paid.

For what I still haven't figured out.

Maybe it's just a Jamaican tax?

I don't normally have an issue with a tip but the text I have highlighted above would really p|$$ me off. Nobody is "owed" a tip. If I was told I "had" to tip I likely would tell them to stick it.

Big deal...give them a tip.....we are on their turf, are you really going to miss a few dollars.....? Yes, other cultures can be abrupt and rude...and so can we, when we complain about paying for a bathroom or tipping. No we are not being a push over we are just being polite.

We are traveling spending thousands of dollars and we let our experience be spoiled by the little things.....Just sayin'

BTW...I have been to the Falls, have done the tubing and have stayed with my family at Beaches in Negril for a week. I certainly don't recall any tipping, where I felt like it was forced.

I remember the wonderful times I have had when visiting...just tip and move on...