Canopy Tour with Children - Ocho Rios

[bayview97]

Chukka Cove Adventures is the company that runs this tour. Their website says the minimum age is 10. Royal Caribbean’s website says the minimum age is 18. Once we received our Booking ID in March, I went ahead and booked it through the Excursions portion of RC’s website. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it took the reservations for all five in our party and labeled my daughter(16) and youngest son(13) as adults. We were still unsure about it when we boarded the Mariner, so we went to the Excursions desk. The employee told us the min age was actually 12 (the Chukka Cove brochure at the desk listed min age 10 same as their website) and said both sessions were sold out and there was a long waiting list. We asked why RC’s website stated 18 as the min age and mentioned this was causing confusion amongst cruisers interested in purchasing the tour. She acknowledged this and explained that minors would need a waiver signed by an adult and this could not be accomplished for legal reasons through their website. At this point, I was glad we had booked the tour earlier through RC’s website but felt sorry for those who had assumed, based on incomplete or misleading information that their teenage children could not go.

 

 

We assembled just off the pier about 9:30AM and were quickly on our way to the mountains with about 25 people. Our driver and hostess were warm, engaging people. They told us about Jamaican history and culture. I enjoyed this part of the excursion because it was educational for me and I could see they are a proud to be from Jamaica and want our respect. The trip to the mountains was an adventure in itself, because when driving in Jamaica “left is right and right is wrong”. Drivers try and do a lot of crazy things (same as everywhere else) especially on those winding, one lane mountain roads.

We arrived at a pavilion where several canopy tour guides immediately began putting our gear on which consisted of harnesses, helmets, and gloves. Once your harness gear is on, you don’t touch it, and if adjustments are necessary are made only by the trained guides. A safety orientation and zip line demonstration followed, and then it was down a path to the first platform. It had begun raining, hard at times, but the guide said rain was “No Problem, Mon!” and we would stop only if there was lightning.

 

Once on the platform, you are connected to the zip line cables with your harness and pulley systems. There are additional safety or backup connectors which always keep you connected to platform or the zip line and are only connected or disconnected by the guides. Even with all the safety involved, I was starting to get butterflies while waiting to go. The end of the first run was visible, about a 100 ft away, and after connecting my pulley system it was time to go. I lifted my feet from platform and descended to the next platform in a matter of seconds. Now, that was a rush of adrenaline. I had a disposable camera and would take pictures of my wife and kids as they approached the platform. No pictures during the traverses because one hand grips the harness and the other is used for braking. Nine traverses in all with the last one being over 600 feet. I wanted more when it was over. Even our daughter, who was scared to do this at first, thought it was fun.

 

The Canopy Tour is not for the feint of heart or those deathly afraid of heights. But if you have a sense of adventure, are not risk averse, and looking for fun and excitement, this is the one for you. Enjoy.

[cali-croozer]

Thanx for the review.......we're going next week:eek: ! Did you need bug spray?

[bayview97]

Thanx for the review.......we're going next week:eek: ! Did you need bug spray?

 

Hello cali-croozer. Yes. The tour operator recommends it. We used the sportsman (29% DEET) bug spray just in case and we were fine. I was expecting swarms of gnats, flies, mosquitoes...etc. since we were in a tropical forest, but it really wasn't that bad, maybe because of the rain and slightly cooler than normal temps.

 

A couple other things to note, you can wear a fanny pack to carry water, camera...etc. if you like. And, it’s a good idea to wear longer shorts because the harness will pull your shorts up into your lower mid-section, not leaving much to the imagination, if you know what I mean.:o

 

You will have a great time with this excursion! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride! :D