Need help from all you experienced cruisers in supporting my side of an argument!!!

[banderboo]

We used Peat Taylor in Jamacia and had a wonderful experience. We also used a private tour company in Grand Caymen (I think it was Capt. Marvin) and also had no problems. Like other posters have said try to take the earliest tours you can so you have plenty of time to get back to the ship

Diane
Legend of the Sea 9/12/04
Voyager of the Sea 8/24/03
Sovereign of the Sea 07/01

[michiganders]

We've taken several excursions through the cruiseline, and also several that we booked on our own. One thing I always take into consideration is whether you are tendering or docking. With tenders, you need to add that additional time onto your planned activities. With independent tours, you need to make sure your departure time and arrival time (back to the pier) allows you adequate time to get on the tenders. With certain islands, such as Grand Cayman, where rough waters will make tendering very difficult, I usually book my excursion through the ship. That way, if it gets cancelled, I know I am guaranteed a refund. But, I know many others who always book independently, and have not had a problem.

In Jamaica, we took a nice excursion (through the cruiseline) which included both a trip to Dunn's Falls and a tour of a working plantation that dated back to the 1800's. We really enjoyed it.

RCI (Rhapsody, Monarch, Nordic Prince); Carnival (Inspiration, Imagination); Princess (Dawn); Celebrity (Century); Big Red Boat

[pjbrock]

Private no contest. Unless you really want to pay more and/or be in a herd!!!

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'Til we sail away!


Fascination 4/98
Majesty of the Seas 4/00
Destiny 4/02
Navigator of the Seas 4/03
Seranade of the Seas 2/04
Splendor of the Seas 4/05

[BLUEICE]

This is definately a hard call to make either book private or through the ship????

On our first cruise we booked 2 excursions a day throught the ship (which is to many for one day) and on the second cruise we booked 3 excursions all through private companies.

I think the price difference between booking private or through the lines is not a big difference (in my experience). The private companies are aware of your situation and will do their best to get you back on time.

Why don't you book one through the cruise line (with lots of other people joining you) and one private (less people) and then you can battle it out for the rest of the cruise as to which one you guys preferred.

I personally would book private....

Hope this helps and enjoy your cruise.

By the way, are you going to let your parents read all of this feedback????

Grand Princess - Sept 2002
Voyager - Sept 2003
Explorer [img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=9400d3&cdt=2004;09;19;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
until EOS with friends from the VOS
- Sept 2004

[specialthing1]

be careful of capt marvin he will over book and take the 1st group showing up.for us he dumped 3 couples for 2 girls and we were talking to him as we left the ship by cell phone. have heard good reports but we wont try him again.

[duke052]

We always stick to cruise line tours. We had a bad experience in Cancun about 5 years ago,and were 2 hours late getting back to the ship. Our tour group was in two buses and the ship waited for us . The cruise line [Celebrity ]also delayed early seating by 30 minutes . When I was on the Granduer ther were 2 women running to the ship as it was pulling away. All the caring passengers on the pool deck were waving goodby. Wonder what happened to them.

05/16/04 Mariner of the Seas
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=006400&cdt=2004;05;16;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]12/4/04 Constellation
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=006400&cdt=2004;12;04;23;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
Britannis
Dreamwood
Century 3xs
Galaxy
Infinity
Granduer of the Seas
Millennium 2xs
Monarch of the Seas
Grand Princess
Adventure of the Seas
Constellation

[jujappers]

Wow, thanks guys for keeping the advice coming!! I've been busy studying and working on presentations for hours and hours over the past couple days in order to graduate so you guys have given me some good reading material to take a break from the school work!

sharybeari, is the Cockatoo Catamaran in Grand Cayman a private tour or is it offered through the ship? Also what does this tour consist of?

sbell1, that tour in Freeport sounds awesome! We were just going to do a beach day in Freeport because we heard there aren't many excursions but now we may have to change our minds. As far as the Voyager ships not returning to Freeport I don't think that is true because our ship is scheduled to stop there and I know Freeport has been a substitute port for Labadee on many of the voyager class ships recently.

Lil Mo, we saw the excursion you took in the cruise docs. We have it marked and are trying to decide between that one and the kayaking to the falls excursion. Also we read about the river tubing that is offered in Ocho Rios and are interested in that but don't know how good of an excursion it is. If anyone has any info on the river tubing excursions please let me know!

blueice, thanks for that idea of booking one excursion privately at least and then we can decide if we like that better or if we like the cruiseline excursions. We may have to try this! I have been telling my mom every day or so what the feedback is from you guys so that we can make some good decisions and I think I've at least proven to her that private tours can be very enjoyable and often cheaper but we still will probably stick to mainly the ship excursions for this cruise at least.

Thanks to the rest of you guys for the tips! If you can think of anything else that may be helpful for us to know regarding ship excursions or other things that you think may help us have a more enjoyable cruise please let me know. THANKS!!

[CTKath]

I like to book the ship's excursions too. One is because of the convenience. I also think of personal safety - if I book an excursion from the cruise line, then they know where I am. If I get off the ship and hop into a taxi, etc, then who knows where I might end up and the cruise line has no idea where I could be, other than I got off the ship in XXX. Just a thought.

Kath

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=008080&cdt=2005;08;14;22;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img] The big 5-0 cruise!

08/05 - Adventure of the Seas
11/02 - Amsterdam
08/01 - Norwegian Sky
11/99 - Veendam
11/93 - Monarch of the Seas

[Smile0808]

Booked captain Marvin stingray in G cayman for my husband and brother and booked the man in Jamaica that is talked about on the boards often , he goes to dunn river falls?????? I forget his name........Any way your parents like to be cautious and have confidence in RCCL excursions and the people that will be taking u on these excursions which is great. I will be booking both ways!

[sharybeari]

Jujappers, we booked the Cockatoo Catamaran thru the ship (Royal Carribean) it is a swim with the stingray tour but it is much smaller than other excursions since you sail out on a beautiful catamaran. The tour is a few hours and it is great, the tour guides make sure everyone (who wants to!) gets to hold a stingray and kiss one and feed one, they are wonderful with people who are nervous and the boat is just amazing. Laying out on the netting of the catamaran sailing out to stingray city was amazing. If you go to the ports of call section and look at Grand Cayman there is some great info. We went with the ship in Grand Cayman since we went last summer during July when Grand Cayman was being canceled several cruises prior to ours, luckily we had great weather.

Swimming with the rays is an unforgettable experience, no matter who you go with you will have a blast!

My cruise history,
Serenade of the Seas, 08/2004
Voyager of the Seas, 07/2003
Nordic Empress, 11/1998

[Smile0808]

I couldnt remember the name we used in Jamaica, it was Peat Taylor......His name has been around for a long time.

[xpreciousp]

I enjoyed reading all of the comments on ship tours vs. private tours. I now have a question......what is a tendered dock and what is involved in getting on and off of the ship. It sounds completely different than all the ports we pulled into on the AOS.

Thanks!

[DFritz]

When you read a cruise itinerary it will usually say TENDER or DOCKED. Docked is when the ship "parks" and you walk off the ship directly onto the pier. Tender is when the cruise ship "parks" and you are further from shore and a small boat that holds about 200 or so pulls up alongside the ship and you walk from a plank stairwell directly onto the small boat that then tenders you to shore.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;12;04;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0600[/img]
'Til my next cruise

[xpreciousp]

That's what I thought tendered meant. If any of our ports are tendered vs. docked.....that should prove to be quite interesting!!! No complaints here! I'm always up for something fun and new!

Thanks for the explanation.

[magicolor_girl]

This has reminded me of a tour I took in Grand Cayman with a friend. We stopped in Hell and my friend was still in the shop. The driver wanted to leave and everyone else was back on the bus, myself included. I knew my friend wasn't on the bus but since I had $2 (tip money at that - no credit card, no passport) I was NOT getting off that bus to go find her in case we both got left behind! I'm a bad friend, I know... [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img] but she made it back on the bus and the driver never left the parking lot tho he had the attitude that he was going to...After that, I rushed her thru the turtle farm gift shop and we were the first two back on the bus. I wasn't having that stress again! But now y'all are saying that if I'm on an excursion booked thru the ship, they can't leave us? Is this an absolute rule or just seems to be the habit? Just wondering for future reference...she's a slow shopper. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Voyager of the Seas 10.26.03
Voyager of the Seas 01.11.04
Voyager of the Seas 06.13.04
Explorer of the Seas 10.31.04

[sharon j]

My daughter and I did our 1st cruise in Feb and everyone said we should book our tours through the ship but I didn't listen and I am really glad I didn't. We booked with Peat Taylor in Ocho Rios. He took us to Dunn River Falls and around the island. He will take you wherever you want to go. There were 12 of us in his van and it was great and very very reasonable. You would not get the personalized service we got with a ship tour. In Grand Cayman we booked with Soto's Cruises and did a 3 hour stingray and snorkel tour for only $24. The ships cost was about $60. and again the tour was very personalized with very few people. I highly recommend both these individuals. As well, in both cases we paid no money until we arrived for the tour.

Enjoy your cruise.

[want2seaitall]

I've only booked one of my excursions with the ship on my first cruise. Now I know better. I save tons booking on my own. Make sure it is a reputable company that is used to dealing with the cruiseships...they are aware of the ship's schedules...and will get you back in plenty of time. If you post for advice on excursions for the ports...you will get the names of companies that people have used in the past. Tell Mom and Dad...I've got to side with you. Have a great cruise...I'm so jealous!!!

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004
Carnival Inspiration - June 2003
RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

[CSW]

Cutting back on the booze for a day or two will
"pay" for booking thru the ship... [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif[/img]

CSW

[want2seaitall]

CSW...who'd want to do that??? LOL

RCCL Majesty of the Seas - April 2004
Carnival Inspiration - June 2003
RCCL Monarch of the Seas - July 2002

[lvcruiser]

I agree with dentalchic. Private excursions are so much cheaper and usually more fun because they aren't as crowded as those from the ship. On my last cruise, I broke away from the ship's excursions and booked Peat Taylor in Jamaica and Nativeway in Grand Cayman. In both cases, there were fewer people than the ship's excursions, the leaders had more time to spend with individual needs and questions, more got done and seen and everyone had more fun. And, these people depend on the ships' business and won't take the chance of getting you back to the ship late. In both cases, we had hours to kill before the ship left. And the price was about a third of what we would have paid for the ship's excursions. On some ports and some excursions, booking with the ship may be the way to go, but there are many others where you can save a lot of money and have a better time by booking your own.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=4169e1&cdt=2004;10;23;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
Until NOS Sailing 10/23/04

Several cruises, but why list them when no one cares?

[greybear]

My only advice to you is that you should stay in a moderate size group wherever you go in Jamaica (especially if you want to go to Margaritaville). My port of call was Montego Bay which might be a little bit different than Ocho Rios but I found the experience to be culture shocking. Vendors try to sell you legal and illegal merchandise... some will even hang off the bus to attempt a sale while the bus is in motion!! We also heard other horror stories about a bus being stopped by bandits and the passengers having to part with all of their money and jewellry. Although I can't confirm the veracity of this story, I would definately leave my jewellry in the stateroom safe and not bring much money on land. It is easier, and safer, to carry a credit card for emergency purposes - if it gets stolen just call your company's hotline and get it cancelled.

Jamaica does have wonderful rum cream for sale but if you can wait to the next port you will find some of the same quality on other islands. Oh, and there are plenty of spots where they will let you, or beg you, to try the rum cream... not that I am encouraging you to drink.

Concerning Grand Cayman, do whatever you want, you can't go wrong.

With respect to Cozumel, I recommend going to the ruins in Tulum if you can stomach the 45 minute ferry ride to the mainland (playa del carmen). The seas can be rough at times and people do get woozy (I did not think that my husband and mother-and-law were going to make it).

That is the extent of my opinion / information. Have a great cruise!

[Detective20]

Okay, my 2 cents on Jamaica. It's some place I always wanted to go. We stopped in Montego Bay also on our cruise last April and I'm glad I got to see it, BUT, I'm not interested in going back.

Greybear has it right when suggesting you stay with a group. My husband is a cop and I'm from a big city, we were both still a bit intimidated. We did stop by Margaritaville and if we ever go back to Montego Bay, we would probably go there to play in the water for a while but that's about it.

We both did get a laugh from our cab driver. He didn't know my husband is a cop and offered cigarettes of the non-legal variety. Hubby just laughed and said his job didn't allow that.

Enjoy your cruise, I don't get to go again until December. -- Mrs. Detective20

[Knights on the Beach]

We've been to Ocho Rios twice and had great experiences both times. The first time we took the Cool Runnings boat to Dunns River Falls and really enjoyed it. The last time, we did the river tubing excursion and LOVED it! I would do that again in a heartbeat. It was great fun, and we had fabulous guides. There were 10 of us (all family) in one van with three guides. There were several vanloads of people, but all had their own guides. We bought the video ($20 I think?), which turned out much better than the Dunns River Falls video we bought on that tour. After the tour was over, we ate lunch back on the ship and still had plenty of time to visit Margaritaville at Island Village. Here are our Jamaica pictures from last May:

[url="http://community.webshots.com/album/76464046kYjhJg/0"]http://community.webshots.com/album/76464046kYjhJg/0[/url]

I do want to add that we almost always book our tours through the ship, just for the safety factor. I know the vast majority of people who book with private companies do make it back to the ship in plenty of time. I just don't want to be that one person who misses the ship because I didn't want to pay an extra $10 or so to take the ship's tour. (I know, I know, smaller groups and all that . . . ) [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

Beth
~~~~~~~~~~~

Countdown to Glory
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;05;22;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

Emerald Seas 6/86
Emerald Seas 11/87
S.S. Royale 10/88
Celebration 6/97
Grandeur of the Seas 6/98
Sensation 6/99
Carnival Triumph 6/00
Carnival Triumph 11/17/01
Enchantment of the Seas 10/27/02
Carnival Victory 5/25/03
Carnival Glory 5/22/04

[jujappers]

I love all the great ideas you guys are giving!

Sharybeari, we are looking at the Cockatoo Catamaran tour and are deciding between that one and one other in Grand Cayman. Do you know if they let u do any snorkeling on this tour?

For those of you who are recommending booking private tours we will probably do this on our next cruise but stick with ship tours on this cruise. My parents also said they would pay for my excursions if I go on the ship tours, but if I do my own private tours I would have to pay. So it looks like i'll save lots of money by just doing the ship tours this time.

I agree with Dentalchic on not cutting back on the booze!

To greybear, cruisemom 2, and detective20. Since you all mentioned going to Jamaica I have a couple questions for you if you don't mind answering. First, my older brother and I are interested in going to Margaritaville for a couple hours and are wondering where this is located in relation to the Ocho Rios pier? Do we have to take a taxi and if so how long of a ride would it be? Second, this one is to cruisemom2. We are interested in doing river tubing and were wondering how long this tour is? Would there still be time to do Dunn's River Falls along with the river tubing or is this already included in this tour? Also, does the tubing take place on a very calm river or are there any rapids or fast places along the way? We are very adventurous and would love to go on a river tubing tour that goes through some rapids!!

Thanks everyone for the great advice so far. We are really looking forward to this cruise and I'll let you all know how it was when we get back. If you have any other advice please let me know. THANKS!!

[Diva Onboard]

I'm glad that a few posters gave some words of caution about the safety in Jamaica. You can get into serious trouble there.


A few years back, my daughter and her husband thought booked a tour on their own. They saved an equivalent of $14 per person by doing so. They went to Dunn River Falls. While the tour went well, they did not take into consideration the cost of transportation to and from the site. It ended up costing about $3 less than the cruise ship would have charged them.

They ended up getting back to the pier earlier than expected and decided they would stroll around for a bit. Long story short, my son-in-law was mugged. They are fortunate that they were able to get away.

Jamaica is not safe. It was not safe 3 years ago and it is less so now. A good website to visit for travel advisories is [url="http://www.state.gov"]www.state.gov[/url] or simply search for U.S. Department of State. You can pull up information on travel warnings there.

Many cruiselines are rethinking stops in Jamaica. Labadee was taken off Royal Caribbean because of injury caused to people there and the trouble occurred on a privately owned island of Royal Caribbean.

Whatever you do, just be sensible and careful. I'm sure you will make good choices given all the tremendous advice you will get on this board. And, I know you will enjoy your cruise.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=9400d3&cdt=2004;7;18;17;0;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]

<Marquee>I'm getting out there - SERENADE OF THE SEAS - July 18, 2004<Marquee>