mpcaruth

Grand Cayman Continued:

Across the street you can buy...

Also across the street from the Turtle Farm is the Dolphin Discovery facility. We walked about 500 feet the other direction to hit the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory. We sampled a few cakes, but decided we could buy our cake at the one closer to the port and we would not have to carry the cakes to the beach.

So, we walk back towards the Turtle Farm and waited for the next bus (about 10 minutes).

Our next stop would be Calico Jacks on Seven Mile Beach. The bus stop for Calico's is about 1000 feet from the beach:

Here's our walk from the stop to Calico's:

Grand Cayman Continued:

Time to say goodbye to the little fellows.

We leave the wading pools and head over to the museum. There were some interesting info and displays, but I did not take any photos. Yes, the turtle farm is just that, a farm. However, by raising the turtles for meat, they have eliminated the harvesting of the wild turtles whose numbers were dropping towards extinction. AND, they also release a significant amount of the raised turtles to the wild to help regain the wild population.

My daughter bought a souvenir from the ship (a turtle toe ring - go figure!). As we were leaving several organized tour groups were arriving. Lots of people, guides fussing with each other over territory closest to the ponds, and people just outright ignoring their guides directions. So glad we took the bud and had the place to ourselves before the crowds arrived.

Grand Cayman Continued:

These little guys were JUST SOOOO CUTE!!!

Grand Cayman Continued:

The wading pool! Now off to the best part (well, at least the best when there are no hatchlings). There must have been about 6 pools to allow the guest to stand in and play with the youngest turtles. Since we got there early, we had the pools to ourselves and probably stayed there for 30 minutes - no lie, my daughter was in heaven. The assistant said we were lucky, because in a little while it will be extremely crowded, and you will only get a few short minutes to get in the wading pool.

Grand Cayman Continued:

You cannot go to the Caribbean without taking a lizard photo.

These tanks contained the youth turtle... still no touching the turtles.

Grand Cayman:

Good morning Georgetown, Grand Cayman!

This was another tender port. As I had a big day planned for here, I wanted to make sure we were one of the first off the ship. So, the night before, I booked our 8:00 AM tender through iTV, the in-room television account app. Ahh, this worked perfectly, as we boarded the tender on time, and was in port in no time. I had done lots of research beforehand on CruiseCritic about taking the public buses to the Turtle Farm. We found the main bus stop two blocks away adjacent to the library. We boarded immediately and were towards the Turtle Farm. The fare is $2.50 per person.

Picture of the buses lined up at the main “station”:

We were literally the first to arrive at the Turtle Farm. I had thought about purchasing our tickets online beforehand to save 20%, but decided against it in case the weather was bad. Since we were heading to the beach later, we decided to only purchase the basic tickets for the Turtle Farm (breeding pond, touvh tanks, wading pool, and education center). The cost of the tickets were $18 for adults and $9 children (4-12). We like the Turtle Farm, but were disappointed to learn that there were no hatchlings to play with at this time. Darn! Apparently the hatching season beginning late April through June. Regardless, my daughter, who adores sea turtles, loved the rest of the facility, especially the wading pond.

See, we had the whole place to ourselves!

Some of the older turtles:

The Water Front Continued:

The kids getting their gelato on!

My son is always fascinated about the logistics and intricacies of the ship. So, for safety purpose, he is picking out the best dingy boat (one with a motor).

The Water Front Continued:

At the most forward end of the Water Front is jumbo chess.

There are also plexiglass viewing ports on the deck to see below to the water. Slightly intimidating at first.

My son and I enjoy playing shuffleboard, and this can be found one deck below on deck 7 (I think, but it is not shown on the deck plans).

The Water Front during a slightly busier time of the day:

The Water Front:

One of my favorite things about this ship is the large outdoor Water Front area on Deck 8. I enjoyed my brisk walks here early in the morning, as well as a cool relaxing stroll in the evening. Although I never ate along there at any of the restaurants, we did enjoy a few cocktails while taking in the scents and sounds of the ocean.

Advice, if you like to take morning walks on the jogging track, you may want to consider this area instead. The layout of the upper deck jogging track is sort of like being crammed into a place it shouldn’t be. Passengers from a sun deck area were always crossing over the track on their way to the Flamingo Bar and Grill. Often joggers and walkers would have to dodge the other passengers. So, I decided on the second day to try my morning walk along the Water Front. Only a very few passengers were out and about, some reading in the comfy chairs, some catching their early morning smoke at the designated outdoor bar area, and maybe 10 or so other walking too. You can walk around approximately 80% of the ship. The outdoor deck goes along both sides and the aft, but when you get to the front, you will have to cross over through the inside of the ship (minor inconvenience).

The aft: I love the breeze and views from here!

Great review, we will be on Getaway May 1st. Patiently awaiting more.... well kind of patiently :)

Thanks for your patience. I have been busy, with my final class paper due on Monday, a death in the family, and packing for our camping trip this weekend. I will try to get a few more post in today and hopefully this weekend too.

Ocho Rios Continued:

We stopped at Scotchies for a late lunch for some real authentic food. I would love to show you pictures of the place and food, but... I lost the SD card. Sorry again. The only thing I do have is a photo my daughter posted.

Scotchies is a very simple outdoor restaurant with good authentic local Jerk food. My husband and son got the jerk pork wraps, I got the jerk pork, and my daughter got chicken. My husband loved the wrap! The meat is not especially hot, but they provide a little container of jerk sauce. I dipped a finger in it and tested first. It's pretty hot. But, my son poured it on his pork. Whoa. He gulped his soda, but said the fizz of the soda made it worse. The only thing else, was my Red Strip. It worked. We liked everything but the bread fruit. Blah, dry, fruit??? Oh well, we had to try it.

After scotchies, our guide said he had a surprise for us. He pulled the van over along a main road and we got out. Apparently for a peep show:

I LOVE this picture of my family peeping:

And what did they see? Dunn River Falls. OMG! Look how crowded this tour was. I am so glad we ventured out to the Irie Blue Falls.

Sadly, that's all the photos I have of our day in the port. We head back to the ship, extremely tired and hungry. We are blessed with beautiful sunset to enjoy from our cozy balcony.

Ocho Rios Continued:

Random photos from along the drive:

Ocho Rios Continued:

Now I did find the photos that I accidently ; ) took of the adjacent beach. Here's a PG snip-it of Incognito Man:

Kaz Kreol was a nice hang out for a beautiful and relaxing beach. We had a cheap snack to hold us over until Scotchies and also had a few Red Stripe beer. This beach was a pleasant surprise.

We packed up and our guide took us on a little tour of the town and we stopped at a look-out area with a bar/restaurant high above the cruise port.

Ocho Rios Continued:

Oh No! I went to pull up some of my photos of the creek inlet into the beach area, and I CANNOT find them. I seem to have lost a SD from one of my cameras. I too so many more pictures of this beach and I can't find them. Sorry.

Here's what I have:

Ocho Rios Continued:

Our next stop was a beach stop. Our guide asked us if we wanted a touristy crowded beach or a nice quiet beach. I was a little concerned about this "nice quiet" beach, but he said trust me, you will like it. So, we took a gamble. The drive there went through an "interesting" area:

We pull up outside of the beach resort, Kaz Kreol:

Our guide helped us check in at the hotel counter for our day pass. I think it was $5 per person and $5 per beach lounger. I paid and we were guided through the small, simple, but super clean hotel. And on the other side was absolute paradise! Bingo!

We could use the beach (and they would carry our loungers to where ever we wanted) all the way around until the beach section across the way. THAT area was a private nude beach/resort.

Absolutely love your reviews! Thanks for putting the time into sharing your experience for the benefit of others! Will you sail in the same stateroom category (4J) on your upcoming Sunshine cruise? We are debating a cruise on the Sunshine next year in a 4J (with stops in Grand Turks and Amber Cove) or an ocean view on the Navigator of the Seas (with stops in Nassau and Cozumel). Any advice on helping us decide would be welcomed:)

Yes, I have booked a 4J category again. It's just so roomy, convenient, and a bargain.

Which one? Sunshine to Grand Turk & Amber Cove, or Navigator to Cozumel & Nassau.

That's a no brainer for me! GT & Amber Cove. Just about every cruise I have been on either stops a Cozumel or Nassau. So, I don't think I would ever plan a cruise with just those two (unless it was rock bottom price and was an extra cruise for me that year). GT is nice and you don't have to spend a cent there, if you don't want to (plus it has a dock- come and go back to the ship as you please). Or you could rent a golf cart and explore the other side of the island. Another thing I want to do at GT is take a snorkeling tour to the great wall drop off. And Amber Cove I am really excited to visit someday. I have been to 2 other Dominican Republic ports and absolutely LOVE that country. Get off the beaten path and discover the culture and nature. We took an amazing ATV excursion in Samana to waterfalls and a secluded beach, and in La Romana, we did the awesome Seavis tour to Saona Island.

Now the ships: I have sailed on the Explorer of the Seas which is a sister ship to the Navigator. That class ship is super nice (grand open promenade, ice show, classy)! If cost and itinerary were NOT a factor, I would choose the Navigator. However, the Navigator's itinerary stinks, and I doubt you can cruise the Navigator cheaper than the Sunshine (at least not significantly cheaper.

What is Howl at the Moon? I did not see it listed in any of the entertainment on the Getaway.

It's a dueling piano show in which the audience picks the songs. I hear it is very funny and a blast.

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/getaway/whats-on-board/Entertainment#Getaway_Howl_At_The_Moon

I was on this cruise too when they rescued the refugees, when they announced it i didn't go and watch, I was enjoying the UBP and Howl at the Moon too much! Regret that now though, great pictures

Thanks.

Well, I guess we needed some passengers to stay on the other side of the ship to keep it from listing ; )

Ironically, I never made it to Howl at the Moon. I regret that.

Ocho Rios Continued:

We leave the park and head back down the mountain. There are lots of entertainment along the drive. I think the second most talked about thing from the cruise for my kids (1st being the refugees) and second being BROWNIES. We saw three different guys along the road selling special brownies.

"Hey Mon! Brownies make ya feel good".

The guide stopped for me to take a photo of the wooden water pipe. The pipe supplies the drinking water to Ocho Rios to be treated. Higher up the mountain there were minnie geysers leaking out of the pipe. (Yes, I am a nerd engineer who designs drinking water systems - I like this kind of stuff).

Ocho Rios Continued:

The last hole has a super high jump (Sorry, we were all too chicken, but you can search Youtube for some great videos of this). This hole also had a swing rope and a bar for drinks.

I had to extract the following two photos from a video our guide took:

And that's all for Irie Blue Hole! It really is a true gem of Jamaica and I highly recommend a trip here. You don't have to be a dare devil to enjoy it, as there are all levels of jumps and swims.

Ocho Rios Continued:

Life jackets are available for those not comfortable with swimming.

Its starting to get a little crowded. Check out the guys face as he hits the water in the lower right. Hilarious!

We move on down to the next hole.

And another:

Ocho Rios Continued:

There is a little hike along the water to get to the top jumping hole. There are ropes along the way to help keep your balance.

We are the second group to arrive at the top today.

The first of many jumping opportunities:

And away I go...

Ocho Rios, Jamaica:

I got up early to make sure I could catch the sunrise over Jamaica... and it was breathtaking! (But wait until you see the sunset picture I took later that evening.)

One of the main reasons for booking this cruise was to see Jamaica. I know, I have read way too many posts on Cruise Critic of members warning folks to not get off the ship, it’s dirty, you’ll hate it, the people are pushy, there’s crime everywhere, etc. We are an adventurous family, but not careless. I did plenty of research beforehand and determined Marvyn’s Paradise Tours was the perfect match. I booked a private excursion just for us four. I have learned in the past that big organized group tours may get you a better deal, but you are limited on time by what the group wants. I like a private tour, as we can decide how long to stay at each stop and can even change the itinerary.

We booked the private Irie Blue Hole tour with Marvyn Paradise Tours which included a beach stop (tbd) and lunch stop (Scotchies). Marvyn emailed us numerous times before our cruise to provide us with meeting place directions and updates. Great communicator! We were one of the first off the ship and headed right over to the private tour guide meeting place directly outside of the port. The port staffer directed us to Marvyn’s tour, and we immediately got in a large shuttle with others and took the 5 minute drive to Marvyn’s office. Marvyn came and personally introduced himself and then introduced us to our driver <I cannot believe I have forgotten his name… it has been 2 months>.

Off we went in an AC van through Ocho Rios and up the mountain to Irie Blue Hole. If you do this tour, be sure to bring water shoes. But if you forget, there are a couple of places to stop on the way to purchase or rent.

Our guide takes care of the park entrance fee and hands us off to a young park/excursion guide. The guide was to stay with our group the whole time we are at the park. They will also hold your camera and take photos, which is wonderful. I could ditch my waterproof bag and not have to worry about taking photos. My only regret is that my camera was not quite on the right settings.

They keep a certain number of spots available for onboard reservations. I asked the same question before our January cruise. The reservation desk is open soon after the muster drill. (It may be open before, but I cannot confirm). I do not recommend using the iConcierge App for making reservations. We tried this first before sail away, and it messed up. I clicked to book 4 seats, and it accepted 1 seat and said the others were unavailable. Had to get NCL to assist, was informed by the crew member that the app still has issues. There were plenty of seats, and he fixed our reservation.

Subscribing from the Carnival board so I can come back and read this. My phone app doesn't let me star it if I find a thread in another board. So annoying...

 

Looking forward to your Jamaica port excursion. We are going in November on the Carnival Visit.

 

 

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We really enjoyed Jamaica, just make sure you have everything planned before you go. This is not a port to just wing it.