djmckinn

Some good info in this thread https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2687478-27-falls-cab-from-port-seating-maximum/

If you have any other specific questions, please ask!

I left our stuff in the taxi/van. We had a backpack or two of stuff and someone would have to really try hard to dig through it to find anything valuable. The driver is going to want a tip so if stuff is missing that is going to hurt his chances.

I also would not feel like you are going to offend the driver by getting a locker (they are between $3-$5 depending on size). Again, they want you to have a good experience which hopefully means a better tip. It is really up to you which way you feel more comfortable. Sounds like the locker may be the way to go for you.

Last review on TripAdvisor says that only waterfalls 1-12 were open as of their trip in November 2019. 

4 minutes ago, Garv816 said:

 

May I ask how you went about the trip from start to finish? I had booked through a tour operator but I don't want to get stuck in a large group and spend a lot of time waiting/standing around. It's just me and my husband. 

 

Thank you!!

From a cost standpoint, it may make sense to use a tour company for 2 people. I believe the taxi costs $50 each way regardless of the number of people. You could probably try to team up with others going to split the cost if you can find some others. There were some people that ended up in our group that used a tour operator for about $50/person including everything. So I don't think using a taxi or a non-cruise tour operator makes a difference as far as the group you are in.

Not sure exactly the details you are looking for, so let me know if you want to know anything else, but here is how it went for us:

- Got off the boat at 9:00 am walked over the taxi stand, said we wanted to go to the 27 waterfalls. Got assigned a driver and went on our way.

- About a 20 or 30 minute ride to the waterfalls.

- Left our stuff in the van, except for some money. Leave anything you don't want to lose or to get wet in the van. Driver takes you up to the window to pay for the trip. Only choice was 7 or 12 waterfalls that day. We did 12 for I believe $13 per person (what a deal that is!). You could pay extra for lunch but we declined.

- A guide was assigned and they help you pick out helmets and life jackets. Went to the concession stand a bought a bottle of water for everyone for $1/bottle for a decent size bottle. Had to wait maybe 10-15 minutes for others to join our group before we left. Had about 14 or 15 in the group by the time we left. They did a good job of letting us know why were waiting and what was going on so it wasn't an issue.

- Did the hike up. Didn't find the hike difficult but they went very slow to make sure everyone was fine and keeping up. One lady was struggling a bit so they made sure she was doing ok. Probably could have done the hike in 20 or 30 mins easily, but probably took 45 minutes. They have a place to dispose of the water bottles before going down in the water. There were other groups that were around, but just make sure you stay with your group which isn't hard.

- There was a guy taking pictures in the group. Just tell them if you are going to buy pictures or not and he will get pictures of you if you want for a fee.

- Jumping down the falls started. First jump I think was the highest - fun!! Some people opted for the ladder down, but if you've come this far seems like you should jump! Guides tell you what to do. Best if you keep your arms by your side - your instinct is to put them out, but that won't feel very good! There are a series of jumps, slides, and swims with walking in between.

- We encountered other groups (probably from the ship tour because there were a lot of them together). Just follow your guides.

- Got done about noon, was pretty well dried off by the time we walked back. Tipped the guides and got back in the taxi van.

- Driver offered to take us anywhere else, but opted to go back to the port. Got back around 12:30 and then paid the driver + tip.

They had guys riding up and down the pier on bike rickshaws that can carry a couple of people when I was there last week. I think they were free, but tips are assumed.

I don't think they went past the end/exit of the pier all the way to the taxi area.

4 hours ago, Fourkids4us said:

 

Thank you so much for this info. Cant wait to do it next week. 

Some other things to note:

- Some of us wore old tennis shoes and others water shoes. If you have water shoes that are comfortable to walk in, that is probably best. Tennis shoes work fine too, just not us great once they get soaked.

- Probably worth buying a bottle of water at the stand there to take on the hike up. Only $1 per bottle and you throw it away at the end of the hike and before the waterfalls

- The hike wasn't that bad if you are in any half way decent shape. They take their time to make sure everyone is keeping up.

- We got off the boat at 9:00 and were done and back at port around 12:30 so you have plenty of time to either hang out at the port pool or do something else before you get back. Was hoping to do all 27 waterfalls and we would have had time for sure, but the last 12 that were open were pretty good.

Hope you have a good trip.

Just got back from doing this excursion. The snorkeling part of this excursion was good. Got to snorkel about 35 minutes at each stop. As with most Carnival excursions there are too many people (probably 50) so it is pretty crowded compared to what you'd get with a private company.

The beach part of the excursion is a joke especially if you have the afternoon session which we did. The beach part of the excursion is done first in the afternoon session. We had a nice spot on the beach when we first got off the boat. Then we had to go check in for the excursion at 2:00. After waiting for a while they bused us to the beach about 100 feet from where we were before (you can walk to this spot in 5 minutes or less). We supposedly had free beach chairs, but the nice ones with cushioned seats and umbrellas were already take so we were stuck with a painted wooden chair in the back with no umbrella. They didn't tell you anything about where to go or how long to wait, but ended up waiting about an hour for the boat to arrive to go snorkeling. Got back around 5:30 right before you had to be on the boat.

I would try to get the morning session or book a similar private excursion.

We have a family of 5 and easily fit in a minivan last week. It looked like most of the vehicles they had were minivans so you should be fine splitting them up into 3 groups. Cost was $100 round trip.

You can only do a maximum of 12 waterfalls right now because it has been so dry. Still a great time and well worth doing. Taking a taxi is easy and will save you over using a tour company.

I'm sailing at the end of the week and have been wait-listed for YTD since we signed up. I emailed the Maitre'd as suggested but received and email today that says the request was not accepted and we are still assigned for Late Dining. Hopefully I can still get switched to YTD by talking to them when we get there. What are the chances we can get switched?