Carnival Shore Excursion In Dominica (Emerald Pool and Beach Pleasures)

[purrlinda]

Has anyone done the Emerald Pool and Beach Pleasures tour that is offered by Carnival for Dominica?

 

I scanned the Ports of Call forum for Dominica but could not find any reviews of this. I have it planned for my next cruise and wanted some feedback.

[salty dingo]

I read the tour description, as I have twice been to Dominica and never heard of an "Emerald Pool". I believe it is a marketing term cooked up by Carnival.

 

The real name is Titou Gorge. Here is a pic:

 

To get to that waterfall, you have to swim a ways up the gorge. You have life vests, so it's all good. If it has been raining the waterfall can be really heavy but I was able to get in it both times.

 

If you don't swim, you can take a short hike to the top of the gorge and look down. The entrance to the gorge has a little waterfall which is hot water... from a volcanic hot spring. The big waterfall is cold water.

 

This is also the starting point for the trail to the boiling lake. It will take an experienced guide to get you there and back in time. I hiked on my second cruise to Dominica and it was stunning seeing an entire lake boiling. It took a lot out of me, but the swim in the gorge at the end was a nice finish. On the way back we swam in a natural hot spring next to the trail... a hot tub/jaccuzi in the rainforest. There were parrots flying overhead too.

[salty dingo]

A couple more notes... not sure if Carnival's tour will do this, as we booked with a local company and rode around in open-top jeeps... I think they called it Wacky Rollers. We stopped at several places with edible plants and fruits, picked coffee beans from the side of the road, etc.

 

We stopped at some volcanic vents which had steam coming out... kind of cool.

 

When you first get to the gorge it is a little disappointing because they use the water for drinking and have a concrete reservior right there... but of course once you get to the gorge that's all you see and it is beautiful.

 

They did at one time have a bath house to change clothes in, but I would not count on that, nor any bathrooms. It's really primitive. But cool.

 

The guide we hiked to the lake with took us to some of his local places, and you have to buy a park permit to go to the boiling lake, and he took care of that for us. You don't need any permit on a tour, the tour gets all you need.

 

I don't know anything about the beach part of the excursion, since our entire trip was taken by the jungle activities. Roseau has a grocery store and you can stock up on local beer or other things. Each of the islands has a signature beer and I try to grab some while I am there.

[purrlinda]

Thank you for the information. I've heard it referred to as Emerald Pool in several places. The pictures on Google of Emerald Pool look different than what I've seen of Titou Gorge. It doesn't appear to be the same place - the hike to Titou Gorge sounds a little difficult while the trip to the area called Emerald Pool sounds much easier. I think I'm a little confused now.

 

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it. The hike up to boinling lake sounds a little out of our ability at the moment though.

[Tenga1899]

Sorry Salty, there is an Emerald Pool. It's a pool formed by a waterfall and all the foliage around the area gives the water a green hue. It is a beautiful but very popular (read "can get crowded") tourist spot. It is a fairly easy hike on groomed trails to the pond, however the final 100-150 feet is a narrow path from the main trail to the pool and when there are a lot of visitors going into and out of the pool it can become a bit of a traffic jam.

 

Titou Gorge is a completely different tourist spot that again is a pool under a waterfall that as you said, you swim to. NIt also is at the trail head to the Boiling Lake, oh man, such a beautiful but painful endeavor that is lol....just stairs after stairs....but worth it in the end. Didn't know you'd have time as a cruiser to do this, you must have really been huffing it back and forth.

 

OP, I live here so I know nothing about Carnival's actual offer, but if it is something like Emerald Pool and Champagne Beach, you'll enjoy yourself thoroughly. :)

[salty dingo]

Nope, not been to any beaches there. The hike from where the vehicle parks to the Titou Gorge is rather flat. You cross a bridge and then parallel a stream but it is not strenuous. If you decide to hike to the top of the gorge there is an incline but it is not that bad. It's maybe a 100 foot deep gorge.

 

You may be right about the Emerald Pool being different. I searched for it and some different pictures came up. So, I'm no help there. But if you want a real adventure, the gorge is awesome!

[salty dingo]

Not for the cruiser, but it also is at the trail head to the Boiling Lake, oh man, such a beautiful but painful endeavor that is lol....just stairs after stairs....but worth it in the end.

The average cruiser would make a big mistake by trying the boiling lake hike! By myself and another couple along with Kelvin, our local guide made it there and back with a half hour to spare.

 

Dominica is our favorite island in the Caribbean. I have heard people put it down, but those are people who like shopping, not people who like to get out and experience pristine nature.

 

I remember reading at one time you could become a Dominican citizen with a small investment in the country. I'm going to look into that when I retire (some day, long from now) :D

[Tenga1899]

I remember reading at one time you could become a Dominican citizen with a small investment in the country. I'm going to look into that when I retire (some day, long from now) :D

 

I have some business ideas for you then that will keep your little piece of paradise quite nicely padded ;)

 

I know that hike for me was 3 out, 3 back, coulda done it in 4 total but my buddy decided to stay up all night the night before drinking tequila and its not a great hike when you are hung over....I readily relayed how idiotic he was, I think he was too busy trying to stay alive on the hike to hear me though...

[purrlinda]

The average cruiser would make a big mistake by trying the boiling lake hike! By myself and another couple along with Kelvin, our local guide made it there and back with a half hour to spare.

 

Dominica is our favorite island in the Caribbean. I have heard people put it down, but those are people who like shopping, not people who like to get out and experience pristine nature.

 

I remember reading at one time you could become a Dominican citizen with a small investment in the country. I'm going to look into that when I retire (some day, long from now) :D

 

Last time I went to Dominica I didn't plan for anything because I read some poor review about it. I just got off the ship and walked around the local shopping stalls around it and I was instantly disappointed that I let one person's opinion sway me from doing something there. The people were the nicest of all of the ports that I went to. I bought some trinkets, and went back to the ship. I love nature. If I were more fit, I would do more activities. (On a good fitness path at the moment so heading in the right direction but not there yet.) I am looking forward to going the park and seeing Emerald Pool and then going to Mero Beach, because it's a black sand beach. I'm sure it will be an interesting day. We are also the only ship in port on that day so hopefully the hot spots won't be too overly crowded. It will be a different type of island for me as I love white sand and super blue waters, but I'll see enough of that on my other islands. Raw nature is really wonderful to be surrounded by so I am really looking forward to it.