Boatswains Turtle excursion through Carnival- Cayman Islands

[Gadget1969]

Hello all!

 

Looking for someone that has booked the Turtles, Turtles, and More Turtles excursion through Carnival recently. I searched the forums, but all results I found are over a year old.

 

I am trying to decide exactly how much time we'll have at the park. My wife has some mobility issues and if the Carnival excursion is too fast paced, that may be a problem. I would really like her to be able to take her time in the park.

 

On the Carnival excursion, do they basically get you to the park and then you are on your own to explore the park and then meet at a set time for return transport?

 

Has anyone recently used the bus system to get to the Turtle Farm on your own? How hard was it to catch a bus from the farm back to the pier area?

 

By the way, our cruise will be early December.

 

Thanks in advance!

[nybumpkin]

We did this excursion in February. When you arrive, they give you an overview of the park and show you the different turtle tanks. After that, you're on your own to explore. We went to the shark exhibit, the aviary, and DH and the boys went swimming in the pool. My review is at http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=64701 and I have photos posted at http://travel.webshots.com/album/576847767qrpcbe?start=108

 

We had about 3 hours in the park which we thought was plenty of time to see everything. Since our tour was scheduled to return around 12:30, we opted to have lunch back on board the ship.

[Gadget1969]

We did this excursion in February. When you arrive, they give you an overview of the park and show you the different turtle tanks. After that, you're on your own to explore. We went to the shark exhibit, the aviary, and DH and the boys went swimming in the pool. My review is at http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=64701 and I have photos posted at http://travel.webshots.com/album/576847767qrpcbe?start=108

 

We had about 3 hours in the park which we thought was plenty of time to see everything. Since our tour was scheduled to return around 12:30, we opted to have lunch back on board the ship.

 

I found your post about about 30 minutes after I put mine up, thanks for responding.

 

So you all were good with the amount of time, right? Did you end up back at the pier with time to do a little shopping right there? We are in Caymans only 8-3.

[nybumpkin]

I found your post about about 30 minutes after I put mine up, thanks for responding.

 

So you all were good with the amount of time, right? Did you end up back at the pier with time to do a little shopping right there? We are in Caymans only 8-3.

We were fine with the time at Boatswain's. Of course, we probably could have found plenty to do if we were there longer.... We would have had plenty of time to shop back at George Town - I think we were back around 12:30 and our back-aboard time was 3:00. If you're sailing at 3, your back-aboard time will probably be 2:30.

[Gadget1969]

We were fine with the time at Boatswain's. Of course, we probably could have found plenty to do if we were there longer.... We would have had plenty of time to shop back at George Town - I think we were back around 12:30 and our back-aboard time was 3:00. If you're sailing at 3, your back-aboard time will probably be 2:30.

 

Great! One last question. I believed I read that you all opted not to do the package that included lunch, but would you happen to know (from others around you that might have) did they just give you coupons or something that you used at the snack shoppes there, or was it an organized "now we will go have lunch all together thing"?

 

Can you tell that the DW and I want to do what we want when we want?! :D

[nybumpkin]

Great! One last question. I believed I read that you all opted not to do the package that included lunch, but would you happen to know (from others around you that might have) did they just give you coupons or something that you used at the snack shoppes there, or was it an organized "now we will go have lunch all together thing"?

 

Can you tell that the DW and I want to do what we want when we want?! :D

I'm not positive, but I never heard any announcements for the group to have lunch - and we did stop by the dining area to get something to drink, not too long before we left. Didn't see any organized dining group there.

[Silverscreencruiser]

We booked directly through the turtle farm's website, www.boatswainsbeach.ky. If you buy your tickets online they have a free bus twice a day that takes you from the pier to the turtle farm and back (email them to confirm the bus times). The cost for online tickets is much less than for any of the cruise excursions (you can get the whole park or just the turtle farm).

 

We'll be there in four weeks.