Ocho Rios excursion

[needabreakcanada]

Hi There:

 

Was looking for advice. Bamboo Beach Club is getting mixed reviews, anyone been there? ($59)

 

Also - all inclusive option Jewels Dunn River resort. ($79)

 

There is also Sunset Jamaica Grande for all inclusive option. ($60)

 

We are in port from 8 - 2:30.

 

Opinions would be great. - Thanks

[mikel24m]

Hi There:

 

Was looking for advice. Bamboo Beach Club is getting mixed reviews, anyone been there? ($59)

 

Also - all inclusive option Jewels Dunn River resort. ($79)

 

There is also Sunset Jamaica Grande for all inclusive option. ($60)

 

We are in port from 8 - 2:30.

 

Opinions would be great. - Thanks

 

One of our cruises we had to change ports due to weather and couldnt plan an excursion

 

We got off the ship and asked the taxi supervisor about a taxi for the day

 

we had a private taxi for the entire day that took us all over the island ,we stopped for lunch in the fishing village.I would (and most others would not) do this again in a heartbeat

[Cigar Dude]

I believe Couples Sans Souci offers a day pass. Check into that. If they do it's a fantastic place to relax! We have stayed there before and are returning again this year for 10 days! Beautiful place that you'll love.

 

Go to couples.com to contact them about the day pass.

[AZbeachboy]

Hi There:

 

Was looking for advice. Bamboo Beach Club is getting mixed reviews, anyone been there? ($59)

 

Also - all inclusive option Jewels Dunn River resort. ($79)

 

There is also Sunset Jamaica Grande for all inclusive option. ($60)

 

We are in port from 8 - 2:30.

 

Opinions would be great. - Thanks

 

We took the excursion by boat at Dunn Rivers Falls. Had a great time climbing the falls. We had more time that you, so we went to Margaritaville at the end of the pier, Great swim up pool. Sat at a seat in the swimming pool. This was the most fun and least expensive Margaritaville we have been to. Met some people from the ship and had a great party.

[btownsend]

I have used Phil Layfayette Tours twice and it was Fantastic...

 

http://www.phil-lafayette-tours.com/Tours.html

[taylorsays]

I had a really good time doing the Bamboo Beach Club excursion. The food was good (mmm the jerk chicken!) and the drinks were overflowing. Lots of dancing! The staff was great and it was a really, really fun beach day. I would recommend water shoes if you plan on getting into the water, as it was a little rough.

[needabreakcanada]

How close to the pier is couples san souci?

 

We are only in port a short time 8am - 2:30pm and want to be able to make the most of where we are going.

 

THanks

[l8cruiser]

I am also looking at the Bamboo Beach Club. I am having trouble deciding which excursion for this port. I read that Dunn River Falls Resort will not pick you up until 9:15 even though the ship arrives at 730. Carnival wants you onboard one hour before departure. So that would be at 1:30. You would only have about 3 hours at a resort. About the time I got good and happy, it would be time to leave. With the short time in Ocho Rios, I am leaning toward the Carnival sponsored BBC. That way I don't have to worry about being late.

 

I think the bad reviews come from people expecting an AI Resort at the Bamboo Beach Club. It is far from that. It is a nice beach party at a so so beach.

 

What ship and date are you sailing? We will be on the Freedom September 16. Have fun where ever you go.

 

Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk

[needabreakcanada]

We are September 2nd cruise date.

 

You are too late and will miss us lol.

 

The bad reviews of Bamboo Beach are leaving me undecided. One person on CC claims the food made two of them sick and others in the group as well.

 

The short stay is really putting a wrench in everyones plans.

 

Jewel Dunns River has offered to pick us up at 8:15 - ask them about it maybe they will make an exception for you too.

[Cigar Dude]

How close to the pier is couples san souci?

 

We are only in port a short time 8am - 2:30pm and want to be able to make the most of where we are going.

 

THanks

 

 

It's not far but I can't remember exactly how far. We took a trip from the resort to Margaritaville and Dunns River Falls when we were there. We could see the cruise dock from the Margaritaville.

[rjschaack16]

We did the Jewel at Dunn's River Falls in Jan. of this year. Was well worth the price. Great all inclusive for drinks and food.

[needabreakcanada]

How long were you at Jewel Dunns River?

 

We have a short stop so are trying to figure out if it is worth the extra $$

 

Thanks,

[satbeachbill]

X2 with Phil LaFayette aaaiiiyyyeeeeee :D

[Beth]

We did a Mystic Mountain excursion thru Carnival & loved it. Beautiful place and no hassling from vendors or locals. Highly recommend this.

[keystonemama]

We did Bamboo Beach Club a couple of yrs ago, we were not expecting 5 star, we only had a few hrs and it was our first time visiting Jamaica so we booked a CCL excursion. We had already did roll call with some people and we all decided on it. It was nice enough. It takes about 10 mins to drive there (van) and the food was ok, some jerk chicken, cinnamon sticks, marcaroni/gravy and drinks were flowing all day. There was a small band, some souveniers, someone for massages, dance entertainers, chairs or loungers (bring your own towel) a bar, (do the flamin' Marley shot) and drinks were brought to us all day.

The sand is a little rough, flipflops needed, we avoided the rocky area by walking down the beach to the huge rock wall, didn't need water shoes there. There are bathrooms and an outside shower, all in all a nice day, just watch out for the overproof rum drinks you can buy in the coconuts!:eek: They took us back to port, we were able to shop for about an hour before boarding time. Here's a few pics to get an idea:

Dancer

 

[keystonemama]

 

Marley Shot

 

 

 

Another dancer and rum punch drinks

 

[needabreakcanada]

Thank you for the pics - looks like you had a great time.

\

Will consider it!

[wardwhitty]

We were in Ocho Rios in May and did the Jewel Dunn's River Falls. It was awesome. The drinks were great people very helpful and the drivers were prompt and accomodating. When we signed up they asked what ship and what time you docked. They said they would leave 45 mins after the ship docked so if the ship was late we would not miss them. Then once on the bus they asked the group what time we wanted to be picked up. I would say the price is well worth it. They also offer a full refund if the ship misses the port altogether.

 

The only negative I could see is that they are an hour behind us so lunch at the buffet was not served until 12pm their time (1pm ship time). There is a snack bar / grill and I think another restaurant on site but the buffet was poolside and fantastic.

[needabreakcanada]

Well all inclusive is out. Just realized that ship time is different than Jamaican time. So basically the bars do not open until 11:00 am at Jewels Dunn River and the earliest restaurant is 12:00 noon; ship time.

 

So we would only have 2 hours to drink and 1 hour to eat while there - for $79 pp that is very expensive and rushed.

 

It would have been a good option if we were in port longer but we are only there from 7:30 - 2:30 ship time.

 

:(

[needabreakcanada]

After you did the Bamboo Beach was there time afterward to do margaritaville or shopping?

 

Thanks,

[keystonemama]

After you did the Bamboo Beach was there time afterward to do margaritaville or shopping?

 

Thanks,

 

They dropped us off so we could shop a little (I was looking for Blue Mountain coffee), we were able to shop for a little over an hour, Margaritaville is very close to the port as are some vendors, we shopped a little ways from Margaritaville, I will tell you though, be firm when shopping, they follow you around the store and try to bargain with you, don't let it scare you, a simple no thank you should suffice. (and the Jamaican guy that roams in front of the port and asks you (right in front of a policeman carrying a machine gun) if you would like marijuana?:eek: a simple "No ganja mon" will do.:p

Happy Sailing,

This is near the port..

[LuvRumNSun]

Jewell is definetely worth the $20 more then Bamboo. It used to be a Sandals property and is beautiful! I traveled to Ocho Rios about 10 times in the last 2 years so I've done it all.