Red Stripe Beach

[Gilly's Daughter]

Can anyone help me with some more info on red stripes beach please.

My family of 4 (2 kids age 8 and 6) are on the FOS next month and we have a day in Falmouth and are trying to decide what to do. We are toying with Hilton Rose Hall but the ship offers an excursion to red stripe beach - I think it is pretty must just transport there and back.

Do you know if you can just get a taxi there and back? And if so how easy is it to get a cab back? Also are there sun beds and parasols for rent - I'm not a fan of a towel on the sand.

Really I would like to go to a nice beach somewhere not too far for just a few hours.

Thanks fellow cruisers

[Jmillsarch]

My family and I were there this past January and I was not impressed. We have a 5 and 4 year old and we could not play in the sand at all due to sand fleas, or sand bugs, or whatever they were.

Little kids were all being bitten and not realizing what it was. We were building a sand castle and the second we hit water our entire little pool filled up with these little clear bugs that would crawl all over your skin and bite you. All you could really see was there big black eye.

The shuttle was supposed to run every 30 minutes so we decided to leave.

The water is okay, not great, but okay. We went the Chuka beach last year and it was better. RC no longer offers that excursion.

The bar area was kind of weird. I was the only one at the bar and I had to order my beer from one person, pay, then go to the pick up window, then wait for another person to hand me my beer and expect a tip. Seemed to be overly complicated.

While we waited to leave the shuttle took forever. They only had small shuttles that held about 20 people. Once a shuttle did arrive there was a huge rush to get on. Grown men were pushing kids out of the way to get on. While the actions of other guest is not their fault, they should have had larger buses.

Overall I would not recommend it for families with children. Without kids it would probably be okay, but it definitely not the best Jamaica has to offer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Dan-P]

We were just there a few weeks ago and loved our day there.

To qualify that, we are not fussy, super easy going, and don't really like being catered to non-stop. We were just looking for a relaxing beach day with no frills. We also do not have kids and would say aside from swimming/playing in the sand, there wouldn't be a ton of activities for kids to do.

The staff were super friendly, the water was great, and the beach was clean. We were the first bus to the beach in the morning and there was a fair amount of sea-grass on the beach when we arrived. The staff was very quick to rake it up and remove it though. We did not sit directly in the sand, but had no issues with any sort of biting bugs - either airborne or from the sand.

Shuttles were running every 15-30 minutes and they had both large and small busses running. Going back to port we were on a very large, almost commerical sized bus, that was only about half full. We were on the Independence of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas docked a couple hours after us.

There are toilets, changing rooms, and outdoor showers provided.

We did not have food or drink, so can't comment on that.

The price you pay for the excursion is your transportation and entry. Chairs - $5/person, umbrellas - $10ea (which aren't really need as there is plenty of natural shade if you want it), water sports rental and equipment are all extra. I rented some snorkel gear and it was $15 for the whole time I was there.

Any specific questions and I'd be glad to try to answer.

Dan.

[karena1]

[quote name='Dan-P']We were just there a few weeks ago and loved our day there.

To qualify that, we are not fussy, super easy going, and don't really like being catered to non-stop. We were just looking for a relaxing beach day with no frills. We also do not have kids and would say aside from swimming/playing in the sand, there wouldn't be a ton of activities for kids to do.

The staff were super friendly, the water was great, and the beach was clean. We were the first bus to the beach in the morning and there was a fair amount of sea-grass on the beach when we arrived. The staff was very quick to rake it up and remove it though. We did not sit directly in the sand, but had no issues with any sort of biting bugs - either airborne or from the sand.

Shuttles were running every 15-30 minutes and they had both large and small busses running. Going back to port we were on a very large, almost commerical sized bus, that was only about half full. We were on the Independence of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas docked a couple hours after us.

There are toilets, changing rooms, and outdoor showers provided.

We did not have food or drink, so can't comment on that.

The price you pay for the excursion is your transportation and entry. Chairs - $5/person, umbrellas - $10ea (which aren't really need as there is plenty of natural shade if you want it), water sports rental and equipment are all extra. I rented some snorkel gear and it was $15 for the whole time I was there.

Any specific questions and I'd be glad to try to answer.

Dan.[/quote]

Do you have any pictures you could share with me? would love to see what the beach looked like. Were the chair rental "lounge" chairs where you can adjust the back like a normal beach chair and full length meaning your legs/feet were on the lounger? Thanks

[Dan-P]

[quote name='karena1']Do you have any pictures you could share with me? would love to see what the beach looked like. Were the chair rental "lounge" chairs where you can adjust the back like a normal beach chair and full length meaning your legs/feet were on the lounger? Thanks[/QUOTE]

I do have some pictures, but it may be a day or so before I get on the computer that has them, to get them uploaded.

The lounge chairs were full lounge chairs - the type with an adjustable back and your legs/feet are fully supported.

Dan.

Sent from my SM-P600 using Forums mobile app

[karena1]

[quote name='Dan-P']I do have some pictures, but it may be a day or so before I get on the computer that has them, to get them uploaded.

The lounge chairs were full lounge chairs - the type with an adjustable back and your legs/feet are fully supported.

Dan.

Sent from my SM-P600 using Forums mobile app[/quote]

Cool, we might go back there then. I would be fine with going to Red Stripe, but if the last bus is at 3:30 and we don't leave until 7, I don't want to leave the beach that early. We don't get in until 10:30 so if we go to Doctors Cave we could stay until at least 5 before catching a cab back to the ship.

[Dan-P]

[quote name='karena1']Do you have any pictures you could share with me? would love to see what the beach looked like. Were the chair rental "lounge" chairs where you can adjust the back like a normal beach chair and full length meaning your legs/feet were on the lounger? Thanks[/quote]

Here are a few pictures for you of Red Stripe Beach. I don't have any of the facilities, and none of these really give a good perspective, but will at least give you a general idea of the beach area.

The chairs we rented:
[IMG]http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/turbo4door/Independence%20of%20the%20Seas%202014/IMG_0640Small_zps0b21babe.jpg[/IMG]

Looking one way up the beach:
[IMG]http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/turbo4door/Independence%20of%20the%20Seas%202014/P2120094Small_zps5d6294cc.jpg[/IMG]

And the other:
[IMG]http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/turbo4door/Independence%20of%20the%20Seas%202014/P2120096Small_zps26dd2b59.jpg[/IMG]

The far end where Red Stripe ends. There are some locals that setup just outside of this area if you chose to go do a little shopping. They do not bother you on the beach inside of Red Stripe though, as the security keeps them out.
[IMG]http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/turbo4door/Independence%20of%20the%20Seas%202014/P2120097Small_zps690dfd15.jpg[/IMG]

And the roped off lifeguard covered swim area (if you look closely at the middle left horizon, you can see the Allure of the Seas approaching):
[IMG]http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r74/turbo4door/Independence%20of%20the%20Seas%202014/IMG_0636Small_zpsa5e79e81.jpg[/IMG]

Hope that helps a little.

Dan. Edited April 22, 2014 by Dan-P

[neptuno]

Did you snorkel? Anything to see, fish, coral or rocks or anything?

[Dan-P]

[quote name='neptuno']Did you snorkel? Anything to see, fish, coral or rocks or anything?[/quote]

Yes I did.

For me, I enjoyed myself. It was my first time snokeling in the Caribbean, so just seeing anything was exciting - and I did see a fair amount, just not a huge abundance, or a lot grouped all in one place. The coolest sight to me, was probably the two Lionfish I saw. I realize they are an invasive species, and are destroying local fish populations, but seeing them outside of an aquarium was kind of cool.

For an experienced snorkeler, I would say probably not a ton to see. There is some rocks, and some coral (mostly dead), but not loaded with fish and stuff like I've read about in other parts of the Caribbean.

Dan. Edited April 23, 2014 by Dan-P

[karena1]

nice pics, thanks