Ocho Rios, Jamaica - Original Canopy Tour

[Yvonne]

Has anyone done the "Original Canopy Tour" shore excursion in Ocho Rios?

 

I read about it and it says you traverse 9 separate times, between 105 feet and 660 feet.

 

Please tell me what it was like. Did you enjoy it? Would you do it again?

 

I'm not afraid of heights, but I'm afraid of the equipment failing and dropping me to a horrible death on the ground!!! I am well within the weight limit tho!!

 

Do you have to put the equipment on yourself, or does the guide help you?

 

What if you don't like it after the first traverse? Are you forced to do the rest of them or is there "another way out?" Are there snakes along the way?

 

My husband and I would kind of like to do this excursion, as it's really "outside the box" for both of us. But I'm nervous!!

[driftychick]

I have done the Original Canopy Tour in Costa Rica, 2 years ago. It was FUN beyond belief. Before you go out on the course you have a "ground school". They put the equipment on you, explain how it works and tell you what to do and what not to do. Then you hike to the course and off you go. I will tell you that the first "ZIP" is the hardest. I was scared to death to put it mildly and I honestly did not think about the equipment. I have long hair and you must put it up so that it does not get tangled. They are very patient, you just sort of "squat" down and off you go as if by magic. Scarry at first, and then all of the sudden you get a rush and it is just a super feeling. Then you "land" at the next tree, the guide catches you and un-hooks and re-hooks you and you walk around the tree and take off again! I will tell you that I did get "stuck" on one of the "ZIPS" and the guide had yo come out on the line and retrieve me! That is the only time I was really afraid, but I would do it again in an instant, it was that much fun! This company has a great safety record and they pride themselves on everyone having a great time. I have some pictures of our group posted on Webshots and I will try to give you a link. http://community.webshots.com/user/driftychick The photos are under Radiance Rowdies, Radiance of the Seas. More photos can be found at the website listed below under memories. All in all you will have a great time!

[Love2cruisegirl]

Has anyone done the "Original Canopy Tour" shore excursion in Ocho Rios? I read about it and it says you traverse 9 separate times, between 105 feet and 660 feet. Please tell me what it was like. Did you enjoy it? Would you do it again? I'm not afraid of heights, but I'm afraid of the equipment failing and dropping me to a horrible death on the ground!!! I am well within the weight limit tho!!

Do you have to put the equipment on yourself, or does the guide help you? What if you don't like it after the first traverse? Are you forced to do the rest of them or is there "another way out?" Are there snakes along the way? My husband and I would kind of like to do this excursion, as it's really "outside the box" for both of us. But I'm nervous!!

 

Yvonne,

My DH & I did The Original Canopy Tour while we were in Ocho (on the NOS) in September. Prior to doing some research, I sounded like you-very unsure about this excursion. I can say w/o a doubt that it was fabulous . :D There are 9 traverses (which are pretty much just 'straight-aways') and then 2 'surprises' which are basically ziplines that go straight down (like coming down from a rock climb). The staff is super-they do constant checks on your equipment and the ziplines themselves. I felt very safe at all times. I am very afraid of adventurous types of things (roller coasters, etc.) so this was a HUGE thing for me to do this excursion. The only time during the whole thing that I got freaked out was at the first 'surprise'-:eek: and I was so scared to go down the line that I cried and basically begged the guide not to make me go down-he was super about me being scared. HOWEVER, he did tell me there was no way back. Once you start the lines, there isn't any 'OUT'. So, after a little prayer-I went down...and survived! :) The jungle is absolutely beautiful-flowering trees, etc. As far as animals/critters, we only saw a gecko and a couple of ants. We went prepared for mosquitos but never saw any.

Please read the attached review of our day. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=235428

[Yvonne]

Thanks so much for the responses!

 

Love2cruisegirl: I don't do roller coasters either!! :) You mentioned the 2 "surprises", that are straight down like a rock wall...are you positioned like you would be rapelling down a rock wall? I mean, do you come down feet first or head first? That part would be a little scary, but I am thinking I would really, really like to do this. I've never done anything like this before and I think I would really be proud of myself to accomplish it. It sounds like a very exciting excursion. I read (and printed for my husband to read later) your review, and really appreciated it. Love the details, thanks for the link!

[Love2cruisegirl]

You mentioned the 2 "surprises", that are straight down like a rock wall...are you positioned like you would be rapelling down a rock wall? I mean, do you come down feet first or head first? That part would be a little scary, but I am thinking I would really, really like to do this. I've never done anything like this before and I think I would really be proud of myself to accomplish it.

 

Yvonne-The first 'surprise' is where you stand on a platform and basically just jump off and go down feet first (your feet actually hit on ground and then you walk a few feet to the next platform to take off thru the air). You are jumping off the platform facing out (the rock wall you come down facing the wall). There is a guide at the bottom of the jump holding a line (like when you come down a rock wall) that can help with the speed of your drop a bit, but basically it felt like a free fall to me. The second 'surprise' is pretty much the same deal. It didn't scare me quite as much as the first.

 

When it was all over, I was (like you mentioned) really proud of myself for doing it. It was totally out of character for me-and my husband seemed to really appreciate that I was willing to try something like this.