sailing to Grand caymans/ Ocho rios any excursion help?

[hlb76]

We are sailing the imagination 1/21-1/26/06 we are porting in Grand cayman and ocho rios. Having never been there got any ideas of what to do. We are going as a family with 2 boys (5&10). I have been warned to to book through Carnival. But want to make sure we get a legit tour. Any help would be greatly appericated. I do plan to hit the beach. L ive in MN so will be under snow and ice by the time we leave so a warm beach will be great. Well Thanks in advance.;)

[allen1aj]

The port of call boards. We are doing the reef, rays and rumpointe tour in GC through Nativeway. They are highly recommended. Good Luck,

Amanda

[BettyB2]

Definitelely check out the ports of call boards - you have enough time to research before you do any bookings with Carnival.

 

In GC a MUST DO is swimming with the stingrays - there is nothing like it and National Georgraphic says swimming with the rays in GC is in the top 10 MUST if you can do it. I would for sure book with a private tour operator for this in GC - much more personal, les crowded and cheaper!!!

I know when you first start here on CC things can be hard to find sooo:

 

Here is GC board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=210

[thecarneys]

i just returned from GC, and can highly recommend Nativeway! the crew was awesome! we did the rays,reef, and rumpoint tour and it was fabulous! can't wait until we get the dvd from it!!!!

[Rowan555]

I just booked the Stingray Sandbar / Coral Gardens tour for next week with Nativeway. We're looking forward to it! We went to Stingray City about 8 years ago on a ship tour, and it was way too crowded. We're looking forward to taking our kids to see the stingrays - I hope they enjoy it!

[ppeckham]

It sounds like the previous posters have you covered for Grand Cayman. Definitely do the Stingray City tour. We've done that one, the island tour (once was more than enough) and the semi submarine (once was fine).

 

In Ocho Rios the biggest attraction is Dunns River Falls. You actually climb the waterfalls in a group. There are guides to take you up the falls. We've done this twice now. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Your boys will love it. I'm not in the best condition physically but certainly not overweight. I had no trouble doing the falls. On this last trip my 66-year-old mother and 68-year-old aunt did part of the falls as well. They did great!

 

On this last trip the excursion was a plantation tour and then the falls. The plantation tour was interesting. I was a bit annoyed some of the tour guides. One guy was taking video and was talking to me about not getting tips. The main tour guide basically had his hand out when we were getting off the trolley. When touring the home, a guy was handing out bracelets of braided leaves - of course, for a fee.

 

I've really only been to Grand Cayman, Mexico, Bahamas, and Jamaica in the Caribbean. Only in Jamaica have I felt pressured to give tips and buy their wares. Just politely say no to the wares. Tips to the main tour guide and the bus drivers for excursions are expected. Remember to take plenty of 1s and 5s.

[crsinmo]

We loved the stingrays. Grand Caymen has good safe area of shops downtown as well.

[sgriff17]

In Ocho - do Dunns River or for a little less "dangerous" since you have a 5 year old, try the white river tubing adventure! It's soooo much fun!!!

 

Again - as everyone says - go to the Ports of Call board and click on Jamaica!

 

we love to use: peattaylor.com - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! He'll keep you laughing, safe, informed, and won't take as much money as CCL will!

[Djptcp]

Definitely Stingray City in Grand Cayman -- we've done it several times and loved it. However, a 5 year old may be frightened -- several older kids got scared right away and got back in the boat on one of our trips. Depending upon conditions, the waves could be pretty high, too. We are excellent swimmers and had some difficulty on the same trip when the kids got scared. Dunn's River Falls is iffy for a 5 year old, too. We watched from a lookout on the side and both children and adults were having problems slipping around.....a passenger on our ship fell and broke her ankle there. It was pretty, but not something we wanted to do after we watched from the sidelines for awhile. We don't have kids, so I can't offer any alternatives, but felt you should know that neither excursion is a piece of cake for a small child of 5.