Carnival's Rose Hall Beach Resort excursion

[aggie182]

Anyone been on this? What is it like? Any thoughts and/or info would be appreciated.

[aggie182]

anyone??

[rstephenrrtx]

I'd like to know also. All I hear is Sunset Beach...but as this is our first trip to Jamaica I'd rather stick to what Carnival sells...even though it is outrageously expensive.

 

Did find this website http://www.rosehallresort.com/

 

It looks great! The Carnival website description did not do this justice.

 

Help me and aggie182 out? If not, we go on Mar 19 on Conquest...I'll post what we find.

 

rns

[aggie182]

I'd like to know also. All I hear is Sunset Beach...but as this is our first trip to Jamaica I'd rather stick to what Carnival sells...even though it is outrageously expensive.

 

Did find this website http://www.rosehallresort.com/

 

It looks great! The Carnival website description did not do this justice.

 

Help me and aggie182 out? If not, we go on Mar 19 on Conquest...I'll post what we find.

 

rns

 

I'll be going after you, in the middle of April. If you'd post a quick review, etc, that'd be awesome and appreciated.

[aggie182]

Scares me that no one has been here. I'd choose another all-inclusive, but I want to stick with Carnival excursions since it's my 1st cruise.

[jshawnh]

I called the wyndham Rose Hall resort today(876-953-2650). We are going on the Carnival Conquest March 26th. THey have an all inclusive day package for cruise ship passengers. It is 55.00 per day for adults and 35.00 for children. You can go to Wyndham's web site and look for Jamaica and Rose HAll. It looks like a beautiful area with a lot of palm trees, a water park, pools etc. I don't know if this is the same place offered by the cruise lines or not. The concierge told me that the resort is about 15 minutes from the cruise terminal, depending on traffic.

 

I am seriously considering this instead of Sunset.

 

Shawn

[jshawnh]

I just looked at the excursion on Carnival's site. It does appear to be the same. It would obviously be best to go on your own, unless transportation both ways would cost over $25.00 per person, which i seriously doubt, since you can rent a guided van for about 75.00 a day in Jamaica.

[rstephenrrtx]

jshawnh,

Thanks for the great review. Sounds like we made a great choice and am willing to fork over the extra $$$ just because we haven't been there before.

 

We leave in a week. Look for a posting soon on what we thought.

 

rns

[jshawnh]

I'll be looking for that review. Maybe you'll post it before we cruise Mar 16. I can't wait to hear how much you enjoyed it, and to get there myself. Bon Voyage!

 

Shawn

 

edit: Woops, it looks like you'll be getting off the ship as we are getting on. I know this is crazy, but if you have a second when you get off the ship, if you happen to think of it, might you call the Harbor House Hotel in galveston and leave a message for me, just with a thumbs up or down. I would so much appreciate it, since noone else onhere seems to have been.

 

you can email me at jshawnh@yahoo.com

 

Thanks So Much, and enjoy your cruise. I have to wait two more weeks :(

[robc]

I'd like to know about this too. We are on the Conquest June 4 and are trying to decide where to go woth our group of 12 (6 children ages 9-12).

[rstephenrrtx]

I'll be looking for that review. Maybe you'll post it before we cruise Mar 16. I can't wait to hear how much you enjoyed it, and to get there myself. Bon Voyage!

 

Shawn

 

edit: Woops, it looks like you'll be getting off the ship as we are getting on. I know this is crazy, but if you have a second when you get off the ship, if you happen to think of it, might you call the Harbor House Hotel in galveston and leave a message for me, just with a thumbs up or down. I would so much appreciate it, since noone else onhere seems to have been.

 

you can email me at jshawnh@yahoo.com

 

Thanks So Much, and enjoy your cruise. I have to wait two more weeks :(

 

4 days 6 hours and counting before I'm off for the cruise. Sorry you have to wait.

 

I'll be sure to post here...kinda doubt I'll remember to call the Harbor house...but hey, you're going on a cruise! You will have a great time either way! I know we are.:D

 

rns

[Host CJSKIDS]

I called the wyndham Rose Hall resort today(876-953-2650). We are going on the Carnival Conquest March 26th. THey have an all inclusive day package for cruise ship passengers. It is 55.00 per day for adults and 35.00 for children. You can go to Wyndham's web site and look for Jamaica and Rose HAll. It looks like a beautiful area with a lot of palm trees, a water park, pools etc. I don't know if this is the same place offered by the cruise lines or not. The concierge told me that the resort is about 15 minutes from the cruise terminal, depending on traffic.

 

I am seriously considering this instead of Sunset.

 

Shawn

 

Keep in mind that traffic can be horrible and there are lots of pot holes which dramatically slows things down. Our drive was supposed to be 15 minutes from the airport to the Ritz Carlton Rose Hall (in November) and it took about 45! The cruise ship is further away than the airport and I believe the Wyndam is close to the Ritz.

[jshawnh]

thanks for that information...sways me toward Sunset Beach.

[aggie182]

Cool, if someone posted a quick review of it, that'd be awesome. Even pics if you have some digital or scanned. I'll pay it forward.

[aggie182]

jshawnh,

Thanks for the great review. Sounds like we made a great choice and am willing to fork over the extra $$$ just because we haven't been there before.

 

We leave in a week. Look for a posting soon on what we thought.

 

rns

 

Hopefully we can see a positive review this week.

[rstephenrrtx]

I know at least Aggie182 has been looking forward to this...hopefully some others have been also.

 

Just returned from the Conquest that left on 3/19. Yes, this is the one that the Coast Guard took the 28 Cuban refugees off our hands...but that is not what you want to know about.

 

We had this excusion prebooked because

a) We didn't want to miss something because it was sold out

b) Didn't see anything else that seemed "right"

c) Heard all the horror stories and wanted something "safe"

 

Well, the Rose Hall Beach Resort tour was really nice. It is the Wyndam resort in the city. It is part of a larger Rose Hall development area complete with upper end shopping - once built out. The resort itself is fully built.

 

The beach is, of course, the main draw. You can walk out on the white sand about 50 yards and only be in 4-4.5 ft water. Go beyond the markers another 40 yards or so before you start to run into seaweed...but the depth is still only about 5-5.5 ft. Since I'm 6'2"...not a problem. Beyond that it looked like good snorkling. But I didn't partake.

 

Like the previous posts said, there is a water park...but don't expect water canons or the like. There is a "lazy river" that you can drift along in on a tube...and 2 water slides (one for the tube)...but that's about it. Nothing too fancy, but certainly much better landscaped (waterscaped???) than your typical pool (BTW, there were at least 3 other pools I saw if salt water isn't your thing). Getting a tube is a chore...not many available and they are grabbed quick.

 

Since we just wanted to relax, we didn't take advantage of the non-motorized water sports but several people did. Windsails, kayaks, and snorkeling. There were lounge chairs on the beach with cushins and several large umbrellas and palm trees for shade. Made for a very relaxing time.

 

Best of all - no hassle! Since it is private, there was no one there to hassle us. Probably could have used a waiter/waitress to walk around taking drink orders...but I digress...

 

There was a bar there and our wristband (you recieve up front) allowed for free drinks...don't know if it was unlimited...but from other cruisers it did seem to include the alcohol. We stuck with the non-alcoholic kinds. I guess that is the only negative once we got there - no one really "explained" what we could/could not do. That would have been nice.

 

Lunch was included and the buffet was decent. Included the normal "cheap" fair: hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, sandwich stuff, pizza from a local shop (still in the box). Most of it was edible but rather bland. The burgers were the frozen patty variety they grilled up for us. There were a couple of items labled "beef patty" and "chicken patty" that resembled more like a flat bread folded over with shredded meat. They were spicy...but not hot. My wife and I really enjoyed them. More of a taste of Jamaica than the rest of the offerings. There were also fountain Cokes and a dessert bar. The chocolate cheesecake cookie was super!

 

Spent about 3 hours there. Way too short IMO. I thought we were loading up to go back to the ship but instead we went to the City Center shoping area. This is the "recommended" area to shop from Carnival....but I think I could start a whole new thread on it. Imagine the worst flea market you have ever been to, put it in the middle of a dump site, then cover it with garbage. That is my feelings about this "recommended" area. Even though it was semi-controlled (high fence and only taxis/busses allowed in) we were still hassled beyond belief for the 30 minutes we had there. We should have stayed on the bus.:mad:

 

It was back to the pier then...or so I thought. We were picked up in front of the terminal building (behind the security fences) but dropped off in front of the market village next door. Not a "recommeded" site, not even mentioned to exist by Tamara the "super shopper". And for good reasons. The group of us all walked rather quickly to get by the shops and barkers trying to get us in. And this is where - you guessed it - one of the barkers offered me drugs (since I was the last in our pack). I almost made it the whole day without that experience. Darn!:( Want shopping? There are a few stores in the terminal building. Turn right in the bldg and go to the 2nd store I believe. It has a separate room for cigars. The people there are friendly. I talked to them while my wife spent way too much $$$. Be careful on what you spend but there were quite nice to deal with. Just accept that you are getting ripped off and it eases the pain.:rolleyes:

 

The drive time was a bit longer than what has been mentioned. Somewhere between 25-30 minutes. You do get to see a bit of the countryside and the driver will point out a few things. But that isn't too much to write about.

 

So...lots of pros.

- Beautiful scenery

- "Safe" environment

- All inclusive

- plenty to do...or do nothing :rolleyes:

- Beach time!

- Carnival has to stand behind it so you can expect a good experience

- even includes some shopping

 

And a few cons.

- Expensive. $80 pp

- Short. 3 hours at the resort. 30 minutes driving each way. 30 minutes shopping. 4.5 hours total

- Starts late. Docked @ 8. Tour was at 9:30. Returned around 3:00pm or so.

- No one "explained" what we could/could not do

- Did I mention expensive?

 

Would I do it again? Only if we were determined to have beach time and they cut the price in 1/2. Otherwise...I'd probably take my chance with a taxi for the <5 min ride to the Sunset Beach Resort that gets so much hype here. From what we could see from the ship (which isn't much), there did appear to be a more "kid friendly" water park...but nothing near the tropical landscape. Can't vouch for the beach.

 

We do have some pix...once I get them uploaded to a website, I'll post the link here.

 

Hope this helps. Shawn, hope you are having fun!

 

rns

[aggie182]

Awesome. Thanks for the review. Sounds like a decent place.

 

Did you feel like it was worth the price or did you feel you could have spent your money better? This will be my honeymoon cruise so price isn't as big of a factor as it normally would be, but I am hoping to not feel ripped.

 

Thanks again for the in depth review.

[robc]

Thank you so much for your informative review. Now has anyone been to both Rose Hall Resort and Sunset Beach and make a recomendation??