tubing excursion questions

[kimsbfl]

We are on Freedom this spring and have heard a little about river tubing in Jamaica. Does anyone have any info/feedback. We are travelling w our dd 9. Thanks so much!

[NancySellsGlass]

We're going to give it a try during our cruise over Christmas. There's some info here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=447306 . If you do a search on the Jamaica Ports of Call section here I'm sure you'll find more info! :)

 

Nancy

[Shaden1982]

We did the river tubing in Jamaica last year on our Mariner cruise.

It was a lot of fun. I think your daughter would love it. The water was about waist high on the guides. We used a tour guide recommended here on the Jamaica boards. I don't remember who right now, but if you want I could look it up and see if I saved the info in our cruise album.

[caribbeanfever]

We did this excursion out of Montego Bay. Our youngest was 18, but everyone was tied together in large groups of a dozen or so with your own private guide, so you will not have to worry about your daughter floating alone. The guides are knowledgable and very funny, and they always tell you "butts up" when you will be going over sharp rocks so you don't get scraped or bumped; your daughter probably wont even be large enough to have her bottom hanging down as low as the adults do. It was very fun and we would do it again.

[bplazo]

We had a great time when we did this excursion. I think that your daughter is at a perfect age for it.

[kgrassel]

We just did this in Ocho Rios last week! It was cold and rainy, believe it or not, but we had a blast (once we got past the goosebumps). The rapids are very tame, just enough to be fun. The tubes have a bottom in them so you don't sag out the bottom, and the guides that accompany you are friendly and funny. We had a wheelchair bound woman in our group and she did just fine, so an able bodied 9 year old should have no problems! We did it through the ship because my DH was leery of the independents. But, it was run by Chukka tours if you want to check it out! Enjoy!

[takeavacation]

Did it in September -- it is great. We had kids of several ages with us in the group. We booked thru Phil Lafayette Tours -- highly recommended on the port board. He was FABULOUS! The tour was great -- he took us to the river, then to a school (our request) and then onto the Falls for climbing. Most of the group just did the river and then he dropped them back in town or at the ship -- only 2 of us went on to climb the falls-- which was awesome.

 

You should have no problems with your 9 year old.

 

FYI - our ship ported in Ocho Rios.

[alabama gal]

We booked the river tubing through the cruise line. Had a wonderful time. The guides really watched out for us and kept us together. There were some children in our group and if they got seperated from their family everyone helped to get them back together. I think she would enjoy it. We did this last June.

[sbgrace]

River tubing in Ocho Rios is my DD's all-time favorite excursion, and she was 11 at the time (she's 15 now). You'll have a great time!

Chris

[vmom]

We all loved it! one of our favorites. I'd recommend you try it.

[Jsme]

Is the Freedom going to still be docking in Mo Bay or will it be in Ocho Rios this spring? I know there were rumors that they were going to switch from Mo Bay to OR.

 

I had a friend tell me they never book a tour for this. They hire a taxi cab driver and then they take them to the tour. He said it was stupid to pay the cost of the tours when you can do it directly with the person at the site. I can not remember which river the tub on though. I am sorry but if I hear it I would remember it.

[kimsbfl]

Thanks for all the great feedback! I'm really looking forward to it now. Does anyone recall how much it costs? Can't wait to try it, it sounds like a blast. I would imagine you need lots of sunscreen, are you on the water for long?

[BPWJR]

Loved the tubing; Used A-Z Planners which can find online or email below; Other comments about firm in the port of call forums. My DD's were 3 & 6 at the time, no problems and they adjusted the day to fit the schedule we wanted.

 

A-Z Planners [azplanners@cwjamaica.com]

[Inshape]

Did this with our kids, ages 10 and 11 in Oct. The tour was the highlight of the trip. The kids loved this tour. We did tubing, tour of Ocho Rios, and a drop off at Mahogany Beach and then he picked us up and took us back to the ship. He organized the tubing for us with 2 guides and we were able to leave our belongings in his van. We had about 10 others with us...it was fantastic. We used Trevor Hudlin who I would highly recommend.

His email is cooltrevh@yahoo.com or trevorhudlin@hotmail.com His website is http://www.trevorhudlintours.com

His rates were great. Adults were charged 40 and kids 32. That included the 20 pp for the tubing, which he pays for.

[schlannysays]

We did this excursion in September of 2002 and it was a blast. They pick you up about 300 yards from the ship where all the vans and buses are gathered. We thought we were going to be lucky and get a nice comfortable and air conditioned bus. We were wrong. The bus was extremely cramped with people and hot and we made our way through the town of Ocho Rios. We stopped at a resort and picked up a few more people and then we made our way up a dangerous mountain road. I could have sworn we were going to fall right off the cliff. It was exhilarating nonetheless. They tell you there are going to be snakes and other exotic creatures, and I believed them at first. I am pretty gullible. It couldn't be farther from the truth.

 

The scenery is absolutely beautiful. They take you to the White River, named as such because you can see clear to the bottom where there is white sand and pebbles. There is a huge bridge about 30 feet up and one of the tour guides jumps in from the bridge, just to give you a little show. And then there are stairs that go into the river. You are given a tube and they help you in one by one. The waves aren't too rough, but it is enough to excite you. After you have tubed down the river, you stop at this little junction and can buy Jamaican goods and eat jerk chicken and have a bottle of coke. There is also a rope swing that many people used to swing into the river.

 

Oh yeah, they make a video of the excursion that is available for purchase. I would recommend it. It is fun to watch after the cruise and makes you quite nostalgic.

[caribbeanfever]

On our Freedom cruise in July, we were docked in Montego Bay. Looks like you will be, too. We did the RCCL recommended "Jungle River Tubing" and it was a blast. We were tied together in groups with a guide, not sure if the other tours are done this way. You will have a great time.

[Inshape]

Do not go with the ship...way tooo crowded. Book privately. Not only did our guide jump from the cliff, we did too. That was really the highlight of the tour. The kids loved it. They take pictures of you jumping which you can buy for $5.00 each. If i were smarter and knew that, I would have had both my kids jump together...thus only having to buy one picture. We ended up tipping the guides more than i thought i would since they showed such care to the kids when they were trapped on the sides of the river. DH and I could not help them. Rambo, one of our guides helped our son jump by jumping with him. He is 10 and was scared. But our DD was even more scared. They coaxed her so nicely. Then when she finally did jump they wanted us to continue down the river to the end, which is only another 2 min if that. But she wanted to jump some more, and they did not hurry us at all. Use Trevor Hudlin for the tour guide off the ship.It was wonderful not having to deal with paying for the tubing since he took care of it. He was a lovely man too. My son wrote a report from all the interesting stuff he learned from the highlight of the town tour.

[kimsbfl]

Thanks to everyone for all the great posts. Can't wait!!!!!

 

I just don't know if it's better to book w the ship or wing it when we get there.

[sassynturbo]

We did this excursion last fall in Ochos Rios when cruising with Carnival. We didnt book on the ship but met another couple on board who had reservations with Phil as well. We followed them to the waiting bus off the pier and he let us on. I think the price was approx $35pp, air conditioned bus ride to Dunns rivers falls, then the tubing and also a guided tour of the area. Well worth the money and Phil made it great. I'm sure if you search you can find how to book ahead through him, would recommend this package for sure:D

[sassynturbo]

found it..... www.phil-lafayette-tours.com