monkey interaction

[debmkay]

any cruise that has interaction with monkeys would be great that anyone would know about!

[Sleepladypalmdesert]

On the last night of our Circle Hawaii cruise last month, we entered our room after dinner/show and were so disappointed that there was no towel animal on the bed. I couldn't believe it...then I opened the curtain on the other side of the bed and BAM!!! A cute towel monkey was hanging from the ceiling. I wanted to take it home...it was so clever.

 

Not the monkey experience you were hoping for...but I am easily entertained.

[babyher]

any cruise that has interaction with monkeys would be great that anyone would know about!

 

 

 

Are you looking to interact with monkeys, or avoid them?

 

Just curious , I am from Connecticut and we are all still a buzz about the woman who was attacked by the chimp:(

[Modern_Viking]

I understand that there are many wild monkeys that interact with people on the Rock of Gibraltar. (Granted, interaction often means stealing anything shiny from tourists....)

[rochelle_s]

You could find howler monkeys on itinerieries that visit Belize.

 

Rochelle

[Toad]

Barbados has a "Green Monkey tour" .... we did see some and also in Grenada.

[jhannah]

... wild monkeys that interact with people on the Rock of Gibraltar. (Granted, interaction often means stealing anything shiny from tourists....)

Doesn't have to be shiny. Caps will be snatched right off your head. Scarves will be pulled from around your neck. They are funny to watch, but if one gets close enough to grab something you have, he will!

[penguinchick24]

any cruise that has interaction with monkeys would be great that anyone would know about!

 

As a professional full time zookeeper I need to warn you that there are tons of diseases that you can pick up from interacting with monkeys since they are so closely related to us. TB is the number one cross species disease that immediately comes to mind. Without the regulations that you would have in the US with vaccinations, TB testing, etc, you are taking your life in your own hands by interacting with any monkeys especially not knowing their history.

[martinimadam]

Monkeys are fun to look at from afar. But, as Penquinchick24 and jhannah have pointed out, there are some very good reasons for not getting close. Gibraltar comes to mind as one place where they were a little to used to humans and quite pesty, and pesky. Scratches and bites can occur! Definitely not something I'd take kids to.

[sail7seas]

When we were in Gibraltar, the Excursion people warned us about the monkeys. I didn't book that tour as I really didn't want to go near the animals and they told me it could be hard to keep away from them. I admit they frighten me a little. I was sorry to not have that tour though.

 

[FoxyTerrier]

When we were in Gibraltar, the Excursion people warned us about the monkeys. I didn't book that tour as I really didn't want to go near the animals and they told me it could be hard to keep away from them. I admit they frighten me a little. I was sorry to not have that tour though.

 

 

Our tour in Gibraltar was just great but one of those barbary apes jumped right on my back. It scared me to death. I screamed and scared it right back and s/he jumped right off.

[sail7seas]

Oh my word.... that was exactly what I was afraid of. My heart would have skipped too many beats. :eek: I get the jitters just thinking about that happening. :(

 

 

[Susie51]

Going through the Panama Canal you take a shore excursion on a small boat and it gets close to shore so you will see and hear a lot of monkeys, but you will not be in any danger.

[sail7seas]

Seeing and hearing them is fine.... I just don't want any touching me or near enough to be able to touch. :(

 

We've done partial Canal transits about 5 times but haven't taken that excursion. Maybe next time.

 

[michmike]

Deb - we take our monkeys w/ us.. screaming, flying monkeys .. and have great fun w/ them.. e-mail me at tohoku at cablespeed dot com in the usual format and I'll arrange to send you one that you can take on your trip..

[serendipity1499]

Our tour in Gibraltar was just great but one of those barbary apes jumped right on my back. It scared me to death. I screamed and scared it right back and s/he jumped right off.

 

We had a similar experience..The first time we visited Gibraltar, we took a private cab up to the rock in late afternoon/early evening..Due to a storm in the South Atlantic, they closed the Azores & we had to cross in one fell-swoop..Gibralter was an un-planned fuel stop...No one was up there except us & our Driver..

 

Our Driver, handed my Friend a piece of monkey chow & one of the Barbary Apes jumped onto her back & put his paws on top of her head.:eek:.It scared her but my DH told her to stand still so he could take a picture..While my DH was taking the pic, the Ape jumped to his shoulders.:eek::eek:.These apes are quite large & that really scared me...Fortunately I put the hood up on my jacket just before s/he leaped onto my shoulders.. I love animals, but that unnerved me as understand these are wild animals which could inflict very painful infectious bites....There are signs saying do not feed the apes..

We really enjoyed that tour, as the view from the top of the rock at twilight was breathtaking..

The second time, again on our own, we were very careful not to get too close to the Apes & enjoyed observing them with their families from afar..Very interesting & so happy that we did it again..

Cheers..:)Betty

[kyriecat]

Going through the Panama Canal you take a shore excursion on a small boat and it gets close to shore so you will see and hear a lot of monkeys, but you will not be in any danger.

My folks just got back from a PC cruise and were talking about a few people on one of the excursions that were urinated on by some monkeys. I don't know what excursion it was. Apparently the "incident" occured within the first couple hours of a 7 hour tour so those poor people stank for the rest of the day. ICK!

[Modern_Viking]

If you would enjoy just seeing monkeys rather than directly interacting with them, I would suggest a visit to Lion Country Safari in West Palm Beach, FL.

 

I don't know of any ship tours that go there, but if you started out at the FLL airport (or the West Palm Beach airport) and had a rental car the day before or after a trip out of / in to Pt. Everglades, it would be an easy day trip.

 

This is a drive through zoo (so few animals are in cages) and you drive your own car (or rental car) at your own pace through the exhibits. The moneys are all on islands, separated from guests by enough water to keep them away. At Christmas, a staff member dresses as Santa and delivers gifts (wrapped boxes with t-shirts, beach toys, food, etc.) and for the next few weeks, you get to see them act like children with new toys.

 

One warning: no convertibles are admitted. Some of the animals are allowed right next to the cars, and it would be a safety risk if some of them were to jump on top of a soft-top car.

[CoralReef]

If you book a cruise that stops at Grenada, you can visit the Mona monkeys at Grand Etang. There is a short video of them here:

http://travel.webshots.com/video/3037430280053482779KgttDX

as well as some pictures and other videos in the same album. They like candy and were not impressed by our trail mix.