Cruise to western Carib in November. 1st cruise, any pointers?

[pudytatoo1]

Our very first cruise and we are counting the days, literally!! We are so excited!! We will be going on the 8th of November 2008 to Jamaica so if any one can give us advice on all the do's and donts, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for excepting me into your forum.

 

[Mbandy]

Ahoy pudytatoo1 and =welcome to Cruise @ddicts.

The Western Caribbean is my favorite itinerary. In Jamaica, Rafting on the Martha Brae River is a cool thing to do. You didn't mention what other ports you will be visiting. Here's a link to the rafting web site.

http://www.jamaicarafting.com/

=funsign on your first cruise. =sailor

 

[amylynn24]

Hi Pudy,

If you are big soda drinkers, check into a Fountain Fun Card your first day onboard. You can purchase them at almost any bar onboard for a price of about $7 per day. Once you purchase this card, you can get unlimited soft drinks for the rest of your cruise.


Just a little tip.

Oh, and you are gonna have a blast!



-Amy

 

[pudytatoo1]

Oh I'm sorry, we are also going to Cayman Islands and Cozumel. Thank you for all your help.

 

[Giles612]

My all time favorite port is Cozumel, Chankanaab park is a great place to go if it is your first cruise, as its a short taxi ride to the park and there ar e plenty of activities to do, with restaurants, snorkeling, dive huts, Dolphin Encounter, play areas not to mention a nice garden to walk through, great photos.

Grand Cayman is nice, I haven't yet found a knock it out of the park thing to do there yet but I did enjoy doing an island tour last time of all things. The turtle farm was neat too, my two girls liked that a lot.

Jamaica was interesting, it is nice but I found the locals a bit overwhelming, they are not the least bit shy of asking for tips and what not and if you wander into the shop areas then be on your guard as they are very slick in getting you to buy stuff. As a result I left Jamaica with a very bad taste in my mouth but I want to go back and try again. We did the Dunn's River Falls thing which in hindsight wasn't that great for me because I live in North Georgia and have climbed up and down waterfalls, rapids, and rivers all my life so it wasn't anything new for me. You can save money by not booking excursions through the ship but I don't think I would recommend that in Jamaica, especially for your first trip, I got a little freaked out at one point. Not trying to scare you but as with any where you go caution is warranted and in Jamaica I felt more of a need to be on my guard.

 

[Mbandy]

Jason makes a good point about the vendors in Jamaica. The can be agressive at times but I have always found that a polite "no, thank you" and keep walking works fine. That's another reason I liked the rafting. It was a much better experience.

Don't miss Stingray City in Grand Cayman and pick up some of the Tortuga Rum Cakes there.

Chankanaab Park in Cozumel is very popular but we like to take a boat out to the reef to snorkel there. Last time we did SNUBA when we were in Cozumel and that was awesome.

 

[crusin okie]

If you like beach time, The Sandals Resort in Montego Bay is a nice excursion and on Cozumel we've enjoyed Passion Island. Our last trip to Cozumel we went on the Playa Mia beach break and I think Passion Island is the better of the two.

Enjoy yourself and do not be surprised if you suffer "post-cruise blues". We've found the only way to cure this is book another cruise - it is truly addictive

Crusin Okie

 

[MoJo2Rusty]

Paradise Beach is great in Coz. It's a small fee $5 when we were there a few years ago, to get a beach chair and umbrella and use of floats and water toys. The food and drinks were great and priced reasonably. The service was also very good. You never had to leave your chair, they served you right on the beach. There is also a pavilion type area that you can get a table and eat there. They have clean facilities and showers.
As mentioned above, Sting Ray City is a great trip to take in Grand Cayman. You might want to look into a private company if you do that trip. It's about half the cost of the Carnival trip and half the people in your group. There are many reputable companies in GC. If you book a short trip through a company other than Carnival, I would suggest booking it for a morning tour. This way you will be sure to be back to the ship on time. We have often booked on our own through local tour companies but stick to the morning trips. Many of these local companies work to get you back to the ship on time, however there are always those unforeseen things that can happen that could delay your return. I'll try to post the names of a couple tours we have used. My friends and I will be in Grand Cayman and Coz in December.
In Jamaica I would stick to the Carnival tour groups. As mentioned in the other post, the people there can be a little on the aggressive side. From the cab drivers to street vendors. Don;t venture out on you own.
Have a wonderful and safe trip and enjoy your first of many cruises to come.

 

[drydocked]

The taxi ride to Chank. park was not short to me and when they brought us back, they dropped us off at the completely wrong set of ships! I was scared to death I wasnt going to be able to find ours. I was also not pleased to find water like they have at a local lake known as Dirty Bird. I went on a cruise to see clearblue tropical water and got that crud. They claimed a storm the night before but I wasnt convinced.
Those were my only unhappy parts to my first cruise. You'll be thrilled standing in line to board to finding the towel animals every night you come back to your room, lol. Have a blast!!

 

[RhinoMan]

I just left Cozumel last week. Palancar Beach is a great pick its a beautiful free beach taxi ride is a little longer but 7 of us rode in a van with a/c and stayed for 3 hrs while the driver waited for only $110. They really take care of you at the beach great prices on beer too, plus for a fee they have snorkeling, scuba, and jet skies. The stores there drop their prices around 50% later in the day so shop late, and everyone will take a lower offer! If you plan on drinking on the ship save money and take your own. After gratuity a beer is almost $5.50 and a glass of wine almost $8. Carnivals rules prohibit bringing your own but we packed 2 boxes of wine 3 bottles of liqueur and 12 beers in the original packaging in our check in. It not only made it on the ship but after unpacking we went to dinner and left the alcohol out only to come back to see that when they had turned the beds for the night they also put all our alcohol in buckets of ice for us. Just don't use Carnival as a basis for future cruising as I've been on many including a couple Carnival cruises and they just are not up to the competitions quality of food and entertainment so get your moneys worth on the islands:thumb

 

[fpslim]

When in Cozumel, I go to Touch Of Gold and get some Majorca pearls. A few years back they were $1 an inch, but in February this year they were $2 an inch. They make great gifts.
On all the cruises I've been on, I've only found them in Cozumel.

 

[Giles612]

One of the big plusses of Chankanaab park is that they have those dive huts on the beach. Does anyone know of any other beaches in Coz that have those?