Freedom of the Seas

[bragan]

I am traveling Feb 15th on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas to Labadee Haiti, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, George Town Gran Cayman and Cozumel. I have been to Cozumel but not the other destinations. Has anyone been to these destinations and can give me feedback on excursions, things to do, not to do.

Thanks

[Dave]

Labadee is the private resort so you are limited to what RCI offers. There are several beaches, a zipline, jet skis. It is a nice stop.

Ocho Rios - don't go wandering off on your own if you've never been there. Stick with a ship's tour to Dunn's River Falls. Lots of beggars and panhandlers so you need to keep alert. There is a secure outdoor mall (Island Village) just a minute or two walk from the pier. It is a safe place and has a beach and a Margaritaville. Of course, it is also all commercial and not really Jamaica.

Georgetown - nice, clean, safe. A bit sterile actually but the Caymans are a very conservative place. You can safely book tours there with a private operator, although if you've never been there a ship's tour is probably wise. Stingray City snorkeling is the "premiere" tourist thing to do. You've never lived until a stingray glides over your body. There is also the turtle farm. It is interesting. Hell is pure tourist kitsch. All it is is a post office, t-shirt shop, and some rock formations (the hell part) in a swamp. The thing to do is send your family and friends postcards from Hell. It never made an impression on me and I never sent any mail from there.

[spoheat]

Another fun thing to do in Ocho is tube down the white river. This was fun--a very small amount of rapids (our daughter was about 60 lbs. when we went and she handled it fine, so did the Senior Citizens in our group). We would do this again. Don't go off on your own in this Country!

I would do Moby Dicks or Captain Marvins to see Stingray City in Grand Cayman just because the groups from the cruise ship are so large now. I think they both have websites. Grand
Cayman is a very nice island to try a tour on your own.

I envy you Labadee. We will not be stopping there this year and I will miss a very relaxing enjoyable day! Use the search function for thisi site and you will come up with pictures and maps, and testimonials for this place. You most likely will be the only ship there on the day you are there. It is heavenly.