So you are going to Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman! Of the two, Grand Cayman is higher on my list. Stick with ship's tours in Ocho, and that means you need to go to Dunn's River Falls and do the climb. Just be ready to run the vendor gauntlet at the top. They can be annoying.
In Grand Cayman the tour to do is Stingray City or Stingray Sandbar. Again, it is probably easiest to book through the ship although you can do this with a privately booked tour and not worry about it.
The at-sea days are my favorite, and 5-night cruises are nice since they often have two at-sea days. Don't miss the ice show on the ship, as well as lingering over a cocktail or two while listening to live music in the Cosmopolitan Club (Viking Crown Lounge).
Wen-
That was my itinerary also...I took the advice of the experts on this board (like Dave and Sonny) and did the Stingray Swim in Grand Cayman. They were right! It was awesome...something I never thought I would do, but loved it! We got off the ship and went through Captain Marvins as suggested by Sonny, and they were wonderful (I think the price was around the same as the ship offered tour.) In Ocho Rios, I would suggest going with a ship sponsored tour. We did the 'Canopy Tour' (a Zip-line through the Rain Forrest). It was also one of those 'once in a lifetime' experiences! (It actually ended up being very relaxing instead of scary...well, most of them!)
We wanted to do the falls on the way back to the ship, but ran out of time. Others in our group did the Falls and loved it, also!
Whatever you do, you'll have a blast!
Thanks for the advice. We ended up booking at boatswains beach, and hubby has decided to dive the wall. We are from florida so we have done the stingray thing here many times. Our son wanted to see the blue iguanas and the beach park sounded like more fun than the botanical park. On the rc book they have a section about teens/tweens, and it says that they can chat to other kids and then meet on the boatm but i can't find the site. Is anyone aware of this and where to sign him up?
We are cruising on the Navigator of the seas.on April 7th. We Have three boys 12,9, and 7.Our 12 year old wanted to get on that site to chat with other kids on the same ship. But I wasn't too sure about the site. Any info would be helpful thanks
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Let's see--your wife is nervous. First cruise my husband had to stop at a gas station on the way to the airport so that I could throw up. Afraid of being sick (didn't happen) Afraid of not liking food (on RCCL, are you kidding?) Afraid of being crowded (those nasty people) Afraid of being bored, afraid of hidden costs. We are now on our 8th, and we have been doing this the past six with kids. I worry about everything--this is the way for nervous travelers to go--you get to see the world and always know where you are going to sleep, eat, and recreate. No native food-bourne illness, no native concept of clean, no native concept of what's entertaining. The people on these ships are pros--we have heard about "nasty" staff but never have seen any! They want you to come back again. They want you to tip. She will be hooked. And if you read a negative post, you need to remind yourself of all of the people you know who revel in complaining about something. Positive people have positive experiences in life--same goes for cruising. Have fun!
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Laurie
RCCL Nordic Empress 1993
RCCL Nordic Prince 1994
RCCL Explorer 2003, 2005
RCCL Navigator, 2004, 2007
RCCL Mariner 2006
RCCL Liberty 2008
RCCL Adventure 2009 Read and post cruise reviews
Originally posted by spoheat:
Let's see--your wife is nervous. First cruise my husband had to stop at a gas station on the way to the airport so that I could throw up. Afraid of being sick (didn't happen) Afraid of not liking food (on RCCL, are you kidding?) Afraid of being crowded (those nasty people) Afraid of being bored, afraid of hidden costs. We are now on our 8th, and we have been doing this the past six with kids. I worry about everything--this is the way for nervous travelers to go--you get to see the world and always know where you are going to sleep, eat, and recreate. No native food-bourne illness, no native concept of clean, no native concept of what's entertaining. The people on these ships are pros--we have heard about "nasty" staff but never have seen any! They want you to come back again. They want you to tip. She will be hooked. And if you read a negative post, you need to remind yourself of all of the people you know who revel in complaining about something. Positive people have positive experiences in life--same goes for cruising. Have fun!
What a great post! Spoheat, your experience is not unlike my wifes frirst cruise. Her hands were shaking as we drove within sight of the ship. On top of your listed fear she was terrified of the water, especially being out to sea. Now, if I could afford it she'd have us living on a ship. Thanks for sharing your experience and your take on the complainers in life. I couldn't agree more!
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