Royal Caribbean Cruise - Western Itinerary

tazz233

Hi Urban cookie,

We went on the same tour as Nikki (GIRLPOWER) in Grand Cayman, The Rays, Reef and Rum tour with Nativeways. It cost $60 per person and that included drinks and lunch. Also agree with Nikki- that it was great and really recommend it! The sea was rough when we went and the the sea was choppy- however the tour guides were calm and knew how to make you feel at ease. They had unlimited cold drinks, which was brilliant- I had heard that other tours charge extra for drinks. The Stingrays are friendly and used to humans being around them so no worries about a Steve Irwin situation. The lunch was plentiful and Rum Point Beach was very pretty. Wish we had longer at the beach, but the rest of our group wanted to head back.

At Ocho Rios, we went with Marva Shaw. I chose her based on the reviews on Cruise Critic and also because she is a woman.. Ok a bit sexist, but I got a bit scared with some of the rumours on Cruise Critic that Jamaica is dangerous. Well we had a blast in Jamaica so ignore all the hype
Marva Shaw met us at the marina and she was very friendly and answered all our questions. I think it helped that we were with a local tour guide, as the locals know to stay away. We went to Dunns River Falls and linked hands and climbed up. It is quite tricky and I did slip on the rocks :eek: But i was fun and I am glad I did it. Lots of beautiful photo op's. Sadly none of our disposable pictures came out from Jamaica (I am still upset over it). We encountered local vendors selling their things after the falls, however it was not as bad as cruise critic would have me believe. They call out for you to have a look, but if you smile and say 'no', they leave you alone. We did tubing next and again this was lovely. Very calm, a bit like lazy river ride at Disney. It was just us on the tour with a guide, who helps steer you down the falls. He sang to us which helped to the atmosphere. We ate Jerk Chicken from a restaurant the locals go too and it was delish. I wish we had ordered more!
We then went shopping, this didn't really interest us. I had gone to the Shopping hour on the Cruise, where they give you hints and tips for cheap shopping on the islands- Waste of time. You do get a free gem and charm bracelet (thats what lured me to the show) but it was scratched and they push the hard sell to upgrade.
We got sume Rum Cake for about $4 and you can get bottles of rum for $5 so worth it if you like rum!
We also popped into Margaritaville which was expensive and really not up to the hype. Dbf and I are in our early 20's and we just didn't get it?! It cost $5 for a Red Stripe beer, which Dbf had bought for $1 (yes 50p!!) in the local restaurant/bar. I had a shot thing for $8. It had a lot of drunk 50-something americans in there- lol! It looked like a tourist trap to me, but thats my opinion.

We were only on a 5 night cruise, but wish it was longer! It was very choppy the week we went (December 2007) but I took travel sickness pills and I was fine! The 2 sea days 'force' you to relax and there are lots of things going on! I would recommend the ice show and I also did a scrapbooking course which was ok. Mini golf and the arcade (surprisingly) was another great thing to pass the time. Every day at around 4pm, they have free arcade hour- so you play for free! (sssh not sure if this is well known?! but it was like this on our cruise) We ate in the main dining room, the Wind Jammer and also Johnny Rockets. If you like burgers, onion rings etc, I would definately recommend Johnny Rockets. I did not have a problem with any of the food on the cruise. Internet was rubbish on the ship- Do not waste your time and money- It was sllllooow.

Let me know if you want any other information:D Am so jealous, I wish I was back there!

GIRLPOWER_2

What ship did you cruise on?

Nikki xx

getmore4less

For all US cruises lines always worth checking the US pricing can save a load of money. https://www.cruisecompete.com will find you some competative cruise only pricing.

Also worth joining a roll call, https://www.cruisecritic.com have them and you may find people doing DIY tours cheaper than the ships. also you get to meet others on the ship that know stuff and a couple of extra party/meets. so kick start the cruise.

urbancookie1

Hi again, thank you all so much for your advice and tips.:D

taz233, thanks for you detailed post, like you im a little bit nervous of the Jamacia stop, im sure every thing will be fine but when you have'nt visited a place before and you read a few bad story's it tends to make you think if your doing the right thing by getting of ship there, However we did book this cruise for the ship not the itinerery. May book something through RC for here, but then again might go privately----oh who knows

I'll go and have a look at some of the posted links.

Thanks again:beer: