Share you secrets! Your FAVORITE excursions!?!

Kuki · #1 (**permalink**) February 2nd, 2006, 04:26 PM

I'd like to see you share your favorite excursions... wether the Caribb, Alaska, the Med.. or anywhere.
Share you favorites here, and you'll get to relive those memories, and help others who are planning visits to those ports of call.

Donna · #2 (**permalink**) February 2nd, 2006, 04:38 PM

I have a few that stand out in my mind....I loved doing the America's Cup Regatta in St. Maarten a few years ago, next trip there we did the Rhino boats, that was also a gas. A year or two back we did BOB in St. Thomas, loved that as well. You can never go wrong when snorkeling with the Sting Rays in Grand Cayman. Then lastly we swam with the dolphins last year in Cozumel, before the hurricane distroyed the property, that was totally amazing! I hope to next do the Canapy tour in Jamaica later this year, that sounds like a lot of fun too.

LisaK · #3 (**permalink**) February 3rd, 2006, 08:39 AM

Its so hard to pick just one! My top fav's so far would have be the Spice Island and Plantation tours in Grenada, the jeep 4x4 excursion into the National Park-Forest in Venezula and the Golde Eagle Catamaran in St. Maarten.

BrianTom · #4 (**permalink**) February 6th, 2006, 04:59 PM

Princess Cruises offers a Catamaran Party Cruise to the Dunns Rivers Falls.

The catamaran takes you to the falls and back and sets up a guide to climb the falls with.

The falls are great if you climb them by yourself, and not holding hands with the group. If you are not that sure footed, I would not suggest doing it yourself and rather keeping the guide. The guides will discourage you from going it alone, because they want to be tipped. But the average person in decent shape should have no problem doing it outside the group.

But the Party Cruise on the way home is really, really fun. I have done it twice. The first time I did not realize how fun it was. ON the second trip, with the same outfit, I saw how much fun they are and consistant with their product.

On the way back to the ship, they play great music and serve free rum punch and then have the crew dance to the music while getting the passengers to dance. I guess the free rum punch helps. I did not drink the punch, but had a great time anyway. In summary, they were great hosts and showed everyone a good time.

HappyCruiser383 · #5 (**permalink**) February 6th, 2006, 06:01 PM

Wow . . . a 2 hour white knuckle ride into the Jamaican forest really shows you a lot about Jamaica. A few FREE rum drinks later they show you the rum factory then serve you this fantastic meal. After browsing the gift shop and sampling a few more rum drinks you . . . . my memory get's a little fuzzy here . . I think we had more rum drinks then bought some rum.

It's really a good tour. I actually only had one sample and bought 6 bottles for later (for $2400!). The countryside is beautiful. If you have kids with you, have them find a cat or even a dog. There was not one cat to be found! All of the Jamaican school children were in clean, pressed school uniforms and I really didn't see much trash at all. Some people think that poverty is usually associated with filth. Not in Jamaica! They are very clean people.

It's one of those 'gotta see it once' type tours.

My all-time favorite is the swim with the stingray's in Grand Cayman!

Fern · #6 (**permalink**) February 6th, 2006, 08:09 PM

Hi Happy,

Please tell me you left out a decimal point! 6 bottles for $2400! Pretty expensive rum!

Like you, we did find Jamaica very clean. We have seen dogs there, but no cats, >^..^<. Maybe they were hiding

Thoth · #7 (**permalink**) February 6th, 2006, 09:32 PM

In Alaska= White Pass Railroad in Skagway, Misty Fjords floatplane & boat in Ketchikan, Mt Roberts and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.
In Caribbean= Uxmal Mayan ruins in Mexico, Tour of St. John and the national park when docked in St Thomas. Old San Juan and the El Yunque rainforest hike while in Puerto Rico.

Darcy · #8 (**permalink**) February 7th, 2006, 10:34 AM

Swimming with the dolphins in Nassau, swimming with the sea lions in Cozumel and the Bubble Sub in Grand Cayman. All were wonderful excursions.

showcat · #9 (**permalink**) February 8th, 2006, 02:10 AM

Are we talking ships excursion here or private tours and days on you own?

For ships excursions I liked the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica since Im an animal lover but was very disappointed I didn't get to hold a sloth (I think Carnival is worried about liability) don't eat the fruit they give you to try, it tastes wondeful but montezuma came home with me. I also liked the Grand Tour of Panama which includes the Gatun Locks of the canal to watch ship pass, boat trip in the Gatun lake (very pretty) we saw sloths in the trees, vultures in the air etc, and you go meet the Umbrian Indians. Both of these were on Carnival.

On a private tour I snorkled with stingrays in Belize at Shark Ray alley with Coral Breeze Limited company, a very well run American owned company since Carnival cancelled this excursion. My only problem was with some of the other people who took to long on Caye Cauker and almost made us late to our ship, this was no fault of the company which was very informative, fun and professional.

Another private tour in St. Thomas did the $20 island tour to mountain top, drakes seat, went shopping and had 2 hours to swim at the beach with Sonny Liston tours. I highly reccomend him. It's a open air bus but Sonny sings plays music and it's more fun then the other buses I can tell you that! He also gets you to the ship on time.

Also on my own was a day at the zoo in Nassau called Ardastra Gardens. I ate at the local Fish Fry also called Arawak Caye. A real nice area with lots of pretty open air eaterys looks like Key west perhaps, the food is inexpensive, good and best of all it's not crowded. Then went to Ardastra Gardens which you can walk to from the fish fry, just cross the road and follow the signs or ask locals for directions

This small zoo is a lovely way to spend the day. You get up close and personal with the animals. The staff is very informative and helpful, they even called a cab for us when we left. You can hand feed Lory parrots and watch the trained Flamingos do their famous march. Flamingos and Peacocks roam free. The zoo runs on donations. I think it was $12 admission. Just watch little one's hands here they could put their tiny fingers in the cages and get biten. You can have your photo taken with Parrot and a Cockatiel for a small donation also.

Thoth · #10 (**permalink**) February 13th, 2006, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by showcat

For ships excursions I liked the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica since Im an animal lover but was very disappointed I didn't get to hold a sloth (I think Carnival is worried about liability) don't eat the fruit they give you to try, it tastes wondeful but montezuma came home with me. I also liked the Grand Tour of Panama which includes the Gatun Locks of the canal to watch ship pass, boat trip in the Gatun lake (very pretty) we saw sloths in the trees, vultures in the air etc, and you go meet the Umbrian Indians. Both of these were on Carnival.

Those are the tours I'm taking NEXT week through Carnival. I think...Did you see the sloths on the train/boat/bus tour in Costa Rica? thanks for the heads up on the fruit ! I won't be partaking of fruit.

ohanafour · #11 (**permalink**) March 13th, 2006, 05:56 PM

The Dolphin encounter in Isla de Margarita...what an experience! You didn't just swim with them we got to ride one..more like it took us for a ride..and interact...not only was it fun it was very educational......we also had a lovely sight seeing excursion in Grenada.

Tauruschick · #12 (**permalink**) March 17th, 2006, 04:23 PM

We have booked all of our tours through RCI.

St Maarten- America's Cup. It was so much fun and our crew members we adorable 20 something's from England (I'm 16, I pay attention that kinda stuff. Haha).

St Thomas- Screaming Eagle Jet Boat. Very fun and you get very wet.

Antigua- Sting Ray Swim and Snorkle. I was petrified but it was a lot of fun.

St Lucia- Caribbean Pirates Extravaganza. You get to ride a ship used in Pirates of the Caribbean. They take you to an island to do a treasure hunt and battle with "pirates." It was a lot of fun.

Barbados- Turtles, Shipwreck Snorkle and Beach- Tons of fun. Sea turtles were amazing. The beach had the softest sand I've ever seen.

Aruba- Sail and Snorkle- It was over a sunken ship and it was amazing.

Pam in AZ · #13 (**permalink**) March 22nd, 2006, 07:00 PM

Our favorite excursions so far:

Swimming with the Sting Rays in Grand Caymen
Zip Lines in PV
ATV tour in St Kitts
River Rafting in Grenada
Randi's Happy Horses in Mazatlan
Baden Baden in Germany

Elisa Darcy · #14 (**permalink**) March 23rd, 2006, 04:43 PM

The best shore excursion we ever did was in St.Lucia, W.I. ( Serenade, MArch 8th. 2006). We booked a tour with a guy called Shal, he runs his own jeep company "Jungle Tours" and took us to all the places you have to see in ST.Lucia , rainforest, waterfalls, volcano , hot springs and this all away from the usual crusie ships crowds. Check out the website www.jungletoursstlucia.com.
We really can recommend this excursion
Elisa & Alan

goldrush · #15 (**permalink**) April 20th, 2006, 02:10 PM

Cave Tubing and Zipline Tour in Belize.

We loved this tour, we couldn't choose between the two trips so the double trip was perfect for us.

The Zipline and cave tubing tour

showed us so much, the caves were incredilbe and the zipline was such a thrill, you zip through the jungle and then rappel down through the trees. Its a great deal, it was $110 each, our ship was charging that for zipline only, so this was a phenominal deal as we basically got the cave tubing for free!!

X-stream was wonderful and I would use them again anyday

paddletoe53 · #16 (**permalink**) May 19th, 2006, 11:59 PM

the dolphin encounter in cozumel dolphins are a gentel animal
chacchoben mayan ruins costa maya i learn some histoey here
coyaba river garden and dunn's river falls in jamaica the river garden
was beautiful and thte waterfall was hugh
the atlantis submarin st thomas that was my friist submarin ride and i enjoyed looking at the coral and fish

DougR. · #17 (**permalink**) May 20th, 2006, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pam in AZ

Our favorite excursions so far:

Swimming with the Sting Rays in Grand Cayman

I concur with that one

colorcrazie · #18 (**permalink**) May 26th, 2006, 12:54 PM

Brace yourselves, this is going to be long. I have a lot of favorites.
Sting Rays in Grand Cayman
Whale watching in Juneau...almost close enough to humpbacks and orcas to touch them.
Matinique tour to botanical gardens, ancient church, volvano museum and rum factory. The museum was just a one room building with photo's, but I went ouside and looked down the side of the hill and saw the remains of a school that had been destroyed by the volcano. It was made out of rock, but lava just burns that, too. It brought home to me just how bad that was in a way that no amount of documentaries ever could.
Barbados jungle safari. I would not do this again, as it was really hard on me physically, but awesome to do once. They use jeeps with extended beds for benches and you really get off the beaten path.
Taquantar Village in Isle of Marguerite, Venzuela. If you like arts and crafts this is a must see.
Happy porting
Marty

blueliner · #19 (**permalink**) June 25th, 2006, 03:57 PM

I would say the best time I ever had ashore was on RCCL's CocoCay in the Bahamas. It was a perfect day, weather was perfect, we laid in a hammock all day, drank, napped, read and swam. Just about nothing in my life has equaled that day!

A close second would be the cave tubing in Belize. It was long walk through the jungle, but worth it. I certainly don't envy the little guy whose job it was to hold your tube in the river while you climb down the river bank and jumb backwards into the tube! I think he actually cried when he saw me!

miamibobk · #20 (**permalink**) June 30th, 2006, 12:17 PM

Best ship excursion was in Alaska. Ship made port in Skagway early morning and left mid day for Haines. We boarded a 4 passenger airplane in Skagway for a fantastic one hour flight over glaciers and mountains. Plane landed at a small airport, can't remember where, and we were bussed up river for a magnificent float trip through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. At the end of the float trip we had a salmon barbecue. Then we were bussed back to our ship in Haines. Could not have been better.

kimbo · #21 (**permalink**) July 15th, 2006, 06:51 PM

sting ray city at grand cayman...and relaxing on the adult beach at disney's castaway cay are my 2 favorites so far!

Brooke276 · #22 (**permalink**) July 20th, 2006, 06:25 PM

Parasailing in Puerto Vallarta....Scared the bejeesuz out of me but such an adventure!!!

Rosebud5t · #23 (**permalink**) July 27th, 2006, 11:21 PM

The BOB in St Thomas was well worth the money. Just be careful not to get seasick underwater.

carol31j · #24 (**permalink**) August 13th, 2006, 09:33 PM

We took this neat little tour called the Nautilus Undersea Tour. You get in this little boat that is half under water and half above the water. It offers the most beautiful view of coral reefs, shipwrecks, and all the cool stuff under the water without having to wear a lot of gear and breathe through a tube as when you go snorkeling.

Divemaster · #25 (**permalink**) November 25th, 2006, 12:33 PM

Chican Itza by Russian turbo prop with the pilot's side windows open at full altitude and my then 8 year old and I sitting right behind the pilots looking at the controls in Russian, with pasted labels in Spanish!

Atlantis submarine off Saint Thomas looking at shark alley underneath where all the snorklers were swimming!

Sting Ray City chumming the rays with my then 4 year old on my shoulders holding a squid bucket and making the rays come up my side and out of the water to get fed!

Cruising out of New Orleans in the '90s the trip before before HAL introduced freestyle river barge cruising.

Then again the now 11 year old kiddo and I are the sort that dive nuclear missile silos and shark infested aquariums for fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuki

I'd like to see you share your favorite excursions... wether the Caribb, Alaska, the Med.. or anywhere.
Share you favorites here, and you'll get to relive those memories, and help others who are planning visits to those ports of call.

showcat · #26 (**permalink**) January 14th, 2007, 05:04 PM

I just took the Carnival Pride in October to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo. So I had to add my newest excursions.

In Puerto Vallarta- I did the Sea Lion snorkle it takes place at a beautiful ecco park called Las Calitas. There are other excursions here and I would reccomend the place highly! It's only acccessible by boat and it's worth the trip. Beautiful area. I really enjoyed this, we snokled with one very large very friendly sea lion and a trainer. There was just 3 of us who took this interesting excursion. We learned a lot about the sea lion, got hugs and kisses from it. Took photos, and asked a lot of questions. We still had time for lunch and free time so we also signed up for a combination facial and massage at the spa on the premises. It was nice, cost an extra $50 but was very relaxing getting a massage in a hut on a hill top while hearing the ocean waves crash below and tropical birds sing. Lunch was wonderful a buffet style with lots of choices of mexican food plus plantains and such as well as awesome coffee and desserts. Id give this place 4 stars!

In Mazatan I did a wonderful tour with Mazatlan Frank. He is a local tour guide who posts on this site in the Mexico forum. After reading many positive reviews I contacted Frank and emailed him for months. He did a custom version of the City /Colonial tour for us. We saw bricks being made by hand, visited a wonderful bakery in a persons home, went to a cemetary for the Day of the Dead, saw floor tiles being made in a 100 year old press, visited a town in the Serra Madres mountains called Concordia with a 17th century church, had a wonderful lunch at Ricks on the beach, went shopping in the Golden zone, and saw the cliff divers of Mazatlan! If you private message me I can give you Franks web site. He offers a lot more then the ships excursions do, smaller groups, and better prices! He speaks perfect English and is licenced and insured. He also got us back to the ship in time no worries.

In Cabo I did the Cabo Dolphin Swim. It was wonderful. We had a very small group of just 4, our own dolphin and trainer. We got kisses, got to dance with the dolphin and got pulled across the pool holding on to it's fin! We spent at least 30 minutes in the water with the trainer and Dolphin. The staff and photographers were very professional. I have beautiful photos of this excursion and my others you can see some of them in the photo section of this website. Search Showcat Carnival Pride.Message me with any questions.

HappyCruiser383 · #27 (**permalink**) January 26th, 2007, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fern

Hi Happy,

Please tell me you left out a decimal point! 6 bottles for $2400! Pretty expensive rum!

Like you, we did find Jamaica very clean. We have seen dogs there, but no cats, >^..^<. Maybe they were hiding

That was Jamaican money. It really only came out to about $41 US I saved the $2400 receipt in my photo albumn. It makes a great conversation piece.

We saw goats in Jamaica . . no dogs or cats (been there twice)

LWilliams · #28 (**permalink**) January 29th, 2007, 10:13 AM

My favorite excusion hands down, would be Sting Ray City at Grand Caymen Island. And we even went 1 week before Steven Irwin's death. I would do it again no problem. The rays that we were swimming with were so non-threateing, very gentle creatures. Loved every second of this excusion and hope to re-live it some day! When I have the winter blues I sit and look at my pictures from this excusion. Also saw the most bluest, beautiful water I have ever seen on this excursion. Breathtaking experience!

cruzan2 · #29 (**permalink**) February 4th, 2007, 06:06 PM

Last year I did the sloth sanctuary in Limon and it was ok, you simply get to see some sloths in a nice setting...no touching!

Last month I did the Golden Bean Coffee Tour off the Carnival Liberty, I thought I was going on simply another tour, but wow, I was surprised! The drive was beautiful, the setting spectacular, surrounded by virign jungles and mountains!

The facilities had beautifully manicured gardens and were very well kept. I got to see exactly what is behind a cup of coffee, and I tell you there was a lot to it! The coffee needless to say was EXCELLENT! I wish they served it aboard the ship! I have actually been buying coffee online from them after the tour!

Cruzan2

"Keep on cruisin`"

Auggiemom · #30 (**permalink**) February 6th, 2007, 01:17 PM

Swimming with the dolphins in Anguilla. This was awesome. We took a boat from St Maarten to Anguilla. What a beautiful island. The Dolphin Discovery is directly next to one of the top 10 beautiful beaches (I forget the name), but that is was. We not only go to swim with the dolphins, we also got to relax on this beach for awhile as well. Great waves!!

Swimming with Sting Rays in Grand Cayman, also a huge hit with us.