Samityna

Ok.. that's what I thought about the port calls, but it's been so long that I just didn't remember.  Thanks for the great info!

We are booked for the June 22, 2019 sailing on the Joy to Alaska and very excited about it.  My very generous parents are paying for the whole family to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip together for everyone who is able to go and we are so thankful for their generosity.

That said, we've only cruised one other time and it was Carnival and it was the Caribbean so a completely different atmosphere both in the the cruise line and the itinerary.  We had just gone with our family of 5 and it was in 2013.

My first question is about the Splash Academy.  My daughter will be 12 when we sail and her cousins will be 11 and 10. They are the three under 21 that will be with us.  She is excited about Alaska and when my mom told her about it, she cried. Alaska is a "bucket list" item (I know!  Getting to do a bucket list item at the ripe old age of 12!!) Do they do educational stuff in the Kid's Clubs that will geared towards her age group to make it fun AND interesting, or is it just a hang-out at that age to keep them busy and out of their parent's hair?  If it's the latter, she's not going to be interested, but I'm hoping it is something she'll enjoy doing with her cousins (the 11-year-old is only 6 months younger than she is and they're both in the same grade and are great friends).

My second question is about arrival and departure times listed on the itinerary on the NCL website.  For example, it says we'll be in Ketchikan on that Monday with an arrival time of 7 a.m. and departure of 3 p.m.  It also says that Disembark times are 2 hours after arrival in part and we must be on the ship 2 hours before it departs.  Are the arrival and departure times the time the ship actually arrives and leaves, or are those the times we are able to get off  and "last call" for getting back on? (and no, I definitely do NOT want to be a pier runner, so plan on being back in PLENTY of time, LOL!!) I am wondering in order to plan excursions and want to make sure we have plenty of time to get back.  The arrival/departure window for Juneau is only 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. so if that is actual arrival/departure of the ship, it might not be worth scheduling an excursion for a 2.5 hour window, for example.

Anyway.. I'm sure I will have plenty of other questions as the date draws near, but for now, that's it.  Oh... and we do qualify for the free flights... does that include any checked baggage?? I sure hope so since we're coming from warm Minnesota and will need to pack some of our cool weather clothes/coats.

Thanks!

Sarah

When we went on our first cruise in 2013, my youngest was 6 years old. We put a note on the door saying she was on her first cruise and wanted to see where everyone was from. I'm glad I brought extra paper because she ended up getting 2 full sheets of 12x12 inch scrapbook paper FILLED with sweet little messages to her written by people from all over the world. It is a treasured keepsake for her now. It also helped her pick out her door from the endless line of cabin doors that look exactly the same!

We were in the Blush dining room for Early seating :)

Thanks Sarah. I will post something and see if anyone is interested. Do you recall the approximate cost and how much you tipped and who? Oh we are docking at Montego Bay. I think in December the Breeze docked at Ocho Rios. I was wondering how long the ride is from Montego Bay.

Our total was $50/person and that was from Ocho Rios. Secret Falls is going to be a bit of a ride I would think from Montego Bay. How long are you scheduled to be in port for? I know that if you get ahold of Ricardo, he will be able to tell you how long of a ride it is as he is in Montego Bay.

As for tipping, we had everyone just tip him separately. I didn't want to have to deal with that at the end of the excursion. I don't even know how much we tipped, but we thought the $50 (and I know it was discounted a bit because we had a big group) was a steal compared to what we would've gotten if we would've done a ship-sponsored excursion! It included everything, from admission into the Falls to dinner at Scotches. Ricardo went and ordered it all and brought it to us. He was fantastic.

Sundayb and Rosebud1g,

 

Hi I was looking for info on Liberty Tours. I email them a couple of time but didn't get answers to my questions. I will be on the Carnival Breeze with my daughters in their

30s. My questions: when you book is it with a group or an individual tour. We would prefer to be with a group. If you don't jump off or swing off the rope are there things to do? Was the lunch part of the excursion? (Not the cost of lunch) Any other detailed info would be appreciated.

 

One more thing we dock in Montego Bay is it a long boring drive?

 

Thanks

 

Pam

Hi Pam,

I was on the Breeze in December and planned a tour with Liberty Tours. I opened it up to my Roll Call here on Cruise Critic and we ended up having about 25 people go.

This was the info email that I sent out to the group that went:

We will be going to the Secret Falls/Blue Hole first. Although this area is located in the Jamaican rain forest and hasn't been commercialized and mass-marketed to tourists like Dunn River Falls, Ricardo has assured me that walk to the Falls is a relatively easy one. One that someone with a bad back or knees can easily make. Of course, if you are more adventurous and want to do the jump into the hole, it is going to be a bit more of a strenuous climb, but not terrible. There are areas to just enjoy the view or splash around in the shallower parts if you want to do that. I will probably be doing that with our daughter as I am NOT going to let my first grader go cliff diving! :) He also assured me that there are life jackets available for children (not sure about adults) and I will be utilizing one for Rachael. Also, I also wanted to let you know that we are going to The Secret Falls Blue Hole and not the Mineral Blue Hole. When you google image "blue hole jamaica" it kept coming back with two different places. The place we are going is the place with the different water falls cascading down into a brilliant, blue "hole" of water. People can jump off the edge or off the the falls themselves. There is also a rope swing if you want to pretend to be Tarzan ;) Mineral Blue Hole just looks like a sink hole on a resort (there is a pool nearby) that has a ladder coming out of it. You can leap off the ledge or climb a nearby tree to jump into that hole. (It is a beautiful place and there are areas to jump that are all different heights. There are places where you can swim behind the falls and their are caves. Gorgeous place!)

 

After visiting the Secret Falls, we are going to visit Scotches, Jamaica Jerk Center for some authentic Jamaican jerk. Scotches is NOT the same one that Guy Fieri reviewed on his DDD special. However, Ricardo told me that the place we ARE going is very authentic Jamaican cooking and it is a local favorite. (It turned out this WAS the place that Guy Fieri reviewed and it was AWESOME!)

He will also be taking us on a tour of the area, taking us to the top of the area for a 360º panoramic view of Ocho Rios. For the history buffs, he will take us to visit the location where Christopher Columbus came in 1494. (Unfortunately, we didn't have time to do this. I think it was because we took more time at the Falls because of our group size.)

Ricardo has said he will show us the "real" Jamaica and how the local people live. He will be taking us away from the tourist centered port to an area where we can go shopping at discounted prices and places that will actually benefit the local community rather than the mass tourist market. Ricardo jokingly said he will take us to see the Jamaican "Wal-mart" and will be able to visit a local market where you will have an opportunity to buy Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee, locally made rum, or other local items without being hassled and harassed like the hawkers on the port. We will also have the opportunity to sample local coconut, sugar cane and other local fruits while we are on our sight seeing tour. (Again, just didn't have time to do this, which was a little disappointing)

 

He will be our guide throughout our adventure. The vehicles we will be traveling in are air-conditioned and secure so when we are at different places, he has said our belongings will be safely locked up if we don't want to bring them with us. (We had a nice, air-conditioned vehicle and I felt very safe leaving our stuff in it)

It was a great tour despite having to miss a few of the things due to time constraints and would do it again in a heartbeat! Planning a group wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. Just mention it on your roll call and tell people when you need final numbers by. I told mine I needed final numbers 2 weeks before we went. Ricardo will pick you up right at the port and you will pay him when he picks you up.

If you decide to contact him, let him know Sarah from Minnesota sent you ;)

We went in December and the previous poster is correct, they do have life jackets for youngsters and those who want them. I organized a large group and we had people ranging from 6-70 and everyone had a blast. My kids are 6, 16, and 20 and all three of them had a fantastic time. It was the highlight of our trip. My 6-year-old is not a daredevil, either, but she did jump off a couple of the falls and about a 20 foot cliff. The water is super cold, but so refreshing with how warm the air temp is!

Your kids will have a great time :)

did u do secret falls or tubing ? Im sure we want the falls but unsure of tubing

We did Secret Falls, Scotches (Oh, my was that GOOD!) and a quick stop to shop. With this MN cold weather we've been having, my teenage boys are dreaming of going back, LOL! Jumping off the Falls at Secret Falls was the highlight of our trip (and we did the cruise, Disney, and a few days at the beach while we were in Florida!)

We are looking to do the secret Falls/Tubing I have it narrowed it down to Carolynn Barett Adventures or Liberty Tours . Does anybody have experience with either of these all input is appreciated . Thank you

We did Liberty Tours with Ricardo in December. He was awesome! I organized of group of over 20 people and he was very accommodating. I would definitely book them again.

Where are you at? We're in the Mankato micropolitan area. :)

Small world! We're about 10 miles west of Rochester. I grew up in Waseca and my husband grew up in New Ulm. We both went to college in Mankato and lived in that area until 2006 until he got a job in Rochester and we made the move. Miss the Mankato area! Rochester is a much different "atmosphere" then Mankato and miss the friends we have over there.

We just took our first cruise out of Miami and flew with three kids. The airfare was as much as the cruise! When we do it again (and we WILL do it again! LOL!) we will drive. We are looking at cruising out of New Orleans and the drive from SE Minnesota is about 16 hours. 4/5 of us can drive so I think we could do it straight through. Our kids were 19, 15, and 6 when we cruised in December.

Pools are salt water and Waterworks is fresh! It's a beautiful ship!

We just got of our Carnival Breeze cruise a couple of weeks ago with our 19, 15, and 6 year old kids. The older boys refused to wear a lanyard and kept their cards on their person, but I got a lanyard for my daughter. It was our first cruise and I had the same worries you do!

She never took it off, always remembered to put it on when she left the room and did a great job. I also bought her a plastic cup to carry around with her for the free lemonade and tea as we did not purchase the "bubbles" for her. We don't drink a lot of soda anyway so I did not see the point in it.

If you plan on taking him to Camp Carnival, they provide water. They stay in the Camp Carnival room quite a bit, although on the Breeze, they spent some daytime in one of the nightclubs as well.

I would get him a cheap lanyard and have his card punched at guest services or the casino. Make it clear that he needs to have it on or close-by all the time. I didn't see any kids swinging them around, they were too busy doing other stuff to mess with it I think!

Have fun! I want to go on another cruise! We were all ready to turn around and get back on the ship! Even more now that we're dealing with the "Arctic Storm" and -70 F windchills today! Brr!

I was looking for it on our cruise on Dec. 15 on the Breeze... they didn't offer it :( I wanted to try it! We settled for the warm chocolate melting cake instead!

We just found some on Grand Turk and in Nassau about a week and a half ago! Lots of fun!

Someone from our Roll call set up a group excursion with Liberty tours and we had Ricardo as our guide. We have been to Jamaica several times and this was by far the best tour company /excursion I have witnessed.

Our group of 26 was the largest Ricardo ever has had and we rented a bus so he could accommodate all of us.

I felt completely comfortable and secure on this tour. Ricardo always asked to make sure everyone was ok and he was very knowledgable.

I will 100% recommend Liberty Tours and Ricardo!!!!

I was the one that set this up and Ricardo did a fantastic job. This was our very first cruise and our first time in Jamaica. Ricardo called me at my home in Minnesota several times and we had a blast when we got there. In our group of 26, we had ages ranging from 6-66 and everyone had a blast. My teenage boys were a little disappointed they weren't allowed to jump from the 50-foot cliff into the falls, but I was perfectly ok with that! LOL!

Ricardo joked around with us, was very informative and answered all our questions and took very good care of us. I never felt like any of our items were unsafe or insecure. Would book with him again if we are in Jamaica!

We went to the Irie Blue Hole/Secret Falls and Scotches. It was the highlight of our trip!

WooHoo!! We'll be getting off as you get one! Can hardly wait and don't have to much longer! Two days!

6 days!! Woot!!

I've been in contact with Ricardo and our group is going to be using him on 12/18. Really looking forward to it and he's been very helpful in planning our excursion in Ocho Rios!

Heading to Miami, on 12/14/13,

then will board the Carnival Breeze,

on 12/15/13...

 

Yeaaaaaa..

WooHooo!! We'll be seeing you on the Breeze, Bob! Can't wait!

I just nabbed one on the Breeze for the Dec. 15 sailing. We have 2 rooms for our family and we're all sailing on the same card... I should call and see if we can all board together or if they're going to split us up. That would stink. I figure we can at least drop off all the carry-on in the room we have FTTF booked for if I can't get it for the other!

~Sarah

We'll be in Ocho Rios on 12/18 (I think!) and I have booked a private tour through Liberty Tours.

We are going to The Secret Falls/Blue Hole, lunch at Scotches and a tour of the area for about $50/person

Thank you! We're 68 days away from sailing away on the Breeze and can not wait! We're also cruising with kids and we are first time cruisers... so exciting!!

I've been reading all the reviews and should probably stop because it is making the wait that much more painful! LOL!