Ms_Flo

Has anyone used Adventures In Alaska for whale watching in Juneau? I've searched the boards & only get 1 hit (someone asking if anyone has heard of them). But they have four hundred Excellent reviews on TripAdvisor going back to 2010. ??? I'm pretty sure we're going to book with them for next month, but I'm a little freaked out that there's no info about them on CruiseCritic. 😮 What gives? I'd feel better about booking with them if some fellow cruisers here vouched for them. TIA!

Wow, someone resurrected my thread from 2009. We loved the cabin and have been in it twice. Our favorite of all cabins!

 

This thread has been resurrected a couple of times! It's just that good!! :D Thanks so much for starting it, Sharon. I was excited to find it before we went on our first cruise!

I wouldn't hesitate to book one of these cabins again. I think the partition's effect on the view was minor. I think I tended to look far enough in front of us that the lose of peripheral scenery wasn't an issue at all. It could possibly be an issue if you're sitting in port & want to see something that is beside the ship, but other than that...

 

On the other hand, the extended partition had a major effect on the privacy of the balcony. I actually missed it on our last cruise. I felt very exposed with the basic/regular partitions. I was relieved when our neighbors weren't on their balconies at the same time I went out on ours, because I felt like I would have been intruding on them otherwise.

 

Hope that helps. Enjoy your cruise!

I'm the OP for this question and we're back from our trip so I wanted to give so feedback.

 

Welcome back AandBmom :) Thanks for updating us. I'm glad you guys had fun! Thanks for sharing about your toddlers being strapped in on the sky explorer. I'm sure that will reassure a lot of parents who are researching MM.

 

FWIW... Unless I'm missing something, you aren't the OP. To the best of my knowledge, the "OP" is the "Original Poster"--the person who started the thread. This thread was started by bender031177. It's no big deal; I just didn't want anyone to be confused. ...especially if I'm the one who is confused & I have the OP abbreviation wrong! :-o

 

Thanks again!

Dunner & utlisa1050, you're very welcome. :) The people on Cruise Critic were incredibly helpful to me when I was trying to figure this stuff out before our first cruise. I'm just trying to return the favor. :cool:

 

Annefran, true. ;) I thought the pool at MM was beautiful. It's a wonderful place to take pictures with your cruise ship in the background! The food was very good, and the portions were huge. We could have easily split one meal instead of ordering two. Try the festival! It's a delicious (and VERY filling) cross between a doughnut & cornbread. Ask your server to tell you about it. :cool:

Did you feel comfortable grabbing a cab at the port to take to you MM?

Going into it I did--because of everything I read here before we left. But when we got to Ocho Rios, things did not go as I expected. Instead of docking at the main port where fares are apparently posted & there are supposed to be lines of taxis waiting, we went starboard to an industrial-looking port. :eek: (You can see it on GoogleEarth.) My comfort & confidence took a big hit for several reasons :)--it was a very odd situation. (I think it might have been a little uncomfortable for even seasoned cruisers, but we were on our 1st ever cruise & OR was only our 2nd port.) Everything worked out okay, but I can't say I was comfortable with how it went. I never felt unsafe--just anxious about things not being anything like what I expected. BUT, if I were going back to OR, I wouldn't think twice about grabbing a cab at the main port. ...and I wouldn't even be worried if we had to dock at the industrial port again. So long as the taxi had the red license plate & JTB (Jamaica Tourist Board) decal, I would feel comfortable.

 

I don't know if that helps or not. :-/ I certainly don't want to scare anyone off. I don't think getting a legal cab in OR could get much crazier than what we experienced, and what we went through wasn't enough to make me regret our decision to skip the excursions & head out on our own!

 

Enjoy your trip!

I was wondering if it was possible to do the Dunn River Falls and the "Tranopy" tour at Mystic Mountain all in one day on a cruise stop? Thanks!

We did :-) Our ship got into port at about 10:00. We went to MM first & spent about 4 hours there. (sky lift up, observation tower, bob sled, zip line, sky lift back up, "museum", lunch, water-slide & quick dip in pool for pics, hummingbird garden, sky lift down) Then we went to DRF for about 2 hours. (2 trips up the falls) I would have liked to stay longer & climb the falls a third time, but by then they were closing for the day. (I believe that was at 4:00.) Neither place was busy when we were there, so we didn't have to spend hardly any time waiting in lines. Crowds could dramatically effect your ability to do everything.

 

Have fun! :D

Note, if you look closely at this website it says that cruise passengers can't buy through them.....

 

That's true. This is from the website:

Important note for all cruise ship passengers:

If you are visiting via cruise ship these tours are not available online, please contact the cruise line directly to book activity tickets.

 

I didn't mean to suggest that the OP (or anyone else) should buy online. I only meant that the website provides information about prices. I believe the website prices are the same as the "at the door" prices at MM's ticket booth. Cruise passengers (and everyone else) can buy tickets there without being asked how they arrived in Jamaica. :cool:

I apologize if I caused any confusion. :o

Do you know the cost of each indiv. thing at the base of the mountain?

sky explorer----- zip line-------- bobsled?

You can't do the zip line or the bobsled without going on the sky explorer, so there aren't separate prices for those activities. When we were there, the ticket booth at the entrance to MM only offered those activities as a part of a "package", and the prices changed depending on how many of the activities you purchased. Prices for all four possible combinations of activities are listed on the website referenced above. It should give you the most up-to-date pricing information.

 

Do you know if the zip lining takes groups at certain times only?

When we were there, it looked like they just went whenever there was a group of about 10 people "suited up" & ready to go. I didn't get the impression that there are very many things in Jamaica that happen at specific times. :D

 

Do you know how much time it takes to do the zip lining portion?

We were there on a day that was not at all crowded, so our times might be much less than on busy days. It took us somewhere between 30 minutes & an hour to put on the equipment & complete the course. (I'm guessing based on picture time stamps.) It took an additional 10 minutes on the lift to get down to the main entrance. (The zip line doesn't go all the way down MM.) If you want to go back to the top, the ride back up will take another 15 minutes or so. If you're in a time crunch, do the zip line last so you can leave when you're finished. They can send your belongings down to the final zip line platform, so you don't have to make the sky lift circuit again.

 

Just wondering if I just get my own way there if it might be a llittle cheaper to buy from the mountain directly?

Maybe--it was for us when we were on NCL (MM & DRF together), but it sounds like Carnival's excursions are less expensive than going on your own.

As stated in post #2 at the beginning of this thread:

 

There are 4 different ticket options with a price range of about $50 to $150.

Try this website: http://www.rainforestadventure.com/tickets/?catID=124

 

Each person in the group can chose which ticket option he/she wants to purchase.

Thnaks for your answer ms flo!

 

We did end up going thru the ship, CCL.

 

Wish I would have answered sooner... :o Sorry you didn't get the info you wanted in time for your cruise. :(

 

For anyone going I recomend finding out how many ships are in port that day. We had 5 of the largest in and it was nuts!

It was over an hour wait for bobsledding to do the 2 minute ride.

:eek: Sorry to hear that!

 

If anyone is going on a busy port day, try going to MM in the morning. We were told that most people go to DRF first and then to MM in the afternoon. It might not make a difference, but doing the opposite might help you avoid some of the crowd. ...I would still want to eat lunch at MM though! Fantastic view from the restaurant :cool: and LARGE portions (1 meal would have been enough for both of us) at decent prices!

Did you take the ship tour to Mystic Mountain or a tour guide on your own?

 

MM says on their website you have to book thru the cruise ship, do you????

 

The reason i'm asking is we are 6 people some want to bob sled, some zip and some just to walk around? What would be the best way for us to do this any sugestions?

 

You didn't ask me, but I'll answer. :D We just got a taxi at the pier & went to MM on our own--no ship tour or tour guide. You can walk up & buy tickets at the entrance. They have no way to know whether or not you came on a cruise ship. ;)

 

Different people buying different ticket types shouldn't be an issue. I feel sure you know this, but just in case... Everyone must at least buy the ticket for the sky lift. There's not really anything to do/see at the foot of MM.

 

Hope that helps. And I hope all of you have a wonderful time! I loved it!!

There are 4 different ticket options with a price range of about $50 to $150.

Try this website: http://www.rainforestadventure.com/tickets/?catID=124

LOL - that picture actually is of us.

That is TOO funny! :D Does umpy10 know that he took your picture?

 

Since this is your first cruise, you should try to get your roll call group to do a cabin crawl - they will all be envious and you can get a good overview of the other offerings.

I finally posted on our roll call tonight. They are considering a cabin crawl, and I have convinced my husband that we should join in. (YEAH!) He had serious doubts for a long time. He wants this room to be our little secret. (shh!) ;)

I think he's already decided that we're going to do many more cruises in THIS cabin! ...and we have no guarantee that we'll even LIKE cruising! (Although I'm pretty sure we'll love it.)

 

Hope you enjoy your first one!

Thanks so much. I can't wait!! ...well, except that I still need to pack! :eek:

We had a great cruise and are almost sorta sorry we had this room....it has ruined us for future cruises in a regular size stateroom.

Oh no, don't say that! :-o This is our first cruise! We're going to have totally warped expectations if we ever do this again!

 

I failed to take a picture from the balcony in front of the Observation Lounge looking down but you can see about the front three feet or so of it.

 

umpy10 took a picture from this perspective (kind of) & posted it in his review.

http://i1129.photobucket.com/albums/m507/umpy10/Day%20%204%20on%20the%20Sun/DadsCruisePix130.jpg

(I hope it's not bad form to link to another person's picture. ...if my attempt at a link even works.)

 

Thanks again, Clay. And thanks to umpy10. :-)

Thanks Clay. :-) I look forward to your pictures!

 

Pennhoo, great pictures! Thank you!! I'm so excited right now! :-) I just made my son come look at "my room". :-D Every picture I see makes the trip seem a little more real.

Does anyone have pictures of the "overhang"? I'm still trying to get an idea of how exposed/public the balcony is. Thanks!

...tried to edit my previous post, but no luck. :-(

A picture from Deck 12 looking down would also be great if anyone has it.

Thanks again!

No roofs Slight overhang about 1-1/2 ft stateroom loc. is above the bridge next to owners suite

Does anyone have pictures of the "overhang"? I'm still trying to get an idea of how exposed/public the balcony is. Thanks!