Montego Bay and Carnival’s Horseback Ride and Swim Review

Feb 27, 2013. We arrived in Montego Bay on a beautiful morning following the Magic.

We docked at the second terminal (A on map) while the Magic docked at the first terminal (B on map).

This is significant because the entrance/exit from the secure terminal area is nearest the first terminal, where the Magic passengers could just walk off the ship and out the gate. The second terminal is located a half mile away and free shuttles were run between the first and second terminals, walking was not allowed. The main port shopping area was located at the first terminal location, with the diamond skylights on its roof, and is marked on Google Maps as just to the west of Cruise Shore Excursions Jamaica. This roof, with its distinctive outline, can be seen before entering the bay.

Here’s a picture of the second terminal building (the one story blue structure at the far end of the dock.

We chose the 11:30 excursion, so, we just took our time and chilled on the upper deck until it was time to go. We noticed the 80+ degree temps immediately and were feeling really good about it. In our terminal building, the Carnival Excursion Host was there to make sure everyone got connected to the correct tour representatives. I found this surprisingly different from past sailings on NCL or Carnival, I had never seen the ship representatives on shore. Perhaps they were always there and I just missed them. Here’s a picture of our tour contact and the van we took to the excursion.

The Horseback Ride and Swim was conducted by Chukka at Sandy Bay and according to google maps, here is the 30 minute route we took.

Their website has a great video. Upon arriving at Sandy Bay, we found the facilities were nice and clean, there is a changing area and outside showers. Lockers about 1 foot cubed are available and cost $3 for a key and lock. I’m not sure, and didn’t ask, if we could use our own lock and key.

This is an excursion for beginners, so, it matched my skill perfectly as I have only been on a horse once in my life (for 1 hour during a Belize excursion). The riders were paired with their horses and took a couple laps in a circle to get used to each other. My horse’s name was sleek and majestic and I promptly forgot it within 8 seconds of hearing it. This forgetfulness of names is something my Army training didn’t correct. I only needed to know a few ranks, know who was and wasn’t a “Sir” or “Ma’am” (which was really easy since they were so helpful if you addressed them incorrectly), and everybody had their name printed on their shirt. With that said, I’ll spend the rest of this review calling my horse Wilbur. I found out Wilbur had two gears (probably more, but two were fine with me and the only ones I experienced). In first gear Wilbur walked and all was well with the world. However, being the last car in an 8 car horse train, we went into catch-up mode (second gear) a few times. While first gear was quite enjoyable, second gear had me bouncing a little more that I’d like and next time I’ll try to use my legs as better shock absorbers.

Three guides were assigned to our group of eight and Doctor T took charge of the three of us in the rear of the pack. While I cannot comment on his medical knowledge or post graduate work, I will say he was very informative, entertaining and attentive. He continually kept up a running commentary and made sure we were riding safely up and down the hills by making sure we were leaning forward/legs back or leaning back/legs forward when necessary. When riding near some steep dropoffs, Doctor T reassured us that horses never commit suicide. He never mentioned how they felt about homicide, so I guided Wilbur to the safer side of the road.

We rode through a pasture and up and down some hills on dirt and rocky roads. I must say, navigating the hills was a first for me since the Belize horseride was on flat terrain. The ride lasted about an hour, then we had about 10 minutes to change into our swimsuits and drop off our shoes (closed toed shoes are required for the horseback riding). While I wore long sleeves and long pants, my companions simply wore bathing suits or shorts and were fine. No problems with tree branches or insects during our February trip. I wore my tennis shoes out to the mounting area where they put a soft saddle on the horses and we mounted up. I took off my shoes and left them on the elevated berm and rode in the water barefoot. The swim lasted less than 10 minutes, however, it was very enjoyable and worth it. I’ve experienced the dolphin swim and that only lasted about 20 seconds, but I still have wonderful memories of it along with the video. The horseback swim is no different, 10 minutes doesn’t sound like much sitting in a computer chair, but is actually plenty of time to experience the joy of this adventure.

During the entire journey the staff is taking pictures of the group and individuals. You are not allowed to bring your own camera on the ride, simply because you need both hands to stay on the horse. After getting out of our wet swimsuits, we wandered around the snack bar and gift shop areas. I bought all 34 photos they shot of our three person group for $90 and then shot several photos of the area with my camera.

I don’t spend much money on ‘things’ and prefer to spend it on ‘experiences and memories’. After taking a dolphin swim excursion in 2006, and buying $150 worth of photos and video, it is still that experience that stands out the most of that particular cruise. I just wish Chukka offered video of the horse swim so I could have purchased that too. The photos are provided on a CD which makes it easy for transport. However, I must admit, I was a bit concerned that I would be many miles away when I actually got to view the pictures on my computer. I must say I was pleasantly relieved when the photos were not only intact, but in a very large file size, ~5MB per picture.

Looks like Wilbur changed coats while I was changing clothes.

When my grandson saw these pictures, he remarked “you’re riding a seahorse”. I had to laugh, and according to the beautiful map on the Promenade Deck of our ship, Jamaica rests in the Caribbean Sea, so, technically, he wasn’t wrong.

Our return ride to the ship was a much bigger bus and the women enjoyed wandering around the terminal shops and the craft tents located directly outside.

The excursion description stated a duration of 3 hours with a riding time of 1hr and 45 minutes. The 3 hour duration was extremely accurate and includes the travel time, however, the riding time was inflated. As confirmed by the time stamps on my pictures, the amount of time from taking a picture of the sign upon entrance to the property until leaving on the bigger bus was 1 hour and 45 minutes.

I would say their estimate probably encompassed the time the guides were with us, including fitting us for our riding helmets, selecting and mounting our horses, the time between the ride and the swim, and our final goodbyes. Add an additional 15 minutes for gift shopping and lunch and you have 2 hours on site. I will also say I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have to ride Wilbur for that long anyways. I learned from my Belize ride that 60 minutes is the most I really wanted to enjoy.

I'll close out this review with some area pictures taken during the trip to and from Sandy Bay.

To see my entire trip review, just click here.

Thank you for your review on this. Loved the pics!!

Melissa

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