Anyone go ziplining with Oscar?

[judyf]

We are booked with Oscar for our day in Costa Rica. I'm thinking of ziplining, if I don't get scared and backdown. LOL

 

My Mother will just do a tour no ziplining.

 

I have a few questions, if I do zipline what else will I be able to see with Oscar's tour? What will I miss?

 

I'm trying to decide which tour would be best. I know he has a canal tour too, can't think of the name of the canal right now. We are visiting the canal in Colon so my thought on this is I would want to do other things here rather then a canal.

 

Please give me our thoughts!

 

Thanks

[SNOWEY]

We are booked with Oscar for our day in Costa Rica. I'm thinking of ziplining, if I don't get scared and backdown. LOL

 

My Mother will just do a tour no ziplining.

 

I have a few questions, if I do zipline what else will I be able to see with Oscar's tour? What will I miss?

 

I'm trying to decide which tour would be best. I know he has a canal tour too, can't think of the name of the canal right now. We are visiting the canal in Colon so my thought on this is I would want to do other things here rather then a canal.

 

Please give me our thoughts!

 

Thanks

 

Judy:

 

Just got back from Galaxy PC cruise & did Ziplining with Oscar Brown.

You cannot go wrong with him! I would say it was the highlight of the cruise.

Oscar can customize your tour. We did ziplining, the canals...btw...the canals are not like the pc canals. The canals are winding and you see birds, sloths, etc. More like a flora & fauna tour.

 

He also took us to buy some coffee & vanilla (much cheaper than in the stores at the docks). We also went to a animal rescure spot and spent a good 40 minutes holding, a baby monkey, a tucan, macaw, etc. Entrance is free. You just tip the owners. If you did all of these tours via the cruise line (they don't even offer zip lining) it would cost double. Plus, you are with a smaller group.

 

Re the zip lining: it is more scary than it looks. It is fun not scary. Be prepared, the ziplining takes about 1 hour 45 minutes to get there and the road is full of pot holes (that is why it takes so long). We left around 9:00 am and were back at 6:00.

 

Hope this helps. If there are any questions, I would be happy to answer them.

 

Claudia

[llund]

We just got off the Coral Princess and did the ziplining with Oscar. He took us to the animal rescue spot. It was great holding the monkeys. We went to the Dole Banana Plantation and then to the zipline. Ziplining is a lot of fun. We had 2 people who were not planning to zipline but others did chicken out and I think there were about 5 of our group of 16 who did not zipline. It looks scary at first but really isn't that bad. You can see the next platform ahead and the zipline is not long between each platform. It is so much fun. After, Oscar takes you to a restaurant where you have a beautiful view of the harbor and Costa Rica. Unfortuantely, we did not have time to eat there but I wish we did. It looked wonderful.

 

Make sure you determine what time you are to meet Oscar. Our ship was on Eastern time and we were to meet him at 8:00 A.M. EST. All 16 of us were there ready to go. By 8:30, Oscar was still waiting outside. He was waiting for 11 more people! This did upset us because I thought we had booked him for our group only. His bus would have been very uncomfortable with that many people, as some would be sitting on jumpseats. With the roads and the long drive, we would have been cramped. I guess the others were told that it was 8:00 Costa Rica time. There was no way we were going to wait another 1/2 hours especially since we were all told ship time and were ready to go. We almost went to find another tour guide, who was waiting at the dock. However, they called for another van for the other 11 people and Oscar went off with us. Because of this, we started off on the wrong foot, but Oscar was great and we enjoyed our time. Just make sure they don't squeeze you in with a lot of people. It would not be very much fun on those roads.

[thepocketrockett]

We were on the Coral Princess December 10-20 partial transit of the Canal and I would tell you that you are better off calling Almonds and Coral who run the ziplining or go on their website. I thought Oscar's tour was definitely not up to snuff and have posted many messages warning people that they are wasting their time and money. Oscar left us with a woman who knew little about Costa Rica or the history thereof. Also the van stalled and the guys had to get out of the van and push it until it started up. There were 9 of us in our group and I can say definitely that all of them felt the same way and many of them have posted their comments. The people and guides at Almonds and Coral are totally professional and terrific. We had to cancel part of our tour because the driver spent so much time talking to two women in the gas station where we stopped for gas. Additionally, the woman who took us on the tour stopped to talk to friends and family at every opportunity. Please beware! Normally I would never suggest taking ship tours because clearly they're more expensive but after this trip where we booked several outside tours and had trouble with each and every one of them I would say that ship tours are the way to go. At least if something goes wrong you're covered and the ship will not leave without you if something happens and the tour gets back late.

[Driftwoodgal]

I went on Oscar's tour last year, and had the best day that I have ever had on any tour, hands down wether it be booked from the ship or an independent.

 

I am so sorry pocketrocket that you didn't have a good time on yours. IMHO you get half the tour when you book with the ship, nor do you have such a small group. As to your comment about the ships tours being better, the tours are done by locals that subcontract with the ship. The one and only benefit that I see to booking with the ship is that you won't be left if you are late getting back. On our sailing we were held up by a tour that was 2 hours late getting back in Belize. Their bus broke down and they had to wait for a mechanic. That put us late getting into Costa Rica the next day..... and guess who waited for us true to his word..... Oscar. If you asked the people that booked tours with the ship in Panama you would have been in a long line with people wanting their money back.

 

One last point, if you were so upset with the driver why didn't you just complain to her that you didn't appreciate her visiting with people? If you did and she continued to ignore your request I see why you are so upset. I hope you got to enjoy some part of your day in Puerto Limon.

[SNOWEY]

Just a clarification, the trip took all day but that included ziplining, the canals, the bird rescue, coffee shopping, & an overview of the city. We left around 9:15 and were back around 6:00.

[tinkerme1]

Would someone please email the information about how to get ahold of Oscar for the ziplining tour. I'd really appreciate it.

 

micknminy@aol.com

[judyf]

Thanks for all the great info. I hope I don't chicken out of ziplining. Is there a weight limit? I gained a few pounds and just want to make sure. I don't think there should be a problem but better to check ahead!

 

We're arriving on the Legend 12:00 to 7:00 so we only have a total of 7 hours in port, I don't think this will be enough time to do ziplining and the canel.

 

If you had to choose which would you do?

 

Thanks

[booboo4031]

I emailed you oscar's email address and here is is as well:

 

cbrown@costarricense.cr

 

[SNOWEY]

Judy: Hard to choose, but since the ziplining is so far away, you could get more bang for your buck if you did the canals & then ask Oscar to take you to some other points of interest. If you like animals, we went to a rescure center (near there) and got to hold allot of them. See my Galaxy pictures. The one's with the wildlife were shot there. Both of those are close to the port. Then he can take you shopping & perhaps a cold one or two at the restaurant that overlooks Costa Rica. Just some idea.

[SusieQT]

We were also passed off to another guide by Oscar this month. Our guide was fantastic, but we had a few problems at A & C. Oscar said "no problem" with some ziplining and some not, he would take them to a village.

 

Well, they were not taken to a village, they were left at the resort. They made the best of it and had a few cokes at the bar and talked with the bartender. When we were leaving, the management at A & C said they had to pay $20 each for the use of the resort! They used the bar and paid their bill for the sodas! Our guide worked it out, but it left a bad taste in our mouth.

 

I would either have everyone zipline, or no one. It is not scary and there is not a weight limit. They will make sure you are safe. They make each harness to fit your own body size and shape.

 

Thankfully our van did not have problems, that would have been a nightmare!

 

 

We were on the Coral Princess December 10-20 partial transit of the Canal and I would tell you that you are better off calling Almonds and Coral who run the ziplining or go on their website. I thought Oscar's tour was definitely not up to snuff and have posted many messages warning people that they are wasting their time and money. Oscar left us with a woman who knew little about Costa Rica or the history thereof. Also the van stalled and the guys had to get out of the van and push it until it started up. There were 9 of us in our group and I can say definitely that all of them felt the same way and many of them have posted their comments. The people and guides at Almonds and Coral are totally professional and terrific. We had to cancel part of our tour because the driver spent so much time talking to two women in the gas station where we stopped for gas. Additionally, the woman who took us on the tour stopped to talk to friends and family at every opportunity. Please beware! Normally I would never suggest taking ship tours because clearly they're more expensive but after this trip where we booked several outside tours and had trouble with each and every one of them I would say that ship tours are the way to go. At least if something goes wrong you're covered and the ship will not leave without you if something happens and the tour gets back late.

[SusieQT]

We did the ziplining and canal trip. We ziplined, ate a leisurely lunch, went to the canal, and then to the grocery. It took all day! We would have loved to see a banana plantation, but it was Sunday and they were closed.

[texkan]

We are booked with Oscar for our day in Costa Rica. I'm thinking of ziplining, if I don't get scared and backdown. LOL

 

My Mother will just do a tour no ziplining.

 

I have a few questions, if I do zipline what else will I be able to see with Oscar's tour? What will I miss?

 

I'm trying to decide which tour would be best. I know he has a canal tour too, can't think of the name of the canal right now. We are visiting the canal in Colon so my thought on this is I would want to do other things here rather then a canal.

 

Please give me our thoughts!

 

Thanks

 

When will you be in Costa Rica? I will be there March 6 and looking for someone to do tour with.

[judyf]

I wish we were there the same day. I'm there on March 23rd on the Legend. You'ld have to tell me all about it when you return!!!

[texkan]

I will be there on Galaxy and plan to do tour #1 with Oscar

[sunworshipper3]

We were also passed off to another guide by Oscar this month. Our guide was fantastic, but we had a few problems at A & C. Oscar said "no problem" with some ziplining and some not, he would take them to a village.

 

Well, they were not taken to a village, they were left at the resort. They made the best of it and had a few cokes at the bar and talked with the bartender. When we were leaving, the management at A & C said they had to pay $20 each for the use of the resort! They used the bar and paid their bill for the sodas! Our guide worked it out, but it left a bad taste in our mouth.

 

I would either have everyone zipline, or no one. It is not scary and there is not a weight limit. They will make sure you are safe. They make each harness to fit your own body size and shape.

 

Thankfully our van did not have problems, that would have been a nightmare!

 

Hi SuzyQT! I read the above post about the zip lines. My husband & I are booked with Oscar for March 25th. I'm not a huge fan of heights, but zip lining looks like a blast, and you only live once, right. My question (if you don't mind) is do you walk the bridges (shown on the Almonds & Corals site) to get to the zip lining platforms, or do you climb? The TODAY show had Lester Holt doing the zip lines somewhere in Costa Rica, and he climbed the trees using tree ladders. Thanks so much for any enlightening you can provide.

 

Happy cruising!

Pat :cool:

[yst347]

Hi M&P,

 

We were at Almonds and Corals last week. The bridge you see on the website is crossed enroute to the first platform. You do climb several ladders on the way, though they are more like steep stairs.

 

If you would like me to send you some picture drop me a note at yst347@hotmail.com Put ziplining in the title.

 

yst

[SusieQT]

He was probably in Montevideo on the Pacific side. They have ziplining in a cloud forest over there. I'm sure that is much scarier from the height perspective!

[xander]

We've booked vith Oscar for April 15 to do the tour 1 . We e-mailed him . if you e-mail him you must use hotmail.com or yahoo - AOL and Outlook don't work ( for some reason the mails don't get through )

[booboo4031]

I've booked with Oscar and I use Outlook. It wouldn't be Outlook that's blocking the emails, but it could be the spam filter for your ISP or a firewall issue. Many ISP's have foreign email addresses blocked and the .cr on the email designates at as being a non-US email.

[zzmoo]

We have a group of 4 booked with Oscar on March 23rd to do the ziplining. It looks safe and it should be a tour that we will always remember! Come join us!!!

[judyf]

We have a group of 4 booked with Oscar on March 23rd to do the ziplining. It looks safe and it should be a tour that we will always remember! Come join us!!!

 

I'm so glad to see someone else from our cruise ziplining!!!! Is everyone in your group doing the zipline? My mother won't be doing it and Oscar said he would take her on another tour.

 

I wonder what elase we will get a chance to do with Oscar?

[booboo4031]

Oscar said that besides the zip lining he goes to a hotel for lunch, some sight seeing, and I think a banana plantation

[judyf]

That's what I thought! And to see the sloths? I think.