What has been your most memorable excursion?

[cpayne]

So many of you have listed swimming with the dolphins as your favorite excursion. If you enjoyed this you should try Discovery Cove in Orlando. It's owned by Sea World, but is a separate entity. The places in the Caribbean can't hold a candle to the experience at Discovery Cove!

If you are feeling extra generous with your cash sign up for their Dolphin Trainer for a Day program. My husband surprised me with this for my 30th birthday and is the neatest thing I've ever done. It will set you back about $450/person, though, so be forewarned. If you just want the "regular" swim with the dolphin program I believe it's about $100/person for an entire day experience.

For the Dolphin Trainer program be aware you do have to sign up 6 months in advance. They only take 12 people/day for this program and certain times of the year fill up fast!

While it was not on a cruise, it was truly my most fabulous excursion!

[DaytonCruiser]

After reading this, I really need to find a cruise :)

[DebbieB65]

Grand Cayman: Stingray City with Capt. Marvins
St. John: Trunk Bay
St. Maarten: Horseback riding with Bayside

All were FABULOUS!!

[rockedge]

#1 Stingray City in Bora Bora, much better than in Grand Cayman
# 2 Helicoptor ride and landing on Glacier in Juneau, absolutely awesome
#3 Jungle 4x4 in Bora Bora
#4 Shark dive in the Bahamas.

[pacerzfan]

Ok, Maybe not a favorite but Memorable.....Grand Cayman.....taking tour to Hell..........then having tour bus crash in Hells parking lot........made for some nice conversations back home...."Yeah I went to Hell and the dang bus crashed"........LOL

[jessed]

Aruba: Renting an open aired jeep and driving off road to the Natural Bridge. We didn't know exactly how to get there, but when we stopped at the California? Lighthouse, we saw a jeep tour turn off the main road and go down a dirt road. So away we went after them. What a great time! Don't tell anyone we had a cooler of "refreshments" - it's really dry on that side of the island.
Cozumel: Renting a VW and touring the island.

[divadiverfl]

Grand Cayman--scubadiving of course all the time
Costa Rica----Rain Forest
Columbia----scubadiving
Dominica--great scubadiving
Ocho Rios---Dune River Falls
Venezula---Cave Tour--Shopping
We make all our ports exciting--never stay on the ship unless it is Key West--We live in Fl.:)

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

Love to read these...wondering if anyone else had favorites to share:)

[kguenther]

We just did Discovery Cove this last July. It was awesome, but actual "dolphin time" is limited due to regulations (for dolphin's health and safety) and it cost around $250 per person for the day. Expensive, but we felt worth it. It was a classy operation.

[MrPete]

[quote name='kguenther']We just did Discovery Cove this last July.[/QUOTE]

Kim,

Please tell us more. Wife just brought this up last night. Considering doing this in July. What else is involved? What is it that nets them 250 clams pp?

[kguenther]

[quote name='MrPeteLI']Kim,

Please tell us more. Wife just brought this up last night. Considering doing this in July. What else is involved? What is it that nets them 250 clams pp?[/QUOTE]

I will be happy to tell you all. We got there around 8 am in the morning, and walked around. You will be given a card with your pictures on it that can be used to purchase anything while you are there (so you don't need to carry a wallet). You will also be given a locker to use, and shown to the changing rooms. You will be given a dolphin swim time at this time, also. I recommend getting there early so you can enjoy your whole day there. After all, you are paying a lot, you might as well be there the whole time.

Before your swim, you will watch a safety video, and be assigned to a group of about 6 people for your swim. Then, depending on your swim time, you will wander around or go to your dolphin encounter. The encounter is very cool....you will get to touch the dolphin, listen to it underwater, and go for a short ride. It is a very short encounter, but you won't forget it. In my opinion, it is more regulated and better for the dolphins than the Mexico trips.

Once our swim was done, we had the rest of the day to hang out and snorkel in thier reef, and we also spent some time in their aviary, where birds will come land on you to eat food that you are holding.

While you are there, everything except alchohol is included. They provide nice snorkels, wetsuits, towels, sunscreen, bird food, etc. Unless you want to drink, you pay the one price. Of course, they will take pictures of you, and you will probably want to buy those. However, they are not high pressure, and I found them very professional and well done.

There is also a stingray lagoon that is awesome. Sounds like Stingray City in the Caymans. You get some food at certain feeding times, and the stingrays come to get it! It was my favorite part, and every feeding time, you could find me in the stingray pool petting them. It was awesome!

It is expensive, but we were impressed. Everything is extremely clean and nice. If you go to the DIS boards, you will find a whole board on Discovery Cove, and that is great for deciding whether or not you want to shell out those clams. The DIS boards are awesome for help about DisneyWorld too. We had an incredible time last summer. Also included in your Discovery Cove admission fee is 7 days to either Sea World or Busch Gardens, so that is cool too.

Feel free to ask me any other questions...

[email]kimguenther@mooreschools.com[/email]

[amychell]

Have to agree with the Canopy Tour as being my favorite (so far, anyway *wink*). It doesn't even come CLOSE to comparing with skydiving . . . but it will do for now as I've yet to see that offered on a cruise! :D

Anyone else a HUGE adrenaline junkie?!?

[beaming90]

Since I have only been on one cruise so far and it was just 2 weeks ago...I have only been on 2 excursions. The first was the Glass Bottom boat in Freeport Bahamas. It was ok. But the dolphin encounter in Nassau Bahamas was the best! My mom wasn't feeling well and told me later that she wasn't going to do it but she did, and I can't explain why, but it is one of my favorite memories EVER! I loved it and so did she!:rolleyes:

[Flip2cruise]

[quote name='bankofdad']Swimming in the middle of a pod of over 100 wild dolphins off of the west coast of Oahu. [/QUOTE]

Not sure if you are still on the boards, just curious what was the name of the tour where you swam with dolphins.

[BettyB2]

[quote name='beaming90']Since I have only been on one cruise so far and it was just 2 weeks ago...I have only been on 2 excursions. The first was the Glass Bottom boat in Freeport Bahamas. It was ok. But the dolphin encounter in Nassau Bahamas was the best! My mom wasn't feeling well and told me later that she wasn't going to do it but she did, and I can't explain why, but it is one of my favorite memories EVER! I loved it and so did she!:rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

We are planning a land based vacation in Bahamas (Nassau) next February and was wondering who you took the encounter with, the one I am looking at is [url="http://www.dolphinencounter.com"]www.dolphinencounter.com[/url] is this who you booked with? Thanks - glad you loved it - I want to a get a group of 10-15 of us to go for the encounter and/or swim). How soon did you have to leave the area after encounter...can you stay all day? thanks

[b][color=red]The BEST day of my life.......Swimming with the stingrays with Captain Bryans in Grand Cayman[/color][/b]:D ABSOLUTELY.....!!!!!

[cbreit]

This isn't a fond memory, but I'll tell you anyway... We went into a gift shop in Cozumel, at the pier. My dh was looking around and was trying to get the perfect little souvenior when it fell. There were signs everywhere "If you break it, you own it", well, one stupid little souvenior fell and broke. A salesman in the shop looked all over the floor for a tiny piece of plastic and said "You have to pay for this!" Of course, dh said, "I didn't break it, it fell while I was looking for something." There was no way he was going to pay $5 for a stupid piece of a plastic doodad.... Well, next thing you know, there's a cop right by the door, with a gun... Of course I ended up paying for this stupid piece plastic. That's all we needed, ending up in jail for a piece of plastic. That was memorable enough for me!! :)

[voyagerfl]

[list]
[*][size=3]Chichen Itza Ruins[/size]
[*][size=3]Tulum Ruins[/size]
[*][size=3]Stingray's in Grand Caymen[/size]
[*][size=3]Yukon, White Pass Trail (by bus) in Skagway[/size]
[*][size=3]Anything else in Alaska[/size]
[/list]

[Jenna1983]

Swimming with Sea Lions in Cozumel (What I always said was a dream!) I LOOOOVED it.

Now this memory is significant not only because I did something I NEVER thought I'd do, but because it was CC that made me even think about it. Everyone here kept mention Caye Caulker and I was planning on Altun Ha/River Wallace Tour. However, I decided that I was going on a cruise and wanted another day at the beach, instead of going to Ruins. So Sunday afternoon, I decided that I was going to book the Carnival snorkeling excursion to Goffs Caye. Well, I was SUPER nervous about the whole experience because I am scared of fish (to the point that looking at them made me get goosebumps!) So, when we go on the boat, I told my mom I was going to snorkel from the beach instead of the boat. She said tha since she paid, she wouldn't allow me too (OK, she couldn't force me, but we still had 4 days left on the ship!). I was the second person in the water, after my mom, and I was amazed at the fact that the fish didn't swim near me at all. Actually, the only time they did, was getting back on the boat, when they were at the propellers.
So the whole significance of that is that now all I want to do on my next cruise (hopefully next May!) is snorkel LOL

[UnVrYaN]

It was Jun of '03. My wife an I were on our honeymoon. We were sailing the Elation through the mexican riviera. We booked the tequila factory tour. The night before we got into port we though we would drink some tequila to sort set the mood for the following days festivities. Unfortunately, we indulged in a few too many tequila beverages the night before and we were miserable the next day. I was already feeling ill, and when you had the poorly upkept roads and being on an old bus, combined with the smell of tequila (which after the previous night was the last thing I wanted to smell). While it was pretty miserable, it was also probably our most memorable. We laugh about it now. :D

[WildtreeJudy]

Paradise Island (?) in Cozumel. The closest I've every gotten to paradise! Remote island, they waited on you hand and foot, great drinks & Corona's, dozing in hammocks under palms and hearing the birds...hmmm wish I was there!


Judy in CA

[DaytonCruiser]

[quote name='WildtreeJudy']Paradise Island (?) in Cozumel. The closest I've every gotten to paradise! Remote island, they waited on you hand and foot, great drinks & Corona's, dozing in hammocks under palms and hearing the birds...hmmm wish I was there!


Judy in CA[/QUOTE]

I have heard lots of great things about Paradise Island

[gymbrat33]

It has to be climbing the Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios.

[MAGNUM PI]

I agree about Eli's Eco Tour at Antigua, and Shal's at St. Lucia, as two of the best, in the caribbean.

But the most breathtaking excursion I have experienced has to be:

helicopter ride over Kauai canyon/coastline/waterfalls(Hawaii).

[Bsan1221]

Most memorable excursion was:

Seeing the sunrise above the clouds on Mount Haleakala (sp?) in Maui and bike riding down.... all I can say is WOW!!!!! :D

and

Hiking on the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska...

[debihen]

[size=3][color=dimgray]Kayak and nature hike excursion in the Bahamas. Guide Cosmo was fantastic! Hike was great and informative, kayaking the mangroves was amazing, and the lunch on Goldrock Beach was breathtaking![/color][/size]