Blue Hole questions

[hawkeye93]

1. Are water shoes advised/needed? None of us have them so would need to purchase.

 

2. About how much time did you spend there?

 

Thanks!! Only 5 more sleeps! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[BigJon]

I would wear water shoes, if I were you. If you don't have any, they were renting them ($6), or selling them ($14) at a little shack, a few hundred yards from the entrance. As far as the time, we were there an hour and 10 minutes.

[lifeasme123]

1. Are water shoes advised/needed? None of us have them so would need to purchase.

 

2. About how much time did you spend there?

 

Thanks!! Only 5 more sleeps! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

We just got back from our cruise where we did the Blue Hole on our stop in Falmouth. 2 people in our group did not wear water shoes and didn't have any issues. There are no sharp objects...it's more of walking over stones which didn't bother us. In fact on the jumps most of us took off our water shoes.

 

We were there 1 1/2 hours...we would have loved to do another round but were exhausted. Lots of fun!!!! 1000 times better than DRF.

[hawkeye93]

Thank you!!!

 

How far was it from port? 45 min? Did u do lunch, as well?

[lifeasme123]

Thank you!!!

 

How far was it from port? 45 min? Did u do lunch, as well?

 

It is 1 1/2 hours each way from Falmouth. It's one hour from Falmouth through Ocho Rios. Then about 1/2 hour through a small town (I think it's called Exchange) and bumpy narrow roads to get to the blue hole.

 

We had lunch at Scotchie's (I think that's how it's spelled). Honestly it was too touristy for us - translation be prepared to pay american meal prices. Meal for my hubby and I was about $25 plus tips (not including drinks). However, prior to scotchie's we asked to be taken to get Patties. We got patties from a food truck - that was yummy!

 

I always have a rule of thumb to get ourselves back to the port 1.5-2 hours before ship leaves. We spent that time doing some "souvenir" shopping at the Falmouth port.

 

If you plan correctly and leave the ship as soon as it docks, you can get some extra time for possible one more excursion. We were about 1 1/2 hours late getting off the ship - thanks to certain individuals in the group not listening as to where to meet that morning. :-)

 

Hope this helps!

 

Not sure how many people are in your group - and the ages. You will not be disappointed. Beautiful place.

[hawkeye93]

Cannot thank you enough for the info. It's just 3 of us but sheesh my husband and son are gonna kill me for a 3 hour bus ride. Ugh. I hope it's worth it!

[lifeasme123]

Cannot thank you enough for the info. It's just 3 of us but sheesh my husband and son are gonna kill me for a 3 hour bus ride. Ugh. I hope it's worth it!

 

The trip from falmouth to blue hole went by fairly quickly - we got an informative tour of the island as we made our way to the blue hole. On the trip back to the ship everyone but me fell asleep - Blue hole and lunch will tire everyone out.

 

Blue Hole was definitely worth it for us! Check out tripadvisor and see the reviews for Blue Hole...all 5 stars I think.

 

How old is your son? I saw kids there (about 8 years old +) and they seemed to be having a blast.

[lifeasme123]

BTW - I made the comments earlier about not wearing water shoes. That is really dependent on your family's feet tolerance. My niece is 25 and went barefoot and had no issues. All the guides were barefoot.

 

I would compare climbing/walking on the rocks to walking on rocks along the jetty at the beach. Hope that makes sense.

[hawkeye93]

He's 16. That "hard to please unless there's wifi" age. ;)

[lifeasme123]

He's 16. That "hard to please unless there's wifi" age. ;)

 

If he's adventurous and loves nature...he'll have fun here. Our group ages range from 20's to 40's. You get to swing from ropes into water, jump from edges/cliffs into the water, etc. It's fun but tiring. The guides were about your son's age.

 

Do know that you are not required to do any of the jumps. Do what is comfortable.

 

And ah yes, the wifi-stage where their cellphones become an appendage and they cannot live without it.

 

BTW - I see your location is Frisco, Texas. We are not too far from you...about 10 mins. :-)

[hawkeye93]

No way!! You in Plano??

 

Yes I think he will like it bc he's pretty adventurous. I showed him some pics from TA and he said "it looks really small--like a pond". Sigh.

 

How much did you tip your guide and who did u use for transport? We leave for houston tomorrow. Im getting excited. Fingers crossed for good weather!

 

Thanks again for all your help!

[lifeasme123]

We live in the big golf development down near Josey/Main and 121, Hebron and Old Denton...near Carrollton, The Colony area. I didn't want to post the development name but if you live in Frisco, you would know it. ;-)

 

Yes they are "ponds"....but deep. One was 15' deep. And there are many of them. It was exhausting for us. It sure beats Dunns River Falls hands-down and he will roll his eyes at you if you take him there. lol

 

Now if you are a thrill seeker, we went to H'Evans Scent few years ago on one of our cruises. They have a zipline course...one of which is called the Screamer. Let me tell you...it was SCARY and you will scream! LOL.

 

Last week we used a private tour company called GreatVibesTour dot com. Donavan was awesome and we could tell safety was a major concern for him. Do you currently have a guide booked?

 

Regarding tip - we tend to tip generously if we had a blast. The two blue hole guides, we tipped them $40 for the 8 of us. The tour guide we gave her $80 - $10 for each of us. In hindsight, I think that is too much for the tour guide. Next time we'd give her $40 instead of $80. Be aware that the blue hole admission price is $10...some comapnies try to charge you $20.

 

So out of Houston, I guess you are crusing on Princess, right?

[brookie848]

Will I be okay with sport sandals (like Teva's) at Blue Hole? I don't really plan on climbing/jumping, but I need to have the bottoms of my feet covered by something.

[hawkeye93]

Ah. I know exactly where u are. One of my best friend lives in a condo right in that area, too.

 

I wish I had known about the zipline bc I wouldve considered that. Most zips are short and kinda boring. Next time!!

 

We are actually on RCI out of galveston but spending night in Houston tomorrow to give a short/easy drive Sunday morning.

 

I'm booked with Peat Taylor. Went off TA and CC reviews.

 

 

Off to pack!!! Wahoo!!!

[lifeasme123]

Will I be okay with sport sandals (like Teva's) at Blue Hole? I don't really plan on climbing/jumping, but I need to have the bottoms of my feet covered by something.

 

I believe the Tevas will be ok if you are not jumping. If you do jump take them off. My concern is water will get inthe pockets between ur feet and shoes and create a drag.

 

We sailed on Navigator this past Dec and Mar. We cruise about 2-3 times a year. :-)

 

Have fun!!!! Weather was fantastic for us last week.

[hawkeye93]

Yay. I hope we love the navigator. I heard it's been awesome since the refit. We did the carnival magic last year and that was our first cruise ever