Dunns River falls - book privately or through the ship?

[AllyCat81]

Anyone who has done the falls...

 

Did you book on your own or through the cruise line?

Did you have a good experience either way, and would you go with whoever you chose again?

 

Thanks :)

[mnamey234]

Definitely book with Mark Morris of markstours.com He is awesome, will get you to the falls SAFELY, great driving, great vehicle. He appears to be very respected by the Jamaicans as when we arrived off the ship to the area where they divide you into groups based on whom you are touring with, when we mentioned Mark Morris they all smiled. When he arrived, he is Mr. Sunshine. He will educate you, make you laugh, and get you to the falls and wherever else you desire first before the crowds and cheaper than the ship's prices. I'm very picky! Be sure to tell him Neal and family says hi and enjoy his class and professionalism.

[bbaileyfamily]

Just my personal opinion, mind you. But, I highly recommend reputable locals whenever possible. For several reasons:

 

1) The crowds will always be much smaller on a private tour than the masses that can make up a ship's tour. Not near as much waiting in long lines doing nothing.

 

2) You always seem to get more for your money away from the ship. The prices are cheaper and the tours are always longer.

 

3) Local flavor can't be beat. The local tourist guides are great and will tell you things you don't get elsewhere. A much more personal tour for the most part.

 

4) Locals in the Caribbean islands for the most part need the money a lot more than any cruise line.

 

For Dunn's River Falls, there area several very highly recommended local companies. We did the Peat Taylor tour 3 years ago and would highly recommend him again.

 

We have done local excursions in Ocho Rios, Cozumel, St. Thomas, Grand Cayman and am in the process of booking local tours for our trip later in October to Belize and Roatan.

Hope this helps, Brad

[AllyCat81]

Thanks!!

 

We were going to book with the ship, but they seem so expensive... and it doesn't seem like you get a lot of bang for your buck.

 

bbaileyfamily - what private excursion did you book in Grand Cayman?

[DianesHusband]

at Dunn's Falls they try to sell you a DVD for $40 of the trip up the river..not worth .02...they tell you it will have Music playing, as you watch..no music..the pictures cut peoples heads off and blurry. it was only 22 mintues long insted of the 45 promised..we had a camera man named Bulby..save your cash and don't buy the DVD..

[trackstarsmom]

Oh..........I disagree about the DVD. If you really want a video to remember........slip the Video guy 5 bucks before you enter the falls and he will make sure he gets alot of film of you and your family..........I did and it was well worth it.

 

Also I agree with the others. We took Mark Morris and he is Fabulous!!!!!!! Small group and we had a GREAT TIME!!!!!!!:)

[ebandive]

We did Dunn's River Falls with A-Z Jamaica Planners. This was the highlight of our trip. We also went tubing with them. Our guide--Walter--was absolutely wonderful and took us several places we didn't expect. Very flexible and a great price. We would without a doubt book with them again. He took care of all our things, and I intrusted him with my (very expensive) camera, he not only took great pictures of our family but held on to it while we did the falls and felt very secure. They even emailed me when we got back home to see if everything went ok. They were great!! In Grand Cayman we went thru grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com and booked the hannibal stingray city tour. Once we got on the boat, the trip was great, but a bit hesitant getting in the van... the place was kind of a dump and the van had no AC. We had a good time but would probably not book with them again.

[cruisefamily2]

Just returned from Jamaica, we used Mark Morris he was outstanding. He took us to the places we signed up for and places we didn't . He made sure we were safe at all times. Would use him agian for sure. Also Dunns Fall video well worth $40.00 ours turned out great.:)

[Beckylou]

No worries about safety in Jamaica? I read where the Carnival bus was robbed at gunpoint in June. We plan to debark there this month, but I'm a little worried about safety. Also, how does the Falls option compare with Montego Bay, in your opinion? Thanks :)

[bbaileyfamily]

Thanks!!

 

We were going to book with the ship, but they seem so expensive... and it doesn't seem like you get a lot of bang for your buck.

 

bbaileyfamily - what private excursion did you book in Grand Cayman?

 

I have been to Grand Cayman twice. A year ago and 3 years ago. Both times we did the half day snorkeling/Sting Ray City trip with Capt. Marvin's. As you can tell since I went back again, I highly recommend them. Nativeway also gets real good reviews for their trips.

[Ellanora]

If you book privately, how much earlier than the ship tour do you get there? About what time? What time does the ship tour get there, generally?

 

Also, suppose I booked transportation with someone like Marva Shaw (just for example). Do I pay her for both the transportation and tour, or is she just transportation, and I would pay someone at Dunn's River Falls for the tour?

 

Finally, what if you don't want to climb, but want to get in the water and play on your own? Can you do that, and does it have a separate cost?

 

Thanks for any help. :)

[AllyCat81]

I have been to Grand Cayman twice. A year ago and 3 years ago. Both times we did the half day snorkeling/Sting Ray City trip with Capt. Marvin's. As you can tell since I went back again, I highly recommend them. Nativeway also gets real good reviews for their trips.

 

We're going with Capt. Marvin's as well. DBF used them the last time he was in Grand Cayman and can't wait to do it again :)

[cruiser2202]

We went to Dunn's River Falls last week with Marva Shaw. We met her as soon as we got off the ship and went directly to the falls. We were there right when the falls opened, so we were in the first group that went up the falls for the day. The groups with the ship probably had quite a wait to start climbing. I highly recommend Marva. You pay her one price per person and that includes entry into the falls. She will walk you to the gate and buy your tickets for you to get in and give you some advice on how to deal with the vendors at the craft market inside. We did not find them any different than the vendors in Mexico. I believe that everyone has to pay to get into the falls - once there you can choose to climb or not to climb and the beach is at the bottom of the falls.

 

Take an underwater camera - the guides stop at three different spots on the falls and will take pictures of everyone's family on your own cameras. Do not take anything you don't want to get wet. The guides expect tips when you get to the top and believe me, they deserve it! They were awesome to help everyone and make it a fun climb! We tipped $2 per person.

 

You should email Marva for specific questions - she is really nice and very professional. You will find her at www.knowjamaica.com.

[cxjr25]

I will never book a tour through the cruise lines again. Booked through island marketing in Grand Cayman and through knowjamaica.com (marva shaw) in Jamaica and had awesome times in both, particularly in Jamaica.

 

I have been on more than 6 cruises and have booked through the cruise lines in every other cruise...what a regret.

[luv2travel29]

I highly recommend MARVA SHAW (knowjamaica.com) She is awesome... We felt very safe with her... she gave us big hugs as we left and my son was sooo sad to leave her... :(

 

We had her associate DEVON for the first part of the tour.... great guy!!! Marva was waiting for a large group at the pier and didnt want us to wait any longer so we went with Devon.... The large group never showed and never called her cell..... She then met up with us after Dunns.. SHE IS AWESOME !!!! :D

[Beth_55]

When you book a tour on the knowjamaica site.....do you know if you will get Marva Shaw for your tour operator ? Do you pay before the tour starts ? I am looking at the Dunns Falls and Mahogany Beach tour. Do they drop you off at the beach and pick you up at an assigned time? Thanks !

[cxjr25]

I think the guides are either Marva or her son Javia, I'm sure you can ask when you book. If it is someone else, I am certain they would also be of high quality, otherwise they wouldn't be working for Marva :). In my case we paid once we reached our first tour stop (which I like, since i then don't have to worry about carrying around that cash)

 

I did not go to Mahogany beach, so I am not sure how the logistics work on that.

 

Either way, they will do what's best for you. They are very attentive.

[AmberMarie]

Ocho Rios-- we did DRF with Peat and O'Neil Taylor and it was AWESOME. We did several other things with them, too, for much cheaper than the ship prices.

 

Grand Cayman-- we did Captain Marvin's and, again, we would use them in a HEARTBEAT!

[AllyCat81]

We still haven't decided who we are going to use yet... but my next question is this:

 

We want to have enough time after the excurison to go to Margaritaville - has anyone been there? If so, is it close to the cruise ship? I'm hoping we can do both.

 

Any advice? :)

[ebedore]

Are you folks saying your private guides were also your guides at Dunns River Falls?

 

When we went, the park personnel wouldn't let our tourbus guide take us through the falls. Though she provided a ticket to get in, she was not allowed to guide us up the rocks. That was done by a guy who clearly worked for the park that runs the park. He knew the slippery points, he knew the path of least resistance, he knew who wanted to be adventurous and who wanted to just get it over with. I think he did a great guide job and let me tell you he was not affraid to ask for a tip at the end (well deserved). Yes, they video tape it and ask for $40 for the DVD on your way out. We ignored at first but ended up bargaining for a discounted price~ and the video was actually pretty good.

[kwilliams6045]

I am Kenneth Williams. It was my daughter that had the gun shoved in her face durring the June robbery.

 

It is a crap shoot anyway you go. The Cruise Excursion are no safer than any other, atleast it wasn't for us. They act like it is, but that is just a money making thing. Believe me, they don't research crap about these excursions, except maby the profit margin. If they did, they would have known that the area we were going to was the murder capital of Jamaica. The Jamaican Cruise Ship Advisory Board had classified it as a high crime area and reccomended extra police security, which it did not have. It had also been reported in the Jamaican Gleaner that the area had highly increasing robbery and rape reports The cruise lines don't check out anything. If they did know this, they didn't want us to know.

 

In Jamaica, it doesn't matter who you go with, your in the Murder Capital of the world. It's just like taking a tour in Compton, CA. They have about the same murder rate.

 

If you haven't been there, I highly suggest that you research Jamaican Crime. You may not want to get off the ship. You can e-mail me kwilliams6045@yahoo.com and I will send you some pics of Jamaica that you won't see in any advertisement. I put my camera card in my mouth before the bandits stole my camera.

 

Don't take my word or these people's word, look it up.

 

My parents have been on 12 cruises, so that makes no difference. This was their 12th cruise and they were robbed with us. This was their first time to Jamaica and their last.

 

I have seen people on this site saying "you can't live in fear. This could happen anywhere". That is true, but crime happens more often in high crime areas. Also, it's not living in fear, it is living with common sense. Are the sites in Jamaica really worth it? It wasn't for me.

 

There is no doubt that several tourist go there every year without incident, but there are several that go there that have some kind of problem. We were just lucky to make it out alive. Thank you GOD.

 

Good luck...

[MagicEyez]

Quick Question ..

 

We are also wanting to do DRF ~ my stepmom and my dad are saying its best to book through the ship. They say it will take you to Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville Restaurant ... Is this "in" or "the same" as going to Margarittaville itself?? This is probably a stupid question ... but any help would be awesome!!!! :)

[cats2]

AllyCat81: Hopefully this link will give you info you want on Margaritaville in Jam and G. Cayman. Tells the location for both Islands.

 

http://www.margaritavillecaribbean.com/cruises.html

[AllyCat81]

Thanks Cats! :)

[J and G]

Anyone who has done the falls...

 

Did you book on your own or through the cruise line?

Did you have a good experience either way, and would you go with whoever you chose again?

 

Thanks :)

We did DRF, White River tubing, Fern Gully, the pottery factory, and lunch at Lobster Dave's last October with Trevor Hudlin (cooltrevh@yahoo.com). We would go back to Jamaica again just to tour with him. He is AWESOME!

 

Since that time, three other groups of friends have toured with him and have nothing but positive reviews. In fact, he defended one group from some very aggresive roadside peddlers. After Trevor, we are sold on booking our own excursions separate from the cruise line.