Ok you guys, I need the truth, nothing but the truth, sworn on your cruise addiction

[Pegs222]

My DH and I did the falls and loved it, had the best time. We were at that time younger, but at 64 and 66 now, we would do it again in a heart beat. My DH is afraid of heights and I was concerned he would not like it. He got to the top and said "To bad we can't do it again".

 

Have a wonderful cruise, your going to love it, it was by far my favorite.

[cruzzza]

From your statements... I would not recommend it for you. Walk the trail and have a good laugh at everyone trying to climb and be glad you're not among them. I personally loved it, but was a lot younger than you, and I did get a nasty bruise that lasted several weeks.

[Handsome58]

Last year. We went to the falls....but did not climb..........we went to the beach at the bottom......it is a nice beach.......water is warmer than the falls.................then we got out of the beach water and got in the falls water.........it was relaxing...you can just walk the trail on the wooden planks beside the falls.................

[crusinmama06]

I chose not to do it. I watched the video and seeing 1,000 people holding hands in a long chain up the falls is not the way I wanted to spend my vacation. ;)

 

Some have gotten hurt. Most say it is slippery.

 

I wouldn't listen to those at home who say it's the ONLY thing to do and you just MUST do it.

 

I wouldn't take my parents or inlaws there and they are the age of your DH...without the bad hip. ;)

[DaDivaMom]

You do not have to book this as an excursion, simply take a cab about 20 bucks to the falls. There is a 15 dollar per person charge to get in to the park. You can start your climb up high, mid way or go to the beach.

 

The will tell you you have to have a guide......nope. In June my ManHo and our 3 teenagers and I huffed to the bottom. 13 year old boy and I climbed without shoes this time (just to say we did, I would recommend shoes!). We paired up with another family with 3 younger kids and started. Took us about 35 minutes. We DID NOT hold hands, we climbed the middle not the slippery outside where everyone walks and we did not use a guide. Being shorties(under 5') daughter and I had to have boosts up at times as did the 2 smaller kiddos from the other family.

 

It was ok and if you like physical activity should be done at least once. Our boys went to the bottom and climbed again while we rested on the beach. We took some great pics and Carnival had a photographer from the ship there as well. Even though we were not an an official excursion he still took our photos.

 

Our heathens tend to like activity oriented stuff like the jungle treks, climbing and zip lining so for us it was great. I did fall, we all did and had some terrific bruises and we are all pretty athletic!

 

Different note if you want a great bar to hang out that is not a tourist trap then hit this little reggea place right outside the dock area on the right. Behind the privacy fence.

[bubbles1209]

I personally loved it, but was a lot younger than you,

:confused: I never said how old I am, only stated DH's age. But for the record, I just had the Lordy Lordy look who's 40 birthday.:)

[GOTTA CRUISE NOW]

Would have liked more time for the beach there. The water from the "falls" flows out onto the beach and it's very nice. But they rush you (IMHO) to get climbing.

 

Also, My brother & I decided to split the trip, so that we could both enjoy it and share the task of carrying everyone elses "junk". I climbed up halfway while he was on the steps, then we switched places. When we got to the end, we gave a nice tip for our group, but the guide questioned me about my tip. Like he was cheated! He noticed I was damp, and assumed I climbed the falls. It REALLY rubbed me the wrong way!

 

We really don't want to go back to Jamaica, but if we end up stopping there, I'll just get off the ship to get my "Blue Mountain" coffee, then enjoy the rest of my day on the ship!:)

[gusandgidgetsmom]

My Dad and Mom climbed the falls with us when they were in their 70's. They both thought it a great trip. My Dad had a bypass 5 yrs earlier and did great. I thought it lots of fun, but had not expected to get so wet. Our guide had us back up to have our picture taken and the falls just cascaded over us.

Take the excursion. It is well worth it.

[Seydlitz]

I climbed it a few years ago. About half way I got sick of the bullsh... of being in that line. Stop and go, stop and go. once I found out why for the stopage, I got out of the line and climbe it on my own. it is a lot better on your own. My buddy was looking for me in the line then saw me 50 feet higher then him so he too went on his own, also a young couple that I ment on board thought it was a great idea. Now the reson for the stop and go was... are you ready for it... Photos! When you have a wack of people in this line that runs the lenght of the falls, that is a lot of photos being taken. Would i do it again? yes but not the line.

[quiltingfool]

The falls are beautiful and can be seen by the walking path which is what I would suggest. Once back on the ship I saw too many people limping and on cruchtes due to slipping/falling. I have heard of broken ankles, feet, etc. In my opinion the falls are not worth ruining a wonderful vacation.

[deuceguy]

We did it and loved it. We were in our 40's when we climbed. Wasn't that difficult and we lucked out with a 'tour guide' that had us walk up the middle of the falls(groups to our left and right and us in the middle). Had some cool parts where we would slide down a rock into a little deeper water.

*****Our guide was high as a kite though and very funny.

Our group only had about 10 people.

The falls are longer than you think when starting out. We thought we reached the top once or twice. Our guide did expect a tip at the end and most if not all gave him something.

I would ABSOLUTELY do this if you get a chance. You'll be fine.

deuceguy

[mag]

The first time I went was with my mother (in her late 60's) and my DS. My sister hated it and quit halfway where you could get off. My mom was having fun but my DS made her get out too cause she (not my mom) was scared. I loved it and finished it...this was with the large group holding hands and yes there were some tricky parts and reaching and climbing was involved but not bad.

 

The second time I went I was excited and with my DH and couldn't wait to climb with him with me. We had booked an independent tour with Peat Taylor (great tour for the day) and started our day early at the falls. We were one of the first people in and since there was no one else waiting for a tour, we had a nice young man take just the two of us. It was totally different and he took us up a totally different path (up the middle I think) that was soooooo easy that I missed the more challenging way I had gone up the last time. My DH was really surprised cause I had explained it all to him. This tour was nicer though cause we stopped about 3 times on the way up to jump in the little pools and sit under the falls. The falls were also empty. The guide took pictures with our camera. After we finished we did watch our friends from the cruise climb up with the large group and by then it was really really crowded and we did see people slipping and sliding. Then my DH understood how I had climbed the first time.

 

So I agree to go early with an independent tour or go early and just grab a cab and try to do what we did. Wear your water shoes.

[cruisedawgg]

I climbed the falls a few months ago --loved it! Most if not all of what people have said about the falls is true:

--The water is C-O-L-D! But you get used to it half way up.

--The rocks are VERY slippery! I wore $5 water shoes @ Walmart thank goodness!

--We took the Carnival excursion, and they matched us up with a falls guide. About 50 of us doing the 'conga line'. IMO, I would rather have NOT held hands, it didn't feel safe most of the time, and I'm pretty athletic & in shape! Next time, i'll just taxi it from the ship to the falls myself, to avoid the whole Group thing.

--There is a path that runs along the falls, that you use to observe, or if you're ON the falls, access half-way thru if you want to leave.

--There were several congo lines climbing simultaneously. Apparently there are several "paths" to climb the falls. Our guide took us on the more difficult path, passing the slower lines.

-- 90% of the falls are NOT steep. There are, however, places that you actually have to CLIMB from one rock to the next.

--Our guide stopped many times to show us a little 'water slide', where we sat down and he pushed us down it (about 3 feet) into a pool of water about 3 feet deep. There is also a 'Nestea Plunge' (for those old-enough to remember that commercial you know what i mean). This is also a a pool about 3 feet deep.

 

By the way, you do NOT have to pay the $40 for the video. I haggled the price down to $20.00 ! But, IMO , $20 was not worth it either, unless you just want a memory of doing the falls and didn't take your own vido or pics.

And bring a waterproof camera. Luckily, our guide took nice pics with our digital camera. He was very good, walking barefoot, holding an umbrella in one hand (it was raining that day), holding my DW hand in the other, and the cameras around his neck! Our Cameras made it thru bone dry!

[cruzzza]

DH will be 60 next July, and I'm concerned about him trying it, because when he walks for any length of time he has to take a break to rest his hips.

 

Although I neglected to mention my age (at the time I was 24) in my post, I thought it was safe to say that I climbed the falls at a younger age than you. Yes, I was assuming that a 60 year old with bad hips couldn't snag a young 20-something. Either way, I don't think he needs to climb the falls if his hips are "bad," no matter his age. Sorry for the assumption! :o

[cruzzza]

:confused: I never said how old I am, only stated DH's age. But for the record, I just had the Lordy Lordy look who's 40 birthday.:)

 

You are correct in that I assumed a 59 year old with bad hips couldn't snag a young 20-something! I was 24 when I climbed the falls, so I was indeed younger than you. I just took a lucky guess!

:o :o :o

[maja]

A group of us, all around 50 did the Falls. Here's what I think...

The holding of hands makes it difficult if you feel as though you don't have a good grip on the rock your foot is on. Some are very slippery. I had no problem climbing, due to the fact that I had a nice well-fit teen ahead of me who was basically pulling me up. Regardless, I did get tired & felt I had enough 1/2 way up & got off there. My husband, who was below me, holding my other hand, had someone rather large beneath him. He was dragged down a bit by this. If you can imagine a circle of people doing the "tarantella" you will know what I mean. If some are going slower, no matter how hard you try, everyone can't go the same speed & eventually you are being "yanked".

If you don't have a plan B for Ocho, I would suggest you go & try it. The grounds are beautiful & you will enjoy spending the time there even if you don't climb.

Also, you may want to look into Martha Brae River Rafting. (Not sure if I spelled this correctly.) It's my fav thing to do in Ocho. You will need a driver to take you there as it is about 40 mins away. Try Peat Taylor, I highly recommend him. (check his website for even more ideas...) You will be seated in a bamboo gondola. There will be someone to "drive" your raft (some of them will sing for you as well) & you will gently ride down a very calm pretty river.

[mumofsons]

My sons then 11 and 9 and myself did this. We were on a RCCL excursion and had been in a 4 x 4 for about three hours before we hit the falls. It was so hot that when we got into the cool water it was quite refreshing. Now I do have a weight problem and a very bad knee - but I managed the falls without a problem. I took some alieve before even getting to the falls. I did have fake nails on though and my pinkly finger got jammed into some rocks and I hurt it. So beware fake nails! DH did not want to try and he is much more physically fit than I am. This worked out since he took pictures of us throughout the whole climb. There were people of all ages. I had water shoes on and wouldn't recommend not having them. There are people that rent them to the tour operators so if you don't have any don't sweat it. (they might have been anywhere from $2 - $5 - I can't remember.)

[cusyl]

I was never that daring and now would not even consider it. I think the beauty of the falls is viewing it from afar, not walking in it. :eek:

[Beachbumsx3]

I am afraid of heights. When my son was only 5, we went on the Dunn River Falls excursion just so my husband could climb the falls. I planned on staying at the top and taking photos. When we got there, I changed my mind because it wasn't nearly as frightening as I had imagined. We quickly gave our valuables to our wonderful tour guide. She encouraged me to take my son and it was one of the best excursions I have ever taken. After doing that, I couldn't believe I was going to "just watch'! I am overweight and never felt in any danger. It slopes gradually and everyone helps each other. Hope this helps!