Enchantment of the Seas- Ochos Rios & Grand Cayman

[maggimus]

LDR- out of all of those excursions/things you did-- what would you recommend for us? We arent entirely thrill seekers-- but we like to see and do stuff too.

 

Early 30's couple- What does "Aft" mean? Im guessing JS = Junior Suite. The Marley tour does sound fun! Did very many go? I have this thing about being in foreign strange places and not being very many other people.... especially ones that are in the same 'boat' as me (no pun intended-;) )

[early 30's couple]

Aft is the very back of the ship. we got the room rather by accident, and then found out later these rooms are prized because of the large balconies.

 

There were about 20 of us on the tour.

 

Jamaica is a really neat place. Many of the locals do not like Americans (or whites in general). Their country struggled for a long time under English rule. They fought hard for their Independence and have an amazing culture and sense of freedom, but its a mixture of island and English. It's funny, but we saw children playing Croquet around the villages we went past.

 

Not football, or baseball...but Croquet.

 

Bob was half white himself and took a lot of beatings as a child from his peers. As he got older, he tried to teach that it doesn't matter what your skin color is but that all people should get along. I never felt safer on the island as I did when with the tour group. Good people that promote unity.

[maggimus]

Aft is the very back of the ship. we got the room rather by accident' date=' and then found out later these rooms are prized because of the large balconies.[/quote']

Oh i gotcha now!

 

So this voluntary rasta "stuff"-- is this the rasta stuff im thinking of? LOL

 

How long does Stingray City take?

 

Any fun "must see/dos" on the ship?

 

Should we go to Chops on Formal night? Or another night?

[LDR]

If you've never been to Grand Caymen I would definitely do the Stingrays.

When we did it 2 years ago, we did the ship excursion on a Catamaran

first thing in the morning. I did find an independent operator that has a

stingray snorkel and a trip to Rum Point for lunch. (You could probably find

their name on the GC board)My husband didn't want to snorkel this time, so that's when we decided to get the Jeep. Rum Point is absolutely gorgeous too, expensive, but worth seeing.

 

We thought about the Bob Marley tour, but passed. We hung out at Margaritaville instead then went back to the ship and laid by the pool!

 

An aft JS would be amazing. We have one in March on AOS and can't wait!

[maggimus]

Aft is the very back of the ship. we got the room rather by accident' date=' and then found out later these rooms are prized because of the large balconies.

 

There were about 20 of us on the tour.

 

Jamaica is a really neat place. Many of the locals do not like Americans (or whites in general). Their country struggled for a long time under English rule. They fought hard for their Independence and have an amazing culture and sense of freedom, but its a mixture of island and English. It's funny, but we saw children playing Croquet around the villages we went past.

 

Not football, or baseball...but Croquet.

 

Bob was half white himself and took a lot of beatings as a child from his peers. As he got older, he tried to teach that it doesn't matter what your skin color is but that all people should get along. I never felt safer on the island as I did when with the tour group. Good people that promote unity.[/quote']

That makes me feel a little better!

 

I know you talk about Sting Ray City a lot. How long does that take? Is there time to shop afterwards? While that sounds really interesting i'd atleast like to be able to shop a little bit.

 

Im a huge Buffet fan so the margaritavilles are a must visit for us too!

[early 30's couple]

Chops was Excellent. I'd recommend eating there every night. It's more then $20 though...

 

After wine, water, and tips it ran us close to $80. But excellent food, and the service is to die for. The cake alone is worth the trip.

 

Yes, the Rasta stuff is what you think it is. You see a lot of it in Jamaica as a whole, but at Marley's estate it is everywhere, even the police are there to partake in a blessing! But again there isn't any pressure for those not comfortable or that may not be able to participate due to restrictions with their employer.

 

Stingray city was about a 45 minute boat ride there, and 45 minutes back. I think we stayed there for 1.5 hours? Maybe 4-5 hours total. Take a waterproof camera. They rape you on the pictures the boat guy takes.

 

On the ship: Bingo was overpriced...much better odds playing blackjack. Take the ship tour if you can, it's informative.

[maggimus]

If you've never been to Grand Caymen I would definitely do the Stingrays.

When we did it 2 years ago, we did the ship excursion on a Catamaran

first thing in the morning. I did find an independent operator that has a

stingray snorkel and a trip to Rum Point for lunch. (You could probably find

their name on the GC board)My husband didn't want to snorkel this time, so that's when we decided to get the Jeep. Rum Point is absolutely gorgeous too, expensive, but worth seeing.

 

We thought about the Bob Marley tour, but passed. We hung out at Margaritaville instead then went back to the ship and laid by the pool!

 

An aft JS would be amazing. We have one in March on AOS and can't wait!

So i need to buy water shoes for sting ray city?

[thelynns]

We visited Jamaica in 2004 and used Peat Taylor and his young son. He picked us up at dock and whisked us away to Dunn River Falls while the ship tours were still getting organized and loaded.

 

We were actually the first ones there. There were eight of us. We put our belongings in a locker and walked up the falls with our guide. We finished our climb and walked around a bit.

 

By the time we were done, hundreds of people had come. To climb the falls, you hold hands and some of the groups were 20-30 people long and seem to be going very slowly.

 

Peat was in the parking lot and took us on a drive in the countryside. Many times he asked if anyone wanted to stop to take pictures. We visited a pottery factory. He then asked if we would like to go back to ship to eat or local restaurant. Most of us went to the restaurant, but two people want to go to ship, so he dropped us off at an all-you-can eat buffet and came back later to eat with us.

 

He then took us downtown. He told us he would come back to a certain stop every half hour or so to see if we were ready to go back. We shopped at some local shops. He then drove us to Margaretville. To me, this was the least enjoyable part of own trip. I could have been in a shopping mall in Florida. From there, we paid him and said goodbye. We could walk back to ship from there.

 

We felt totally safe and well looked after with Peat.

 

I believe we paid 25-30 dollars. You can Google him for his website.

 

One more tip, bring pencils and small novelties. We had great fun handing them out to the small children.

 

The Lynn’s.

[maggimus]

Chops was Excellent. I'd recommend eating there every night. It's more then $20 though...

 

After wine' date=' water, and tips it ran us close to $80. But excellent food, and the service is to die for. The cake alone is worth the trip.

 

Yes, the Rasta stuff is what you think it is. You see a lot of it in Jamaica as a whole, but at Marley's estate it is everywhere, even the police are there to partake in a blessing! But again there isn't any pressure for those not comfortable or that may not be able to participate due to restrictions with their employer.

 

Stingray city was about a 45 minute boat ride there, and 45 minutes back. I think we stayed there for 1.5 hours? Maybe 4-5 hours total. Take a waterproof camera. They rape you on the pictures the boat guy takes.

 

On the ship: Bingo was overpriced...much better odds playing blackjack. Take the ship tour if you can, it's informative.[/quote']

 

So you can partake in the rasta stuff while there.... just not bring it on the ship- right? Or purchase? But you can do it if given? I didnt know how that works because i have read enough to know that RC busts those who bring it back.

 

Are the shows any good?

 

Ill definitely get a water proof camera! Is there a place to leave stuff you want to keep dry? Like my digital camera when taking better photos around the island?

[LDR]

No watershoes needed for the stingrays, but if you do the Falls you'll need

them.

 

The Margaritaville in GC is nice too. It has a waterslide and a small pool.

We made sure to get back in time to shop and have a Margarita:)

[maggimus]

We visited Jamaica in 2004 and used Peat Taylor and his young son. He picked us up at dock and whisked us away to Dunn River Falls while the ship tours were still getting organized and loaded.

 

We were actually the first ones there. There were eight of us. We put our belongings in a locker and walked up the falls with our guide. We finished our climb and walked around a bit.

 

By the time we were done, hundreds of people had come. To climb the falls, you hold hands and some of the groups were 20-30 people long and seem to be going very slowly.

 

Peat was in the parking lot and took us on a drive in the countryside. Many times he asked if anyone wanted to stop to take pictures. We visited a pottery factory. He then asked if we would like to go back to ship to eat or local restaurant. Most of us went to the restaurant, but two people want to go to ship, so he dropped us off at an all-you-can eat buffet and came back later to eat with us.

 

He then took us downtown. He told us he would come back to a certain stop every half hour or so to see if we were ready to go back. We shopped at some local shops. He then drove us to Margaretville. To me, this was the least enjoyable part of own trip. I could have been in a shopping mall in Florida. From there, we paid him and said goodbye. We could walk back to ship from there.

 

We felt totally safe and well looked after with Peat.

 

I believe we paid 25-30 dollars. You can Google him for his website.

 

One more tip, bring pencils and small novelties. We had great fun handing them out to the small children.

 

The Lynn’s.

Wow thanks for posting! Lots of good information. While hiring independant people like that do kind of scare me-- I can see how you can get a much better experience by doing that as well. Im going to google him and see what I can find. Is there any good, non-cruise ship owned, shopping to be had? Like i said earlier we frequent Cozumel atleast 3 times a year and if you can get past the front streets-- its all normal 'talking someone down' shopping. No american prices (set by American cruise ships).

[maggimus]

No watershoes needed for the stingrays, but if you do the Falls you'll need

them.

 

The Margaritaville in GC is nice too. It has a waterslide and a small pool.

We made sure to get back in time to shop and have a Margarita:)

 

I cant decide whether we should do Dunns River Falls or not. What is it really? Just climbing a waterfall? Does this take all day? Did someone say you hold hands with everyone? That sounds a little hokey (lol sorry). Is it dangerous to where you need to hold hands?

[maggimus]

how many posts do i need to be able to edit my posts here?

[OHCruisin]

Personally, I found Dunns beautiful to view, but overrated regarding the climing of it. You do usually hold hands of the person in front and back. It won't take all day. It's not that far from the port. You'll find almost every ship excursion includes dunns along with a tour of something else. If you wanted to do it on your own (sorry, no recommendations there), you'll have plenty of time for shopping. Watch out for the vendors at Dunns. They're very aggressive!

 

As for GC, if you do the stingrays, you'll still have plenty of time for shopping.

[fpcruiser]

I loved Dunn's River Falls. Would climb again anyday. We only held hands for a short time and then everyone let go. IMO you could not climb very well holding hands. The water is extremely cold when you first get in, then you get used to it.

[RevSmith]

Thanks!

 

What type of room did you stay in? Ours has the window hole thing but we have talked about upgrading to a balcony. Any suggestions?

 

The stingray pics didnt look bad at all!

Upgrade to a balcony...Enchantment has small rooms and very small bathrooms...the balcony really enhances the trip...it's so nice to sit outside on your own little balcony and enjoy the sea air.

The Enchantment is a lovely, lovely ship...you will enjoy her.

[Tabby98]

I believe we are on the same cruise. December 15-20th? 42 more days, I cant wait!! By the way, my name is Tabitha. My best friend and I went to the Bahamas last december 15-18th and the weather was Gorgeous. We wore Jeans and t-shirt and were comfortable but it was still warm enough to go swimming. We have no idea what we are going to to in GC or Jamaica. I really want to do the stingrays, but candace is terrified. She wants to do some pirate ship thing. Still have a month to decide....

[maggimus]

I believe we are on the same cruise. December 15-20th? 42 more days, I cant wait!! By the way, my name is Tabitha. My best friend and I went to the Bahamas last december 15-18th and the weather was Gorgeous. We wore Jeans and t-shirt and were comfortable but it was still warm enough to go swimming. We have no idea what we are going to to in GC or Jamaica. I really want to do the stingrays, but candace is terrified. She wants to do some pirate ship thing. Still have a month to decide....

 

Hey there! Actually we are on the December 1 cruise. Close though!!

 

Does anyone have a photo of the bathrooms in the EOTS? Or can point me in the direction of where i could look?