gam888 Posted April 6, 2009 #1 Share Posted April 6, 2009 We are trying to decide among Carnival Freedom (Key West, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios), Liberty (San Juan, St Thomas, St Maarteen) and Glory (Half Moon Cay, St Juan, St Thomas, Half Moon Cay). I am concerned that the Liberty gets into San Juan at 5pm and the sunsets by around 6 in December. Not having been in San Juan before I wonder if it's a pity not to be able to see it in daylight. We have 3 teenagers so we will not be visiting any clubs so I wonder what is there to do in the dark? What are the chances of tender boats not being able to dock in Grand Cayman in December? Would Canival substitute a port or refund the port charges, if so how much would that be? Ocho Rios people have a lot of different feelings about it.....Could anyone please suggest suitable excursions and comments on these 3 ships. For the holiday prices we will be paying I would like to have a good experience with my family. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luv 2 Float Posted April 6, 2009 #2 Share Posted April 6, 2009 We've been to San Juan in December at night and the best thing I thought of it was how cool it was to see a tropical island all decorated for Christmas!! There's a town square a few blocks from the pier that had a life size nativity scene in the center and lights EVERYWHERE (even around the palm trees)!! Other than that though, there's really not much to do at night other than bars and shopping. We made it an early night, got back on the ship and had dinner onboard. As for tenders in GC, we've also been there twice in December and were able to tender both times. On the off chance that you CAN'T they'll skip that port and issue you OBC for the port charges. Sorry - never been to Ocho Rios so can't help you there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NS-Cruiser Posted April 9, 2009 #3 Share Posted April 9, 2009 We were on the Carnival Freedom the first week of December 2008... no problems in GC... except that the stingray city tours were all cancelled due to the windy conditions... we found lots of other stuff to do... think beach... 7 miles of it!! woo hoo.... While we were in Key Wierd (oops Key West) we did the Hemingway house walking tour and had Robert Kennedy as our tour guide (no relation - but a great tour guide)... we saw parts of Key Wierd that most people don't get to see, and learned stuff about the locals (current and past) that most tourists don't get to know.... I recommend that tour in Key West. In GC we shopped for the morning, and spent the afternoon on the beach at the "Sea Grape" area of 7 mile beach - lots to do there.... we took a local public bus to get to the beach and a cab back to the tender port - much less expensive than the "organized" tours from the cruise companies.... In Ocho Rios we walked around in the town for a little while as we waited for our tour to start... We did NOT feel comfortable while walking in the town of Ocho Rios:eek:... We took the "Cool Runnings" Catermaran tour to Dunn River Falls.... What a ride:)... the crew on the catermeran are a blast... singing, dancing, and a wee bit of 'free' rum... the falls are beautiful - a real "must see" for Jamaica. Be careful walking up the falls... they are beautiful but slippery. One gentleman from our ship slipped (as he got to the top) and broke his leg... what a way to end his trip. The local health care in Jamaica was not much help to him, but he had his leg x-rayed and casted once he got back on the Freedom... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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