NE1 do Zipline Adventure Tours lately?

[white.sand]

We are sailing on Carnival Conquest in July for our wedding anniversary. This is our first cruise experience and we can't wait! We will be in Montego Bay on our actual anniversary date and are interested in doing the Zipline Adventure.

I was wondering about your experiences (good and bad) on this tour. It is not offered through our cruiseline so we will be booking ourselves. It looks like this excursion may only take approx. 4 hours total including travel time.

Do you have any suggestions on other things to do with the rest of the day. We will be there for 9 hours.

 

Thanks in advance!

[boop_57]

Are you sure it's not offered? It's called the canopy tour. We're booked on the June 28 trip, and it's offered then.

 

We took this tour last year and loved it. It's fantastic!

[white.sand]

The one offered is through a different company. I found Zipline Adventure Tours on Tripadvisor. It looks like a lot more fun to me and has high ratings. Most of the ratings are from vacationers and not from cruisers though.

[Twinrigger]

We're on the Conquest in 1 week (yea!!!!!!) and we've signed up to do the Zipline Adventure on 3 June (signed up only a week ago). You're correct, it isn't offered through any of the cruiselines. I believe it's only been around for just over a year. It liked far superior to the other ziplines out there, so it was a clear choice for us. With the concerns over backcountry travel there in Jamaica we opp'd to book it thru Barrett Adventures so that we'll have a guide with us at all times (we're 1st timers too). We're hoping it's everything the comments on trip advisor says it is. I'll post again in about 2 1/2 weeks and let you know how it turns out.

 

As far as the rest of the day goes we're going to play it by ear. If we feel confortable enough we'll do shopping in town or head to Dr's Cave Beach.

[Twinrigger]

The canopy tour offered by the ship (chukka I believe) you climb a ladder to a tree platform, then zip from tree to tree to tree. The Jamaica Zipline Adventure is a ground to ground zip with much longer runs (max 1600'). We will be a group of five and I would think a grnd to grnd zip would allow everyone to stay together better and enjoy as a group.

 

P.S. We'll be zipping a couple of days before our anniversary. We must think a lot alike.

[OURTIME]

we did the ziplines in jamaica couple years ago from the conquest...it was a blast so no doubt you will have fun, but only problem for us was when they brought us back to the ship we didnt have any time to see jamaica, so that would be he only downfall...

[white.sand]

We're on the Conquest in 1 week (yea!!!!!!) and we've signed up to do the Zipline Adventure on 3 June (signed up only a week ago). You're correct, it isn't offered through any of the cruiselines. I believe it's only been around for just over a year. It liked far superior to the other ziplines out there, so it was a clear choice for us. With the concerns over backcountry travel there in Jamaica we opp'd to book it thru Barrett Adventures so that we'll have a guide with us at all times (we're 1st timers too). We're hoping it's everything the comments on trip advisor says it is. I'll post again in about 2 1/2 weeks and let you know how it turns out.

 

As far as the rest of the day goes we're going to play it by ear. If we feel confortable enough we'll do shopping in town or head to Dr's Cave Beach.

 

 

AWESOME! Please don't forget me when you get back!! ;) I will be waiting for your advice! Dr's Cave was also in my mind as a possible end to the day. Can't wait to hear your review!

[white.sand]

The canopy tour offered by the ship (chukka I believe) you climb a ladder to a tree platform, then zip from tree to tree to tree. The Jamaica Zipline Adventure is a ground to ground zip with much longer runs (max 1600'). We will be a group of five and I would think a grnd to grnd zip would allow everyone to stay together better and enjoy as a group.

 

P.S. We'll be zipping a couple of days before our anniversary. We must think a lot alike.

 

Hope you have a wonderful anniversary! Please let me know how the zipline goes.

[grammy2attj]

We are sailing on Carnival Conquest in July for our wedding anniversary. This is our first cruise experience and we can't wait! We will be in Montego Bay on our actual anniversary date and are interested in doing the Zipline Adventure.

I was wondering about your experiences (good and bad) on this tour. It is not offered through our cruiseline so we will be booking ourselves. It looks like this excursion may only take approx. 4 hours total including travel time.

Do you have any suggestions on other things to do with the rest of the day. We will be there for 9 hours.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

We did the zipline back in 2006 (we booked it through the cruiseline and we enjoyed it) Once we returned back to port the bus driver offered to take those that were interested into town for a few hours. (They advised us at that time to be very careful when shopping in Montego Bay.)Hopefully, it has gotten safer since we visited.

[Twinrigger]

I'm back, but wishing I wasn't. We had a great time and hated having to return to the normal grind. We had a wonderful experience with the Jamaica Zipline Adventure Tour. The most surprising and positive result was that my DW probably had the most exciting experience of the family. She tends to shy away from adventurous activities and is not keen of heights. I could tell before the trip that she would have preferred a different excursion, but was willing to go with the family preference. Outcome – She (and we) had an absolute blast! The trip didn’t start well as the ship only had one photographer (and 1 Jamaican) to take pictures as everyone came off the ship, so it backed-up everyone trying to get off the ship. Arriving to meet our guide about 45 minutes late, he scrambled to get us up to the ziplines even though we knew we were going to miss our time slot. As they say in Jamaica “No problem mon” and they slipped us right in. As mentioned in many other reviews safety was at the forefront which I believe was a main reason my DW felt so at ease. Since we were in a rush getting there we left the bug spray and sunscreen in the guides’ van. From what we had heard we thought we were going to get eaten alive, but we had very little problem. A few mosquitoes at the safety briefing on the top of the mountain, but almost nothing after that. We did later find some complimentary bug spray at some locations along the way, but by then we didn’t need it. As far as sunscreen – you’re in a rain forest – you got very little direct sun except for when you were zipping. As expected it was very warm and muggy (again – It’s a rain forest) expect to sweat.

 

The guides were entertaining, the zips were nice and long, and photographers were available. The zips themselves started from the ground or from a slightly elevated platform (max 10’). The landings were all on the ground if I remember correctly. All but 1 of the zips (the initial warm-up zip) started from under the forest canopy then went across a valley that took you above the canopy so you could see the beautiful terrain, then returned you back under the canopy for a landing. All the landings were easy. Lighter passengers (<150#) may come up a bit short on a couple of the zips. My DD came up short on #2 and #4 (I think). The first time they quickly slid the safety line out to her and she grabbed on. The second time she couldn’t reach the rope so the guide hooked up and went out and pulled her in. While hooking up she rolled back away from the landing about 30-40’ and we (including her) laughed and laughed:D. I think we were more entertained when she didn’t make it. I would recommend you give yourself a little push-off on zip #2, as all of us barely made the landing. Then we each gave a big push-off on #3 when we didn’t need it. Walks been the zips are not long, only one had a few switchbacks. By the way, don’t wear flip-flops. They tell you not to do-so in the first place and having one depart your foot in mid-flight would make for an uncomfortable walk the rest of the way. My DW and DD both wore the beach water shoes and they worked great as they didn’t bring tennis shoes on the cruise (to save space - I wish I had done the same). It did begin to lightly rain on us for the last zip. Made for a nice cool down and was actually very refreshing to zip thru (and yes I had my camera out taking pictures).

 

Overall this was a great experience for the entire family (ages 16 – 49) and was a highlight of the cruise. We never felt unsafe like you hear from some posters who visit Jamaica. I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone. Sorry, but I can’t help you concerning Dr’s Cave Beach. After returning from the zips and having lunch it started raining fairly heavy. We cancelled the beach and did some local shopping at the port.

[white.sand]

 

Overall this was a great experience for the entire family (ages 16 – 49) and was a highlight of the cruise. We never felt unsafe like you hear from some posters who visit Jamaica. I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone. Sorry, but I can’t help you concerning Dr’s Cave Beach. After returning from the zips and having lunch it started raining fairly heavy. We cancelled the beach and did some local shopping at the port.

 

Well...we are off tomorrow!!!:D I can't wait! Thanks for the update. We will be using the Adventure Tour's "free" shuttle service from the port.

Hoping for good weather. Thanks again!:)

[carbon]

Has anyone done any zip lines from Ocho rios. We want to visit nine mile then do a zipline.

[ttownhawk]

Does anyone know how long it takes to get from the ship to the zip?

[jsmith2531]

Reviving this thread for anyone who has feedback on ziplining through ZIPLINE ADVENTURE TOURS and DR. CAVES BEACH in one day.

[white.sand]

Reviving this thread for anyone who has feedback on ziplining through ZIPLINE ADVENTURE TOURS and DR. CAVES BEACH in one day.

 

We had nine hours to spend in Jamaica. Zipline Adventrue Tours had a tour bus at the port waitng to pick us (my husband and I) and also another group of about 15 people. The bus was nice and had cold AC. Our driver was awesome and informative and answered all of our questions.

The drive is scary! It is a different world in Jamaica! The long, winding, bumpy, thin road was an adventure in itself! It was amazing to me that people walk down the side of the road and do not move out of the way for vehicles to go by. Therefore, it seems like you are only inches from them as you go by. :eek: I assume this is normal behavior in Jamaica because our driver seemed to get a kick out of my reaction and the locals don't even flinch! Seriously, even though the driving made me nervous, I felt comfortable with our driver.

 

When we were finished with our Zipline (which was so fantastic) our driver was there waiting to take us back to the ship. He offered for an additional $10 per person to take us on a tour of Jamaica to do whatever we wanted to do. There was one couple who needed to get back to the ship but everyone accepted his offer. We took the couple back to the ship and got stuck in traffic for quite a while.(no problem) It just cut out some of our tour time.

 

My husband and I sat up front by the driver and we had requested to eat some jerk chicken, purchase some Blue Mountain Coffee, and go to Drs. Cave Beach. We would have had time to do all of those things had we not had to detour back to the ship. no problem!

 

We were starving so we decided to eat first at a local place that had Jerk chicken, pork and sausage. Yum~Yum! We also got some rice and peas (actually rice and beans where I come from). Our driver explained to us that it is made with coconut milk and it WAS good! O, and of course Red Stripe Beer!

 

Next we went to a small shopping center off the beaten path and did not get hounded too much while we shopped. We were able to get our coffee.

 

By this time it was time to get back to the ship so we didn't get to the beach but we drove right past it! We got back to the port in plenty of time. We had a great day in Jamaica.:D

 

So i guess to FINALLY answer your question...if you have at least nine hours like we did, you should have plenty of time to visit the beach for a while.:)

[jsmith2531]

Thanks, everything you did, is what we want to do....zipline, lunch, shop, beach. I do not want to waste too much time shopping. Just to grab some souvenirs for my kids, etc.

 

I have been e-mailing a tour guide. The tour would just be the 4. For this custom tour will be $35 pp. Basically a driving fee. Plus we will need to pay for our zipline and beach entrance, $89 and $5, respectively.

 

I think it will be worth it to have our own personal tour guide.

[white.sand]

Thanks, everything you did, is what we want to do....zipline, lunch, shop, beach. I do not want to waste too much time shopping. Just to grab some souvenirs for my kids, etc.

 

I have been e-mailing a tour guide. The tour would just be the 4. For this custom tour will be $35 pp. Basically a driving fee. Plus we will need to pay for our zipline and beach entrance, $89 and $5, respectively.

 

I think it will be worth it to have our own personal tour guide.

 

 

I have wondered about hiring a personal tour guide. I noticed while we were in Jamaica that there were lots of buses or tour guide vans. Most of them said "Junta" and there was also another prominent name that I can't remember. I asked our driver about it. He explained to me that if you want to do well as a tour guide you really must sign up with one of these companies. I guess they have the market. Our driver was hired by Zipline Adventure Tours but he worked for Junta. I thought that was interesting and our driver was impressed that I noticed and asked.

[Almost Packed]

dh & I both have done the tranopy (zip line, bobsled and chair) in Ocho Rios, and we have done the canopy tour in in Mobay.....by far, mobay was the best......however we enjoyed OR too.

 

I would certainly have no problem paying for the canopy tour in mobay again. I would not pay to do the zip line in OR again...but please do not let that persuade you from not doing it once.....we just enjoyed mobay much more.

[dlhoward]

Almost Packed,

I am also going to Jamaica. Not sure whether to stay in Ocho Rios or Montego Bay. My teenage daughter wants to do the zipline but I am afraid to. I can't ride roller coasters and a fast dropping elevator makes my stomach drop. I see you have done it in both places. Do you think this is something I could do anyways? Are there fast drops? Which one should we do that would be better for me if I do get up the courage to do it?

Thanks