Barrett Adventures ??

[ConquestMike]

Has anyone used Barret Adventures in Montego Bay, on another site we read great reviews about them but havent seen anything here?? We are on Conquest Jan 2nd and booked a waterfall, river tubing excursion with Carolyn Barrett,, any comments??

[runner1909]

I want to know something about them, too. We booked an excursion through Carolyn for next week, and we cannot get a price quote, even when we directly ask for one. I just don't want any unpleasant surprises.

[Cathy Britvich]

We just got back from a Holland America cruise on the Zaandam and we toured with Carolyn Barrett on Wednesday, December 8th. It was the highlight of our cruise, and the best shore excursion I have ever had from a cruise ship.

 

Carolyn was an excellent tour guide, the best I have ever had. We spent the whole day with her for the same price as Holland America charges for a 3 1/2 hour tour. She took the time to show us all the things we were interested in. The highlight of our tour was a visit to YS plantation - absolutely beautiful - where YS Falls are, and from there we went tubing on the YS river. YS Falls reminds me of the seven sacred pools in Hawaii. There is a rope swing you can use to jump into one of the pools. It is uncrowded (nothing like the traffic jams you see at Dunn's River Falls), extremely beautiful and peaceful. Everyone there is very, very friendly and helpful. YS ranch is absolutely gorgeous. Just below the falls is where the tubing starts. It is a blast. Very similiar to the jungle cruise at Disneyland without all the hokey fake "adventure". The river tubing is very gentle - no rapids, but it is amazing to see the river from the bottom up. You see all the roots of the trees, and giant termite nests under a canopy of tropical trees and bamboo.

 

We could have gone to Appleton Rum Factory from there, but we were more interested in seeing more nature, and visiting more local Jamaican areas. So Carolyn made sure we saw as much as humanly possible in the brief day we had in Jamaica. We saw coffee, allspice, pineapple, aki, yams, chickens, horse, and cows all growing, and Carolyn told us the history and stories behind them all. We got to taste pineapple fresh from the fields, and we visited the jellyman for fresh coconut water and coconut "jelly". And although we were not shoppers, so we didn't want to stop and shop much, she gave us the opportunity to pick up some blue mountain coffee from the local grocery store so we could pay local prices instead of inflated tourist prices. We had such a wonderful time. Carolyn made sure that we only did the things we would most enjoy. Our tour was totally customized for us. She was lots of fun to be with, easygoing and extremely professional and personable.

 

I cannot recommend touring with her enough. I was a little wary of visiting Jamaica, and now I can't wait to go back. When we got back to the ship I spoke to about 20 different people and NO ONE had anything like the great day we had. You cannot do better than visiting Jamaica with Barrett Adventures. Carolyn was great. Have fun.

Cathy

[daWoods]

We too had a great day with Carolyn during our visit earlier this year. She is very knowledgeable about the island and its history, and does her best to tailor your excursion to your desires. She and her husband run a first class operation and they're good people.

[runner1909]

We did go with Carolyn last week and were we ever glad we did! She is a wealth of knowledge concerning Jamaica and a very pleasant individual. We went to YS Falls and it was absolutely gorgeous. Not crowded at all. The falls were fabulous and the tubing was so much fun. We had such a positive experience with Carolyn, and when we heard some of our fellow cruisers bad experiences that day (either on their own or on other tours), we were doubly happy. We highly recommend Barrett Adventures. My DF and I both agreed that was probably our favorite port, all because of Carolyn.

[ConquestMike]

Thank You all very much, I read sooo many great reviews about Carolyn and the fact she doesnt ask for a deposit kind of showed what kind of person she is, meaning not all business and laid back and fun, so I am convinced to go with her, was just debating whether to save the money to use on the ship and do the beach instead,especially when traveling with a family of 5 even reasonable prices get expensive LOLo but it would be hard to pass up such a wonderful experience and I would kick myself for years to come, I just know it LOL Thanks again and I'll tell Carolyn you all said hi !!!

Mike

[ConquestMike]

PS did any of you have trouble finding her at the dock??

[isujim]

We used her in April and it was the highlight of our cruise. We had her husband and basically we hired him for 4 hours and took a highlights tour and shared cost with 2 other couples.........it was a great tour.

 

Our pricing was set up front and she always returned e-mails within 1 day.

 

I will say her husband was late about 30 minutes picking us up at the pier. Originally concerned us but once he showed up.......no problems and the tour was great.

 

I'll try and answer any questions you might have if we experienced it.

 

Jim

[runner1909]

ConquestMike...Carolyn was waiting right there when we got off the ship with a sign held high. No problem spotting her. Again, her tour was the highlight of our entire trip. Like the previous poster, the price goes down the more people on the tour, so with your 5 and porbably a few more, it would be reasonable.

[monana]

How do I book with Carolyn b4 our cruise?

[RockyTopMom]

I also am considering a tour with Carolyn Barrett at Montego Bay.

Can those of you that have taken her tours tell me:

 

If I go on the riber tubing, is there a safe place to store my camera while I'm in the river?

 

Approximately what is the cost for the YS Falls and River tubing?

I appreciate in advance your replies. That is what makes the cc boards so great. One can get first hand information from those who have experieced things prior to our arrival and are willing to share that information.

[dcintheam]

We just got back from our holiday cruise where we stopped in Jamaica and had a fantastic tour with Carolyn. My husband set everything up via e-mail, which took a lot because the cruise line changed our itinerary twice, through it all Carolyn was great. We ended up in Jamaica on 12/26 which is Boxing Day there, and YS Falls was closed, so she took us to Mayfield Falls (she knew this and let us know in advance). I know when we climbed the falls, there was a water proof bag that the guides carried, so I'd think that would be available at YS Falls as well. If you are unsure, e-mail Carolyn, she will have the answer.

 

Our tour with her was one of the highlights of our trip, and the next time we are in Jamaica, we will definitely book her again. She knew so much about the history, the island, she was facinating! After the falls and lunch she took us where ever we wanted to go--we stopped at Margaritaville, then she helped us with shopping, letting us know when the shop was over priced! I look forward to coming back and seeing more of the island.

 

We had no trouble finding her, she said to come into the building and head to the information booth, and there she was. There were 10 of us in our group and every one of us loved her tour!