lauraodonnell86

Excited to follow along as I am boarding Oasis December 8th! Have a great time! 

If you like beaches, we love going to the Boatyard which is about 3-5 mins taxi ride from the port. The entry fee is $25/pp and that includes a beach chair and umbrella, ocean trampolines, a slide and rope swing, and a free boat ride to a shipwreck and swimming/snorkeling with sea turtles. Included in the price is your return taxi back to the ship! The water and sand is absolutely perfect and it's our one of our favorite islands in the Caribbean! Here is the link for more information https://www.theboatyard.com/adventure-beach  Have a great time whatever you decide to do! 

Allure of the Seas is headed to Texas, bookings will opening soon!

Who cares about Michael.  I want to meet Hillary!

We just got back from a wonderful week on the Freedom of the Seas.  Since everyone was so helpful here I wanted to just share the two non RCL excursions that we did that were great.  On the advice of someone here, we rented kayaks from Caribbean Paddling on St. Maarten and went over to Pinel Island. I highly recommend this. It was great. Just enough work to feel like I did something.  We didn't explore Pinel really. Just relaxed.  Got chairs and an umbrella from the beach restaurant for $20.  It was a lovely day.
On Aurba, we did something a bit different.  My husband rides a motorcycle and has his license.  I am not the type to enjoy being on the back of the bike but...We went on a tour and rented a Harley with Aruba Motorcycles.  We had a great time.  It was a wonderful way to see the island.  
 
Just wanted to share and thanks again. 

I have a feeling you will be at the floating bar!

Count us in! 

Maybe we should organize a walk, or a Labadee bar crawl.  

Twagster, thank you photos and info, I think I am on the same trip as Laura in December. Its has been many years since I've been to Labadee.. I tendered! I will wear socks with tevas (the fashion police are groaning), and go for this walk as well. Boots are not needed! 
I will bring water shoes, that has been recommended by several people.

Yes she is @twangster!  
In Sept 2017 we did "yoga on the beach" up those paths, in the spa area.  It was too hot to actually do it on the sand, so they walked us up there and we had yoga under a covered old bar area.  The massage ladies were out there on our way back, we did notice. 
@lauraodonnell86 we followed most of those paths at one point that day, it was a pretty walk but definitely not a hike.  Unless it's 90 degrees like it was that day...we definitely felt like we hiked!  LOL 

I frequently use the nature trails around Labadee.  They provide the best views of the ship and Atlantic.  I wouldn't call it hiking though, they aren't that long and are easy compared to some real hiking I've done.  They are more like walking paths but I guess if someone has mobility challenges they could become strenuous.
Your map is a little out of date.  The area #14 isn't used anymore. 
They start very close to base area 200' from the the pier.  On your map this is right after starting on the path after #1.  It's a slight uphill climb but not hard at all if you like to walk.

Soon enough there is a viewing area looking back towards the ship.  


Freedom on a different visit.

This continues around the corner. 


The ship is behind you at this point


This area is supposed to be related to spa services but I've never actually seen people here getting a massage.




At this point you are approaching the landing zone for the zip line but there is a path that continues around the landing zone.
Sometimes they close the path to the point.



Dragon's Lookout Point or #6 on your map.


There are some more paths around but this is the primary one to explore.  The other green paths on the map are really sidewalks around Labadee.  The entire area is very walkable and often I'll never use the trams but prefer to walk.
There is another path "through the woods" for lack of a better phrase but these don't really go anywhere exciting and have no views to speak of.  There are some old buildings found off them that aren't used anymore.  This is the red path labeled strenuous on your map.  You can walk it just to do it.
I'll be going 3 times in December from Oasis.  Are you on Ken's big cruise?

Aruba a couple weeks ago. ❤️ 

After lunch my oldest daughter convinced the nicest lady in Kansas City to go down the water slides with her. Thanks Laura!

I had the wrong email at first.  I got a hold of them and the have changed the date for me.

I'm glad the others here let you know the difference between the 2 companies. I used https://www.caribbeanpaddling.com/ not Caribbean Paddle. Hopefully you got everything worked out. This is a great company and I wouldn't want anyone thinking badly about them. 

My parents just went on a great excursion with Caribbean Paddling 2 months ago.  It was our 2nd time using them.  Great day, on time-everything perfect.  I think it is just a case of contacting a similar company.  Hope you have fun on your trip!

That email is from a different company. Caribbeanpaddle vs caribbeanpaddling. The first one is out of business, yes. The second appears to still be running. 

I'm on that sailing.. I booked at https://www.caribbeanpaddling.com/rentals/kayak-rental-pinel-island  I sent them an email about the itinerary change, and they adjusted my reservation, no problem. It's a small world! Good luck with your refund.
I hope you just emailed the incorrect vendor! I reserved the taxi/solo kayak/Frenchie Lunch combo. 
 

@AshleyDillo You are so awesome! Thanks for recommending that! I can't wait to go back in December! 

Being active the first thing I thought of was a suggestion @lauraodonnell86 made on these boards about Pinel Island.  You may want to look into exploring it and doing it the way that Laura did with renting a kayak to get there!
 

I was just diagnosed with PCE.. as of right now I’m unable to travel. The doctor said it may get better in the next 43 days, I have a follow up appointment on September 8th with Doctor HOTS . please help me through these trying times.. Pre Cruise Excitement is a disease lol

We always bring our own snorkel gear. I don't remember seeing a place to rent it. I think you will really enjoy it!

Yes I would definitely do this. A couple years ago, a junior suite was cheaper than what we had originally paid for a balcony. Even though it was after final payment, I called and they gave us a "free upgrade" to the junior suite since we had paid more for the balcony. It was the only time we've ever booked a suite of any kind ?

Yes I would definitely do this. A couple years ago, a junior suite was cheaper than what we had originally paid for a balcony. Even though it was after final payment, I called and they gave us a "free upgrade" to the junior suite since we had paid more for the balcony. It was the only time we've ever booked a suite of any kind ?