A few questions: 1st time @ CSA!!!

My Husband and I are going to Jamaica for the first time, to CSA, to celebrate our 1 year anniversary this month=) (Sep. 20th)
We were wondering about a couple of things and love reading the message boards! We thought we should ask experienced CSA lovers what ideas they had to make the most out of our 6 day trip and to make this a memorable 1 year anniversary!?!

1) How are the off-resort excursions? We were thinking of the Black River Safari & Y.S. Falls Tour? How/when should you book them, and are there any that stand out from the crowd?

2)We will be arriving @ CSA around noon and were wondering how early check-in's work? Do they allow them, or would we just have to kill time before checking in?

3)Is there Kayaking and/or para-sailing in the area? If so, what are the costs?

4)What is the easiest way to get to Rick's Cafe? How far is it from CSA?

We would appreciate any input, and are VERY EXCITED to go to Jamaica!!! Only 9 more days!!!:D

Congratulations on your one year anniversary! My husband and I share the date with you but will be married 18 yrs on 9/20. We are going to CN at the end of November, but I am hoping that for our 20th, we will come back to CN for a renewal of vows...and I hope that there is at least one trip in between Nov of 2009 and Sept of 2011!

I can't answer the questions as this is our first time to CN but wanted to say congratulations and hope you have many, many more! It's a great day to celebrate.

1) How are the off-resort excursions? We were thinking of the Black River Safari & Y.S. Falls Tour? How/when should you book them, and are there any that stand out from the crowd? Not sure, we didn't do these tours

2)We will be arriving @ CSA around noon and were wondering how early check-in's work? Do they allow them, or would we just have to kill time before checking in? It seems like if your room is ready then they let you check in. When we arrived, we filled out all the info at the front desk and then went to eat lunch until our room was ready. We left our bags at the bell stand as well so we didn't have to schlep them around.

3)Is there Kayaking and/or para-sailing in the area? If so, what are the costs? kayaking is included and there are guys on the beach offerring para-sailing. I think it's around $100.

4)What is the easiest way to get to Rick's Cafe? How far is it from CSA?
The catamaran cruise stops off the shore at Rick's, or I saw a sign at Rick's that they offer free shuttle service from anywhere in Negril. Actually I just googled that and it says there's a shuttle to Rick's but not back to your hotel, so you'd have to take a cab back.

Have a great trip! We loved it at CSA!

We did the black river/falls/appleton estate tour. I would recommend doing all three in one day. They are a long way from the resort so doing all three with a meal in the middle is a great option. You leave in the early am, I think around 8ish, and come home in time for dinner. We didn't do the other three questions.

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Originally Posted by dnbmccann

We did the black river/falls/appleton estate tour. I would recommend doing all three in one day. They are a long way from the resort so doing all three with a meal in the middle is a great option. You leave in the early am, I think around 8ish, and come home in time for dinner. We didn't do the other three questions.

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I agree, we did this as a private tour with TOTT... it was amazing!!!

We went to CSA in July. I wouldnt plan on too many outside excursions. This resort offers so much that you really have already paid for in the price it is hard to even take advantage of them all. We usually saty at a real small AI and do a few day trips. With CSA we did none really this year by the time we did the snorkeling trip, glass bottom boat trip, Cat cruise, got our massages,shopping tour, Ricks cafe tour, ect... It took up enough time. Plus we really like to hae time to just veg on the beach. We did rent jet ski's and Parasailed one day though.

As for Ricks we did the Ricks tour the resort offered. It was not free, but by the time we paid a cab for both ways it was pretty close to a wash. We went into Ricks and watched people jump for about 45 minutes. Then we stepped onto the road and did some exploring. Went across the street to get some great Jerk Chicken on the side of the road, we paid $5.00. Others were paying $14.00 at Ricks for Jerk. Ours was by far better!!! We then walked up to a bar on the side of the road called LTU had some Red Stripes with some locals and great conversation. Stopped on the side of the road and did a little shopping and got some great little souviners for next to nothing. Then headed back to Ricks for our ride back. Dont be afraid to leave Ricks and go for a walk on the clifs!! It was one of our best days.

I can answer 2 of your questions.

There are plenty of kayaks that you can use for free - it's part of the inclusions. They give you life vests and paddles. The parasailing is not included, but there are several vendors walking the beach (including Elvis) who can arrange for a boat to come pick you up and then take you out to the parasailing boat. The last time we did it (2 years ago), it was $90/couple. You can negotiate a bit. The boat crew will expect tips, and in fact, Elvis will give you a hard time if you don't tip the boat crew. Another interesting thing is that since this is not a Couples provided excursion, there may be little kids on the boat from the "B" resort next door. Not a problem, but just something to be aware of.

If your room is ready, they will let you check in early. If it's not, the bellman will hold your bags, and you can still use the resort. Pack a swim suit in your carry-on. You can change in the locker rooms at the sports complex. You can use all of the amenitites, including eating lunch and drinking.

You can email me for offsite information.... We did The Pelican Bar and YS Falls with the Black River, I would suggest doing The Pelican Bar and YS Falls and skip the Black River.....

Rick's is a must do IMO at least once, the sunsets and professional cliffdivers are something to see and they have some good live bands.

Our first trip to Negril we stayed our first couple nights at a non All Inclusive, we could not wait to get to Couples, we called that morning to ask when we could come over, they said, you can come now no problem mon, your room may not be ready, but come on over..... We did they showed us where to go for breakfast, and to our surprise he came and found us about 45 min later to tell us our room was ready. Couples Negril gotta love it..

mzambo 1722 @ wideopenwest dot com regarding the offsite excursions.

dear kendra4585,

we too, will be at csa the same time as you celebrating our 20th anniversary! this is our third trip and we love csa! be sure to give yourself plenty of time to just sit back and enjoy the resort and all of it's amenities. you may find that you won't want to leave to do off shore excursions.

I would like to thank everyone for the input, very helpful=)

We went to Swept Away in 1998 to celebrate our 25th Wedding Anniversary. I looked at photos and still looked nice, but I wouldn't want the gaming tables. I would have a hard time choosing now, but the time we had was wonderful! We had dinner on our front deck on the real night of our anniversary--they even had small cake for us! We went up into Blue Mtn to see bird sanctuary and streamer-tailed hummingbirds perched on my finger while I held the sugar water! Smaller birds ate seeds(very carefully and nicely ) right off my knees! I'm still toying with the idea to return.
Have a wonderful time--know you will-EVERYONE IS SO FRIENDLY.

If you like nature then the tours into the mountains: ie. Roaring River, may appeal and give you a better perspective on the countryside vs. the coastline.

When ariving a noon, take advantage of the great display of food at lunch and travel about light on the resort. Scope it out and then your room will be ready.

You will, I guarantee, find Elvis ("ShutUpAndFly") he'll take care of all your worldly needs on extra sports etc. He's on the beach.

Xtabi Resort on the road along the cliffs allows visitors to have a cocktail on their property ($$), use their steps down to the sea and explore their little caves and snorkel.
That is really different from the sevenmile beach zone!

Use the Cat Cruise ( sign up in advance to make your way out to the cliffs, WestEnd! Negril Center and the StrawMarket makes another venture.
As a repeater: now 14th time for me, it is easy to overlook many fun events of the past. Enjoy.