Freeport Shore Excursion: Round-Trip Beach Transfer to Paradise Cove

When we arrived in Freeport we go the people holding the sign for Paradise Cove. The guy looks at my paperwork and says you're not with me us, you're with Brice. So we go off to find Brice. Once we find him he looks at my paperwork and says your trip is cancelled since there are only 2 of you. We will refund your money. You can go see if anyone else will take you. Well long story short after paying for this excursion, we did not get to go to Paradise Cove AND my money has yet to be refunded! Livid doesn't even begin to describe how I feel!

They cancelled on us without warning day we got into port. Was told to take group taxi instead, at roughly same price.

Fran's Travel and Tours, the operator, was dishonest and deceptive. After being about an hour late picking us up, after I called 3 different times, the driver arrived not in the Beach Hopper Coach as the voucher specified, but he arrived in a van marked as a taxi. I gave him our voucher for Paradise Cove and he confirmed that is where he was taking us, but he first had to stop and pick some more people up at two different ship terminals. After waiting some more and then about a 15 minute drive, we arrived at a beach and he said we were there. I didn't see Paradise Cove marked anywhere so I asked him if this was for sure Paradise Cove and he said it was. I had brought my own snorkeling gear for my wife and I to snorkel at Deadman's Reef. Much to our surprise once we got in and paid our admission to the beach there indeed was no snorkeling and it indeed was not Paradise Cove but Pirates Cove at Taino Beach which we later learned is the opposite direction that we needed to travel from the ship terminal. I went out and confronted the driver, Uncle and he was caught in his lie. He was taking the other people he had picked up to the nearby shopping center, so he full well knew from when he picked us up that we he was never going to take us to Paradise Cove, despite him confirming that verbally with me several times. After confronted with the truth, he now said there were no more vans to Paradise Cove, but he would take us back to the ship. Since we already had a late start and we only had a limited amount of time before we were required to be back to our ship we just stayed there as it was too late to salvage our Paradise Cove plans and no way to get there anyways. There was an inflatable water park at Pirates Cove, but it was closed there were multiple people on the beach trying to sell us souvenirs and the umbrella use was 15, of which they sold more tickets for than were umbrellas to use. I would highly recommend NOT using Fran's due to their deceptive and dishonest ways. After we got home we had Viator contact them to try to get a refund but they refused. Viator was good enough to refund our money anyways. Viator had outstanding customer service. DO NOT use Fran's if you are set at going to Paradise Cove, as you likely won't get there.

Brice was waiting on us at the port, he also stayed with us at the beach and brought us back when ever we were ready to leave. It was raining, so he suggested another beach, which was ok, we just wanted to be off the boat and go to a beach. He gave a little history of the island. We were the only ones on the bus, so that was nice. Brice could have been a little more talkative, but overall, OK!!

We thoroughly enjoyed our snorkling excursion at Paradise Cove. The transportation was half the cost that others charged for the same ride. We did have some initial concerns about the legitimacy of our ride as the driver had no official id to let us know that they were the designated driver.

I booked this excursion with the Viator rep, and specifically asked if the tour company would co-ordinate with the docking of the ship, as our dock time was 8am and the pick up time was 8.30am. I was told that it would not be a problem. At 8.35 am, we still had not had the confirmation from the ship that we could go ashore. As soon as we had it, we went ashore. A taxi driver approached us and asked if we were the party of 6 from Viator. I told him we were. He told us that the coach for Paradise Cove had to leave to pick up another party from another cruise ship, and they had to pick us up and take us to a beach. Unfortunately, the only beach they were going to was Taino beach. At this point, we felt we had no choice, so went with the taxi driver. Our grandchildren, ages 5 and 15 months enjoyed the beach, but the sea was very choppy and full of sea weed, which wrapped itself around your legs. We were constantly pestered by locals selling necklaces and bracelets they had made. Eventually, they wore us down and we purchased from one of them. Then a local with 2 Great Danes and a Wolf Hybrid, decided to parade his 3 dogs, unleashed, along the water's edge. Public toilets had no paper in one stall, and nothing to dry your hands on in either. I did tell someone who was working on the beach, and asked her to let the appropriate person know. When I went back before we left, this had not been taken care of. The taxi driver had told us that the first taxi back was at noon. We decided that we should go to the taxi rank early, so we could make sure we were on the first one back, only to find that there were quite a few taxi's there waiting to take passengers back to the cruise ship, so, not exactly sure what time they started the return journey's back to the ship. I have a feeling that, as they were dropping off more people, then they would have been happy to make the journey back to the ships rather than just sit around. The only facts we got from the first taxi driver was the length and width of the island, and the cost of a new house. Then he turned on the radio, so, whatever he said after that, we couldn't hear. I am a little worried, because this is the first tour we have booked with Viator, and we have another tour with them in Bermuda. This experience has not been good!

Driver was super nice and accommodating. Would recommend!

I could not find the Viator transportation. After leaving the ship, we looked around and could not see a sign anywhere for the bus .

voucher not specific about where to meet:confusing. Then informed we were going to Taino Beach, Not paradise cove and not what I spent hrs researching! Beach was dirty and rocky in the actual water. Transported in a crowded, hot van and given a card to take a different shuttle back. This is just a cab!

The local excursion group refused to take us on the excursion because not enough people booked it for them to make enough money! Unbelievable! It was only a 30 minute drive to our destination and still they refused to take us to that reef to snorkel for the excursion we had pre paid for. And now it was too late in the day to book any other excursion. They could have at least emailed us before hand so we could make other arrangements. But now we are standing off the boat dock with no where to go and it is now noon. They then talked us into going to a closer beach where Brice the head of Frans Tours said they was a reef right off the beach we could swim right to. Right... after they dropped us off we found out we were at a busy tourist beach with absolutely no reef in site and only a flat sandy bottom. Even the local workers on the beach made it clear there was no reef anywhere near that beach. Horrible excursion group. Not honest! Avoid Frans Tours!