First time cruiser! Western Caribbean excursions

[MissB87]

I’m bit lost with this cruising thing I’ll be honest 😂

So we’ve booked first one DCL western Caribbean stoping at Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth and castaway cay 😄

Very excited but wondering if/what excursions are worth it.

Any pointers/recommendations gratefully received 😄

It’s also our honeymoon yay!

[mick]

We've done six cruises - three of which in the Caribbean and our ports have taken us to Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

On Cozumel we just took a trip to Isla de Pasion and sat on the beach and swam.

On Grand Cayman we went on this

caymanislandssubmarines/

Be careful though because this was around 2005 and we didn't do enough research before we looked at what was available. It transpired that the sub was based on the port and only a 5 minute walk from the ship. We could have done a walk up and saved about $20 each. You live and learn.

Mick

[Trouble3]

I'd recommend using Trip Advisor, for the most popular things to do on each island, then read thru reviews etc to get hints and tips.

Almost always a lot cheaper to do excursions yourself, via local agents or taxis, except where the ship has pre-booked all the tickets for a tour.

[Bats]

Hi and welcome to the addictive world of cruising!

We really liked doing ziplining in Falmouth through Chukka. You can book it via DCL, or book direct to save money - you'll be on the same bus and in the same groups either way.

In Falmouth, the port is within a closed off area (this is quite common in the Caribbean), and I would recommend not walking out of there on your own. Grab a taxi or book an organised trip (through DCL or DIY).

Are you a member of your cruise facebook group? That's a really great way of getting to know people before the cruise and finding out what others are booking - there is often someone booking DIY stuff that needs extra people to get the cost down more. Excursions like hiring a sail boat for a few hours for instance.

In GC, just wander around, find a bar for some lunch and have a nice cocktail while looking at the 'money' walking around. It's a British tax haven and boy, can you see it!

For Cozumel, lots of people go to the ruins, but it's a fair old time stuck on a bus then a short time at the actual ruins. If you can put up with the long journey though, then that may appeal to you. My mum did it a few years ago and loved it.
This from a tourist site:
Q: I ONLY HAVE TIME FOR ONE RUINS SITE - WHICH SHOULD I SEE?
A: Chichen Itza is one of the 7 wonders of the world. Every visitor to the Yucatan should see this impressive site. Tulum is smaller, but it is much closer (45 minutes vs. 2.5 hours), and has a breathtaking clifftop setting overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Coba is the largest site, but is only partially restored. It is the only pyramid that you can still climb of the three. If you don't have time to go to the mainland, or are on a cruise ship, then still consider San Gervasio - the tour is an interesting look at the Mayas, even if the ruins are not nearly as large or impressive as those on the mainland.

We just wandered around the shops in the port area - you'll be offered samples of rum cake - warning ... it will be really moist and the rum quite obvious. The ones you actual buy and bring home are not like that. They may have rum in them, but they haven't been recently 'soaked'!

Joa

[Omega1]

We’ve been to Grand Cayman about four times on cruises. On two visits we did the Rays, Reef and Rum Point tour with Nativeway Watersports nativewaywatersports/...bout-our-tours. We can recommend the company and the tour. It was about $65pp a few years ago. One time we just wandered around the town and had a couple of leisurely beers and most recently picked up an island tour at the dock.

[Eeyorefanuk]

Hi

Cozumel. We did mr sanchos

GC. Beautiful and safe.

First time we did say tour turtle farm, rum factory, rum cake, stingray experience (amazing) etc

Second time we caught a transfer to 7 mile beach

[danisleigh]

We are doing western itinerary at Easter and have booked Mr Sanchos for Cozumel. We are then doing costa maya, roatan and coco cay on the symphony of the seas. We have used shore excursioneer to book our 3 excursions, they did the same trips we looked at with RCL but a lot cheaper and just a small deposit and the rest is paid on the day. They also have a back to the ship on time guarantee.

[SquishTheWhale]

Cozumel has so much choice- do you want to see ruins, relax on a beach, do a bar crawl, swim with dolphins or go snorkelling?

We did a 3 reef snorkel over palancar reef and el cielo which is a starfish sanctuary. Loved it!

[MissB87]

Thank you so much for the replies and suggestions, this weekend I’m hoping to narrow things down 😄😄 (and get it on wish lists for Christmas and wedding!)

I’m so torn with adventurous/cultural/water based! (No dolphins/captive animals... personal choice)

I’m guessing the tours with good reviews that are DIY are trustworthy to get you back in time long as they are aware of what cruise you’re on etc...?

[SquishTheWhale]

Originally Posted by MissB87

Thank you so much for the replies and suggestions, this weekend I’m hoping to narrow things down 😄😄 (and get it on wish lists for Christmas and wedding!)

I’m so torn with adventurous/cultural/water based! (No dolphins/captive animals... personal choice)

I’m guessing the tours with good reviews that are DIY are trustworthy to get you back in time long as they are aware of what cruise you’re on etc...?

See more...

The local operators live and die by reputation of their excursions so bar any major disasters they will do everything to get you back to the ship on time. It only takes one passenger missing their ship to kill one of these businesses!

Most of them will also refund you any deposits etc if your ship doesn't dock for whatever reason, check each one. I've never heard of any docking issues in Cozumel so unless there's a major itinerary change due to a storm or something you're probably safe.