PCC 4.0 Excursions

[chirurgeon]

I'm a planner. Kevin has harassed me about the planning in advance I did for the first podcast cruise. Anyway, I was looking at the excursions for this cruise. The Tulum ruins tour is interesting, but it seems to take the entire time we are in port. I know that if it is a sponsored tour by DCL they won't leave without us, but I wonder how rushed we will be on that tour.

Kim

 

[parrotheadlois]

Greg and I went on a cruise that stopped in Cozumel years ago. We went to Chankanaab and we'll be going there again! It was a short cab ride from the ship (you could see the ship from the park) and we had a great day snorkeling and walking around. The wildlife was neat, iguanas just hanging out here and there.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g150809-d185578-Reviews-Chankanaab_National_Park-Cozumel_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

I know there was an excusion to Tulum, I seem to recall people saying it was quite a distance and took most of their day.

I was excited to see that 4.0 included a stop in Cozumel. Not only did we have a nice time at Chankanaab, we also managed to do a little shopping, bought a diamond that became my engagement ring! I have very fond memories of Cozumel

 

[parrotheadlois]

Hi Kim,

I feel like I performed my "thread-killer" function on your request.

So here is info I found on shore excursions, including the Tulum shore excursion:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/cr7-port-cozumel.cfm

hope this helps - Lois

 

[Cherinva]

I haven't thought about shore excusions yet...I know I want to get off the ship, but that's about it.

 

[NancyIL]

The first time I went on a western Caribbean cruise (in 2005 on RCI), I booked a ship excursion to Tulum. However, when my sister had to cancel at the last minute, I cancelled that excursion because I thought I would be "ruined" out from visits to Mayan ruins in Costa Maya and Belize. I ended up with no plans in Cozumel, and just walked around town a bit. Because I planned nothing, that's exactly what I did - and Cozumel was my least favorite port.

I won't make the same mistake on the Fantasy, and I intend to book a tour to Tulum. I am not interested in the beach or shopping, and an all-day excursion is fine with me.

 

[mdvlprof]

Will likely just do a little shopping. DD might do excursions, but I've become less adventurous. And with DS .....

 

[TigerTown]

On our last cruise to Cozumel we spent the day at Nachi Cocom and that's probably where we will end up this time. It is an inclusive beach club that only allows a maximum of 100 guests per day. It's a bit more adult oriented and if you are looking for a place to kick back and relax I highly recommend it!

http://www.cozumelnachicocom.net/default.cfm

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I'm glad you started this thread, Kim, and I'm hoping that as the cruise gets closer we'll have a lot more information regarding excursions. For the Cozumel day, I've been to Tulum before (fantastic place), so I'm leaning more towards Lois's recommendation of going to Chankanaab. There's still plenty of time to decide, though.

I'm interested in the things to do at Grand Cayman and Costa Maya since I've never been to those ports, and I want to make the most of this trip.

For those wanting to know about Castaway Cay, I have a link in my signature to a 3-day Wonder trip that included the Walking-Kayaking tour at Castaway Cay - I did the morning walk/kayak tour, and loved it. I highly recommend it.

 

[Euphscott]

Grand Cayman is a beautiful island, but it has always reminded me of Florida! It's very clean, lots of money, and certainly touristy near the port.

The big attractions in Grand Cayman is Stingray City where they take you out to a sand bar and the stingrays show up for feeding and petting (but mostly the feeding!). Beaches are plentiful and a trip to Hell (a small town officially named such) is part of the touristy things to do here.

Costa Maya is a made up port! The Carnival corporation developed this spot specifically to have a port of call. It is within a 15 minute walk (or an inexpensive cab ride) to a local fishing village (Majahual - I think I spelled that correctly) that only recently has acquired electricty and is best known for it's quiet, but spectacular beaches that have been filmed in some Corona commercials!). There are some excursions available here that take you to Mayan ruins here as well - but much closer since you are already on the main land.

Both are nice enough ports with some good stuff to see and do. Costa Maya is less real Mexico immediately there as it was built specifically for cruise guests, but with some excursions you can get into real Mexico in a hurry!

I hope this helps some.

 

[OKW Lover]

For certified Scuba divers, Grand Cayman is the place to dive. Visibility of >100 feet. Lots of stuff to see.

 

[NancyIL]

Costa Maya is a made up port! The Carnival corporation developed this spot specifically to have a port of call. It is within a 15 minute walk (or an inexpensive cab ride) to a local fishing village (Majahual - I think I spelled that correctly) that only recently has acquired electricty and is best known for it's quiet, but spectacular beaches that have been filmed in some Corona commercials!). There are some excursions available here that take you to Mayan ruins here as well - but much closer since you are already on the main land.

Unfortunately, I think our port time in Costa Maya is too short to visit any ruins, as they are about an hour from the port - if I recall correctly.

 

[sayhello]

When I was on a cruise that went to Cozumel 2 years ago, my friend did the Tulum ruins tour. She enjoyed it very much, but it *IS* an all-day thing. You spend a great deal of time on the (frequently very rough) ferry crossing to the mainland, and then on a very long bus ride to the ruins. She said the ruins themselves were fascinating. But you spend way more time getting there & coming back than you do at the ruins. I highly recommend that if you do this excursion, you *only* do it through DCL, as there is a great deal of potential for the tour to run late (because of the long transit times and the multiple "legs" of the trip). At least if you are late on a DCL excursion, it's DCL's responsibility to get you back to the ship. (Note, it is *not* guaranteed that the ship won't leave without you. But DCL takes responsibility to get you back to the ship, if nothing else, at the next port).

Sayhello

 

[Yvet]

I just posted my story about Tulum here:
http://www.disboards.com/newreply.php?do=postreply&t=2864743

We have done also an excursion on Grand Cayman.
I don't remember the name of the excursion but we went the turtle farm, Hell and Stingray City.

We are people that like to explore where we come and get some cultural stuff during our visit.
That's why we did Tulum.

At Grand Cayman we didn't know what to do and swimming with Stingrays seemed fun and also exploring a bit of the island.

The first stop is turtle farm and that's neat to see, nothing real special but fun. You can touch and hold a turtle and later you can buy your photo with the turtle.
After that you go to Hell, again nothing real special but it's fun to see. It's a special rockformation and that's it.

Then you go on a boatride to Stingray city where you can swim with stingrays and feed them.
This is fun, i would never wanted to miss this expererience.
The excursion wasn't that expensive at all i believe under $60 but maybe even less.....

 

[parrotheadlois]

This is what we're planning on doing at Costa Maya:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g499450-d1421462-r66862381-Tropicante_Ameri_Mex_Grill-Mahahual_Costa_Maya_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

It's got good Trip Advisor reviews. Looks like a relaxing day and we don't have too much time at Costa Maya.

We'll probably take the official Disney shore excursion to see the sting rays at Grand Cayman.

 

[NancyIL]

My plans haven't changed since I posted on this thread a year ago. I intend to book the ship excursion to Tulum, and to the Chacchoben Ruins in Costa Maya - if that one is offered. I'm not sure about Grand Cayman. I enjoyed my stingray and city tour with the Native Way in 2005, but don't need to do that again. GC could be a walkaround port. It goes without saying that I will return to the ship to watch movies as soon as my BBQ lunch on Castaway Cay is finished.

 

[jessrose18]

We have never been on a western cruise. I have done lots of research and this is what we have settled on! Trying to get lots of beach time in obviously. Would love if there is some other disers who also booked these!

Grand Cayman-booked stingray city/starfish/snorkel trip with Nativeway 11:30-2:45 $60 for adults. We are the only ship in port that day, they tailor to our port times. Here is also a link to a recent trip report on her experience with Nativeway
post 22 on page 2: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2976663&page=2
http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/tours.htm

Costa Maya: Tropicante. Read lots of great dis reviews. You email owner Steve and he saves you some chairs on his beachfront restaurant buy some food and drinks and reservation in free. Menu is attached $2 beers, also it is a $2 cab ride pp each way right outside of the port area. I have read you can get $35 jet ski rides for 30 min here.
http://www.sandalsandskis.com/Tropicante.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...ll-Mahahual_Costa_Maya_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

Cozumel: Booked Nachi Cocom beach club. As pp mentioned 100 people per day limit, unlimited food and drinks, beach chairs, pool, hot tub and excursions can be booked while there (massages, jet skis etc) They take a deposit of $11 pp and then you pay the rest in cash when you arrive, $55 per adult. $15 cab ride for 4ppl each way to resort hours are 9-5pm. Gets great reviews!
http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/default.cfm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...r_Sport_Center-Cozumel_Yucatan_Peninsula.html

 

[nmoore14]

Yvette, I have a question about the turtle farm. Do you think it was worth the money? I have never been to Grand Cayman and this excursion appealed to me more than the other excursions.

 

[Anonny]

For Grand Cayman, I am considering Captain Marvin's three stop Trip, but the tour times don't match our port times.

http://www.captainmarvins.com/stingraycitytours-halfexcursion.html

 

[jessrose18]

just email captian marvins, we are the only ship in port that day so thye adjust their times for us...but they do a 2 stop tour instead of 3....I had emailed them and got the posted response. I instead booked with nativeway which has a slightly longer tour and does 3 stops albight one stop is not snorkeling but stopping to look at starfish in deep water that the divers get for you to see. Check my above post for a great recent review from a diser. Either one will be great! It was hard to decide...if you go with Nativeway we will see you there!

Here's what we are doing: Grand Cayman-booked stingray city/starfish/snorkel trip with Nativeway 11:30-2:45 $60 for adults. We are the only ship in port that day, they tailor to our port times. Here is also a link to a recent trip report on her experience with Nativeway
post 22 on page 2: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2976663&page=2
http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/tours.htm


From Captian Marvins:::::::
Hi, Thanks for your order! You have requested reservations on our 10 AM trip for December 10th; however, because your ship arrives at 10:30 AMb (www.caymanport.com) , therefore this trip will not work for you. We had made a special schedule for the Fantasy which is 12:00-2:30 two-stop trip (Stingray City sandbar plus one snorkelling stop, US$38/person). To give enough time for you to get off from the tender and meet us on time for your trip. Please note that this brings you back in town by 2:45 local time. We can adjust the timing for you, in case your itinerary change on that day.

Right now I have reserved 2 spots for you for the 12NN departure. Please meet us at our office in the Waterfront Centre, 2 blocks LEFT of the cruise ship pier. You should be here between 11:15-11:30 local time that morning, with towels and sunscreen.


Your card is not charged until you arrive here, and we accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express. If your ship is here on time, but you do not show up for your trip with us, you will be charged.

Let me know if these arrangements are NOT acceptable to you; otherwise, see you then!

 

[Silverfox97]

Yvette, I have a question about the turtle farm. Do you think it was worth the money? I have never been to Grand Cayman and this excursion appealed to me more than the other excursions.

I'm not Yvette, but in Oct 2011 we took the Grand Cayman Island Tour thru DCL which included a stop at the turtle farm. It was a reasonably priced excursion, & plenty of time there. We were also finished in time to walk around GC to do a little shopping, as well as go to Margaritaville.

Since you've never been to GC, this may be a good tour for you since it gives you a taste of everything.

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