Excursion possibilities on Western?

[jfs9900]

Full blast planning now for the 10/09/04 sailing!!! The entire family (8 total) will be going ranging in age from 14-79 so we may be splitting up excursions/on or off the ship. I have been trying to gather as many possibilities as possible so that we can narrow the selection......

KeyWest - Southern most point / bus
Trolley tour
Jet ski tour

Cozumel - paradise beach
dune buggie

Grand Cayman - stingray city

Castaway Cay - Parasailing
Cabana massages * (for select people in group, if they don't hit the spa before hand! )


If anyone has comments, reviews, or prices for the above excursions please post! Also if you have any other suggestions please let me know!!! There maybe so many good choices that we just have choose from a hat!!!!!

 

[TheWog]

This is about the Dune Buggies in Cozumel. They look like so much fun. We are going to do this excursion when we try the Western.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=543502

 

[traycie2201]

Hey jfs9900 , we've booked parasailing at key west instead of castaway cay through sebago watersports , a great deal !
at key west if you do the dcl trolley / conch you can't get off at any of the stops but if you book independantly i believe you can hop on and off at will. I also believe paradise beach do beach massages at a $1 a minute.

 

[ksjayhawks]

I would book my own tour in Key West--the conch train doesn't allow you to get on and off, so pick the trolley or bus.

We did dolphin encounter in cozumel and that was great! Stingray city was great too. We did an independent island tour there--hooked up with someone off the boat.

You do not have a long time in Grand Cayman, so be sure to be back at the docks in time to tender back to the boat. If you are on a dcl excursion they will wait, if not . . .

In Key West, visit Kino's sandal store. It is close to where you get the tickets for the trolley, etc. Nothing fancy, but sandals are a great price.

 

[kcashner]

I'll echo doing excursions on your own. In Key West, the Bus, trolley, and Conch train leave right off the port...and you get a book of discount coupons to other attractions. You save $ by doing it on your own, especially if you have a child in the 10-12 range. At this age range, DCL charges adult rates while most other places charge as a child.

You can also book Stingray City thru Captain Marvin privately.

 

[jgalecpa]

Key West:

We did the trolley tour. It was ok, but our Dis Teens were bored silly.

GC:

Capt Marvin Rules!

Cozumel

Regret not doing the swim with the sea lions/dolphins. Friends did it and the pictures were awesome.

Follow up with short cab ride to Mr. Sanchos.


CC:

Go Fishing!



Jim

 

[cindy21494]

We have the dune buggies booked for this cruise!! It will be me, DH and DD's 4 and 10.

We are probably renting an electric car on Key West or doing the Western Union Schooner Day Sail.

Grand Cayman we are renting a car for the day and going horseback riding on the beach.

Castaway Cay we are going to just relax and play with DD's on the beach. Maybe rent a bike for an hour or so.

I hope you do the Dune Buggies, it would be great if others from the cruise were doing it too. BTW we went with
http://www.cozumelhomes.com/tours/tour1.htm

Cindy

 

[natdencro]

Yes, the trolley bus in Key West is a great idea, but I agree that children may be bored. Do it independently though.

There is little to do in Grand Cayman around the dock, so definately take a trip.

Cozumel has a fair bit to offer, but it depends on what the family want. Lots of shopping outlets, but you MUST haggle! Never pay the first price you are told. Many of the crew have hired dune buggies and have loved them. Carlos and Charlies is fun, but may not suit families. Can get quite raunchy!

Castaway Cay is paradise. We have done the bike ride twice, which is great. Takes an hour - which is just right to build up an appetite for the barbeque. Nat

 

[Lynda Silk]

Paradise Beach is fabulous and you'll love it there! We went in April and spent way more time there than we had planned! No entrance fee, $12 taxi one way for up to 4 people, lovely sand and water and lots of chairs, umbrellas and tables to sit at. We spent $32 on a huge hamburger and fries, spicy chicken wrap and fries, nachos, salsa and 3 large Cokes. The food was delicious and the portions were very generous; there was way more food than 3 adults could eat.

If you have any other questions re Paradise Beach, just ask!

Have a great cruise!

 

[jfs9900]

Ok.. going to revive this post

Less than 30 days before some of the excursions need to be booked....

Can anyone provide information on jet ski or parasailing in KW? How much is an electric car rental, and how many people per car?Is the southern most point within walking distance from the ship? How far is it and how long is the walk?

I think we will go with marv's stingray city in GC....

More than likely book cozumelhomes.com dune buggie tour.... Anyone know how long that will last.... Then follow it up with a stop a PB.....

CC is still up in the air..... maybe relax on the beach....

 

[jenschaef1]

Was researching KW today for our 10/9 cruise...Ski Key West (skikeywest.com) has a jet ski ecotour (90 Min) or will rent by hr. I thought the tour looked like a lot of fun and I thought the prices were pretty reasonable.

Jennifer

 

[mrsfuzzmo]

Hi, we did the Dune Buggies in Cozumel through Cozumelhomes and absolutely loved it! Out of everything, it was the absolute best day! Though, realize it is about 6-7 hours and you probably cannot do Paradise Beach afterwards, unless you want to be there in the evening.

You catch the buggies about 5 minutes from the dock. They'll tell you it leaves at 10:30. You'll have plenty of time, but don't dilly-dally around. Get off the ship, and walk over asap. You will be out of town until about 4 pm. You'll actually leave at about 11 am. 1/2 hour drive out of town to other side of island (neat to see) about hour of driving along the coast on the trails - EXCELLENT, but bumpy! About 2 hours at the beach for some awesome snorkeling and a great lunch. Back in the buggies for another ride of about 1/2 hour to the Mayan ruins (small, but interesting). The the ride back to the road 1 hour, and 1/2 hour back to town. It is an all day event, but so well worth it.

If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask.

We also did the Bucaneer Catamaran to Stingray City - Fun. Been there before so not quite as big a thrill as first few times.

We did the Cabana Massages and it was absolutely the best massage - BY FAR - that I've had anywhere. My masseuse was from Zimbabwe and she was the tinniest little thing, but could she rub!!!! WOW! FABULOUS. We booked it frist thing in the morning, as we heard - and now I can believe - that sometimes you don't get all the sand and salt off and it can hurt during your rubdown! We were smoothe, relaxed and glowing the entire day!
Well worth the money!

Maureen

 

[traycie2201]

hI jfs9900 , can you believe how quick our cruise is coming around ? , we can book dcl excursions i believe on aug 10th , we've booked parasailing on key west, got a great price nearly half of DCL and looks a lot of fun through sebago watersports, also booked stingray and snorkel through nativewaywatersports, again a really good price and great reviews, they have cruisers discounts at the moment too. Paradise beach - we'll see you there it looks so good and gets great reviews. CC snorkel, swim and sunbathe is the order of the day.
In key west i believe the cars are around $80 for 2 hours and you can get 2 or 4 seaters , i just searched under electric cars in key west and it brought up a few choices, not sure if you have to pay extra for insurance. see you soon

 

[snelsonbrown]

Just a suggestion - everything is RIGHT THERE at Mallory Square - save yourself some monies by doing it on your own - doing excurisons through ANYONE is a waste of monies - you can do it on your own - Key West is only a 2x4 island but all of the excursions is right there on Duval and Front Street - I wouldn't steer you wrong. Remember I am an ol' conch and know it all like the back of my hand.
Chat with ya later
Always
Shirley

 

[absame]

In Grand Cayman, if you are going to see the stingrays and have 8 people in your group, why not charter your own boat. We did it with sailcayman.com. THey have a 39 foot sailboat you can charter with a captain for half a day at $400, not much more than what you'll pay for 8 people at captain marvins. Nothing against captian marvins, but it was really nice sailing out on a private boat and doing what we wanted. Captain Neil was great!

A

p.s. Dune Buggies were a lot of fun!

 

[TheWog]

Originally posted by jfs9900
Ok.. going to revive this post

Can anyone provide information on jet ski or parasailing in KW? How much is an electric car rental, and how many people per car?Is the southern most point within walking distance from the ship? How far is it and how long is the walk?

here is a link for some jet ski rentals. http://islandwatersports.us/

 

[Mark_F]

DD and I did the parasailing at CC ... it was awesome!

You can see pix of it (and the rest of our Western Cruise at:

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=8v5l1ur.51ozs9d3&x=0&y=-e1h181