Favorite Western Excursions?

[dclgirl]

Anyone have any favorite Western Excursions that they would like to share? I am considering a Western and am not sure which to chose, but we mainly like tours or sightseeing.

 

[birkner]

Anyone have any favorite Western Excursions that they would like to share? I am considering a Western and am not sure which to chose, but we mainly like tours or sightseeing.

M GK's loved the Atlantis submarine tour in Key West and we also have done the Trolley Tour in Key West.

In Cozumel, we are going to the Tulum ruins. When we took our Western in March of 2006, we went to Costa Maya because of hurricane damage. so we did the Kohunlich tour of their ruins.

In Grand Cayman, we enjoyed the Grand Cayman Island tour.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Key West - We loved the Old Town Trolley. It allows you to get off at about 10 different stops (you just hop on the next trolley that comes along when you are done at that stop) and the drivers give you a nice overview of the history of KW. Note: Don't do the DCL version of this. The DCL version does not allow you to get off the trolley and is more expensive than booking directly. If you are interested in this book here http://www.oldtowntrolley.com/Key-West/

Grand Cayman - I know you said you like tours and such, but visiting Stingray City was, far and away, the best thing we have ever done on any of our cruises. We liked it so much we're doing it again this time. There are several tours that include Stingray City with other stops (like the rum factory, turtle farm, etc.). If you are really not interested in visiting the stingrays there are lost of tours that do not include it.

Cozumel - This time we are doing a dolphin swim in Cozumel. Last time we did the Tulum Ruins tour and thought it was fantastic. It takes up your entire day and it is very hot at the ruins, but it was a fantastic tour. Note: If you are interested in this book through DCL. Getting to Tulum involves a ferry to the mainland and then an hour bus ride to Tulum. If you are late getting back and are on a DCL excursion the ship will wait for you. If you are late and are not on a DCL excursion the ship will leave without you.

 

[disneyfan551]

Key West - We did the trolley last month, and enjoyed it. Plan on doing it again on our 12/1 cruise.

Grand Cayman - Rays, Reef, & Rum Point (thru Nativeway)...Awesome excursion! We swam with the rays for a while, went to another area to snorkle, and then went to Rum Point (a gorgeous beach!) where they had called in our lunch order. On our boat ride, we were a group of 8 (3-6yo's!), and there were only 2 others onboard. My dd saw a starfish in the water as we were boating along (yes, it is THAT clear!), and the wonderful guide stopped the boat...got out & got a starfish for each child to hold & have photos made with! It was a wonderful day overall, and we've decided to go back in December!

Cozumel - We did the Nachicocum Beach excursion (on our own)... It's a private beach club, accepting only 100 guests a day. They have a large pool, with a swim up bar, jacuzzi, gorgeous beach with chairs/tables & those straw umbrella thingeys. We had a BALL snorkeling here. Found alot of conch shells and sand dollars. We did the all inclusive offer, and enjoyed a variety of drinks & an excellent lunch (fajitas & fresh guacamole for us!).
We loved this excursion, but are thinking of doing the Catamaran Sail & Snorkle during our 12/1 cruise. Still thinking on that one...

Looking forward to reading more replies!

 

[Wavegirl]

my absolute favorite was the private trip we did in Cayman on the Outrage Stingray City private tour:

Stingray City Private Outrage tour '

Stingray city, snorkeling, starfish beach, kids did tubing, lunch at kaibo, mangroves and just the best captain ever

 

[cruzings]

This was the best of all in Grand Cayman: Captain Marvins snorkeling and Stingray City excursion. We did the halfday package and it was so worth it.

 

[CraftyMouse]

This was the best of all in Grand Cayman: Captain Marvins snorkeling and Stingray City excursion. We did the halfday package and it was so worth it.

That's the one we did too, but we did a private charter.

OP - If you have the opportunity/finances to do a private charter it is well worth it. We went with my parents and another family and had the boat all to ourselves. A boat that holds 10-12 runs about $500 for the 1/2 day charter so it works out to just a bit more than the regular excursion prices. We're doing the same thing this time and can't wait!

 

[mog]

OOPs - double post - sorry!

 

[mog]

Key West - We loved the Old Town Trolley. It allows you to get off at about 10 different stops (you just hop on the next trolley that comes along when you are done at that stop) and the drivers give you a nice overview of the history of KW. Note: Don't do the DCL version of this. The DCL version does not allow you to get off the trolley and is more expensive than booking directly. If you are interested in this book here http://www.oldtowntrolley.com/Key-West/
.

Thank you! I had been meaning to buy our trolley tickets before we left and couldn't find where I had marked the website! I just went on with your link and purchased ours.
Did you ever have any trouble getting back on the trolley after you got off at a stop? I think somewhere I read that it gets full and sometimes you can't get back on to keep going along the route.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Thank you! I had been meaning to buy our trolley tickets before we left and couldn't find where I had marked the website! I just went on with your link and purchased ours.
Did you ever have any trouble getting back on the trolley after you got off at a stop? I think somewhere I read that it gets full and sometimes you can't get back on to keep going along the route.

We only had trouble because we were a party of 10. Smaller parties should be fine. You might have to wait for a second trolley, on occasion, but you should be okay. If you have a large party you might have to split up into smaller groups but you can meet up at the next drop-off point.

 

[JENR]

my absolute favorite was the private trip we did in Cayman on the Outrage Stingray City private tour:

Stingray City Private Outrage tour '

Stingray city, snorkeling, starfish beach, kids did tubing, lunch at kaibo, mangroves and just the best captain ever

I just booked this excursion for our Jan 2008 cruise. I did the half day because if will be myself and my 3 kids (4, 7 and 16). Do you have any other info on this or anything I should know about? Thank you.

 

[kaseyC]

Cozumel - We did the Nachicocum Beach excursion (on our own)... It's a private beach club, accepting only 100 guests a day. They have a large pool, with a swim up bar, jacuzzi, gorgeous beach with chairs/tables & those straw umbrella thingeys. We had a BALL snorkeling here. Found alot of conch shells and sand dollars. We did the all inclusive offer, and enjoyed a variety of drinks & an excellent lunch (fajitas & fresh guacamole for us!).
We loved this excursion, but are thinking of doing the Catamaran Sail & Snorkle during our 12/1 cruise. Still thinking on that one...

Looking forward to reading more replies!

We will be on the 12/1 cruise too. Who did you book the Nachicocum Beach excursion through? Was it Island Marketing? Did you just cab it over? We are looking for a fun and relaxing beach day and it sounds wonderful.

 

[disneyfan551]

We will be on the 12/1 cruise too. Who did you book the Nachicocum Beach excursion through? Was it Island Marketing? Did you just cab it over? We are looking for a fun and relaxing beach day and it sounds wonderful.

Yes, we used Island Marketing. We caught a van/taxi over there. It is a great place to relax! And the kids loved the huge pool and jacuzzi. The day flew by! I don't know what we'll do for our 12/1 cruise though, since we won't have our dh's with us. I'm having a hard time deciding since we'll have our overly exuberant 6 yo's with us..

 

[kaseyC]

Yes, we used Island Marketing. We caught a van/taxi over there. It is a great place to relax! And the kids loved the huge pool and jacuzzi. The day flew by! I don't know what we'll do for our 12/1 cruise though, since we won't have our dh's with us. I'm having a hard time deciding since we'll have our overly exuberant 6 yo's with us..

Thanks for your response. We are looking for something everyone will enjoy. We will have our 3 DDs (11,6,&4) who love the beach plus my mom who is extremely happy in a comfy lounge chair. We have been to Cozumel a number of times before but never thought doing a beach break. This sounds perfect for us.

 

[TexasGirl]

We were on the Oct 6 Western. It was our 3rd Western in 2 years so obviously we like it.

Grand Cayman: Last year we did the Thriller Boat ride through DCL. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed the stop at Sea Grape. We laughed and put our hands up in the air like on a roller coaster the whole time. DD 6 esp enjoyed.

This year we did the Nautilus Semi-Sub and Snorkel through DCL. LOVED it. The snorkel time at Cheeseburger Reef was esp great. Afterwards on our own we went to Royal Palms to enjoy some beach time. Highly recommend.

Key West: 3 times back did the Conch Train. Would NOT do again. Greatly prefer the hop on & off ability of the Trolley. Last year we did the aquarium and LOVED it but do to timing it to go at a guided tour time. The tour guide was WONDERFUL and really made the visit. He fed the sting rays, really made the touch pool an interesting experience. Fed turtles, let the kids touch a nurse shark etc.

This year we just did some brief shopping at the shell market, grabbed a key lime pie on a stick and headed back to the Magic to treat the day as a day at sea.

Cozumel. Last year we did Paradise Beach and had a Paradise of a day. Actually ended up liking it better than Castaway Cay that cruise. This year did Nachi Cocum through Island Marketing and it was a huge disappointment. It was awful weather and the ocean and pool were freezing. The staff was grumpy. Hot tub was broken. The water sports, massage place, etc were all closed. It was definitely not a good stop. I imagine it would be under different circumstances.

That said...we LOVE the Western excursion although we are def ready to switch to a Eastern on DCL or Southern or similar on another line.

 

[MickeyD]

We have also done the Western itinerary numerous times and love it.

The best excursions for us:

Key West: Taking the trolley, going through the Pirate Soul Museum (one time only though), stopping at Blonde Giraffe for key lime pie, and shopping. This is the easiest port to do on your own. It is much cheaper and much more fun that way. IMHO

Grand Caymen: We did the Thriller Power Boat tour and loved it, Sea Grape is a nice beach and you get to spend a bit of time there. The only thing we could have asked for that day was worse weather so the seas would have been more choppy! We also enjoyed the See and Sea Island tour where you get to go to the turtle farm, see the sites of the island and go out and view the rays from an underwater boat. (I have no interest in being in the water with them.,

Cozumel: We have done several different tours here and loved each one of them: The Tropical Jeep tour was a huge hit with all of us and we did it twice! The dolphin encounter was my absolute fav, but I wouldn't need to do it again. Finally, we also did the Fury Catamaran and it was a blast. There was even ATV tours at the beach we stopped at which my son loved.

HTH
Lisa

 

[JimV]

Great thread -- It has made me change a few things about our 12/28 cruise.

Unbook DCL Key West trolley tour and rebook it on my own.

Confirms the Nautilus Sub and Snorkel in Grand Cayman. The one downside of this one is the 7:40 AM departure time on New Years Day (after the festivities the night before )

Cozumel is still up in the air -- planning on doing Tulum but trying to decide between private tour and the DCL one. I know everyone says that you should use the cruise organized tour as they won't leave without you, but I cannot imagine that anyone who does this professionally wouldn't have this in mind and the private tour will give us some more flexibility.

Hmmm....

 

[Mdavison]

Any other recent western cruise excursion ideas????

We were thinking of doing: Key West-Trolley

Grand Cayman- Turtle Farm on our own

Cozumel- Mr. Sanchos Beach on our own