Cozumel, Grand Cayman and port adventures

[readytogotodisney]

I'm trying to figure out what, if any, port adventures we might do on our next cruise in April.
It'll be myself, DH, DS (will be 6) and DD (not quite 3).

I figure we'll be spending all of our CC day at the beach so I didn't really want to plan on going to a beach and sitting all day while in Cozumel or GC, I'd rather do or see something interesting to that port.

My DH and I honeymooned in GC and thought that we could do the semi-sub? or the turtle farm? Would either of those need to go through DCL or could we just plan on that on our own? When we went 10years ago we had a car so getting around was easy.

For Cozumel, I have no idea what to really do. Any suggestions?

Also remind me, do we pay for the port adventures in full when we book them? I can't remember from our last cruises.

 

[Fanboy]

Our family did the turtle farm on Grand Cayman ourselves and it was a great experience. Our kids are 10 and 12 but I don't think there's any real barrier when we're talking baby sea turtles!

At any rate, I believe the DCL rate was $48 pp with bus transport there and back. We walked off the ship and there were loads of taxi people scrambling for customers. They all seemed to be from the same company, so I don't think it matters too much who you approach and the person you go up to won't be your driver anyway. It was $10 pp to get there but they took $10 off the admission to the turtle farm once you arrive (knocking the price down from $18 to $8). All told it was about $65 for all four of us to get there.

You'll see the main benefit to booking it yourself once you get into the farm. We had all the time in the world to spend with the turtles, wading and taking pictures, whereas the booked groups were herded in and out of the areas with only a few minutes for the experience. You really don't get what you pay for in this case.

Getting back was easy as well. There is a "bus stop" just outside of the turtle farm and the buses (really, 12-person conversion vans) that are constantly driving around will pull over and pick you up and take you back to the pier (or, in our case, the public beach) for $2.50 pp. It doesn't matter which way they are going, either. They'll just pull over to the side and motion for you to get in. It might be a little intimidating at first if you're used to a big, city-run transit system but we quickly adapted and thought it was great.

It was very much the highlight of our cruise and our DDs only regret was that we didn't spend more than the 3 hours that we did at the turtle farm. And if we went with the DCL excursion she wouldn't have even had that!

Highly recommended.

 

[timrousbeastie]

For Cozumel, I have no idea what to really do. Any suggestions?

The biggest consideration for me would be whether you want to take the ferry to Playa del Carmen. If you do, shopping in Playa is fantastic, or there are some great excursions available. We did XCaret and I highly recommend it. The ferry ride, however, can be very unpleasant if the weather is against you. I was not aware of that before our first visit. We survived, but it came close to ruining the day and I decided never to take the gamble again.

My advice to a family, who is visiting for the first time and don't want to spend the entire day at the beach, would be to take the roughly 70 minute scenic drive around the island (you can get the feel from Google Street View). I would research online reviews of the other port adventures on the island before signing up for them. We specifically asked our driver not to stop at some of those locations. We did visit the tequila place on a whim and it was surprisingly fun with really nice people and little pressure to buy.

 

[Muskegon78]

Cozumel=Nachi Cocum

 

[amanda ek]

Xcaret is awesome, but I wouldn't recommend for you bc of the 2 year old....it's better for school aged kids and up.

 

[readytogotodisney]

Cozumel=Nachi Cocum

Not really sure what that means....

 

[readytogotodisney]

Xcaret is awesome, but I wouldn't recommend for you bc of the 2 year old....it's better for school aged kids and up.

Thanks for this, I was considering it, now I know to skip it until the kids are older.

 

[readytogotodisney]

We did visit the tequila place on a whim and it was surprisingly fun with really nice people and little pressure to buy.

I would visit the tequila place any day, but my 5 and 2 yr old might not find the same enjoyment my DH and I would.

 

[readytogotodisney]

Our family did the turtle farm on Grand Cayman ourselves and it was a great experience. Our kids are 10 and 12 but I don't think there's any real barrier when we're talking baby sea turtles!

At any rate, I believe the DCL rate was $48 pp with bus transport there and back. We walked off the ship and there were loads of taxi people scrambling for customers. They all seemed to be from the same company, so I don't think it matters too much who you approach and the person you go up to won't be your driver anyway. It was $10 pp to get there but they took $10 off the admission to the turtle farm once you arrive (knocking the price down from $18 to $8). All told it was about $65 for all four of us to get there.

You'll see the main benefit to booking it yourself once you get into the farm. We had all the time in the world to spend with the turtles, wading and taking pictures, whereas the booked groups were herded in and out of the areas with only a few minutes for the experience. You really don't get what you pay for in this case.

Getting back was easy as well. There is a "bus stop" just outside of the turtle farm and the buses (really, 12-person conversion vans) that are constantly driving around will pull over and pick you up and take you back to the pier (or, in our case, the public beach) for $2.50 pp. It doesn't matter which way they are going, either. They'll just pull over to the side and motion for you to get in. It might be a little intimidating at first if you're used to a big, city-run transit system but we quickly adapted and thought it was great.

It was very much the highlight of our cruise and our DDs only regret was that we didn't spend more than the 3 hours that we did at the turtle farm. And if we went with the DCL excursion she wouldn't have even had that!

Highly recommended.

Thank you! I'm putting the turtle farm on our list!

 

[Muskegon78]

Not really sure what that means....

It's an all inclusive daily beach

 

[Muskegon78]

Also, our turtle farm trip was a guided private tour that stopped at Hell on the way there. That part was so so, but the turtle farm with a guide was great.

 

[Trera]

Cozumel=Nachi Cocum

agree!

 

[JimGA]

Can anyone answer or provide input into which Port would be best to do the Dolphin Swim at? Cozumel or Grand Cayman? TIA

 

[Snurk71]

We had a great time at Nachi on cozumel too (thanks to Jose ). But that might not be the best place for OP with the young kids. Nachi is basically the beach and unlimited drinking (at least it was to us).

 

[cindyzig]

We just returned on the Magic on the 4th, and we did the Dolphin Encounter in Cozumel. I really enjoyed it, and so did everyone in our party! You will not be charged for your excursions until after you board the ship.

 

[codex57]

Also, our turtle farm trip was a guided private tour that stopped at Hell on the way there. That part was so so, but the turtle farm with a guide was great.

Yeah, I don't consider a stop in Hell a bonus. Worth 5 minutes, tops?

 

[Muskegon78]

We had a great time at Nachi on cozumel too (thanks to Jose ). But that might not be the best place for OP with the young kids. Nachi is basically the beach and unlimited drinking (at least it was to us).

I disagree. We were there with our 4 year old and, yes we drank, but not that much. The beach and pool were nice, and we took turns with her so my wife could get a massage and so I could rent a SeaDoo