Cozumel, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay Activities

[SandeeJim]

There are so many options, but what did you enjoy doing (or not doing) when you stopped at one or all of these ports? Are there ports that are better at just shopping/eating/etc. near the port and are there ports that it's just better to book an excursion?

Please let me know your thoughts and experiences!

We did the Great Amazing Race is Cozumel. We signed up for it before the cruise because it is not one of the cruise activities. It was really fun.

 

[texasgingerbread]

Here's a link to my write up of our excursions from my trip report for the Western Caribbean itinerary.
Disney Fantasy 7-night Western Caribbean Star Wars Day at Sea 1-7-2017

Thank you very helpful!

 

[ChicosWife]

Thank you very helpful!

Agreed!

 

[TeaBee]

Our favorite excursion was Snuba in Grand Cayman. In Cozumel we went to Playa Mia on our own (booked through their website). It was fine, we're a little spoiled by Castaway Cay I think. In Jamaica we booked a non-Disney culinary walking tour. We would have enjoyed it a lot more but it was SO hot that day and we were mostly outside walking through the city.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

We did the Great Amazing Race is Cozumel. We signed up for it before the cruise because it is not one of the cruise activities. It was really fun.

I wanted to do that one! Can you tell us more about what you did and what it was like? Thanks!

 

[ChicosWife]

I don't see many responses for GC. Is this not as an exciting port as the rest?

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

We did the Dolphins and the Turtles at GC. I don't think they offer the turtles through DCL anymore, but it is easy to book it on your own. We enjoyed them both quite a bit.

 

[ChicosWife]

We did the Dolphins and the Turtles at GC. I don't think they offer the turtles through DCL anymore, but it is easy to book it on your own. We enjoyed them both quite a bit.

That sounds like fun! I would love to hang out with dolphin! LOL

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

There were four levels of package you could choose from: Observer, Encounter, Swim or Extreme Swim.

Observer is for people who want to watch their family members interact with the Dolphins, but not do it themselves.

Encounter: a group of about 16 people, stood waist-deep in water and the dolphin came up to us 1 by one, it kissed us, we kissed it, we held hands with it, it talked to us.

Swim: The Encounter portion plus you swimming out the far end of the pond (two at a time; this was good as it gave you a chance to watch your family members do it), and the dolphin came up behind us, he put his fins out to us, and we grabbed on and he swam us back to the starting line.

Extreme Swim included the first two parts plus we swam out (again two at a time) out to the far side of the pond again, this time we were holding a boogie board. He came up behind us and put his nose on our feet and pushed us back to the start. He was able to move MUCH faster this time with us holding the boogie board under ourselves. It was amazing.

You all have life jackets on, so you don't need to really know how to swim, just be able to calmly propel yourself to the starting area while wearing the life jacket.

The other thing is the pictures. We ended up biting the bullet and paying for their pictures here. We knew we wouldn’t be allowed to take our own and we knew theirs would be EXPENSIVE, but we did it. $250 got us all the digital pictures for all four of us, plus one print, though I SWEAR the information on the form we signed said we were buying all the digital pictures plus one print PER PERSON.

 

[Lumee23]

I can give you both sides of the coin...

Great summary, thank you! We will have a 3 and 6yo with us so I am glad to read that they can still "participate" getting in the Dunn's River Fall pools even from the stairs.

 

[ChicosWife]

There were four levels of package you could choose from: Observer, Encounter, Swim or Extreme Swim.

Observer is for people who want to watch their family members interact with the Dolphins, but not do it themselves.

Encounter: a group of about 16 people, stood waist-deep in water and the dolphin came up to us 1 by one, it kissed us, we kissed it, we held hands with it, it talked to us.

Swim: The Encounter portion plus you swimming out the far end of the pond (two at a time; this was good as it gave you a chance to watch your family members do it), and the dolphin came up behind us, he put his fins out to us, and we grabbed on and he swam us back to the starting line.

Extreme Swim included the first two parts plus we swam out (again two at a time) out to the far side of the pond again, this time we were holding a boogie board. He came up behind us and put his nose on our feet and pushed us back to the start. He was able to move MUCH faster this time with us holding the boogie board under ourselves. It was amazing.

You all have life jackets on, so you don't need to really know how to swim, just be able to calmly propel yourself to the starting area while wearing the life jacket.

The other thing is the pictures. We ended up biting the bullet and paying for their pictures here. We knew we wouldn’t be allowed to take our own and we knew theirs would be EXPENSIVE, but we did it. $250 got us all the digital pictures for all four of us, plus one print, though I SWEAR the information on the form we signed said we were buying all the digital pictures plus one print PER PERSON.

Other the high cost of the pictures, everything else sounds amazing and well-worth the price of admission!!!

 

[cruiselovinbunch]

If you're shopping in Cozumel, don't miss the Mexican vanilla at Los Cincos Soles.

 

[loril13]

We booked this itinerary for September 2018.
(We loved our very first cruise on the Wonder two weeks ago so much, we reserved a placeholder on our 3rd night and booked the cruise two days after we got home!)
I know we are a year and a half away, but I love looking at the excursions and plotting what we will want to do. We are two adults, 47 (me) and 51 (hubby), no kids.
I've always wanted to see Dunn's River Falls. We will most likely pick an excursion which includes this. I am reading book a time as early as possible to help cut down on crowds?

 

[Flossbolna]

We did a private tour in Jamaica to take us to Dunn's River Falls. We absolutely loved it. Our driver was great and than at Dunn's River Falls we just climbed at our own speed. It really was not that difficult at all. In the end it was only slightly more expensive than the DCL excursion for the two of us and definitely much nicer to not be part of a large group.

In Grand Cayman we took the public bus to the Public Beach. This was really easy and cheap. The beach was amazing and we did just float around in the water for a couple of hours.

 

[KashasMom]

We have had some of the best excursions on the W Carib itineraries. In Cozumel we did the Sea Turtle Hatchling Release. We did this through RCI and it was absolutely amazing! This will give you an idea of what it is about - http://www.blueh2ocozumel.com/turtle-conservation. If Disney doesn't offer it you can book it on your own - http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net/baby-sea-turtle-hatching-cozumel.html. We also went to Paradise Beach - took a taxi from/to the resort. The beach was so nice, the pool was fantastic, and the Mexican lunch delicious. A couple of weeks ago my daughter and I did the Dolphin Push/Pull at Dolphin Discovery, which included an up close and personal experience with a manatee. It's located inside Chankanaab National Reef Park, which has a stunning beach, a nice pool, and a sea lion show. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to explore Chankanaab. I would definitely go back just for that and the pool.

In Falmouth we did the Heritage Walking Tour (private) and ended it with some amazing jerk chicken and Red Strip Beer at Club Nazz. It was a great tour. Our next visit we took the trolley tour because we hadn't really planned anything. It was good - we saw many different things than on our walk but it wasn't one of my favorite things to do...mostly just wanted to get off the ship. A couple of weeks ago we had our best excursion in Falmouth - we went tubing on the Rio Bueno. It was a blast and is the excursion we'll be repeating next Feb.

In Grand Cayman we've done the island tour a few times (hell, Turtle Farm, etc.) It's not one of my favorite islands and if we were going back, I think we'd look for a day resort or go to the beach.

 

[ChicosWife]

We have had some of the best excursions on the W Carib itineraries. In Cozumel we did the Sea Turtle Hatchling Release. We did this through RCI and it was absolutely amazing! This will give you an idea of what it is about - http://www.blueh2ocozumel.com/turtle-conservation. If Disney doesn't offer it you can book it on your own - http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.net/baby-sea-turtle-hatching-cozumel.html. We also went to Paradise Beach - took a taxi from/to the resort. The beach was so nice, the pool was fantastic, and the Mexican lunch delicious. A couple of weeks ago my daughter and I did the Dolphin Push/Pull at Dolphin Discovery, which included an up close and personal experience with a manatee. It's located inside Chankanaab National Reef Park, which has a stunning beach, a nice pool, and a sea lion show. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to explore Chankanaab. I would definitely go back just for that and the pool.

In Falmouth we did the Heritage Walking Tour (private) and ended it with some amazing jerk chicken and Red Strip Beer at Club Nazz. It was a great tour. Our next visit we took the trolley tour because we hadn't really planned anything. It was good - we saw many different things than on our walk but it wasn't one of my favorite things to do...mostly just wanted to get off the ship. A couple of weeks ago we had our best excursion in Falmouth - we went tubing on the Rio Bueno. It was a blast and is the excursion we'll be repeating next Feb.

In Grand Cayman we've done the island tour a few times (hell, Turtle Farm, etc.) It's not one of my favorite islands and if we were going back, I think we'd look for a day resort or go to the beach.

There are no issues with booking outside of DCL? I worry that there may be issues and then if it gets cancelled, for some reason, our money is gone.

 

[lklgoodman]

A lot of people book excursions on their own and never have any problems. If you book on your own and something happens to delay your return to the ship, the ship may not be there, book with Disney and the ship will wait. Also, as you mentioned if the excursion gets cancelled you may not get your money back, you just have to check what the company's refund policy is. Our excursion was cancelled the night before we got to GC in Jan because of rough seas, a lot of the excursions were cancelled. We had booked an excursion with Disney so we got our money back. You just have to decide how comfortable you are with taking the chance that everything will be ok.

 

[sammydent]

Mr. Sancho's in Cozumel. So fun!

 

[KashasMom]

There are no issues with booking outside of DCL? I worry that there may be issues and then if it gets cancelled, for some reason, our money is gone.

We rarely book with the cruise line. Everyone should do what makes them comfortable but after 100+ excursions on our own, we've never even come close to missing the ship. All of the companies are extremely reputable and understand that if one person misses the ship while on their excursion, it will be all over the cruise websites, etc. in a matter of hours. They all have a back-up in case of an emergency and if the excursion is canceled your money will be refunded. There are plenty of recommendations on the other cruise website for reputable companies or you can Google for reviews. I know a lot of people try to scare people about missing the ship - but tens of thousands of cruisers a week do their own excursions. Honestly I just don't like to go on a bus with 50 people stopping for shopping, bathroom breaks, etc. I want to make the most out of our time in port.

 

[scrappinginontario]

In Grand Cayman our group of 5 (ages 5-75) did the Stingray port adventure and we all LOVED it!