Fantasy Western Excursion Suggestions

[carolynsanta]

Hello All!
I just booked the FLR rate on the 10/31 Fantasy. The last time I took this cruise my son was turning 5, now he will be turning 10 on the ship! Just wanted some suggestions for excursions. Last time around I skipped Cozumel, did the turtle farm and dolphin experience in Cayman and the Falmouth port is a new one for us.
I was considering the dune buggy ride in Cozumel or one that includes seeing Mayan Ruins.
Not sure about Cayman-just wanted to try something new
Falmouth- I haven't been there since my honeymoon but would love to go to Duns River Falls again. Is it do-able with a 10 year old? How far is it from port?

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Robin"D"]

Two Words for Cayman: StingRay City DON'R FORGET YOUR WATER PROOF CAMERA!!!


Hope this helps.....

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[hoffman1]

We did a dune buggy tour in Cozumel with a private guide. It was awesome! He had a basic plan for the day but we had the option of adjusting it if we wanted to. We weren't in a group of dune buggies so we could take as much or as little time as we wanted at each stop. We went snorkeling off the beach of a resort, climbed to the top of a lighthouse, saw some ruins, saw some crocodiles, shopped, had lunch (included) at a great place overlooking a beach, spent some time on an almost deserted beach (only one other family there), and visited a tequila shop (they gave a little tour that told the history of tequila making). He also had a cooler of water and beer.
I felt like we really saw a lot of the island that day!

 

[Chaitali]

We are thinking of the dolphin excursion in Grand Cayman, what did you think of it?

 

[Grumpy_74]

We did a dune buggy tour in Cozumel with a private guide. It was awesome! He had a basic plan for the day but we had the option of adjusting it if we wanted to. We weren't in a group of dune buggies so we could take as much or as little time as we wanted at each stop. We went snorkeling off the beach of a resort, climbed to the top of a lighthouse, saw some ruins, saw some crocodiles, shopped, had lunch (included) at a great place overlooking a beach, spent some time on an almost deserted beach (only one other family there), and visited a tequila shop (they gave a little tour that told the history of tequila making). He also had a cooler of water and beer.
I felt like we really saw a lot of the island that day!

Do you have the information for this? Are you able to share? This sounds like a much better idea than the group one I was looking at!

 

[carolynsanta]

Thank you all for the replies!
Hoffman-do you have contact info for your tour?
Chaitali- we did the dolphin encounter where you are in an enclosed area waist deep in water and get to feed and pet the dolphins. It was great for us traveling with a 4 year old at the time. The tour also included a visit to the turtle farm. Again, it was perfect for us with a small child.

 

[STLEdge]

We did a Mayan ruin in Costa Maya a few years ago when our kids were 6 and 8 and they enjoyed it more than I thought, probably because they actually got to crawl and climb on the actual ruins. I would think the average 10-year-old would enjoy that part of it but also enjoy the history part of it. Your mileage may vary doing that at Cozumel since you have to ride a boat to the mainland.

 

[Chaitali]

Thank you all for the replies!
Hoffman-do you have contact info for your tour?
Chaitali- we did the dolphin encounter where you are in an enclosed area waist deep in water and get to feed and pet the dolphins. It was great for us traveling with a 4 year old at the time. The tour also included a visit to the turtle farm. Again, it was perfect for us with a small child.

Thanks, sounds good

 

[DISGRL13]

In Cozumel we love Paradise Beach! It is a short taxi ride away and has a wonderful pool, amazing white sand beach with tons of inflatable climbing toys and trampolines in the water to use. It is a great beach day place, very relaxing and good for all ages. The food was good and reasonably priced. There is a small fee for use of the water inflatables.

http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.com/

Have a great trip!

 

[savage1117]

We are on the same cruise!!! We are going to paradise beach, stingray city and Dunns River Falls for our excursions.

 

[Fellowship9798]

The Secret River/Rio Secreto in Cozumel. It was a little more expensive than some other excursions but was the best one we have ever been on in any port, at least for my family (me, DW, DS9, DD7 at the time). One of our favorite vacation experiences overall actually. Swimming through underwater caves was something very special.

 

[carolynsanta]

I went ahead and booked some excursions. Dune Buggy & Snorkel in Cozumel (hubby did this before and enjoyed it), Catamaran & Dunns River Falls in Jamaica (honeymooned there and did the falls-its a must if you go there) . Not sure about Grand Cayman. Already did the dolphin and turtle farm which was great but want to try something new. Was thinking about just a beach day, but here is the question, do I go with the DCL Tiki Beach excursion or book a day/beach pass on my own at one of the hotels? Help!

 

[lillygator]

we did stingray city and in cozumel rented a jeep on our own and went to coconuts.
we are booked on this for next december 2016 so trying to figure out what to do.

 

[Luvzmy3boys]

We did the DCL Tiki beach excursion- my least favorite of the ones we did for number of reasons. We met on the pier at 12:30 and the check in process was pretty disorganized because it was the local vendors only. It was very hot and humid (but there was shade) and kids (9 and 4) got whiny. We finally boarded the buses which were air conditioned, about 1:00 and it was about a 20 minute drive to tiki beach. We were dropped off and told to use whatever chairs were available-- umbrellas were $10 extra. There were some chairs in the shade of the trees but these were set pretty far back from the water. You also get a drink ticket that gets you a 8 oz fruit punch- wi or without alcohol. Everything else is extra including food. The place was clean and plenty of chairs but there were about 30-40 people already there when we arrived. You can snorkel off the beach as there is a reef about 10 feet off shore in areas and plenty of fish to see- way more than at castaway cay. Water was crystal clear and sand soft. It stormed hard while we were there but still enjoyable. We left at 3:00 because kids were hungry and wet. There was a 4:00 bus too. Bottom line is we liked the place but you can get there easily on your own for less money. If we went back I would check out day rates at Westin or ritz Carlton if they have it and cab it there or get to one of the beach resorts on your own.

 

[DisneyDreams16]

Thanks for the info, we sail in 3 weeks.

 

[sassysocks]

We did a dune buggy tour in Cozumel with a private guide. It was awesome! He had a basic plan for the day but we had the option of adjusting it if we wanted to. We weren't in a group of dune buggies so we could take as much or as little time as we wanted at each stop. We went snorkeling off the beach of a resort, climbed to the top of a lighthouse, saw some ruins, saw some crocodiles, shopped, had lunch (included) at a great place overlooking a beach, spent some time on an almost deserted beach (only one other family there), and visited a tequila shop (they gave a little tour that told the history of tequila making). He also had a cooler of water and beer.
I felt like we really saw a lot of the island that day!

May I ask what company you went through for your private dune buggy guided tour? Thanks

 

[condorthb]

Bump

 

[hoffman1]

May I ask what company you went through for your private dune buggy guided tour? Thanks

I think it was www.cozumelcruiseexcursions.com or www.coumelcruiseexcursions.net

 

[Skittlesmom]

A few weeks ago, we went to the Grand Caymans and really enjoyed the Cayman Island tour & Saltwater Forest Boat tour. When we were at Cozumel, we took the Cichen Itza mayan ruins tour and it was fantastic--though it was very long and didn't leave us time to see Cozumel.