Fantasy Western Itinerary C Port Questions

[Andie272]

We will be doing this cruise in October 2016. Which are the best ports for free or cheap things to do, or just good walk around on your own and shop.

Trying to plan some excursions, but never having been to these ports and not wanting to do an expensive excursion at every port I am looking for some suggestions.

Only thing I know my DD wants to do is swim with dolphins, which is a good port to do that in, we did a dolphin encounter in Jamaica years ago along with Dunns River?

This is the itinerary: Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Falmouth, Castaway Cay.

 

[MickeyD]

I have done the dolphin swim in Cozumel at Chankanaab Park. I really loved it and it was a highlight of my cruise. Grand Caymen is one of those ports that we get off when we want and walk around. We usually just shop, but have, on occasion, taken a taxi to 7 mile beach and hung out on the beach. I have not been to Falmouth. Castaway Cay is an easy port to head off and find a place to set up camp for the day. Your daughter should be able to hang out at the teen beach, and I know they have a lot of activities that the teens do all day. Or you can all hang out at the family beach. For me, these are all easy ports to do on your own. You can even do the dolphin excursion on your own and just take a taxi to Chankanaab and purchase the dolphin swim online. (http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/cozumel/chankanaab-national-park.asp).

Lisa

 

[Andie272]

Thank you, so is Cozumel a good port to do something structured on. I don't want to book it and then realize we are missing something else.

 

[MickeyD]

Not sure what you mean by missing something else? If you mean schedule the dolphin excursion there and miss something else...well, there are a lot of excursions that are fun in Cozumel. We have been there 6x, so have covered most the bases. They have the Tulum Ruins, Xcaret Eco Park, Jeep Tour, etc. I would say, "if" there are dolphin excursions in the other ports, do them there and reserve Cozumel for another activity if you prefer. Cozumel is one of those ports, i have always felt better booking an excursion. Not sure why, just have.

 

[Andie272]

Great thank you.

 

[JW9DVC]

I will add that many of the things posted above require transportation to the mainland. Many have reported that at times the sea can be very rough for the small ferry boats and if sea sickness is common. Beware. If doing on your own. This is something to think about as well for time constraints.

JW

 

[mlp1933]

I had the same itinerary on my last cruise. I spent the day in Grand Cayman at a local beach. I picked up a ride from a taxi van at port and it stopped at a few beaches. We weren't there long, it was overcrowded and the drinks and food were very expensive. In Cozumel we did the speedboat excursion. The speedboats were my favorite excursion I've ever done by far! Not only do you get a decent time out on the boats but it also includes lunch and time at their facility. They have a nice clean beach, a pool with a swim up bar and a gift shop. The excursion was the highlight of my January cruise. Cozumel also had a nice outdoor mall within walking distance. Falmouth was my least favorite port-not much to do within the gates and I feared for my life the moment I stepped beyond the gates. I would definitely plan an excursion for that day. Castaway Cay is a slice of heaven. Whether you plan something or not you will have a blast. There are a ton of free activities going on throughout the day (check out your navigator that day) so if you're on a budget and excursion is definitely not necessary.

 

[ANGRebel]

I would definitely either plan an excursion in Falmouth or stay on the ship. My wife and I, both in our early 30s took this itinerary in May, and like a previous poster said, we were very uncomfortable when we left the gates of the port. I don't really think that we were in physical danger, but it was uncomfortable none the less.

We didn't do an excursion in Falmouth, but we wanted to just get off the ship and walk around. We were outside the port gates for about 5 minutes when we decided to just return to the ship and relax.