Need advice from the experts.

[Grumpy&Goofy]

We are going on the 7 day Western cruise on July 19 and are having trouble deciding which excursions to do. They all sound great, but these are the ones that we have narrowed it down to. Four of us (DH, DW, and two children - 10 and 8). Please let us know what you think.

Key West - -

1) Old Town Trolley or Conch Train Tour

Grand Cayman - -
1) Stingray City Snorkeling and Discover Cayman Tour or
2) Stingray City Island Tour

Cozumel - -
1) Fury Catamaran Sail, Snorkel & Beach Party or
2) Cozumel Ruins Beach Tour

Thanks in advance for all of your help!

 

[Michelle]

I can highly recommend the Fury Catamaran in Cozumel, it was a blast.

In Key West you can do the Conch Train on your own; you really don't need an excursion to do that.

As for Grand Cayman, I don't have any specific advice for you; I know there are many choices for Stingray City (incuding booking it on your own) and all seem to be good choices.

 

[ruvidu]

We went on the Western in Sept. and loved it. I had always wanted to do the Conch train but when I got to reading and studying on the subject I booked us on the Trolly instead. On the train you get on, get a tour and get off. On the bus you will stop at locations around the island where you can get off and tour and later catch another trolly and continue. It worked great for us. We bought our tickets off of the net and saved a good deal over the ships cost. The trollys are about a block from where you get off of the ship. Real easy to find. If you order on line you will receive your tickets and a route map ahead of time so you can plan what you want to do. See the link below.
http://www.historictours.com/keywest/

We did the Capt. Marvin 3 hour tour in GC. This has to be one of our favorite things we have ever done. Check their prices against the DCL prices. They are located on the water front about 3 short blocks from where you tender in. You will probably save enough to buy lunch. See their web site below.
http://captainmarvins.com/

We just walked around in Cozumel so I can not give you an idea there.

One note though. If you are going to be using a charge card, notify them that you will be traveling and using your card. Ours was cut off because we were using it. We got it reinstated but it took a couple of hours and a lot of tense moments.

Have a great trip,

Russ and Viv

 

[inkkognito]

We did the Island Tour and Snorkeling with Stingrays through Disney. I wasn't sure about the difference between that one and the one you mentioned, since the descriptions sound similar, but at the port talk the speaker said that the one we did breaks down into smaller groups and therefore may be more suitable for families with little ones. We definitely did split up...we broke down into vanloads for the island portion and then went on separate small boats with our vanmates for the stingray portion. It was fantastic! The guides gave us food for the rays, lifted them out of the water for photos, coaxed frightened kids, etc. The island tour was okay, but the stingray snorkeling was a real highlight. Just beware that the tour might last quite a bit longer than the stated time...that happened to us on this one and on both of the tours we've done in Cozumel through Disney (we've done the Western twice but missed Grand Cayman the second time due to rough seas).
Barb
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