New cruisers

[sumani]

Hello everyone!

Our little family of 4 are going to be going on our first ever Disney cruise Jan 19, 2019. We are doing the 7 night western Caribbean and would love some advice.

We would love to do a dolphin excursion and we are thinking of doing it in Cozumel. Is it better to go through Disney or go private? Also we are looking for fun things to do in the Grand Caymans. We have no real plans for that port at this time but if anyone has any good suggestions I would love to hear them.

We also would like to know if anyone has some great travel tips for the ship itself.

We are so excited for this trip!! Thank you for any advice and tips!!

 

[KashasMom]

I'd definitely do Chankanaab on your own. It's easy to get a taxi from/to the ship.

Haven't done it but heard great things about the sting ray excursion in Grand Cayman. We've done the turtle farm, beach, island tour. Beach was nice, rest just okay.

Have a great cruise!

 

[lklgoodman]

We did a dolphin excursion at Chankanaab Nat'l Park in Cozumel and had a blast. I would recommend if you do it there, try to go as early as you can because there is lots to do there and you don't have to pay any extra to do it. We were going to do the stingray excursion in GC, but it was cancelled due to rough seas, a lot of excursions were cancelled on our cruise there. We stayed on the ship in Jamaica, so can't recommend anything to do there. We always book through Disney. If you book through Disney and something happens and you get back late to the port they will wait for you or get you to the next port. If you book on your own and run late, the ship will not wait and you will have to pay to get to the next port. Chances of either of those happening is pretty slim though, lots of people book excursions on their own because it can be a lot cheaper.

 

[Juan M]

We did a snorkel/stingray excursion booked apart from DCL through Captain Marvins in GC and it was great. The office where the vans pick you up from are right across from the port and it is reasonably priced.

 

[ScooterScott44]

If you want to do a dolphin excursion in Grand Cayman the Dolphin Discovery Center has different levels of engagement and you can also go to Hell.

The post office for Hell, Grand Cayman is about a mile down the road from the Dolphin Discovery center. We had to get back to the ship but I would have loved to get a postcard from there.

 

[dcassetta]

I can recommend Acquarius tours in Grand Cayman. Their tour is not too big a group and visit Stingray City and Starfish point, plus snorkeling.

 

[DebHorner04]

We've done the Western on the Fantasy two times. The first time, we did the dolphin swim at Dolphinaris----that was fun. We booked thru DCL, but it is close enough for you to take a cab and book on your own. In Grand Cayman, we did the Sea Trek excursion thru DCL. That was the highlight of the trip!!! There is no transportation---you just walk a few blocks. I would look into booking on my own, knowing that you just walk to/from the ship. This last time, we did a manatee swim at Chankanaab. Absolutely amazing! We booked on our own and had no issues. We did the Turtle Centre in Grand Cayman on our own. It was fun, but not a highlight. If you do plan to
book on your own, always check the refund policy if the ship doesn't make it to port, or if weather affects the day. And most importantly, give yourself plenty of time to return to the ship! In Falmouth, we didn't do any excursions, just walked around the port area and returned to the ship. Have a great cruise!

 

[Sunshine2U]

Trip Advisor is also a good place to get info on various ports of call and things to do there.

 

[matthew517]

Hello everyone!

Our little family of 4 are going to be going on our first ever Disney cruise Jan 19, 2019. We are doing the 7 night western Caribbean and would love some advice.

We would love to do a dolphin excursion and we are thinking of doing it in Cozumel. Is it better to go through Disney or go private? Also we are looking for fun things to do in the Grand Caymans. We have no real plans for that port at this time but if anyone has any good suggestions I would love to hear them.

We also would like to know if anyone has some great travel tips for the ship itself.

We are so excited for this trip!! Thank you for any advice and tips!!

Try the waverunner stingray city excursion it is the best excursion in Grand Cayman. Island Marketing Ltd runs it. I attached some tips that I put together.

 

[DCLPrincess]

We just did that cruise in April. Some tips for the Fantasy: do the aquaduck, mini golf and mid-ship detective agency. For adults: go to satellite falls and the district.

 

[jdb in AZ]

If you want to do a dolphin excursion in Grand Cayman the Dolphin Discovery Center has different levels of engagement and you can also go to Hell.

The post office for Hell, Grand Cayman is about a mile down the road from the Dolphin Discovery center. We had to get back to the ship but I would have loved to get a postcard from there.

We got a post card from Hell and mailed it to the states. It took about two weeks to arrive. The postal service on Grand Cayman is slower than Hell.

 

[lilsonicfan]

We did a stingray city excursion in GC with a private operator (Moby Dick), I think, and I thought they were great in that they seemed more knowledgeable and respectful of the ocean than many of the other tour groups there (saw ppl in other tour groups STANDING on the coral, sigh); however, the excursion itself wasn't super kid friendly. Mine were 4, 6 and 8, and the 4 and 6yo aren't good swimmers so they struggled - an extra adult would have been nice. They weren't tall enough to stand on the sandbar.

We mostly wandered the other ports and didn't do excursions, but we had a great time on the ship itself. The midship detective agency is really fun, it is like Sorcerors of the Magic Kingdom in WDW. Find time to ride the aquaduck at night (e.g. during dinner times) as it is quite a different experience.