Staying on ship or excursions??

[Levijean21]

So we are going on a 7 night western fantasy cruise April 12th! It will be out 3rd cruise! I am having a tough time deciding wether to stay on the ship or do excursions. I should mention our other two cruises have been on the wonder and magic. I had originally booked the fantasy on te western because it is the same itinerary that we did on the magic so I wouldn't feel like I have to get off the boat. The more I question myself the more confused I get! I want to have time on the ship to do the aqua duck and mid ship detective and or course play mini golf but I also love getting off the ship and just relaxing on the beach! Also looking at the navigators when in port there is not too many things going on. So do you stay on the ship or get off? Also if you were to skip a port which one? Here's what we think we want to do... Do you have suggestions?
Grand cayman- royal palms
Costa maya- tropicante
Cozumel- fury catamaran
Castaway cay
Thanks!

 

[cris0809]

We tend to spend more time on the ship than off. Our friends that we travel with do something in almost every port. We did excursions in both new ports the first time we did the Fantasy. The next time (March) we will be repeating (Western) and are doing zero excursions because there is so much to do (or not to do) on the ship for us. The Fantasy is gorgeous.

 

[valdez811]

So we are going on a 7 night western fantasy cruise April 12th! It will be out 3rd cruise! I am having a tough time deciding wether to stay on the ship or do excursions. I should mention our other two cruises have been on the wonder and magic. I had originally booked the fantasy on te western because it is the same itinerary that we did on the magic so I wouldn't feel like I have to get off the boat. The more I question myself the more confused I get! I want to have time on the ship to do the aqua duck and mid ship detective and or course play mini golf but I also love getting off the ship and just relaxing on the beach! Also looking at the navigators when in port there is not too many things going on. So do you stay on the ship or get off? Also if you were to skip a port which one? Here's what we think we want to do... Do you have suggestions? Grand cayman- royal palms Costa maya- tropicante Cozumel- fury catamaran Castaway cay Thanks!

We are doing the same cruise and I'm also contemplating skipping a port, possibly Costa Maya. We might get off just to go to lunch. Not sure if worth the hassle. This is our first time cruising as a family and the last one we did was 14 years ago. I also have a five year old who keeps us from doing any adventurous excursions anyway. So confused.

 

[Levijean21]

We are doing the same cruise and I'm also contemplating skipping a port, possibly Costa Maya. We might get off just to go to lunch. Not sure if worth the hassle. This is our first time cruising as a family and the last one we did was 14 years ago. I also have a five year old who keeps us from doing any adventurous excursions anyway. So confused.

I'm so glad to hear someone else is confused!!! I'm stressing I just want to have some plan! I was going to skip costa maya too but tropicante gets great reviews and it's cheap and I really want to see it!

 

[tinkerone]

love tropicante, its a must imo. grand cayman, stay on the ship. Cozumel, get off the ship and just walk around the shops, its a nice little self tour and right at the dock. then you can be back on the ship for lunch and it is still a quite time.
that's what we have done in the past.

 

[valdez811]

I don't see tropicante as an option. Is it something you can do on your own? If so, can you share a link to the website? Also, is it safe? Thanks.

 

[tinkerone]

I don't see tropicante as an option. Is it something you can do on your own? If so, can you share a link to the website? Also, is it safe? Thanks.

http://www.sandalsandskis.com/Tropicante.html

you do it on your own. check trip advisor for reviews. it is minutes from the ship and amazing, again, imo.

oh, and perfectly safe.

 

[valdez811]

What about my biggest fear....the ship leaving without us?? lol

 

[valdez811]

What about my biggest fear...the ship leaving without us??? lol

 

[tinkerone]

What about my biggest fear....the ship leaving without us?? lol

you can actually see the ship from the tropicante. also, there will be plenty of others from the ship there, trust me.
if you decide to try it make sure to email ahead and steve will reserve chairs for you. plus, if you need to call home you can do it from there at no charge. they have a phone plan that allows calling to the u.s and Canada and they offer this free service to their clients. bonus!

 

[valdez811]

Really!!?? That sounds good. Sorry for the multiple posts. I kept getting error messages. I'm still earning my ears. Forgive me. Haha It seems to be a lot cheaper than the beach adventures through disney. Question: Why skip Grand Cayman?

 

[Levijean21]

Yes I already booked chairs at tropicante! Steve answered all my questions and am looking forward to that day! I loved grand cayman last time the only thing I don't like is how expensive it is..... Oh and the tendering!

 

[tinkerone]

I didn't find any of the excursions on grand cayman to my liking so its just a personal thing. as far as getting off to look at the shops, well, its not all that convenient to get around like it is in cozumel and I found it was mostly jewelry stores. the tender is just another reason that I stay prefer to stay on board. I don't mind tendering if there is a good something at the end of it but there just isn't for us in grand cayman.

again, this is jmo and I know others feel differently. its my big chance to stay on board while the masses go to shore.

 

[valdez811]

Ok I just read through the tropicante website and I'm sold. Going to email them now. Only concern is finding the specific taxi stand mentioned on the website but I'm sure we'll figure it out. Thanks so much. I think we'll still do Grand Cayman just b/c we don't travel much and I might as well take advantage of being somewhere new. This board is proving to be very helpful. : )

 

[tinkerone]

Ok I just read through the tropicante website and I'm sold. Going to email them now. Only concern is finding the specific taxi stand mentioned on the website but I'm sure we'll figure it out. Thanks so much. I think we'll still do Grand Cayman just b/c we don't travel much and I might as well take advantage of being somewhere new. This board is proving to be very helpful. : )

the only reason steve says to use that taxi stand is that it is $1 p.p. cheaper. I really think that next time we will just get the cab right from the compound as it is so much easier. I don't mind paying a little extra if it gets me there quicker. $1 p.p. is not going to break the bank.

 

[wrighter]

So glad to know I'm not the only one pondering this! Although our main concern is the cost of the excursions . . .

 

[Levijean21]

love tropicante, its a must imo. grand cayman, stay on the ship. Cozumel, get off the ship and just walk around the shops, its a nice little self tour and right at the dock. then you can be back on the ship for lunch and it is still a quite time. that's what we have done in the past.

Tell me more about your experience at tropicante? Did you just lounge or get a massage? Drink? How long were you in port.... We are in port from 1-530.

 

[tinkerone]

Tell me more about your experience at tropicante? Did you just lounge or get a massage? Drink? How long were you in port.... We are in port from 1-530.

we were in port for the same amount of time. the tropic ante is only a five minute drive from the port so it doesn't take a lot of time out of your port time. the day we were there it rained, hard, and it was still the best day we had on the cruise. when we arrived we were created by a waiter who took us to our table and gave us menus. he came back and took our order and came back around every ten minutes or so. steve, the owner, came by and talked with us for a bit. he moves around and talks with everyone making sure you have everything you need including the wifi pass code and letting you know that you may use their phone if you wish. the food is amazing, try the shrimp ceviche. yum yum yum. we don't drink a lot so we only had cokes but i did see lots of buckets of beer and lots of tequila shots/drinks around. we had planned on massages, they are open air on the beach, but when it started to rain we all moved in doors and the massage tables were shut down. after the rain stopped (half hourish) we moved back outdoors and the massage tables were set back up however at that point we decided to walk a bit and check out the shops (not that many).
i loved it and would spend my next stop in costa maya there without question. very friendly, safe, cost wise it was cheap for a day on the beach with food and drink. i actually thought they had made a mistake on the bill, it was only $35 and while we only had cokes (6 in total) we ate a lot. It would have been more if we had massages but even they are soooooo cheap and looked relaxing.
hope this helps.

also, if your looking for reading material they sell new and used books in the restaurant. we were doing a 14 day b2b so this came in handy for us.

 

[Levijean21]

we were in port for the same amount of time. the tropic ante is only a five minute drive from the port so it doesn't take a lot of time out of your port time. the day we were there it rained, hard, and it was still the best day we had on the cruise. when we arrived we were created by a waiter who took us to our table and gave us menus. he came back and took our order and came back around every ten minutes or so. steve, the owner, came by and talked with us for a bit. he moves around and talks with everyone making sure you have everything you need including the wifi pass code and letting you know that you may use their phone if you wish. the food is amazing, try the shrimp ceviche. yum yum yum. we don't drink a lot so we only had cokes but i did see lots of buckets of beer and lots of tequila shots/drinks around. we had planned on massages, they are open air on the beach, but when it started to rain we all moved in doors and the massage tables were shut down. after the rain stopped (half hourish) we moved back outdoors and the massage tables were set back up however at that point we decided to walk a bit and check out the shops (not that many). i loved it and would spend my next stop in costa maya there without question. very friendly, safe, cost wise it was cheap for a day on the beach with food and drink. i actually thought they had made a mistake on the bill, it was only $35 and while we only had cokes (6 in total) we ate a lot. It would have been more if we had massages but even they are soooooo cheap and looked relaxing. hope this helps. also, if your looking for reading material they sell new and used books in the restaurant. we were doing a 14 day b2b so this came in handy for us.

Great!! I can't wait to spend the afternoon there!!!

 

[I❤MICKEY]

love tropicante, its a must imo. grand cayman, stay on the ship. Cozumel, get off the ship and just walk around the shops, its a nice little self tour and right at the dock. then you can be back on the ship for lunch and it is still a quite time. that's what we have done in the past.

Are there any beaches in Cozumel that are walking distance from the port. Not really looking for an excursion. Just want to let the kids play in the sand for a little bit. If not any recommended not DCL options for beach/hotel similar to Tropicante everyone is raving about?