Suggestions for Western Excursions

[uncle al]

We are sailing on our second cruise in 29 days (if my count is correct) - this time the 7-nite Western (26 March). Our crew consists of myself, DW, DS (age 16), and DD (age 15). Any suggestions for excursions in Grand Cayman & Cozumel would be greatly appreciated. We are going it alone on Castaway Cay & Key West. Please help - tell me why you enjoyed the excursion,or why you did not particularly care for it. I have the PassPorter from our 2004 cruise and have read all of the information - just can't decide. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated - Thanks in advance.

 

[mrp4352]

This was the highlight of our cruise! We boarded jeeps (at least one person in four in your party needs to be able to drive a standard) and headed out. After driving through the dock area, we were off on a main road. A quick stop at the Pee-pee station, and we kept going until we were at the sea! We turned off the main road onto this small sandy road - so small that the bushes would fwoop through at you on either side. We drove out to a teensy-tiny aztec ruin (great photo op, though), then back a little bit to a private beach. Lunch was on the grill and waiting for us!

We booked through Disney and had the time of our lives on this excursion! Afraid I can't help with Grand Caymen, the port closed because of rough seas on our cruise.

Have a lovely time!

 

[TheWog]

I would say Stingray City on Grand Cayman. There are many private tours as well as some through DCL.

cozumelhomes.com has a dune buggy excursion we are going to try when we go on the western route. You drive your own dune buggy and do some snorkeling and have lunch. Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[pdarrah]

If you are interested in snorkeling at Cozumel then we highly recommend Eagle Ray Divers (www.eagleraydivers.com). We did their 2 reef snorkel last October and it was fantastic. The snorkeling was fantastic and they were really nice people. I think the cost is a real deal (I believe it was $50 each for a 3 hour trip!). About the only "negative" is that you do need to catch a cab to get there - but it was very easy. There is a cab stand just as you exit from the pier. At the end of our trip, Chellie (one of the owners) arranged a cab for us for the return (which was a couple dollars less than the first cab! - I don't remember exactly what the prices were, maybe $8 going and $6 for return?)

I can't help with Grand Cayman - hurricane Ivan had closed it for our cruise. We'll be there this year (hopefully!) and are booked to visit Stingray City with Capt. Marvin (www.captainmarvin.com)

pdarrah

 

[jillicole]

We just got back from a Western cruise and had a blast of course!!

In Grand Cayman we did Stingray City...which in our opinion (My fiance, DS 12, my sisters 19 and 22 and my brother 16) is not to be missed. It was a GREAT experience!!

In Cozumel, we swam with the dolphins (the royal swim) at Chakanaab Park. We did this excursion outside of Disney (booked it through shore trips) and had a fantastic time. Even if you just go to the park it's a great time...the water is beautiful to swim in, and they have a resturant on the beach.

Whatever you decide to do...have a GREAT time!!

 

[Mr. Moose51]

We did Stingray City on Grand Cayman, which was great. Felt very comfortable with guides, who did a wonderful job. We also went on the glass bottom boat tour in Cozumel. It was ok, though I expected more bright colors from the coral. A bit confined, and not nearly as good as Stingray City. Some people we met did the Mayan ruins in Cozumel and just loved it, though it was an almost all day tour. Said they learned a lot, and was both scenic and historic.

 

[BaileyEvanH]

Check out the cruise meets! There are a whole bunch of us going on the same Western Magic March 26th. We booked stingray city through Captain Bryans on a catamaran.

 

[RKB]

We did Stingray city through Captain Marvyns - it was great. Then in Cozumel we did the Dolphin Swim - we booked it ourselves also through shoretrips.com. The Swim was at Chankanaab park. These all fill up fast so don't delay once you make a decision!

 

[webray]

In Grand Cayman we did the two hour city tour, took us to the turtle farm (you get to hold and pet the turtles, also a great spot to mail postcards), hell (great spot for mailing postcards), drove us by some of the other sites. We did not book in advance..you can catch the tour yourself right at the taxi dispatch station, top of the dock, oceanside. You can't miss it. There are also restrooms there.

Then we came back, had lunch, visited some of the local bars, took pictures with the pirate statues on the streets, did some shopping. Lots of fun.

In Cozumel, we wanted to relax, so on the recommendation of other cruisers from this board, we grabbed a cab at the top of the dock to Mr. Sancho's. The food is fabulous, the beach is beautiful. Plenty of tables, clean restroom and shower areas. A small amount of local craftspeople with booths set up off to the one side. There is a water trampoline for the kids. You can also rent ATV's, and I believe they offered horseback riding. There is also a giant hot tub. We had a great time and will definately go back again.