We took the Western Cruise last week, and it was awesome - you will have a great time!
We got off the boat at all ports, and all of our excursions except one were non-
DCL.
Cozumel - I went to Nachi Cocum: beach was beautiful and uncrowded - paradise! Lunch was yummy, drinks were potent, wait staff was delightful. The pool was beautiful, but unfortunately it was soon inundated with two large groups of foul-mouthed guests who had just arrived from another cruise ship. I stuck to the beach. DH and DS did a two-tank scuba trip with We B Divin'. They were very impressed with the professionalism of the crew and how the dive master made sure that all guests had the best possible dive. They will definitely use this company again. We were all very happy with our Cozumel experiences.
Grand Cayman - we arrived about an hour later than we were scheduled to, then had to deal with tendering (ugh). I had scheduled a Stingray City/snorkeling/beach tour with Nativeway Tours, but because our ship arrived too late, I missed the tour. I went to Tiki Beach instead. It was just ok - next time I would definitely try somewhere else. I ended up returning to the ship earlier than I had wanted to. On the way back to the ship, I stopped at the Tortuga Rum Company place and bought a couple of rum cakes (to DIE for!!). DH and DS went on another dive. This was our one DCL-sponsored excursion (they used Red Sail Sports). They enjoyed the dive, but were not as impressed with the crew/master as they were with the Cozumel dive. Still, they had a great time, and would probably book it again.
Jamaica - our ship had "unforeseen circumstances" which caused it to make a last-minute change to the port - instead of going to the prettier Falmouth, we ended up going to Ocho Rios. YUCK. The one good thing that came out of this change was that we were closer to our scheduled excursion - the Blue Hole. I can't recommend this place enough, but it is not for the faint of heart! Getting there is an experience in itself. (Have you ridden Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom? If so, then you will have some idea of what sort of ride you are in for as you travel up the mountain.) Also, be prepared to fend off pot-brownie peddlers. Once you get to the Blue Hole, it will all be worth it, though. We had so much fun! It is so beautiful and pristine, and climbing up the falls was an amazing experience. The jumps were scary but fun - the last one is about 25 feet high! The guides there are awesome - ours filmed our whole experience with our GoPro so we wouldn't need to worry about it, we could just enjoy our time. Overall, this was our favorite excursion. We also went to a beach afterwards (don't remember which one) and it was really pretty.
Castaway Cay - for the most part, we just enjoyed some relaxing time on the beach. We did rent kayaks, which was fun, and DS ran the Castaway Cay 5K (which he won!!).
Have a great cruise!
The zip line might be a good lure though.
