Western Caribbean Excursion Reviews and/or Advice?

[CapnJacksGirl]

Is there any centralized place to find reviews of all the excursions offered by Disney?

The one "for sure" thing we want to do is the Dolphin Swim, and I have seen comments here and there saying that the Cozumel one is better than the Grand Cayman one. In trying to isolate what we want to book for each port, I have to say that the Jamaica Dolphin Swim & Dunn's River Falls sounds better than either of them. Of course, that means we can't do the Canopy Zipline at Rose Hall which looks super cool too.

I'm overwhelmed. I thought I had it all figured out......Ruins, Chocolate Workshop & Beach at Cozumel, Dolphin Extreme Swim & Turtle Farm at Grand Cayman, and Canopy Zipline at Rose Hall at Falmouth. Now I'm a week and a half away from booking and I'm questioning my supposedly well-thought-out plan. Maybe we should do a beach day or Nautilus Undersea Tour at Grand Cayman (or just stay on the ship) and Dolphin Swim at Falmouth.

Does anyone have any helpful information to offer? Thanks in advance for the replies and help!!

 

[basketlacey]

I'm glad you posted this as I'm also looking for feedback on Western Caribbean excursions! We're thinking about the Falls and also a cave swim (can't remember which island this was - maybe Grand Cayman?). It did seem for a lot of the excursions you spend a ton of time travelling and not much time at the destination. Did anyone find this to be true?

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

I'm glad you posted this as I'm also looking for feedback on Western Caribbean excursions! We're thinking about the Falls and also a cave swim (can't remember which island this was - maybe Grand Cayman?). It did seem for a lot of the excursions you spend a ton of time travelling and not much time at the destination. Did anyone find this to be true?

I thought so too. We would have liked to do the Tulum Ruins when at Cozumel but the majority of the day would have been spent on a ferry or bus. While I'm sure the views would be scenic, I'd much rather be doing something.

 

[Whimsical1995]

Same situation here. Our excursions open Sept 3. I will be so happy once I can get these booked.

 

[DisneyFanInTexas]

I pretty much decided I just need to make a decision, but it's so difficult! I think we are going to go with dolphins at Grand Cayman, but I can't decide if we should do the dolphin extreme swim or dolphin swim and stingrays???

 

[basketlacey]

I pretty much decided I just need to make a decision, but it's so difficult! I think we are going to go with dolphins at Grand Cayman, but I can't decide if we should do the dolphin extreme swim or dolphin swim and stingrays???

What did you decide? My oldest dd wants to do the dolphin swim but I am having trouble committing to that. While the Western Caribbean itinerary has some of the best prices I have seen, it still seems expensive for how short it is.

 

[MickeyD]

I will chime in with help for Cozumel. We have been there quite a few times, therefore we have done quite a few of the excursions.
Dolphin swim was FANTASTIC! Loved it! Highlight of ANY of my excursions, and it checked a bucket list item for me. Travel there and back was minimal. Time in the water with the dolphin was about 45 mins to an hour?? (I can't remember exactly) then you are given time to wander around Chankunaab which is really interesting and nice beaches.
Tulum Ruins: long ride on a very bumpy ferry; long, hot walk through Playa Del Carmen, long bus ride to ruins (not especially scenic); HOT walk through park, can't get real close to most ruins; overall impression: long, hot, and boring!
Any more questions let me know!
Lisa

 

[EASchechter]

I will chime in with help for Cozumel. We have been there quite a few times, therefore we have done quite a few of the excursions.
Dolphin swim was FANTASTIC! Loved it! Highlight of ANY of my excursions, and it checked a bucket list item for me. Travel there and back was minimal. Time in the water with the dolphin was about 45 mins to an hour?? (I can't remember exactly) then you are given time to wander around Chankunaab which is really interesting and nice beaches.
Tulum Ruins: long ride on a very bumpy ferry; long, hot walk through Playa Del Carmen, long bus ride to ruins (not especially scenic); HOT walk through park, can't get real close to most ruins; overall impression: long, hot, and boring!
Any more questions let me know!
Lisa

Ever done the Punta Sur lighthouse excursion?

 

[MickeyD]

Ever done the Punta Sur lighthouse excursion?

I have not, but the jeep tour we did eons ago went out there. Pretty nice area.

 

[DnA2010]

We loved our dolphin swim in Cozumel - we booked direct as we could get a better package for less and just grabbed a cab- it's a standard/set rate to the park and there were plenty of cabs waiting to take us back when we were done.

In Jamaica we did a private horseback riding trip.

 

[Bree]

Check reviews on TripAdvisor. They won't be just DCL passengers, but you'll get a better idea of what the tours are like from reviewers.

Tulum doesn't have great reviews, but Chichen Itza does. However, it is a really long day and I'm on the fence about bringing my kids in March. It's a 45 minute ferry ride followed by a 2-2.5 hour bus ride for a whopping 70 minutes at the site.

 

[camikon]

the only excursion we have done was in Cozumel dec 2015. we went on the ruins/chocolate tour one (sorry can't remember the name). there were 6 of us: 2 adults, 2 teens and 2 grandparents. it was ok and we wouldn't do it again. positives: our tour guide on the bus was very informative and friendly and made sure all of us were on the bus from destination to destination; middle stop at some sort of museum which i enjoyed the most but seemed like we spent the least amount of time there, they also served lunch which was adequate although i definitely could've eaten more LOL; 3rd stop: learning about the chocolate was interesting and one free sample. negatives: I was expecting ruins to be like the ones you see in tourist magazines/able to climb up the stairs to the top and wonderful view. these were not. it was basically a lush park with the ruins of ruins. long time riding the bus from destination to destination so if you decide to bail on the tour you've got no options, wish we had brought water and a snack. each stop had the typical gift shops and you're given plenty of time to shop (but you can get the same selection at the shops just off the ship). this really isn't a good tour for elementary age kids as it was very long (the heat just makes it seem longer). the museum would be good one for kids - it had many "smaller" replicas of the bigger ruins with info for the parents. if you decide to go, be prepared with cash as it's customary to tip the driver and tour guide at the end. next time we're going to give chankunaab beach a try.