Western Caribbean port to miss?

[Roop]

Going to Cozumel, Cayman, Castawy Cay and Jamaica on 7 day cruise. Wanted to stay on ship for one of these port days. Any suggestions which to skip? Never been to any of these places. First cruise of any kind.

 

[KimDis]

Question - what activities would you consider doing in Port?

We did the Cayman beach excursion a few weeks ago & really liked the dedicated beach space/chair/umbrella setup. Water was lovely as well, if a little rocky. Plus it was kinda cool to tender in as I'd not done that before with Disney. Shopping was meh.

Did Cozumel years ago and loved seeing the Mayan ruins for myself. I'm Jamaican so I'm a bit biased regarding it, although I will say the best beaches aren't necessarily on the North Coast. Shopping might be better than Cayman but I've not seen what they do in Falmouth since we do longer non-cruise vacations there. I will say that I connected a close friend who did this itinerary with our driver in Jamaica and her family ADORED their private island tour. Happy to provide more details via private message should you want it.

I highly suggest you enjoy Castaway as you can't visit it outside of DCL and it's quite lovely, plus it's the easiest to stroll back to after even half a day. Plus a cabana massage on CC is great.

 

[tink1970]

That's a great question.

The first thing I'd do is look at the Port Adventures (excursions) for each port and see if there are any "must dos." This will help you narrow the field I think. You wouldn't have to necessarily do DCL's excursions but you'd know what was available in each port. Next, prioritize. Then see if you feel okay missing "X."

My least favorites are Cozumel and Jamaica BUT that said, it's super easy at Castaway Cay to walk off, enjoy the sun and sand for an hour or two and walk back on the ship. It will be very quiet for a lot of the day on board. So you could do that and then feel as though you've been to the Bahamas, if checking off places is your thing.

Have fun planning and enjoy your cruise!

 

[Jwhittin]

Never ever skip Castaway Cay!

 

[Mandlz]

Personally, I would skip Cozumel. Didn't find it to be near as nice as the others, and found people there to be a lot pushier. Grand Cayman has this great little Creperie as well, that I would hate to miss!

 

[wcw57]

I won't miss cozumel. I won't ever go there again and I won't miss it........

as i've said before (whenever I have the chance), I think cozumel is.a poop-hole.....people will argue the beaches are nice....guess that's true.

 

[NancyIL]

Most people love Castaway Cay. As beaches go - it's a very nice beach, but I always return to the ship right after the BBQ on the island.

 

[hanscarlet]

Do NOT skip Castaway Cay and Grand Cayman!!!!

 

[lbus42]

Like many of the previous posters, I also did not care for Cozumel. If you don't mind being accosted by every shop keeper you pass, you will like the shopping. I hated it. Like others I liked Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay. Make sure you get rum cakes before you go back to the ship.

 

[soniam]

I really wanted to stay on ship for one port on our next cruise. I was thinking of skipping Jamaica; however, DS hasn't done Dunn's River Falls. I love Cayman, and they have great snorkeling. Cozumel has that the Secret River excursion that I really want to do. There's no way I am skipping Castaway Cay; however, I am not going to bother with any excursions there, except get snorkel gear. So, I don't think we are skipping any ports next cruise

 

[wjs3]

We've done western twice. Once Key West/Cozumel/Grand Cayman...once Falmouth/Cozumel/Grand Cayman.

The funny thing is, I probably like Falmouth the least as a port, but the adventures once outside of the port (blue hole, dunn's river falls, sctochie's) make it one not to miss. So if your question is purely "port," then Falmouth without hesitation. But...if it's about things to do/excursions/ease of cool things to see...Falmouth is pretty darn cool. So...

I would take Cozumel as a skip. We've been there twice and one time spent 3+ hours on a bus to and from a water park on mainland side, and once did a dune buggy tour...which was nice, but really not so memorable. I find things hard to get to or not so incredible on Cozumel, personally.

 

[Sydnerella]

I have this same question, in fact was going to post it tonight. We have this same intinery in October and would like a ship day during the port stay. We have 6 people, me, DH, DS12, DD10, MIL71, FIL71.

In addition to which port to skip, we are trying to decide on which port and adventure is best for snorkeling - and I mean best for all of us ages 10 to relatively fit 71 year old grandparents

I do wonder if Jamaica is best to skip as the adventures seem limited and I have been, although as Senior in HS! Over twenty years ago near Ocho Rios. But we cannot do Dunn's RF or the other climbing excursion either as the slippery rocks wont be good for my inlaws or my two torn ACLs. So what else would we do in Jamaica - with DCL port adventures as the inlaws wont book excursions with outside vendors.

 

[soniam]

I have this same question, in fact was going to post it tonight. We have this same intinery in October and would like a ship day during the port stay. We have 6 people, me, DH, DS12, DD10, MIL71, FIL71.

In addition to which port to skip, we are trying to decide on which port and adventure is best for snorkeling - and I mean best for all of us ages 10 to relatively fit 71 year old grandparents

I do wonder if Jamaica is best to skip as the adventures seem limited and I have been, although as Senior in HS! Over twenty years ago near Ocho Rios. But we cannot do Dunn's RF or the other climbing excursion either as the slippery rocks wont be good for my inlaws or my two torn ACLs. So what else would we do in Jamaica - with DCL port adventures as the inlaws wont book excursions with outside vendors.

We love snorkeling in Cayman, specifically liked the Catamaran, Reef and Kittiwake Snorkel Sail excursion. We did it when DS was 8. We plan to do it again on our next cruise. The crew was very friendly and helpful. The boat was not difficult to get in and out of. Cozumel has good snorkeling, but we didn't enjoy the Dune Buggy and Beach Snorkel Combo excursion. I find snorkeling from a beach more difficult and less enjoyable.

 

[BrerNashville]

Cozumel has some of the better true "excursions". We did a dune buggy trip that also included snorkeling and swimming on a beach. It was a lot of fun. We've also done some Mayan ruins from there and another Mexican port. However, I agree with all the shopping comments -- the city itself seems dirtier and much less classy than Grand Cayman. So, if you want to do a real excursion, I'd skip Cayman (most of those excursions seem to be of the "go to a beach and swim" variety, which you can do on Castaway Cay) and go to Cozumel; if you want to walk around a town and shop, I'd skip cozumel and go to Grand Cayman. I've never been to Jamaica on a cruise (I think that was my "star wars day at sea" substitute).

 

[dclpluto]

Cozumel

 

[BigredNole]

I have not been on any cruise yet. I have only been out of the US once. I have been reading up on staying on the ship vs going to the ports. Although we would probably not do any shore excursions, I think we would at least get off the ship for a few hours to look around the port, have a bite to eat off the ship, and enjoy what is there for a little while. My initial thinking is to let the herds go, utilize the uncrowded activities, get off about 2 hours after port, spend 2-3 hours in the port, then back on before the rush is back. That is just my thinking.

The other reason I would think to get off is my daughter will want get a stamp in her passport (do they do that at the ports when you debark?).

 

[dsdeleon]

I have been to Cozumel once and Cayman & Castaway Cay multiple times. Order of importance of getting of the ship are: CC (10), GC(9), Cozumel(5).

No, they don't stamp passports for cruise ship passengers.

 

[wjs3]

I have this same question, in fact was going to post it tonight. We have this same intinerary in October and would like a ship day during the port stay. We have 6 people, me, DH, DS12, DD10, MIL71, FIL71.

In addition to which port to skip, we are trying to decide on which port and adventure is best for snorkeling - and I mean best for all of us ages 10 to relatively fit 71 year old grandparents

I do wonder if Jamaica is best to skip as the adventures seem limited and I have been, although as Senior in HS! Over twenty years ago near Ocho Rios. But we cannot do Dunn's RF or the other climbing excursion either as the slippery rocks wont be good for my inlaws or my two torn ACLs. So what else would we do in Jamaica - with DCL port adventures as the inlaws wont book excursions with outside vendors.

My two cents based on this is to skip Falmouth (many adventures are, as you point out, more physical). You can stay in the "secure" port area if you want to get off the ship a bit. Personally, I didn't want to go beyond that. Others will disagree. Falmouth itself did NOT do it for me, though!

Cayman is great for snorkeling. Fabulous, really. My only advice is that you might consider some kind of private charter if feasible within your budget/with the larger group you have. The port adventures are great, but there can be a lot of people of varying skill levels, seasickness tolerance, etc. That's not always bad, but it's not what I like, so I try to get to where the crowds are smaller if I can.

Castaway Cay is not bad either and I wouldn't sell it short. Particularly after the initial rush of people has left, it can be relatively quiet, easy (<10 feet, though a good swin to get out to where you can see anything) with good clarity, things to see, etc.

 

[bgula]

Definitely Cozumel. First time there last year - last time I will EVER go. There is nothing there to see, it is rundown once you get past the shopping at the dock. The beaches on the far side are just rocks filled with seaweed. SOOOO disappointed...

 

[RedSox68]

Going to Cozumel, Cayman, Castawy Cay and Jamaica on 7 day cruise. Wanted to stay on ship for one of these port days. Any suggestions which to skip? Never been to any of these places. First cruise of any kind.

Honestly I can't give an answer to that as we never miss any ports. While we love the ships, our goal is to see as many places as possible. Unless I have already been to the port, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to get off and see some of it or tour the island. The only port I wouldn't step foot in again if we returned is Acapulco. Filthiest port we've ever been to.