Western Cruise- Can you wing it at the ports and have fun?

[kpgclark]

I'm wondering... if you are on the Western Cruise and want to just get off the boat at the ports, walk around, or just do something on the spur of the moment is it possible? I'm not sure if I want to book excursions or just check out the ports. Are there things to do at the ports when you arrive? Are there excursions you can just take on the spur of the moment? I'm not into the tourist trap souvenier shops. Will we find stuff to do at the ports? We'll have a 6yo and 8yo with us.

 

[AnnMorin]

In grand Cayman we booked Captian Marvins but in Key west and Cozumel we are "winging it"

 

[prymsu]

i would say you can for sure do this in my opinion at all the three western ports, depending on what you like to do.

For Key West, you can walk around Mallory Square, do the conch train or the old trolley tour on your own if you decide to.

Grand Cayman - Atlantis Submarine is about a block and a half from where the ship tenders. There is also a little area that you can snorkel at about another block and a half further, or it is very easy to catch a cab to go to the seven mile beach.

Cozumel - lots of good shopping deals and beaches, all easy to get to.

 

[4crusinransiers]

We did not do one Disney excursion and had a BLAST!
Key West we walked around Mallorey Square and visited a few shops and Musems. (it was our least favorete port) Grand Caymen we went to Abanks Divers, just to the right down aways from the dock, swam ,snorkeled and my boys 9 and 11 did a resort scuba coarse and got to scuba dive. At Cozumel, we rented a jeep and toured the island, and ended up at MR. Sanchos beach (our Favorete port) We had alot of fun, if we do the Western again, we will wing it again!

 

[snelsonbrown]

Hey there,
I do not know about any of the other ports, but I do know Key West - there is enough to see around the port there in Key West - the shops around Mallary Square, I found to be foremost the most honest - you have the aquarium, the custom house, Messon de Pepe that has old history of Key West, the art of cigar making, restaurant and pictures of Key West back during the years when tourist did not find KW inviting - there is again very little offered for children - I would wing it on your own since everything is there including the conch train and trolley bus - these will take you to the most interesting parts of KW. I do have coupons, pamplets etc on Key West to anyone that is interested - no cost except an self address/postage envelope which will give you an idea before hand on things to see and things to do.
Always
Shirley

 

[mcnuss]

Originally posted by 4crusinransiers
At Cozumel, we rented a jeep and toured the island, and ended up at MR. Sanchos beach (our Favorete port) We had alot of fun, if we do the Western again, we will wing it again!

Could you please tell me how you booked the Jeep rental? Did you do it ahead of time? Costs? Thanks!

Allison

 

[SueEllen]

I'd like to know about that jeep rental also.

Sue Ellen

 

[TxJasmine]

We were on the Western cruise in Sept. and did not book a single excursion. We do research ahead of time to see what looks interesting in each port so that when we arrive, we already have a good idea of what we want to do. We have 6 and 7 year old kids, so we try to find things to do that would interest them.

Key West - we visited the aquarium at feeding time which was great fun! It's not every day that you see sharks being hand-fed. The kids also got to touch a baby shark in addition to the touch tank with starfish and horseshoe crabs.

We also climbed to the top of the lighthouse which had a nice view of Key West from the top.

In the evening during the sunset celebration there is a great cat show in front of the Hilton. These cats jump through hoops of fire and do other tricks. It's a hilarious show and really amazing considering how "trainable" cats are.

Grand Cayman - when you get off the ship, the locals are standing around offering tours. We took one of these tours to Hell and the Turtle Farm. Afterwards we got dropped off at Seven Mile Beach which is a beautiful and uncrowded beach.

Cozumel - here we took a taxi to Chankanaab where we saw a cute and funny sea lion show, and the kids did some swimming at a nice little beach. They also have snorkeling, and a little botanic gardens with trails.

All of our excursions were very inexpensive and we saw quite a bit. "Winging it" affords you flexibility that organized tours don't.

 

[4crusinransiers]

Too all asking about the jeep rental......keep in mind we are seasoned So. Mexico travelers, including my kids.
We walked down the street and there was a guy who was trying to rent us mopeds....we keep saying No Gracias and he keep being persistent! Finally we asked, no moped , what about a jeep? So off we were folling this guy down a side street to meet his friend Carlos who rented jeeps, no shop, no sign. Just a guy with a few jeeps on a sidestreet. We finished our transaction and I asked will you be here later when we return it? He said he would be there or by the dock. He said I will look for you to drive by and meet you back here.............ok? We dident pay him till we returned. All went well no problems. BUT unless you speack some spanish and are comfortable wheeling and dealing in Mexico I suggest you walk over the overramp when you get off the ship and get one at one of the rental agencys there. There are PLENTY of jeeps in Cozumel, no need to pre book. On the day we were there there where 6 ships in port and PLENTY of jeeps to go around. We had a blast there!