Excursions? Carnival Dream Western Caribbean

:confused:Our family of 4 (our son 18ys old and our 14yr old daughter) my husband and myself will be cruising in Nov 2017. My husband and I have cruised once before on Princess to Alaska and loved it, this time we are taking our family as our son will have just graduated. This will be his graduation gift. I'm trying to decide if booking excursions though Carnival is better than booking though a site like Tripadvisor? We are sailing to Montego bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I would like to keep our excursions to around $100-$150pp. Any ideas or recommendations would be appreciated!!:rolleyes:

Also, on a side note... We are cursing out of NOLA if anyone can suggest a Hotel that is close to the French Quarter, but not loud LOL, that would also be extremely helpful.

I know I have plenty of time, but I am a planner people! :D

Thank you!!!

Why don't you post your questions on:

1) The Carnival forum

2) The roll call for your cruise

3) The US departure ports forum

4) The Caribbean ports forums

You will likely find people with knowledge of the specific questions you are asking, as this is more of a general forum for first time cruisers.

:confused:Our family of 4 (our son 18ys old and our 14yr old daughter) my husband and myself will be cruising in Nov 2017. My husband and I have cruised once before on Princess to Alaska and loved it, this time we are taking our family as our son will have just graduated. This will be his graduation gift. I'm trying to decide if booking excursions though Carnival is better than booking though a site like Tripadvisor? We are sailing to Montego bay, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. I would like to keep our excursions to around $100-$150pp. Any ideas or recommendations would be appreciated!!:rolleyes:

 

Also, on a side note... We are cursing out of NOLA if anyone can suggest a Hotel that is close to the French Quarter, but not loud LOL, that would also be extremely helpful.

 

I know I have plenty of time, but I am a planner people! :D

 

Thank you!!!

We have booked independently, using Tripadvisor for the past 4-5 cruises - these tours are cheaper, usually smaller and more individual. I don't book tours that "cut it close" time wise - thus relieving any worries about getting back to the ship on time.

For example - you can book the Dolphin swim in Cozumel that is probably the exact same tour the ship has, but far cheaper.

I would not hesitate to recommend booking in this way. Yes, if you go to the port of call board, you will find suggestions and tips - but for tours - tripadvisor is the way to go.

Depending on WHAT you want to do, you might not need an "excursion" at all! What interests you? A guidebook from your library will help you so much...check one out..read it...decide what you want to do...and then we can help with HOW to do that! Few things require a "guide" or excursion!

If you're interested in just doing a relaxing beach day in Cozumel, take a taxi from the port to Paradise Beach. You can google them, not sure if we're allowed to post website addresses. There's a small entrance fee and a fee to rent a chair, food was good, and the grounds were beautiful. Clean changing rooms, beautiful beach, and a very nice pool. No reservations were needed, all in all, it was a really nice and inexpensive day in port. Taxi's were waiting to take us back when we decided to leave. We did this the last time we were in Cozumel and plan on going there again in October.

why don't you post your questions on:

 

1) the carnival forum

2) the roll call for your cruise

3) the us departure ports forum

4) the caribbean ports forums

 

you will likely find people with knowledge of the specific questions you are asking, as this is more of a general forum for first time cruisers.

 

I honestly wasn't sure where to ask the questions that I had. Thank you for the advice though, I will try that as well.

MNfamilycruiser;50794574]We have booked independently, using Tripadvisor for the past 4-5 cruises - these tours are cheaper, usually smaller and more individual. I don't book tours that "cut it close" time wise - thus relieving any worries about getting back to the ship on time.

 

For example - you can book the Dolphin swim in Cozumel that is probably the exact same tour the ship has, but far cheaper.

 

I would not hesitate to recommend booking in this way. Yes, if you go to the port of call board, you will find suggestions and tips - but for tours - tripadvisor is the way to go.

Thank you! I have heard that there is "ship time" and "Island time" do you know if there is a time difference that I need to be aware of?

Thank you!

Thank you! I have heard that there is "ship time" and "Island time" do you know if there is a time difference that I need to be aware of?

 

Thank you!

It depends on which port you sail out of. Florida is an hour ahead of Texas. The first thing to do is to check (via the Internet) the current time in your departure port. If you do it now, be advised that most of the states are currently in Daylight Saving Time which is one hour ahead of where they will be after the first Sunday in November. Then check the current time in the ports you will visit (again, via the Internet). If the times match, great. If not, then you have to try to find out if the ship will change its time to local time.

The southern islands are on standard time year round. However, I don't know if that is true of Cozumel. Again, you are trying to figure out if the island has the same time as your departure port. If so, great.

If the island time does not match the departure port time, then you have to find out if the ship will change its time to match the island time. For that you should post your question in the Carnival forum and maybe the port of call forum. However, there is no requirement that a ship change it time to match the local time, so the port of call forum may know the correct answer. On the Carnival forum you are looking for some who did this itinerary on the same ship you will be on to find out if the ship changed it time or not.

This is why I don't recommend new cruisers go independent. Yes, I have done it, but I've also been on 30 cruises with five different lines, so I have a little more experience in these things than you. Sure you might save $25 per person independently, and saving a $100 might feel pretty good. However, if you end up missing the ship because you went independent, then you are going to have problems that will cost much more than $100 to fix.

We stayed at the Bourbon Orleans and it is fabulous. If you get a room with a balcony, you can get look at some of the action but you aren't so close that it keeps you awake. They are absolutely the NICEST people you will meet. You are in the BEST location for the money. We walked to Cafe Du Monde for breakfast, walked all up and down the French Quarter and everything is nearby. They have a really good looking restaurant right in the hotel but we didn't get a chance to eat there. As a matter of interest, as with many New Orlean's hotels, it's said to be haunted and they have a write up in the lobby. We didn't have any "special" visits during our stay. You get a coupon for a free drink at their bar, which has a pretty good jazz band playing. It has the old Nawlins' charm with one brick wall in our hotel room, but all the modern conveniences. The bathroom is fabulous, the bed was great. The rooms are spotless.

Last March, island time for the western Caribbean and ship time (New Orleans) were the same. I would guess (unless there is a quirk in when times change) that this would be the same again.

As for excursions, we used resorforaday dot com for Montego Bay and booked through the ship for the others. I agree that non-ship excursions can be cheaper. At least for Grand Caymen, we wanted the ship's excursion bc as a tender port, there is always a slight chance you could miss the port (wind, swells). In that case, I wanted to know that I would be refunded without an issue.

Just my 2 cents.

Dctravel

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My favorite NOLA hotel is the Monteleone on Royal Street.

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One quick suggestion on the time question: I would NOT use the internet to determine whether or not the ship time and port time are the same of different. Please, for your safety and peace of mind, just go to the guest services desk and ask the cruise line what the ship time is and then set your WATCH to that time! Do not count on a cell phone or other electronic device that may change time based on the geographic location of the device! Watching your ship disappear over the horizon would be a very lonely and expensive excuse for not being sure of the time! :eek:

The number one draw in Jamaica has to be Dunn's River Falls followed by Blue Hole. The Bobsled run or Ziplines would be great for the younger crowd. Takes me too long to heal.

Cayman's must do is Rays. Top guides are Capt. Marvins and Nativeway. We did Nativeway's Rays, Reef, and Rum Point Tour. Pretty good. I could live at Rum Point.

Cozumel is beaches and snorkeling. You can add eating and drinking if you like. Good food and the Margarita's come in fishbowls. We have done 6 beach clubs on Coz and all were good. Some are fancy, some have the bare essentuals. My beloved wife prefers Chankanaab. We have been there twice and will probably go in November unless I can talk her into going to Papitos.

Thank you, I will definitely check at the guest service desk and ask about time!!

My favorite NOLA hotel is the Monteleone on Royal Street.

 

 

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I will be looking into the Monteleone! :)

The number one draw in Jamaica has to be Dunn's River Falls followed by Blue Hole. The Bobsled run or Ziplines would be great for the younger crowd. Takes me too long to heal.

 

Cayman's must do is Rays. Top guides are Capt. Marvins and Nativeway. We did Nativeway's Rays, Reef, and Rum Point Tour. Pretty good. I could live at Rum Point.

 

Cozumel is beaches and snorkeling. You can add eating and drinking if you like. Good food and the Margarita's come in fishbowls. We have done 6 beach clubs on Coz and all were good. Some are fancy, some have the bare essentuals. My beloved wife prefers Chankanaab. We have been there twice and will probably go in November unless I can talk her into going to Papitos.

Thank you so much for the advice!

P.S. I will be eating a ton of shrimp!! lol

We will be staying in NOLA for 4 days pre cruise next month and are staying at a newly renovated hotel in the garden district. It's called the Pontchartrain Hotel. It is a beautiful hotel in a lovely part of NOLA. The trolley stops right outside of the hotel and just a short ride to the French quarter.

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We will be staying in NOLA for 4 days pre cruise next month and are staying at a newly renovated hotel in the garden district. It's called the Pontchartrain Hotel. It is a beautiful hotel in a lovely part of NOLA. The trolley stops right outside of the hotel and just a short ride to the French quarter.

 

 

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I would love to hear about your trip. Please share your vacation experiences when you return. I would love to hear all about it.

I would love to hear about your trip. Please share your vacation experiences when you return. I would love to hear all about it.

I would be happy to post about our trip. We have everything pretty well planned so I will be able to review several things both in NOLA and on the cruise. 11 days till we arrive in NOLA, 15 days till the cruise. We are so excited we can't stand it!

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I would be happy to post about our trip. We have everything pretty well planned so I will be able to review several things both in NOLA and on the cruise. 11 days till we arrive in NOLA, 15 days till the cruise. We are so excited we can't stand it!

 

 

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It's not even my vacation and I'm excited for you. Any excursions that you've planned? Would love to hear about those as well! :D

Grand Cayman-Stingray City, MoBay-Doctor's Cave Beach and Cozumel Playa Palancar.

My husband and I are cruising on Carnival Dream, same itinerary, in August 2017. We used shoreexcursioneer dot com to book 2 excursions - Riverboarding and Bengal Falls in Mobay, and Chankanaab with snorkel rental in Cozumel (the price was better than doing separate entry fee and snorkel rental). My husband really wants to snorkel in the Grand Cayman, so we are going to rent snorkel gear there and snorkel at places within walking distance of the tender pier (Eden Rock, Sunset House, and/or Smith's Cove).

The cost will definitely be cheaper than that of the Carnival-sponsored excursions, and we chose excursions that should allow us to get back to the ship in plenty of time.

As far as New Orleans, we have reservations at Prytania Park Hotel.

Have fun with your planning.

Blessings,

SiraJoy

Just remember for Grand Cayman that it is a tender port. Anything you pay for in advance that isn't through Carnival might not get refunded if you miss the port for some reason.

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