Looking for Advise on cruising

Hi

We are first time cruisers. Can anyone give us advise on how to go about sightseeing in each place we are going. We are going to Jamacia, Cayman Island and Cozumel in March of 2015 on the Carnival Breeze. We really don't want to do excursions this time because we would rather sightsee. All the advise we get would be grateful Thanks to everyone in advance. :D.... Any other advise that you can give would be greatly appreciated as well... Have a nice day :)

In Grand Cayman, we walked around. We could have taken a bus or taxi to Seven Mile Beach. It is a tender port which means it takes a while to get off the ship. There were vendors selling excursions at the tender landing.

In Falmouth, Jamaica, we also walked around in the small town and were constantly bothered by people who wanted to sell us something or guide us. If you can handle that ... Otherwise, I would take an excursion. But maybe you are not going to Falmouth.

Cozumel, we took an excursion along the shore and to a tequila producer, was not worth the money. Very crowded and touristy the entire place.

I'm not sure I know what you mean by sightseeing vs excursions. In all of those ports it is possible to just get off the ship and walk around, although not such a good idea in Jamaica, unless you find a beach very close to the port.

If you mean you'd rather not do ship excursions--we prefer not to do the ship excursions--you can find private tours to take you sightseeing. Check out the ports of call boards on this site; Trip Advisor is also good. There are lots of good options and recommendations from others.

To do actual sightseeing, that is, driving around the island to see things, in most cases you will need some kind of tour. Cozumel is easy to walk around the town for shopping, food etc. Grand Cayman the same. It depends on which port in Jamaica; for Ocho Rios we have just walked to a nearby beach, but I wouldn't go any farther without a tour.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You should join your Roll Call and see what others are doing. Open the link below and scroll down until you find the date of your cruise:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=726

Also, get a guidebook on your ports. It will detail all the points of interest, transportation options, etc....The more you know about where you're going, the more you'll get out of it! Most of the time, excursions aren't needed, but there are some things that are simply easier with someone to take/show you! A guidebook will "guide" you in that decision!

Libraries have them....or you can buy them!!!

If I am understanding you correctly by "excursion" you are thinking going to one or two particular spots to snorkel, zipline, or some other specific activity and by "sightsee" you are thinking of taking a driving tour of the entire island to get a feel for the place and see as much as possible. Is that correct?

I will assume my estimates above are correct and answer your question from that point of view. If you are anxious about renting a car in the ports (which I would be in Jamaica, but not Grand Cayman or Cozumel), you can hire a driver outside of the port (basically a taxi that does tours) to do an island overview tour. They will be more personalized and cheaper than the pre-arranged shore tours offered by the cruise line, but their can be drawbacks for a first timer. Such as, worrying about them ripping you off (make sure you agree on a price before you get in the car or van), or getting back to the ship on time (just make sure before you leave the driver knows how long you want to be gone and when you have to be back - give an hour of extra time for padding).

Each of the cruise line's do offer island tours for all of the islands. They will classify them as excursions, so just be aware this is a more generic term in cruise line lingo (like Band-Aid and Kleenex) it doesn't necessarily have the connotation you are thinking. What you will get will be a big bus tour with about 40 other people from your ship driving all over the islands to see the highlights. There will be pre-determined stops that you go to and will be given a certain amount of time to look around before being back on the bus. Be aware though, if some inconsiderate person doesn't make it back to the bus on time, you and everyone else will be stuck waiting on them to arrive and potentially miss other parts of the tour. If you are concerned at all about getting taken advantage of by local drivers this is your best option. We have done a tour like this thru the cruise line in St. Maarten and vowed never again because we didn't get to see nearly as much as we could have on a private tour and still payed more. We booked it for the same peace of mind as I just described, but have gotten braver and have never had a problem just walking out of the port and using a local driver offering island tours.

Our private island tour of Grand Cayman was done this way and we got to see the highlights, plus more of the beautiful island where our driver calls home, so we got to see a lot of Gr. C. that people on the big bus ship tours don't see. It was amazing. She even gave us options of where to stop and how much time to be there. We got to do the turtle farm for 20 min instead of an hour and half because that's what we decided to do. Sure we didn't get to see everything they had to offer, but we saw enough to make us happy and she would have let us stay as long as we wanted. It was entirely up to us. We just wanted to see more of the island than more of the turtles. She even gave us the option of being let off at the beach (10 min walk from ship) at the end of our tour or at the port where our tenders were. This was the perfect way for us to see the island and didn't cause us stress.

Cozumel is a super easy island to rent a car and see yourself, but there isn't a lot to it. There is the main walking town area by the cruise ships that has restaurants and lots of shopping but the prettiest coast line I've ever seen is on the East side of Cozumel. The ship will offer organized tours to some of the bars over there (especially Coconuts) and you can see the shore/beach along that drive. You will however get to spend more time walking and exploring there if you have your own car. Cozumel is very safe to drive a car on, but I wouldn't suggest renting scooters there. It is also a very easy island to get around. Having a car will also give you a chance to stop in at the ruins mid-island and have a peak without having to spend an hour or more of your day there.

If it were me, I would do a Cruise Line island tour of Jamaica, a walk-up taxi like private tour in Grand Cayman, and rent a car in Cozumel. No matter what you do, you will have an adventure and stories to tell your friends. Have a blast!

On Grand Cayman we enjoyed a combo of Stingray City and snorkeling. We did not do a ships tour, can't now recall whether it was booked in advance or at the tender pier. It pays to took around on the Caribbean port board.

Most cruise lines offer shore excursions that will feature the highlights of each port of call. Generally, they are short and inexpensive. These are good as they will give you a nice experience.

Since this is your first cruise, you may feel more comfortable booking your sightseeing excursions directly through the cruise line.

If you just want to get off the ship and do a little window shopping on your own, Cozumel and Grand Cayman are excellent choices for this type of activity.

Enjoy your cruise!

I agree about reading up on the ports. You can go to your local library, which may not have the latest edition of the the guide books, but it'll be a start, and most likely not be out of date. If there's a particular book that you like (maps and info), you can see if the latest book is available and at a reasonable cost. Also, google each port. You'll find many tourism sites. I like to copy and post any good info into a word document and then at some point edit down the info. Then I tell my hubby and daughter if I found some attractions I think we'll all like to see.

If you're new to a port and don't feel comfortable about going out on your own, consider an excursion you can book through the cruiseline.

Thanks to everyone for their help. We really do appreciate it. I can't wait to start having fun.....

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the Wonderful World of Cruising! :D

You might want to consider booking excursions through the cruise line.

They will pick you up, take you to have fun, return you, and you'll never "miss the boat" ... all with no planning on your part! :)

LuLu

one of our favorite times was renting a jeep in Cozumel and driving around the island...the back side is fairly deserted and primitive...maybe 2 restaurants - but the one we stopped at was great.

lots of deserted beaches to explore.

rent the jeep on the dock and you will save some cash...to be fair it's been about 10 years since we did that so some things might have changed.

Be advised that an auto accident in Mexico is often considered a criminal offense. This complication could at the very least make you miss the boat. I'd use a cab or tour driver.

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As 1st time cruisers, if you are not otherwise experienced travelers, book your excursions through the cruise line. It's a bit more money but until you understand the lay of the land it's the most conservative option.

If saving money is paramount, check out your Roll Call thread to see what others on your voyage are doing. Also check the ports of call threads to see who is recommended.