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Excursions for grand cayman, jamaica andcozumel -help!


HellLawyer
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I was told yesterday that the Stingray City was not to be missed in Grand Cayman. I hadn't planned anything at any of the ports, planning to do things on our own, but may do this one. Whether through ship or not is yet to be determined, and we leave on Sunday!!!:eek:

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Check out Tours Plaza in Cozumel- we are hiring a private driver for three of us - I think the total cost is 100.00 or so for four hours. We get to choose where we want to go, for as long as we want to stay there. It has great reviews on Trip Advisor.

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Can you recommend things to do in each port?

 

If you're up for it, Sting Ray City via wave runners was a lot of fun with Ebanks watersports, look them up, its a lot of fun! We liked it so much the first time, we're doing it again in a couple weeks.

 

Peat Taylor Tours in Ocho Rios, they can create a tour for basically anything in Jamaica.

 

By the way, when are you sailing? If you haven't joined a roll call yet on here, you should!

Edited by bmwcmu
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Plan to do something in the water. We snorkeled at the Grand Cayman took the ships Wreck and Reef excursion. The water was 88 degrees and wonderful.

My 25 year old son wanted to see the haunted Rose Hall in Jamaica that tour included a shopping and a stop at Margaritaville they have a 3 story water slide to the ocean and water toys which he enjoyed. In Cozumel we took the last of the ship tours and ferried to main land and toured the Mayan ruins of Tulum. We greatly enjoyed all of the ship excursions.

Have a wonderful cruise.

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In Grand Cayman, my husband and a friend went to Stingray City and raved about it. Unfortunately, the wife of the friend was sick with bronchitis and I stayed with her on the ship. Sorry I missed Stingray City. In Cozumel, I recommend the tour to Tulum. Very scenic ruins. To be safe, I'd advise taking the ship's tour. We took this tour on an RCI cruise and got back to port 2 hours late! They, as advertised, held the ship for us. In Jamaica, take either a ship tour or a private tour. Not a port to just wander around on your own.

 

Elf

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Can you recommend things to do in each port?

 

Very broad question; it would help if you gave us some more information about yourselves - how many in the group, ages, what you like to do, any previous cruising/shore excursion experience, etc.

 

A couple of general answers, from one who's done most of these ports several times:

 

Jamaica: Depends on where you're docking. Ocho Rios or Montego Bay? From Ocho Rios, we've done Dunn's River Falls and the Green Grotto. We're headed to Montego Bay in a few weeks and looking for a good beach, away from the town center.

 

Grand Cayman: Beaches, Beaches, Beaches. Too many to choose from, and all good. Some with snorkeling off the beach. You can take a ship's tour or just hop a bus or taxi to almost any of them. Tons of resorts and restaurants for dining right on the beaches.

 

Cozumel: The town isn't much different than any other tourist town in Mexico. Lots of bars, tourist shops, etc. Beaches on the west (town side) more crowded, snorkeling is ok, but nowhere near as good as other Caribbean locations. Beaches on the east side much less crowded, but somewhat harder to get to. If you have kids, highly recommend the "Dolphinarius" swim with the dolphins. It's expensive, and they hit you hard for picture & video packages, but the kids will love it.

 

One thing to be very aware of: the only Mayan ruins are NOT on Cozumel island itself. They are on the mainland, and require a ferry ride and bus trip to reach, and it can be a long day. As others have mentioned, best to do this through the ship's shore excursions, so you can be sure the ship will wait for you if you're late returning.

 

As mentioned, check the ports of call boards for more info.

Edited by VideoTech
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Grand Cayman has the best excursion in the Caribbean if you enjoy animals.

 

Sting Ray City is not to be missed.

Been on 12 cruises and have done Sting Ray City all four times in Grand Cayman. (and will do it every time I stop there until I can no longer get down the stairs/ramp and out of the boat in my senile years)

 

There are penned up Sting Rays at many ports (Cozumel/Nassau, etc...) that try to copy the experience at Sting Ray City.

 

But the Rays in Grand Cayman are wild (but seriously domesticated after over a hundred years of being fed by humans.)

 

Utterly amazing to have 20-30 rays circling your group in waist to chest deep water.

 

1) Do NOT book SRC through a ship excursion..

The ship's excursion always pulls up with a huge ferry looking boat, with over a hundred people packed on and usually by the time the last person is getting off, they have to start reloading the boat. (on the smaller independant boats, everybody gets in the water and usually have 30-45 minutes in the water)

 

2) There are many, highly regarded excursion companies in GC to choose to have a day, with 20-30 people per boat, max...(check the GC board for personal reviews of all the various companies)

 

Personally I have used Nativeways my first time and had a less than ideal day.

The last 3 times I have taken Sting Ray Sailing and had the best time, every time...Completely professional and very fun to chat up on the way out and back..

 

http://www.stingraysailing.com/

 

http://www.mobydicktours.com/

http://www.sotoscruises.com/

http://www.captainbryans.com/

http://www.captainmarvins.com/

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/

 

Cozumel is best for a beach day.

There is a beach club for virtually every taste.

(cheap, kids, dolphins, AI, party, peace and quiet, etc..)

 

Personally, it is usually just DW and I, so we prefer the 100 person limit and relaxation at Nachi Cocum.

Been there 4 times and already booked for our next stop in April...

http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com/

 

http://www.travelnotes.cc/cozumel/links/mapisland.php

NCL's pier is the northernmost pier on the map...

RCCL is in the middle and Carnival's is the southernmost.

 

Bill

Edited by bguppies
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We travel with small kids, so prefer the resort type places these days...Nachi Cocom AI in Cozumel, Sunset Beach Resort AI in Montego Bay, Westin Hotel in Grand Cayman. We did stingray city before kids and it was excellent!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

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Ocho Rios--we had Courtney Taylor tours take us to Dunn River, then a tubing float, and finally to the Irie Blue Hole for cliff jumping. Great family day. Courtney was very reliable.

 

Cayman--taxi to public beach. Stingray viewing was cancelled due to poor conditions. (We'd booked with Moby Dick--but he cancelled it at no charge, saying that it wouldn't be worth it because of winds and visibility that day.)

 

Cozumel--did NCL's tour to Tulum. Excellent tour, but I would ONLY do it by booking the ship's expedition. It's a lot of travel, and I think you'd run the risk of missing the ship if you went on your own.

 

Our review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1820400

Edited by quercus alba
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