Best port for a beach day..

[teachin4cruisemoney]

Grand Caymen, Montego Bay, or Cozumel? Been to Coz 4 times but never to the other ports. Sound off cruise experts. We would like at least one day to lie on the beach and chill. Any othe advice would be greatly appreciated.

[scgamecock]

Given those 3 choices - Nachi Cocum at Cozumel hands down.

[JennLuvs2Cruise]

Seven Mile Beach at Grand Cayman. Otherwise I would say Mr. Sancho's in Cozumel. You might want to choose Cozumel since you have been there multiple times so you won't exactly be missing anything. Grand Cayman is awesome for swimming with sting rays!

 

 

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[teachin4cruisemoney]

Thanks y'all!! I've always wanted to do Nachi. Is there snorkeling there? That's on my son's list? We would love to swim with the sting rays. Do you book with the cruise line or is it easy to find a tour once you arrive?

[CalifCruiser1]

Me Sancho's is great for a beach day we'll be there in 2 weeks:D

[scgamecock]

Thanks y'all!! I've always wanted to do Nachi. Is there snorkeling there? That's on my son's list? We would love to swim with the sting rays. Do you book with the cruise line or is it easy to find a tour once you arrive?

 

You have to reserve Nachi Cocum ahead of time directly or through Island Marketing. They only have 100 spots per day. There is no good snorkeling there, but they do offer snorkeling trips to the reef at an extra charge.

 

You should consider going to Stingray City in Grand Cayman for snorkeling and swimming with the stingrays. I recommend Captain Marvins.

[LizaMM]

Grand Caymen, Montego Bay, or Cozumel? Been to Coz 4 times but never to the other ports. Sound off cruise experts. We would like at least one day to lie on the beach and chill. Any othe advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

I agree with previous posters about Nachi Cocum in Cozumel. The last time I was there it was raining much of the day but I still had a great time relaxing under a palapa. Yes, for decent snorkel you need to pay for an excursion which you can arrange from your lounge chair on the beach!

 

I booked it through Island Marketing as the Nachi website locked up on me every time but you could try either. Definite to book this in advance, especially if there are several ships in port, because they only take 100 people.

 

In Grand Cayman I enjoyed the Stingray City, Reef and Rum Point tour. It was a nice mix of Stingray, snorkel at a reef and then lunch and beach time at Rum Point.

 

I have been to Montego Bay and loved it but only on land vacays and not on a cruise. So far my cruises have only taken me to Ocho Rios. I am not sure what excursions are available from Montego Bay. Jamaica has some beautiful beaches and many people like to go to Dunns Falls.

 

ENJOY!!

[prettyrainyday]

Call me crazy (and most do when I say this), but I adore Doctor's Cave in Montego Bay

[Relayer]

Another vote for Nachi. Snorkeling is relatively poor off the beach. However......A couple of years ago we snorkeled in Belize and Roatan. Both really good for snorkeling. Saw lots of neat fish and coral. When we got to Nachi it was obvious that there just wasn't any coral close to the beach except for this one, small clump about 3' in diameter. Of all the places the biggest baddest Barracuda was hanging out on that one single formation. It remains the best fish I have ever seen while snorkeling!

 

Bargain with the guys at Nachi and book your trip to the reef latter in the day. The price goes down as the day progresses.

[cschultz]

I've been to both Nachi Cocum and Paradise beach. If you are not a drinker, Paradise beach would be my choice. They have a beautiful pool, which beats Nachi Cocum hands down.

The beach is nice, and if you have kids, there are lots of things to do in the water.

Chairs at Paradise beach are $2, and they ask you to spend $10 on food/drinks. I think that its 10 more for a wristband to use the "toys" in the water. Since I'm not a big drinker, and just wanted to relax on the beach, it was a no-brainer for me. Nachi Cocum charges $50 a person I believe. Google some pictures of Paradise beach before you make up your mind.

[spideyfam]

Given those 3 choices - Nachi Cocum at Cozumel hands down.

 

I agree with you William! We were there this past september, and last night we reserved a space for our cruise in May.

 

I would recommend this place to anyone!

[ajhunt2]

Another vote for Nachi

[nbsjcruiser]

Grand Caymen, Montego Bay, or Cozumel? Been to Coz 4 times but never to the other ports. Sound off cruise experts. We would like at least one day to lie on the beach and chill. Any othe advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

For my money Grand Cayman would be the best option there. Not much to do there otherwise. Seven Mile Beach is a $10 cab ride and you can have a nice relaxing day.

[ncbeachteacher]

Nachi Cocum, Cozumel:)

[Texarribean Chick]

Lots of options here..............these are my recommendations:

 

Grand Cayman - 7 Mile Beach is beautiful. I recommend Royal Plams resort.

 

Cozumel - Nachi is my first choice for a quiet beautiful beach. Snorkeling is an extra fee. Like other have said, Nachi limits to first 100 guests per day. If it rains, you can always go to the pool and sit at the swim up bar under the thatch roof and escape the rain for a while.

Price is $50.00pp. Ask for Carlos - best waiter ever!

 

Another option in Cozumel is Mr. Sanchos. They are also an AI that you can book in advance and save $5.00 per person, or just grab a cab and head their direction without a previous reservation. Unlimited drinks and food all day. Also included in their price are use of their kayaks, and snorkel equipment. Now, the snorkeling is just off the beach, so not much to see. They also have water toys to climb on; but those are an additional $12.00 pp. On line, the price is $45.00 pp - at the door it is $50.00pp. More "people watching" at Sanchos vs. Nachi. Sanchos also offers parasailing for an additional fee, I've never seen this at Nachi.

 

Have Fun!

[crzycick]

I think the options for Cozumel totally depend on your needs. Children or not? Do you just want to lay in a lounger/swim or have more activity? Do you want a lot of people around or few?

 

We went to Nachi Cocum 3 1/2 years ago and my husband still talks about it often. We loved it. We're in our 20s, no children, not huge drinkers, and it was perfect for us. Quiet, not many people (I doubt there were 30 people when we were there). The food was awesome although neither of us made it past the 2nd course. My husband always had a cold beer and if it got too warm, a new one was brought without asking. I spent a lot of time at the swim up bar asking for them to make a different fruity drink each time. It was beautiful, relaxing, and just plain awesome. I even got a cheap massage on the beach.

[tappyZ]

Grand Caymen, Montego Bay, or Cozumel? Been to Coz 4 times but never to the other ports. Sound off cruise experts. We would like at least one day to lie on the beach and chill. Any othe advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Depends on what you mean by 'chill'. If you want quiet and calm, I would recommend Playa Uvas on Cozumel. Very small, not crowded, hardly any cruise ship folks, good service and food/beverage. I had an actual real beef, American tasting good burger. You can get a massage there too. Shore is rocky and there is decent snorkeling. For 'Beach' I vote Paradise beach in Cozumel! It is my fav!! Crowded but much cheaper than an excursion type place and good food/service here with lots to do and a big beach area and large new pool. Also, free computerswi-fi at the bar if they aren't being hogged! I recommend going early and you can have it to yourself for a while and get a great waiter before it crowds up. Both of these are $2 pp to get in/a chair...but they do want you to eat and drink which is fairly cheap considering GC prices for sure.

Grand Cayman is great for a beach day too but it is sooooo crowded! As there are really very few beaches with amenities that the cruisers can use. Royal Palms is pretty good though. Gonna try SeaGrape beach in two weeks to see how it differs.

I never book an excursion in either of these places or many others, but in Jamaica - I always go with Carnival!! Don't feel quite as safe there.

[beachbum53]

Seven Mile Beach at Grand Cayman. Otherwise I would say Mr. Sancho's in Cozumel. You might want to choose Cozumel since you have been there multiple times so you won't exactly be missing anything. Grand Cayman is awesome for swimming with sting rays!

 

 

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You have to reserve Nachi Cocum ahead of time directly or through Island Marketing. They only have 100 spots per day. There is no good snorkeling there, but they do offer snorkeling trips to the reef at an extra charge.

 

You should consider going to Stingray City in Grand Cayman for snorkeling and swimming with the stingrays. I recommend Captain Marvins.

 

Swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman is a misnomer. You don't actually swim (or snorkel ) with them. You stand in water that's roughly waist deep and hold out bits of fish bait for the stingrays to eat from your hand. It's kind of interesting to do once, but not worth a repeat. In addition to the reccommendations provided here, you might also look at Frommers dot com for more info.

[maldenmusic]

Playa Palancar in Coz. Secluded, never a crowd, no fee to use beach and great food and drinks.

[a3593]

I have to second Playa Palancar!!!! See my Dream review. You can walk right out to a reef and snorkle.

[RyanMorgan]

Grand Caymen, Montego Bay, or Cozumel? Been to Coz 4 times but never to the other ports. Sound off cruise experts. We would like at least one day to lie on the beach and chill. Any othe advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cozumel is my favorite place for the beach! Its called Paradise Beach! They have a bunch of beach chairs set up and a bar. It has some water toys in the water for people to play on, they are super fun for people of all ages! My whole family was out there! You can get in caneos or kayaks and paddle around. It was so much fun! Very relaxing too!

[ibcnusoon]

Any all inclusive in Cozumel makes for the best beach day. We went to Mr. Sanchos, loved eating, drinking, swimming ... and the AI side pool is awesome, they also have hammocks and beach beds. Snorkeling and kayaking are included in the AI price. Reserve before you go, I imagine even if it rains/overcast you can still sit in the swimup bar pool and enjoy the day. Very festive!

[Redsfan]

don't put all your eggs in the Grand Cayman basket as there is a good chance you will miss the Island due to weather. The other stops are Piers.

 

We want to plan our own nice beach day in GC but missed it due to rough seas. If I didn't research what to do in Cozumel we would have missed out on Sancho's...and it was rough on the water that day as well...