Excursion Question

[Bruner1]

We will be cruising out of Galveston on the Freedom in late September. The ports of call are Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico. We have looked and looked at the offered excursions for Jamaica and Grand Cayman and cannot seem to find anything that peeks our interest that doesn't get horrible reviews. We were already planning on not booking an excursion for Cozumel since we have been there numerous times.

 

We are looking for recommendations for excursions for Jamaica and Grand Cayman. We are not big on the water trips since neither of us does scuba or snorkeling and he cannot swim. I have a bad knee as well, so that limits our activities a bit. I can walk on flat surfaces well, but too many stairs or too much uneven terrain and I'm toast.

 

Anyone have any recommendations?

[BoDidly]

We will be cruising out of Galveston on the Freedom in late September. The ports of call are Montego Bay, Jamaica; Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico. We have looked and looked at the offered excursions for Jamaica and Grand Cayman and cannot seem to find anything that peeks our interest that doesn't get horrible reviews. We were already planning on not booking an excursion for Cozumel since we have been there numerous times.

 

We are looking for recommendations for excursions for Jamaica and Grand Cayman. We are not big on the water trips since neither of us does scuba or snorkeling and he cannot swim. I have a bad knee as well, so that limits our activities a bit. I can walk on flat surfaces well, but too many stairs or too much uneven terrain and I'm toast.

 

Anyone have any recommendations?

 

In reading your post the better options would be , Jamaica stay on the ship and Grand Cayman Once you been to Hell or the turtle farm it leaves shopping in the port area.

[bmetz34]

Not familiar with the itinerary but we were in Jamaica for our honeymoon and i highly suggest dunns river falls if you can get there

 

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[Bruner1]

Not familiar with the itinerary but we were in Jamaica for our honeymoon and i highly suggest dunns river falls if you can get there

 

Not sure how well my knee would take to walking around on slippery rocks. If it is anything like walking in sand, I'm out as that almost killed me on a recent trip.

[cruisinqt]

One of my favorite excursions ever was the stingray excursion in Grand Cayman. Even though it is out in the ocean, the water is only waist deep (it's on a sand bar) so need for swimming or being able to swim. If you can go up and down the ladder on the boat to get in and out of the water, you're fine. The stingrays are as tame as puppies and eat right out of your hand. It makes for an amazing photo to show friends back home. But if that's too much for you, we love going to Hell, Grand Cayman. It's a little town not far from the cruise pier. You can mail post cards from Hell and get tshirts saying you've "been to Hell" lol :'). It's a neat little town to check out. The turtle farm is pretty interesting too. The last time we were in Grand Cayman we went to Hell, the turtle farm, and then did some shopping and we really enjoyed it.

 

In Jamaica Dunns River Falls is the popular place to go, but it entails a lot of walking on uneven surfaces so I wouldn't recommend it. We love Sunscape, it's an all-inclusive resort with pools, a lazy river, yummy food and drinks. I'm not a pool or water person either, but relaxing in a lounger under a shade tree, as I'm eating a yummy meal and sipping on my Pina Colada with the sound of the ocean in the background was heavenly. I hope this helps. Happy cruising. :D

[easyboy]

For Jamaica, check Marvyns Paradise Tour on tripadvisor. He may be able to customize a tour considering your mobility issues.

[joshandmel]

We did the bar hopping one in grand cayman and it was a blast. You go to a brewery, a distillery, and a bar with a beach. Lots of fun and tons of free drinks if that is your thing.

[nchikk]

I have been to both of these ports more than once. My thoughts on these places are my own and may not reflect those of any other human. That being said...

 

Grand Cayman -- Last time there, we booked an excursion with Captain Marvin's and saw Hell and the Turtle Farm. We enjoyed the tour and were happy with the tour company. The tour, if I recall, left us time to wander the town afterward.

 

Jamaica -- All I will say is this...the island is beautiful, but because of the people (locals), we will never again get off the ship there if we're on a sailing that ports there.

[Drazil65]

We love both of these ports and have been to Jamaica many times on cruises and AI's over the years, no issues here.

 

I would also suggest Dunn River Falls but it is uneven walking, we took an excursion to the mountains and the coffee plantations some years back that was interesting and fun then stopped at a rum plant on the way back, dont know if they still do anything like that. The scenery from the top of the mountain was amazing and made for great pix.

 

GC...the beach is wonderful and beautiful and of course a good chance to go and visit HELL!!!! :D

[riffatsea]

I also like Captain Marvin in the Cayman Islands. Go to the web site and communicate with them to see what they can offer you.

In Jamaica there are other things to see/do besides walking up waterfalls!

We went to a lovely garden and then had a tour around the island by setting up a private tour. There are also some plantation mansions you can visit but if nothing interests you then I agree you can stay on the ship.

Sometimes you need to go to the web sites for land based activities and not just the cruise ship sites in order to get info about things to do.

[Bruner1]

Thank you all for your suggestions! We will definitely check out Marvyn's Paradise Tours in Jamaica and Captain Marvin in Grand Cayman to see if they can help us out. I would love to do the stingray sandbar in GC. Getting in and out of the boat would not be a problem on good days, but if I am having a bad knee with my knee, that could be a problem :(

 

Once again, thank you all for your suggestions!

[lizardhowson]

Not sure how well my knee would take to walking around on slippery rocks. If it is anything like walking in sand, I'm out as that almost killed me on a recent trip.

 

Dunn's River Falls is very intensive in climbing upward, especially with a bad knee and non-swimmer.

 

Not sure the person who recommended this even read your original post.

[bmetz34]

Dunn's River Falls is very intensive in climbing upward, especially with a bad knee and non-swimmer.

 

Not sure the person who recommended this even read your original post.

Nope, was a quick skim when I saw jamaica/excursion and got excited!. Thanks for the shout out but I'm sure the op is capable of figuring that out themselves!

 

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[FruitStandaficionado]

In Jamaica, I toured a pineapple plantation that had exotic flavored pineapples - no walking involved as a bus took us to the plantation and while you were free to walk the plantation, i was only interested in the "lecture" portion and tasting the bizarre flavored pineapples (with the chocolate flavored one my favorite). I've hired a private tour that was just our group of 8 to do the sting ray city and snorkeling on grand cayman, and I've done the national park beach as well as a resort day pass on Cozumel. All had very little walking required.

 

 

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[dmdiver]

We've done a day pass through Carnival to Secrets Resort in Montego Bay. It's about 5 minutes from the port - they have a large pool, large hot tub, beach area, food & bars. I mostly used the hot tub & loungers, as it was late January and the sea water was a tad bit cool for my taste. There was also a small group playing live music at the Marlin bar there. Our friends have also gone to Riu resort there, also through Carnival and enjoyed it as well.

 

I think everyone should experience Stingray City in Grand Cayman, but if knees are troublesome, that may not be a good excursion for you. There are lots of tours available. The trip to Hell is fun, although not much to do there when we were there - but that was a long time ago so someone else can probably give you more current info. The turtle farm is okay - got to hold a young one.

[Bruner1]

Thank you all again. @Dmdiver I didn't even noticed that one of the all inclusives was a Riu property. We have stayed at Riu properties before and have always been well taken care of. I will have a look at that one for Jamaica. I may hold off on the GC excursion until closer to time (maybe even wait to book from the ship) so that I have a better idea what shape my knee is in.

[dmdiver]

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/montego-bay/montego-bay-all-inclusive-day-pass-423102

 

I believe this is the Riu one that my neighbors went to. The wife said she preferred Secrets & the hubby said he preferred Riu.

 

https://www.carnival.com/shore-excursions/montego-bay/secrets-adult-all-inclusive-beach-adventure-423080

 

One thing I will say about Secrets is we did not go back on the bus with the excursion. We stayed an extra couple of hours & caught a taxi back. They also had awesome pina coladas with a rum floater. Have not had one that good since.

[MidloCrusier]

Just got back, We were on the Breeze. In Jamaica try the tour of Rose Hall. It wasn't too bad. I would recommend getting the coupons they have on the ship for the Royal Shops. Then just get the free things when there.

For Grand Cayman I'm not sure if it is offered the Atlantis Submarine is good for none swimmers. It is in Cozumel. I did that in Cozumel a few years ago before I got certified for scuba.

I am a scuba diver so I was diving in Grand Cayman

[coevan]

saved $40 a head and go on your own, nice CCL banks $40 pp for this shore excursion

 

https://www.resortforaday.com/Secrets-Resorts-Montego-Bay-Day-pass-p/mbjasr.htm

[Cruisenthusiast]

We sailed this itinerary back in January on the Breeze. In Grand Cayman we went to Stingray City and the Turtle Farm and we had an amazing day! Grand Cayman is really safe and easy to navigate on your own, so you can wander without an excursion and be ok. Jamaica is tough, we went out on our own to Doctor's Cave Beach. While the beach was beautiful and fun, Montego Bay itself is a real disappointment. I would suggest either getting a day pass for an all inclusive resort (resortforaday.com), or stay on the ship if Carnival doesn't have any excursions that interest you.

 

 

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[armytwins]

It always amazes me how many people recommend staying on the ship in Jamaica. There's plenty to do and some really cool history. It's one of our favorite ports! A good local guide can safely show you a great time and give you a taste of local life, food, and beautiful scenery. We will be doing a tour with Barrett Adventures when we go next month. We've used them before and they have a big variety of options for different tastes. There are other tour companies available as well. Check out the Jamaica board on here for plenty of recommendations.

[dmdiver]

Good tip on the Resort for a Day site, but it says Secrets is not available when I click on it.

[BoDidly]

It always amazes me how many people recommend staying on the ship in Jamaica. There's plenty to do and some really cool history. It's one of our favorite ports! A good local guide can safely show you a great time and give you a taste of local life, food, and beautiful scenery. We will be doing a tour with Barrett Adventures when we go next month. We've used them before and they have a big variety of options for different tastes. There are other tour companies available as well. Check out the Jamaica board on here for plenty of recommendations.

Been there eight or nine times or so . Locals have always been hostile . I agree there are beautiful areas there and a tour guide would be the only choice. However the locals ruin Jamaica and it is a dangerous environment for tourist . Once you leave the port area be very careful of your surroundings .