Local Suppliers of Shore excursions in Western Caribbean

[Lemk85]

:confused: My wife and I, and two children, ages 18 and 16 are heading on HAL for the Western Caribbean on 8/28, with stops at Key West, Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Half Moon Cay. I am looking for some advise as to booking shore excursions on line via local operators as opposed to booking thru HAL. I have read many reviews regarding Sting Ray City in Grand Cayman and most all mention the crowds on the ship's tours. Also any other local tour operators that you can recommend in the other ports would be appreciated.

 

Another question regarding local time. Does HAL change the ship's clocks to central time when we get to Cozumel and Grand Cayman? Some posts have indicated that there is a one hour time difference between island time and ship time.

 

Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

Mike

[gizmo]

Try posting on the Ports board. There is a lot of recommendations for different local tours especially for Sting Ray City on Grand Cayman.

 

Half Moon is a beautiful beach. Relax and enjoy the beach and water. Hal has a BBQ there and you can purchase soda and drinks. Some have reported the snorkeling has improved. You can rent floats and water type toys. There is para sailing and they are supposed to get wave runners, but I don't know when this will happen.

 

Hal usually changes the ship time to match local time. You will find a card on your pillow informing you of the time change overnight. I know other cruise lines do not which causes a great deal of confusion.

[drdaddy]

We HIGHLY recommend Nativeway for Grand Cayman. 2 man crew that were very personable, and about 25 total on the boat. They even got my wife into the water and she does not swim. They were very helpful especially for those who were a little timid. The stingrays were fabulous and it was the highlight of our cruise. I even drove the boat back a bit. They provide all equipment including vests.

 

http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/hoteltours.html

 

This is another site I found for other independent excursions.

 

http://grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/

 

In Cozumel, I did not plan any excursions at all but fell in love with snorkeling so I did the cheapie (this was on RCCL, btw) and we went to a small place in Chakanaab. It was tough getting in the water (not exactly a beach nor easy steps) but there was a dive master and the underwater scenery was really something. They had all equipment and even a fresh water pool to clean off. I think it was $34 including the cab ride to and from. (this was last Sep.)

 

Hope this helps.

[Lemk85]

Thanks, Rob, this sure does help.

 

Mike