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Excursions (or what to do in port?!??!!)


evelynaw
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We are going on our first cruise mid-November, and I haven't give much thought to excursions yet. It just seems SO overwhelming, so I'm going to ask a whole pile of questions... :)

 

We are in our mid/late twenties and are pretty active (we do a lot of hiking at home), but don't mind sitting on a beach with some drinks either. Our cruise stops in Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, and I'm hoping to get a good mix of beach relaxing and exploring in there.

 

Some of our friends cruse frequently and they have done some excursions through the cruise line and some on their own. If you're booking something on your own, how do you find it/book it? How do you know that what you're booking is legitimate? Does it really save that much money?

 

I have seen a lot of people mention "beach days"... are there beaches that you can get to on your own, or are these usually at resorts that you pay to get into? Does this need to be booked through the cruise line, or is it pretty easy to do on your own?

 

Finally, what would you recommend for the ports that we will be stopping at? Are any of them better for active things than others?

 

Should I book excursions ahead of time, or can I just kind of "go with the flow" and book things once we are on the ship?

 

I really feel lost in all of this... I don't want to break the bank, but I don't want to sit around doing nothing either.

 

All advice is welcome :) :)

 

Thanks!

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We are going on our first cruise mid-November, and I haven't give much thought to excursions yet. It just seems SO overwhelming, so I'm going to ask a whole pile of questions... :)

 

We are in our mid/late twenties and are pretty active (we do a lot of hiking at home), but don't mind sitting on a beach with some drinks either. Our cruise stops in Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, and I'm hoping to get a good mix of beach relaxing and exploring in there.

 

Some of our friends cruse frequently and they have done some excursions through the cruise line and some on their own. If you're booking something on your own, how do you find it/book it? You go to the Ports boards and do some research, where you will find lots of info on what you can do on your own, including private tours. There will be recommended venders there. You can get similar info from TripAdvisor and guide books. How do you know that what you're booking is legitimate? By the recommendations in the various places. Does it really save that much money? It can. At minimum, private tours can give you a lot more bang for your buck.

 

I have seen a lot of people mention "beach days"... are there beaches that you can get to on your own, or are these usually at resorts that you pay to get into? Does this need to be booked through the cruise line, or is it pretty easy to do on your own? Depends on the port. Some ports, beaches are readily available and free. Other places not so much.

 

Finally, what would you recommend for the ports that we will be stopping at? Are any of them better for active things than others?

 

Should I book excursions ahead of time, or can I just kind of "go with the flow" and book things once we are on the ship? You are not very much "ahead of time". Popular excursions might be fully booked.

 

I really feel lost in all of this... I don't want to break the bank, but I don't want to sit around doing nothing either.

 

All advice is welcome :) :)

 

Thanks!

 

 

All of this just takes some research on your part. The Ports boards would be very beneficial to you. But as you are coming a little late to this, I would be looking at ship's excursions. Grand Cayman has Sting Ray City- something you might want to look into.

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Do the classics:

 

If you have never been to Jamaica climb Dunn's River falls. We embraced the cliche & booked a combo package that included doing the Jamaica bobsled. It was a hoot. In Jamaica the cruise lines get better deals then DIY so go ahead & book through your cruise company. You must wear a bathing suit & bring water shoes to do this. Now it's more touristy & contrived then it was years ago but it's still fun.

 

In the Caymans, you swim with the sting rays. Here you will find much better deals on your own.

 

In Cozumel I can't help you. We got off, had some tequilla, then got back on the ship.

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You need to read up on your ports...there's more than the excursions tell you...and most things are cheaper, too! Research is key! Get a guidebook! Excursions are the most expensive way to have fun...get a guidebook!

Edited by cb at sea
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Go to the Roll Call section of Cruise Critic, find the roll call for your ship, and post or read about excursions that others on your cruise are doing. We have often been able to join private tours that way.

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Thanks for the advice! I have tried looking around the port boards, and will admit that they are making me feel even more overwhelmed, and the Jamaica one left me feeling a little on edge. Maybe climbing Dunn's River Falls is the way to go there? Get the active stuff done at the beginning while we aren't in total "lazy vacation bum" mode? :D

 

There doesn't seem to be tooo much talk of excursions in our roll call.... I'll bring it up again though.

 

And I'll keep sorting through the port boards. I have a feeling I will have more questions about finding a beach to hang out at, haha.

 

Another question... does anyone plan not to do anything (beach or excursion) and just walk around the port city for a few hours then go back to the ship? I'm not someone who wants to go shopping on vacation, so it would probably just be exploring areas within walking distance.

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You can search trip advisor for shore or tour,but I highly recommend this itinerary. Similar to what the first poster recommended. Every travel board will tell you research because your itinerary will not be the same as mine because our likes are different.

 

Jamaica: Dunns River Falls. Bargain at the shops and enjoy. Can be done in many combinations with other items like Bob sledding (rent Cool Runnings before you go) or a beach stop, city tour etc.

 

Grand Cayman: swim with snorkel sting rays or possibly try dive Discovery diving. Great place to try it if you have ever been interested and you aren't certified. If you are certified dive with the stingrays. If low on funds Seven Mile beach. Grand Cayman is expensive for alcohol/shopping so not my first choice to drink and beach it, but it is beautiful.

 

Cozumel: beach day. Great places to drink and be merry. Paradise Beach is my go to but there are others for all inclusive for all day eating and drinking. Come back and shop at port or return to town for lower prices and more time. Pick the beach that suites your style. No kids, snorkeling, all inclusive etc...

 

Most of these can be done by just getting a taxi at the port, but book ahead to guarantee availability and get the best prices. Sometimes you can do well by bargaining at the port but knowing a basic price before you go is wise since the planners tend to book the best/least expensive options first. I rarely book tours at these places anymore but I have been to each many times now. Just walk off and find the first person that talks to you that you like. They can get aggressive so if that bothers you book in advance somewhere.

Edited by bearette
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Trish1c has a good plan with the exception of Cozumel. Coz is definitely a beach day. Google each port for cruise tours and read these boards.

 

Dunn's River falls and Stingrays are the number 1 things for Jamaica and GC. On Coz you can grab a cab and go to a beach. There are a few that you need to reserve like Nachi Cocum, but there are several that take walk -ins. Never had a bad beach club on Coz.

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I agree with most, sting ray city is a must but I would do a private tour, also agree on Dunn's river it a must do at least once for both of them, also great advise on joining roll call to see what everyone else is doing. Cozumel is great we have done it over dozen times but now we just have a nice lunch do some bar hoping and shopping ( short taxi from ship), have a great cruise

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If the information tsunami hits you too hard, avoid it by booking excursions offered by the ship. They may be a bit more expensive but you need not do anything except show up at the time on the ticket and go. Almost all lines offer booking online before the cruise.

Edited by Floridiana
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I'm another vote for sting ray city in GC. Lots of fun, take an underwater camera! In Cozumel we've either walked the city, poking around in shops, or rented a car and drove around the island, stopping at every little beach area that looked interesting. One of my favorite places to go.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

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As a couple of posters mentioned, get a guide book for the area. Your local public library should have some. If you find one you find very helpful, buy the latest edition on Amazon or other book store. If you belong to the auto club, you can get a free guidebook from them.

 

Also google each port. There will be a ton of guide books. You might get a lot of good ideas. Hopefully these won't add to the info overload but will be a good place to start narrowing down some ideas.

 

You are not required to book any excursions, whether through the ship or independent operators, for any port. You don't even need to leave the ship (some people will book the same ship just for the sake of relaxation and might skip getting off at every port).

 

If you book any independent company, make sure to get their cancellation policy in writing. There's no guarantee that you will get to every port; in November there's still the chance of hurricanes (we were chased by a tropical storm that turned into a hurricane when we did a western Caribbean cruise some years ago). So you want to be able to easily cancel if you don't make it to a port without getting any charges. Get the contact info too.

 

Usually any charges for ship's excursions you book will be refunded automatically in those cases. You didn't say which cruise line you're going on (Princess doesn't require payment in advance for excursions).

 

The guidebooks will list beaches that you can access without paying a hotel.

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Thanks again everyone! We are cruising with Carnival and they have a Dunn's River Falls excursion offered (that isn't sold out ;) ). I think we'll book that.

 

I'm pretty convinced that we will do a beach day in Cozumel. Now that I've got a direction there, I feel a bit less overwhelmed looking at options.

 

I think Grand Cayman might be a bit up in the air still. I'm not sure if swimming with stingrays is really our kind of activity, but who knows. I'll keep looking around here, tripadvisor, and the Carnival excursions to figure out what we want to do.

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Thanks again everyone! We are cruising with Carnival and they have a Dunn's River Falls excursion offered (that isn't sold out ;) ). I think we'll book that.

 

I'm pretty convinced that we will do a beach day in Cozumel. Now that I've got a direction there, I feel a bit less overwhelmed looking at options.

 

I think Grand Cayman might be a bit up in the air still. I'm not sure if swimming with stingrays is really our kind of activity, but who knows. I'll keep looking around here, tripadvisor, and the Carnival excursions to figure out what we want to do.

 

In George Town you can walk to Seven Mile Beach or take a taxi or public transportation. Several hotels offer day passes. Eden Rock has decent snorkeling and is near the pier. You can walk to it in 10 minutes. I have seen mention of a new tour to Rum Point. I could live at RP. Then there are tours to the Turtle Farm and Hell. If you want to sightsee, the eastside is gorgeous with nice views, blowholes and great photo ops.

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I'm another vote for sting ray city in GC. Lots of fun, take an underwater camera! In Cozumel we've either walked the city, poking around in shops, or rented a car and drove around the island, stopping at every little beach area that looked interesting. One of my favorite places to go.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

This is about the same things we did

 

As you start browsing options - Touring Jamaica is not as laid-back as most islands.

 

We had a GREAT ship tour to the falls and around the island and so happy for the experience! (you do not have to "walk the falls") - I did see why it was recommended over & over to not "do-it-yourself" and aimlessly wander around Jamaica.

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  • 2 weeks later...

When we go to Grand cayman, there is a booth as soon as your get off the tender ship to offer tours. We took a $20 tour to see the hot spots. It took us to see the swim with the dolphins ( just to watch), rum cake place, HELL ( my favorite), 7 mile beach to stroll around, and then back to the port. We still had time to walk around and check out he shops. There is a great small restaurant shack that does jerk pork and chicken, right across the street from Guy Harvey's Shop. We eat lunch there each time we go.

 

In Cozumel, I loved Paradise Beach. So beautiful. You can get there by taxi. We only paid the $3 to enter the place that includes a chair and umbrella. We stayed on the beach side. Walked around to check the place out. The pool was lovely as well. There were 2 parrots that hung out on top of the beach bar. Great food. Best Ceviche!!!! You can also pay $12 and have access to all of the toys in the water.

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I think Grand Cayman might be a bit up in the air still. I'm not sure if swimming with stingrays is really our kind of activity, but who knows. I'll keep looking around here, tripadvisor, and the Carnival excursions to figure out what we want to do.

 

 

its not really swimming as the water is only waist high

and sting ray city is NOT swimming in wild waters like Steve Irwin.

These sting rays are people raised. if you google grand cayman Sting ray city and click on images- it will show you what the experience will be like

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I agree with most, sting ray city is a must but I would do a private tour, also agree on Dunn's river it a must do at least once for both of them, also great advise on joining roll call to see what everyone else is doing. Cozumel is great we have done it over dozen times but now we just have a nice lunch do some bar hoping and shopping ( short taxi from ship), have a great cruise

 

Same here. We've been to these ports more than once. First time we did Dunn's River Falls and did Sting Ray City. Cozumel you can find a beach simply by taking a taxi. Read your ship's choice of excursions for each port to get an idea of the costs. If in doubt, book through the ship. It will guarantee that you don't get caught up in the moment (or in traffic) and miss getting back to the ship on time.

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Since this is your FIRST cruise, you might find it easier and way less stressful to book something you feel you would enjoy offed by the ship. :)

 

 

Agreed! First time can be confusing enough without worrying about outside vendors. This will be my 4th cruise but using an outside vendor for the first time. I'll admit, though they are highly recommended on CC & trip advisor, I'll still be a little nervous

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Isn't there also a place in Cozumel to swim with the dolphins? We did that on another island, but I think Cozumel has it too.

 

 

and going through the cruiselines can be very pricey. We used Cozumel insider.com and paid 89. for a royal swim by booking 6 months in advance. Thats lots of money saved.

 

And using that site you can learn the difference between the swims and the encounters. Make sure you are booking what you expect to do.

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Finally booked some excursions! We are going to do ziplining in Jamaica and snorkeling in Grand Cayman. Gives us some time to do other things if we'd like, but it's still active and fun. I'm probably going to look into an all-inclusive for Cozumel, but I'm glad I have 2 ports out of the way! :D

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