Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth Excursions

Hi there... My 5 yr old and I will be traveling to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth via the Disney Fantasy.

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on things to do. I'm really interested in reputable private tour excursion companies at these locations. When I'm with my son, I don't want to walk off the ship and hop into a local/random taxi.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

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This question comes up every month or so....you might want to do a search of the boards.

Grand Cayman--turtle farm and/or Stingray City. We did these thru Captain Marvin's. The turtle farm was the highlight of an island tour (kid won't like the rest of the tour), Stingray City we did as part of a snorkel day. The do offer options other than our choices. To do just the turtle farm, book thru Boatswain's. This is the operation that owns the turtle farm as well as the whole place. You can buy a package that includes everything, or pick and choose what you'd like to do.

One nice thing--Captain Marvin's gave us the option of being dropped at the beach of our choice or back at the tender port. If you choose the beach, there is a public beach as well as plenty of taxis back to the tender port. Both Captain Marvin's and Boatswain's includes transportation from near the tender port.

Grand Cayman--taxis are government regulated and prices are posted at the pier. They are per taxi, not per person. Chankaunab park has lots to do--again, you choose what you want to pay for. If you just want a beach, Paradise Beach is great. There is a shopping center right at the pier that is somewhat interesting--there was a donkey inside that you can pay to sit on/take photo, etc.

I've cruised as a single mom since daughter was 4, so I get the safety issues.

We're doing those ports on our upcoming Fantasy cruise and we booked private excursions for each one.

To add to what Moki's Mommy said, in Falmouth we're going to Dunn's River Falls and the Bobsled Experience.

When are you going? We are going on the same ports in a few weeks. The only place we are going off the ship is falmouth. We are doing a private resort which we have done before. Its called resort for a day. Lots of fun. We have also done the tour at grand cayman which was reasonable and lots of fun. Turtle farm and hell was great!

For the uninitiated, "Hell" is basically a rock formation surrounded by a couple of souvenir shops and a post office (so you can get your mail post marked from hell.) All the streets having names related to hell in some way. Post office is happy to accept US currency but by law, can give change only in Cayman money. Thus, you will want to have some small bills or coins with you. Mailing a post card to the US was cheaper there than it is to mail one from one state to the next here!

It is essentially a tourist trap. The kids enjoyed the chickens and the iguana.

Grand Cayman is one of my favorite ports--clean, safe. All beaches are free (by law), and there are plenty of vendors to rent you chairs and "stuff" if you desire. The beaches a little farther from the tender port are a lot nicer than the ones within walking distance--isn't it always that way? But there are beaches you can walk to.

When are you going? We are going on the same ports in a few weeks. The only place we are going off the ship is falmouth. We are doing a private resort which we have done before. Its called resort for a day. Lots of fun. We have also done the tour at grand cayman which was reasonable and lots of fun. Turtle farm and hell was great!

We're going on the June 11 Fantasy cruise.

We've been to Grand Cayman once before, and really enjoyed our private boat tour, so we're doing the same thing again. We've also been to Cozumel, but the last time we went to the Mayan ruins, so this will be our first time actually exploring the island.

We are doing these same Ports on the Fantasy in October. My daughter wants to swim with the dolphins, not sure which port to do it in. We have done an dolphin encounter and dunn Rivers on a previous cruise, and want to do Mragaritaville in Jamaica. SO I can do it at Grand Caymen or Cozumel.

How do I decide? I don't want to book an excursion and then be missing a really nice free or inexpensive experience. Does that make sense?

Any feedback or thoughts.

Grand Cayman is better for free/low cost experiences on your own. ALL the beaches in Grand Cayman are free. Three is a public bus that will take you to and from the more popular beaches or you can take a taxi. You can easily do a 1/2 day island tour (including turtle farm) or snorkel thru Captain Marvin's or other private tour operators.

I am FAR more comfortable on my own in Grand Cayman than Cozumel.

All that said, the best "swim with Dolphins" I've ever seen/done was at Discovery Cove in Orlando.

We're going on the June 11 Fantasy cruise.

 

We've been to Grand Cayman once before, and really enjoyed our private boat tour, so we're doing the same thing again. We've also been to Cozumel, but the last time we went to the Mayan ruins, so this will be our first time actually exploring the island.

We will be on your ship. My son is 8. We are so excited. Haven't been in a long time.