Buzzbea

I understand that depending on weather conditions cruise ships may go to another side of the island in order to safely tender passengers.  All the restaurants and tourist  spots seem to be by the western port.  Is transportation easy to find?

None of the tours in Georgetown sound quite right.  I'm not much of a beach person (we'll do Nachi Cocom at Cozumel ) or a shopper.  My husband is really interested in history and culture, so I thought we'd visit the National Museum.  If there's time left, what's the best way to get to Pedro St. James?

We were planning to do a walking tour of Georgetown, but my husband has developed some back trouble recently and no longer enjoys walking. We already have a beach day planned in Cozumel and I am not a beach person.

Does anyone have suggestions for an interesting tour that does not involve a lot of walking. My husband was looking forward to seeing the history of the island and eating a local restaurant.

Some things are meant to be eaten with the hands (bbq ribs), but probably not the meals served at dinner on a cruise ship.

One of our favorite dining experiences was with the Spanish guitarist from Turkey on a Mediterranean Cruise. He had some fascinating tales to tell.

I always communicated with the individual named on the nachi cocom website rather than on the PayPal site. They may be the same one. I have never checked.

YOu might email the company directly. It takes a couple of days to get a response, but they are usually very friendly. I've had several communications with them as I was worried about arriving on Christmas Eve.

This thread made me check out my email and grateful to have my confirmation. It answered my question about paying with a credit card as well.

As I look upon some of the lovely Christmas gifts that I have received over the years as a teacher, I also remember all the ones I've had to find storage room for. It's not because I don't appreciate the sentiments or the gift, but I simply don't have enough space for them all. After a few decades I really began to be grateful to families that gave donations to charity in my name or gift cards for books or school and office supplies.

I think that if appropriate, then a tip in a pretty "Thank You" card or "Christmas" card may be more useful for the family and yet a bit touching more than one just tossed in a hat.

Thanks. That was my thought. B.

No, but although I was not an official part of a tour, I have voluntarily hosted student visitors from other lands and they have brought gifts.

We will be going on the Mayan Experience tour on Christmas Day. From what I understand, we will be in a family's home on the holiday, (holy day). Would it be appropriate or expected to offer a tip or a gift?

We are going on the Mayan Experience with Native Choice after reading the posts. A question: When you visit the family, would it be polite, expected, rude, to offer a tip?

Aquarium at Paradise Island Atlantis is amazing if you like that sort of thing.

It was an "excursion" but we took a tour of the Aquarium at Atlantis Paradise Island. It was amazing. After the tour we were able to walk around the park, have lunch and enjoy the scenery.

I renewed my passport because I am a naturalized citizen born in Havana, Cuba and do not dare carry my birth certificate. The individual processing the forms strongly suggested that my husband who is US born also renew his passport not only because of possible medical emergencies, but also because of possible muggings, thefts etc. Local authorities might not deal with an individuals who did not possess a passport.

There are just two of us, but we would like to be able to join others if possible. Also, like I said, the 5:00 seems too early and the 8 or 8:30 (I forget) seems kind of late.

The early dinner seemed too early and the late too late. When I contacted RCL about My Time dining they said that we would have to make daily reservations on the 800 number for a dinner time. Have you found this to be true?

It seems to be like a lot of trouble to do it daily if we don't want a lot of specialty restaurants. I was also told to contact my travel agent to make arrangements rather than through their site.

Any input would be appreciated.

I haven't been on the excursions yet, but I've found that the ones given a good reviews by members of CruiseCritic also receive good reviews by Tripadvisor. Ironically I didn't recognize any of the excursions arranged by the cruise line as one highly recommended by members of CruiseCritic, at least not the ones that interested me, or else they were more expensive for a similar tour.

My husband and were given a late seating for a Christmas cruise. He likes to meet new people and would prefer the My Time dining. We have done both on previous cruises, but the arrangements were pre-made by the company he represented. This time we are going for our 40th anniversary.

Royal Caribbean says we can change, but that with My Time dining we would have to call an 800 number daily to arrange our dining time. This seems to be too much of a hassle, especially when we might end up dining alone anyway. Other opinions?

We don't get to Grand Cayman till 11:30. I understand that if you do not have tour to catch you do not get priority on the tenders. We might just eat a snack on the ship.

I agree. However, obviously their tech people need to upgrade their website and/or add some links to the providers of the extra services. This way if you had to make arrangements through the actual provider, like it sounds, it could be done at the original time or after the fact.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll put it on our list. The information I have read says that taxis and buses are easy ways to get around and that some places are within walking distance. Friends that went had to tender on the other side of the island, but were easily able to taxi to Pedro St. James.

I know it was extra. I had just hoped to reserve it ahead of time so I wouldn't have to worry about it later. Christmas time seems to be at a premium for cruising.

Yes, thank you. I have been reading about those places. I think that is what my husband is interested in. I have been reading up on them on an online magazine. I have reserved a Cayman travel guide at the library and may purchase one so that we have directions and information when we get there. We are not "smartphone" people so we still need real books.

My husband loves history. After doing the beach and maybe snorkeling in Cozumel, the ruins and Mayan experience in Costa Maya, I thought that we would explore the historic sites at Grand Cayman.

Unlike some other communities we have visited, I have not been able to find one that takes you to places of local history. Self guided tours seem to be recommended. Does anyone have suggestions as to where I can get information about how to plan our route?