Which shore excursions sell out?

My family is taking a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise in March, and it's hard to predict this far out how many days we'll want tours and history, how many active ziplines or cavern exploration, and how often we might just want to walk around port on our own or just go to the beach. Are there any tips about which shore excursions sell out in advance? Ideally I would love to be onboard and decide each day what we will do the next day, but I don't want to get shut out of all the good options. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Anything that involves dolphins tends to sell out. Beyond that, if your goal is "something to do," you can usually book a day ahead. If you really care about a particular excursion, you'll need to book that ahead. There are also plenty of things you can opt to do on your own or thru a private excursion company, often booking at the last minute on line.

Don't forget that you can get 50mb of complimentary internet time if you sign up before midnight on day 1. While I thought that was to be "per cabin," we've signed up on a "per person" basis using different devices and passwords. This easily enables you to contact private tour companies if needed. Do remember to turn off all data eating apps on your devices!

Given DCL's cancelation policy, we've taken to doing last minute bookings. We can't predict what my daughter's physical situation will be or how she is holding up with the increased activity of excursions (she has a chronic disabling medical condition). Thus, we've learned that booking in advance can be a mistake. Still, we rarely have a problem getting what we want. And by "last minute," I mean the day before.

Thank you, this is comforting. I did a live chat with Disney to ask the same question but, as you might expect, they recommended signing up as early as possible for everything. I think we'll mostly wait and browse what's available once on board except for my husband's beloved round of golf. We're definitely more relaxed -- mostly will decide "active" or "historic" but will hope to find an option for either. Thanks for taking the time to reply -- best wishes to your daughter.

Thanks for your caring reply.

Grand Cayman is a very easy "on your own" port and I have no concerns about safety there beyond what would exist in any US city--you need to use common sense, but I don't feel unsafe. There are plenty of private tour companies, but you don't even need them if your goal is a beach day or just seeing the island. There is a city bus that will happily take you to the beach and back or a taxi if you'd prefer that. If you have children, you might want to do the turtle farm. On one trip we did a 1/2 day island tour that included the turtle farm thru Captain Marvin's; the cost was the same as the turtle farm alone booked thru Boatswain's (location of the farm). And we had the option of being dropped off at the beach of our choice or returning to the tender port. In general, the island tour was a bit boring (Hell is a rock formation with a couple of gift shops), but the turtle farm was great.

I've also done snorkeling thru Captain Marvin's--again, great company, great service, super time.

All beaches at Grand Cayman are free. You do need to be careful to not trespass on private property to get to a beach. There are little brown signs that will direct you to public accesses. At the main beaches, there are plenty of people to sell food, rent whatever you wish--chairs, umbrellas, etc.

Stingray City in Grand Cayman is great.

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Stingray City in Grand Cayman is great.

 

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Totally agree--that is part of most snorkel excursions, although Stingray City is not snorkeling.