Places to go at Western Caribbean

[yoyomum]

Hello, I wanted to ask those who have gone WEstern Caribbean cruise-

 

If you were to choose just one place in the ff. ports of call - Costa Maya, Cayman Islands and Cozumel, which places would you go??

 

Need your recommendations as we are travelling with our almost 3 year old on the Disney Fantasy :)

[gigi1313]

Although I have not been yet, I have been doing some research... Our current plan is to visit the turtle farm and margaritaville on GCAYMAN, just hang by pool at pier in costa maya, and Dolphinaris in Cozumel...

[Mulan2]

We haven't been to Costa Maya but have visited Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Our kids really liked the turtle farm on GC. On Cozumel, DH dragged us all to the ruins at Tulum. He enjoyed it but our kids were bored and it was a long bus ride.

Have a magical trip whatever you choose!

[webzila]

I like Costa Maya. It's not a town so you can't go off on your own but they do have some good excursions there. We did snorekeling last Aug and really enjoyed it. Twice before that we went to see Mayan ruins.

 

In Cayman Islands I also recommend the Turtle Farm although I would not want to spend the whole day there. We took a tour that went all over the island and included a stop at the farm. The turtles were cute and we got to hold them...then we had a turtle burger...they are kind of chewy :D

 

I don't know about Cozumel, I have been there many times. We did the Atlantis Submarine last time. I recommend this for anyone with younger kids since it does not take a long time, you dont have to travel far from the pier and you dont have to get wet.

[bus man]

I'm not sure how a 3 YO would react to Mayan ruins, but if the adults in the party want to see some, I recommend doing Chacchoben from Costa Maya, rather than Tulum from Cozumel. Two reasons: (1) the ruins themselves are more interesting at Chacchoben (IMHO) and one is able to climb portions of some of them (not allowed any climbing at Tulum), and (2) it's a much shorter ride to get there. It's about an hour each way from the port; whereas from Cozumel to Tulum involves a 45-minute ferry, plus a few blocks of walking, plus an hour bus ride, plus a little bit of walking from the parking lot to the ruins.

 

I second the recommendation to do the Turtle Farm on Grand Cayman; I can't imagine any kid not liking it.

[yoyomum]

Thanks for the tips!

 

The turtle farm looks very interesting and I saw a thread here about booking the tours at the port. There are tours w/c includes the turtle farm, Hell, rum factory and seven mile beach, etc for $20 per person. We might just do that although not a good idea to do everything as it is too much. maybe turtle farm, hell and the beach part.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1581565

 

In Costa Maya, we might do the Chaccoben ruins as it is half day only and is nearer as compared to Tulum in Cozumel.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1592253

 

I am not quite decided on Cozumel, we might just do a beach day and I heard quite a lot about Paradise Beach. Do you guys recommend it??

Any other interesting things in Cozumel, is it a good place to sightsee and do some window shopping? I think our daughter is too small for the dolphin experience so we will skip that for now..

 

Thanks again for the suggestions.

[war_eagle99]

I like Costa Maya slightly better than Grand Cayman because there is no need to tender in. You can go back to the ship for a bit if you want to rest.

 

The best thing about Grand Cayman is Stingray City but a 3yr old might be easily scared for that excursion.

 

Cozumel - I hate it

[Bonds73]

We have never been to Costa Maya so I can't comment on that port however we have been to Cozumel and Grand Cayman several times.

 

In Cozumel I would recommend either going to Chankanaab National Park, we did the dolphin swim there however it is a beautiful spot to spend the entire day. Paradise Beach is also a great place to enjoy the beach, we loved both places.

 

Last winter we took our son to 7-miles beach in Grand Cayman, he was only 6 months at the time and although it was beautiful day the weather was really windy and we weren't able to take him in the water. I don't know if this is always the case but we regretted our decision afterwards since we really wanted to take him swimming in the ocean.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

[Linco711]

Thanks for the tips!

 

The turtle farm looks very interesting and I saw a thread here about booking the tours at the port. There are tours w/c includes the turtle farm, Hell, rum factory and seven mile beach, etc for $20 per person. We might just do that although not a good idea to do everything as it is too much. maybe turtle farm, hell and the beach part.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1581565

 

In Costa Maya, we might do the Chaccoben ruins as it is half day only and is nearer as compared to Tulum in Cozumel.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1592253

 

I am not quite decided on Cozumel, we might just do a beach day and I heard quite a lot about Paradise Beach. Do you guys recommend it??

Any other interesting things in Cozumel, is it a good place to sightsee and do some window shopping? I think our daughter is too small for the dolphin experience so we will skip that for now..

 

Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

Have lunch at Panchos Back Yard... so fun and authentic and Yummy!!...then we wondered around the town and shopped. It was a fun day...

[willyy]

love playa mia in cozumel, you can book on your own or excursion through disney, great beach with lunch and drinks included.

[ducklite]

I'd do a half day tour with the Turtle Farm and then spend the rest of the day at a beach in GC. I wouldn't bring a three year old to Tulum. It's fascinating, but as someone else pointed out, a long bus ride (I think 90 minutes each way), and it would be very boring at the site for a young child.

[yoyomum]

I'd do a half day tour with the Turtle Farm and then spend the rest of the day at a beach in GC. I wouldn't bring a three year old to Tulum. It's fascinating, but as someone else pointed out, a long bus ride (I think 90 minutes each way), and it would be very boring at the site for a young child.

 

I was thinking if doing the chabocchen tour in costa maya as it is nearer. But is still hesitant as the boat is docked from 1245 to 530.

 

What about he'll in grand Cayman? Is it guide.. I think there are tours of which include turtle farm, hell and rum point. Anybody can recommend a local operator in grand Cayman?

[Skitheboat]

I am also taking Fantasy's western itinerary. I am fairly disappointed in the short dock times in both Costa Maya & Grand Cayman. I'd really like to vist the ruins in Costa Maya, and as much as I don't want to book the excursion through the cruise ship, I probably will as I am worried about making it back to the ship on time. The time scheduled in Grand Cayman isn't much better, considering we have to tender in, which takes longer than just walking off the ship.

I will be anxiously awaiting for other Fantasy passengers' experiences with this once people start coming back from this cruise.

[yoyomum]

I know.. times are really short. For us, we don't have any choice but to book it with others as my daughter is only 2 and we can't book the cruise ship's excursion. I hope we hear more reviews from the fantasy cruisers which has the same times as us. The MV has different times docked in the ports so their experience isn't quite the same. We are leaving PC May 12 and I'm glad our ship will be the only ones in all the ports for the days we are there, so i think that is good too.

 

I am also taking Fantasy's western itinerary. I am fairly disappointed in the short dock times in both Costa Maya & Grand Cayman. I'd really like to vist the ruins in Costa Maya, and as much as I don't want to book the excursion through the cruise ship, I probably will as I am worried about making it back to the ship on time. The time scheduled in Grand Cayman isn't much better, considering we have to tender in, which takes longer than just walking off the ship.

I will be anxiously awaiting for other Fantasy passengers' experiences with this once people start coming back from this cruise.

[karajeboo]

Just back from a Western cruise and LOVED Grand Cayman - what made it so great was our tour guide/Captain Jordan, with Fat Fish Adventures.... We did a private excursion for $550 for up to 8 people. It was absolutely incredible!!! It was a four hour tour - he picked us up at the Hard Rock Cafe (a couple blocks from the pier), and really gave us personalized attention. I cannot even imagine being on one of those "head" boats, and banging into each other at Stingray City or while snorkeling. He kept us away from other boats so we got very private, quality time. Check them out online (I'm going to hit Trip Advisor today to give them a great review!)......

 

We also enjoyed Mr Sancho's in Cozumel. The food was good (but a bit slow) and the drinks were plentiful (and came out surprisingly quick!!!). Snorkeling not great there, but the pool is nice, the beach is nice, kids had a great time, too!

[bkos]

We returned home from the Fantasy maiden voyage this past weekend. For excursions, we did a mix of water and ruins with various family members who's ages were 7, 10, 40s, and 60s.

 

In Grand Cayman, the entire family did a trip on the Seaworld semi-submarine which is a mix of a boat and a submarine where you sit down under the water. Lots of fish to see, a couple of wrecks, and even some scuba divers. There was no problem doing this excursion followed by lunch at Margaritaville with the constraint of tendering to the dock and an early departure.

 

At Coxumel, my wife and I only did the trip to Tulum since I had always wanted to see Mayan ruins. Everything was well orchestrated for the trip in term of timing and the kids that were with other families seemed to do OK. The hard part for them was the ferry ride between Coxumel to Playa Del Carmen on the mainland which caused a few kids and adults to get a little sea sick. Disney provided some pills for that prior to departure. When we got back, we didn't have much time after we got back to the dock in the afternoon so we went straight to the boat. One benefit to taking that ferry was that the Disney Magic was docked next to the Fantasy so we could see different views of the two boats as we were on the ferry.

 

Finally, the 10 year old, her dad, and my wife and I went to Chacchoben from Costa Maya. This half day trip was perfect for the 10 year old and we found the site more fascinating than the picturesque Tulum the day before. What was interesting to us was to see that there are many structures that hadn't yet been excavated so you could see what the archaeologists see before they clear the site. Chaccoben was discovered in the 1990s and was opened to the public in 2002 so it's a fairly new place. We docked around 7:30am and was returned back to the dock around noon for our 2:30pm departure. Gave us a little time to grab a beer and some chips from Carlos and Charlies there at the port.

 

I wouldn't recommend the Mayan trips with a 3 year old since it was long rides on buses and very hot and humid. However, the kids loved the semi-submarine in Grand Cayman. Of course there is the nursery and kids clubs on board for watching the kids while parents are doing excursions.

 

Have fun on your cruise!