Questions about Port Excursions on Fantasy Western Caribbean Cruise

[mumachaz]

First I'd like to thank everyone for answering all of my questions. We're new cruising and are taking our first cruise in March. I've booked Port Excursions for each port, but I'm really not sure if I've made good choices for the places we're visiting. I know that these adventures are subjective, but I'd really appreciate your comments and/or suggestions. My husband and I are taking our 8 year old granddaughter on this trip, her dream is to swim with the dolphins so that is a MUST, the other things are pretty flexible.

1.) Grand Cayman - Day 3 - Deluxe Stingray City Sandbar Snorkel.

2.) Costa Maya - Day 4 - Jungle Beach Break

3.) Cozumel - Day 5 - Dolphin Push Pull and Swim

 

Also, I've booked the Pirate Deluxe Maiden Package for her the night of the Pirate Party. We've taken her to Disney World the last three years (ages 5, 6, and 7) and she loved the Princess make-overs but didn't want that now that she just turned 8! She is however, very excited about the Pirate makeover.

 

Thanks again, looking forward to your comments.

[theshowmestate]

We did the Western last March and really enjoyed it. Our excursions were:

Grand Cayman--Boatswain Turtle Farm; Stingray City sounded great however we've done the stingray deal on CC and again, while it doesn't compare to Stingray City and it would be cool, the opportunity to do the turtles was something different.

Costa Maya--Hubby isn't really a beach guy so we did the Segway Tour and had a lot of fun. There was supposed to be some beach time included but it didn't happen. that didn't make it any less enjoyable. It was fun to do segways and now we know what they're about.

Cozumel--debated and debated due to the travel time involved but we did Excaret. Really liked it. We've done a dolphin experience at Discovery Cove in Orlando and it was really great but Excaret seemed to be something we could only do there so we chose that.

Our DDs were 14 and 16 at the time of our cruise and loved everything and would do it all again tomorrow if they had the opportunity. How lucky is your granddaughter. You'll be making memories that will warm her heart always.

[mumachaz]

Thank you for the quick response. I didn't realize that there is a stingray opportunity on CC. I will look into that. Regarding the Excaret excursion, do you think that it's something that a child who just had her 8th birthday would be able to do? She's a good swimmer and loves the water. Also, if we were to switch to the Excaret excursion does anyone know if the dolphin swim on Grand Cayman is a good choice?

 

Thanks again. I don't know what I'd do without these boards!

[moki'smommy]

We LOVE Grand Cayman. Stingray City is great. You can book this privately thru Captain Marvin or other vendors. We've used them twice (once with an island tour, once a 1/2 day snokel + Stingray City). Excellent company, and may save you serious money over DCL. Stingray city is much better than the rays at Castaway Cay. The other way cool place is the turtle farm as above.

 

Dolphin swim....we found that Discovery Cove in Orlando (sister park to Sea World) was the best dolphin thing we ever did. Much better than anything we did on any island, and well worth adding a day or two to a trip in order to be there.

 

Cozumel is NOT our favorite port; I'd tend to stick to DCL excursions here.

 

Never been to Costa Maya, so no comments there.

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Chanknaab park is our favorite for Cozumel.

 

Sting ray city SANDBAR at Grand Cayman!

 

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[goofy559]

First I'd like to thank everyone for answering all of my questions. We're new cruising and are taking our first cruise in March. I've booked Port Excursions for each port, but I'm really not sure if I've made good choices for the places we're visiting. I know that these adventures are subjective, but I'd really appreciate your comments and/or suggestions. My husband and I are taking our 8 year old granddaughter on this trip, her dream is to swim with the dolphins so that is a MUST, the other things are pretty flexible.

1.) Grand Cayman - Day 3 - Deluxe Stingray City Sandbar Snorkel - good choice but book on your own through capt Marvin for a better experience. Less crowded.

2.) Costa Maya - Day 4 - Jungle Beach Break

3.) Cozumel - Day 5 - Dolphin Push Pull and Swim - good choice. Much better here than grand cayman

 

Also, I've booked the Pirate Deluxe Maiden Package for her the night of the Pirate Party. We've taken her to Disney World the last three years (ages 5, 6, and 7) and she loved the Princess make-overs but didn't want that now that she just turned 8! She is however, very excited about the Pirate makeover.

 

Thanks again, looking forward to your comments.

 

 

See above. While xcaret is great it requiresa ferry ride to the mainland and is a long day. You have made good choices. we've done this itinerary many times. While I prefer to book on my own where possible there is nothing wrong with booking through the ship especially as a new cruiser. Just know that in Gc it is very crowded and rushed compared to private. Your GD will have a blast!

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[mumachaz]

Thank you everyone for the awesome responses.

Moki's Mom - I found the information on the Stingray Excursion that you mentioned. I was surprised that DCL is only $10 more, however the DCL adventure doesn't include the reef snorkeling. I think that we will explore your suggestion further.

All - We won't have an extra day in Orlando, except for the day we leave the ship. Our flight leaves the following morning. Considering the time it takes to exit the ship, obtain travel, etc. is the Orlando Dolphin adventure something that's really do-able? We have booked a hotel on the ocean and planned to spend a relaxing day swimming and hanging out prior to our flight home.

 

Again, thanks for all of the advice. You've given me so much to think about!

[moki'smommy]

Discovery Cove is a full day on its own. It is seriously the only guest experience we've had that compared to Disney. You will have an assigned time for your dolphin swim; the rest of the day you are free to explore the lazy river, snorkel reef area, aviary, stingray tanks, etc. You will have lockers, wet suits are provided, lunch is included, as is food for the animals. What you will need is money for photos.

 

Can you do it on disembarkation day? It depends on the time for you dolphin swim. You might go on line and see if they even have openings for the day you are available. Alternatively, can you come to Orlando a day earlier than you'd planned?

 

You could do early breakfast, get off the ship, into a car, and be at Discovery Cove before 10. You could be there by 9, but that would feel rushed.

[MCC retired]

Cozumel : For those that have been there several times before or not beach types , Discover Mexico gets great reviews on Trip Advisor (check it out). I intend to try it ourselves on our next stop @ Cozumel.

[theshowmestate]

Excaret--it was a long day but the travel time went by quickly. Once there we enjoyed ourselves. We did the underground river which was cool, not sure if it's entirely nature made but whatever. Your belongings are locked up in a large duffel before you get your life vest and enter the river (you're given the key to the duffle). Cold water upon entry but we got used to it quickly. The river isn't very deep. If I remember, I could touch bottom most of the way. There were a few darker spots, a few stray bats who didn't bother us and some photo op stops along the way. I was sorry I sent my camera, which is water proof away in the locked duffel. Upon exiting the river, our guide was there to meet folks, show us to the showers and our duffels. After that we were escorted to the dining area and then given some time on our own. We wandered around and enjoyed their beach chairs. When we met up with our guide again, we did a quick tour of the property to include their butterfly area and ended up and the very large gift shop area before rebounding the buses back. My DDs are were 14 and 1 at the time but they loved it and would like to go back. There seemed to be all ages there and it looked as though there were not problems.

 

Discovery Cove--if you can do, do it. The pictures I've seen of the dolphin areas in the cruise ports look so so. At Discover cove you feel as though you're on a private island for a day. We loved it when we went and would do again. That's another whole post though.

 

CC Stingray Adventure--probably different from Stingray City but if I guess it depends on what you want. Again,for me it was seeing the sea turtles, learning about them, holding them and I haven't seen that opportunity elsewhere. CC's Stingray deal starts with a quick education about the rays they have there, feeding them in areas that the rays are trained to come to then a bit of free snorkel time in the area. It is structured where the Stingray City opportunity might be more "open" water. We've done the CC sting ray deal and my kiddos want to do it again this March, so it's been a hit with us. In GC they loved holding the baby turtles and would have stayed there all day if we had let them. After learning about the turtles (they seem to do lots of great work there with the turtles) we went to the area with the baby turtles, there was lunch and some snorkeling or swimming time in their made to look natural lagoon and swim areas. Hubby and I found lounges to relax on and our girls snorkeled through their lagoon. We were going to swim in the swim area a bit but encountered a brief rain shower so we had some snacks, hit their gift shop and it was time to go. We vaca in FL every summer on the Gulf Coast and see lots of sea turtle nests so we really enjoyed seeing them and learning a bit about them.

[mumachaz]

Thank you so much for the detailed information. I've got so much to think about that I'm afraid my head may burst!!! :o