best excursions in Grand Cayman

[angelsfort]

Hi there! I'm a single mother with a 13 year old... we'll be going to Grand Cayman for the very first time on our next cruise and we were wondering what excursions are worth the price and what to skip?

 

I'm on a budget and have been saving for a year to pay for this cruise so we can't do anything too terribly expensive but I'd like to do SOMETHING to make the cruise as memorable as possible.

 

Can anyone suggest any budget friendly (and single mom SAFE) excursions? I'd really appreciate the input of some experienced cruisers!

[angelsfort]

we'll also be going to Cozumel (I think) and would appreciate some inout for that port also... if possible.

 

thanks so much (in advance!)

[Clarea]

You may also want to check out the port of call forum:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=147

[Merion_Mom]

Grand Cayman: http://www.stingraysailing.com

 

Cozumel: Mr Sanchos: http://www.mrsanchos.com/

[4merlurker]

Grand Cayman: www.nativewaywatersports.com/about-our-tours

[southnam]

I did the Stingray tour with Native way 2 year ago. Great experience

 

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[SweFlo]

We loved Chankanaab park in Cozumel! Tickets are $21 for 12 year old and up, and your ticket includes Sea Lion Show, Prehispanic Eco Tour, Dolphin Presentation, Manatee Exhibition, Beach, Coral Reef and facilities; restrooms, hammocks, palapas, beach chairs, swimming pool, showers and more. The snorkeling here is awesome, our daughter loved it when she was 10, we are going back in the fall. To can rent snorkeling equipment or bring your own. It's only 10 min taxi from cruise terminal.

[boxermom711]

We did stingray city / catamaran & loved it. In Cozumel we did Mr Sanchos

[coast2coast]

I'll give Nativeway a 2nd vote. We've used them twice for the Rays, Reef, and Rum Point tour. I'd highly recommend it. :)

[OCruisers]

Swimming with the Stingrays is the most popular thing to do for first timers in Grand Cayman to do and would certainly be a great experience for your daughter. :)

[M_BA]

Here is the RCCL excursion book that lists both ports:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2344491

 

Stingray City is quite popular in Grand Cayman. I enjoyed it back in 2003. Bring a waterproof camera.

 

We did a helicopter tour last month in Grand Cayman. It was $199/pp on the ship. We booked the exact same tour locally for $135/pp. that saved us $128!

 

In Cozumel, we always walk and shop.

[iahawkfan21]

I'll give Nativeway a 2nd vote. We've used them twice for the Rays, Reef, and Rum Point tour. I'd highly recommend it. :)

 

Another vote for Nativeway! We did the stingray, snorkel, and starfish excursion last time. Was roughly 3 hours and $40. Great guide, and very small group (15 or less if I remember right). We tipped $10 each at the end and easily felt it was worth more. Cruiseline excursions were right next to us @ Stingray City and much more crowded. We enjoyed it enough that when we go back in December we're taking my parents who haven't been yet.

 

We always just walk around downtown in Cozumel and get lunch so can't recommend much for excursions there. Definitely agree to check out the specific threads for each port.

[angelsfort]

Wow! so many great answers... THANKS! I'm definitely going to check into some of those...

 

just to make sure I understand correctly - for the Native way tours, I'd book directly thru them and NOT thru the cruise line's website?

 

and I think I've got a couple of masks & snorkels around here somewhere (living in Florida - we've got water everywhere to swim in!) so I can save some money or renting them :-)

[iahawkfan21]

Wow! so many great answers... THANKS! I'm definitely going to check into some of those...

 

just to make sure I understand correctly - for the Native way tours, I'd book directly thru them and NOT thru the cruise line's website?

 

and I think I've got a couple of masks & snorkels around here somewhere (living in Florida - we've got water everywhere to swim in!) so I can save some money or renting them :-)

 

Correct, just go to their website and contact them. We had our own equipment last time, but they did have stuff available for anyone to use that didn't bring their own (I think we were the only ones that did) and there was no rental fee. The only thing extra we paid for was the tips we gave them at the end.

[wikoffclan]

My son and I had a great time 2 years ago with Sotos Tours http://www.sotoscruises.com/#_=_

 

Visited Stingray City and then snorkeling. Was the highlight of our trip. It's a smaller boat, max 40 but we had only about 12 (ages 6 to 70) when we went. Good price, great crew and when there's a small group we had a surprise at the end. The second time we tried to go (my husband and I, and 4 family members) with them, they were delayed for a large group of 30 from a cruise ship and we decided to skip. Though the boat holds 40, IMHO that would be crowded and not as special.

[nativetexan]

We loved Chankanaab park in Cozumel! Tickets are $21 for 12 year old and up, and your ticket includes Sea Lion Show, Prehispanic Eco Tour, Dolphin Presentation, Manatee Exhibition, Beach, Coral Reef and facilities; restrooms, hammocks, palapas, beach chairs, swimming pool, showers and more. The snorkeling here is awesome, our daughter loved it when she was 10, we are going back in the fall. To can rent snorkeling equipment or bring your own. It's only 10 min taxi from cruise terminal.

 

We enjoyed Chankanaab Park! Lots to do and food reasonable. They usually have a coupon on their website.

 

Swimming with the stingrays is a must do! I did that 15 years ago and can't wait for my kids to do it this summer! Just amazing.

 

Fun times with your daughter! Enjoy!!

[matj2000]

Skip all the silly excursions.

 

GC has a great beach.

 

Go there and get tanned.......

[angelsfort]

Skip all the silly excursions.

 

GC has a great beach.

 

Go there and get tanned.......

 

except that I'm a redheaded freckle faced irish girl that doesn't tan... I go from ghost white (the glow in the dark kind of white) to ripe tomato red in about 10-15 minutes (a little longer if I wear spf 1000 sunblock) and then I'm bright red for about 3 weeks, at which point I FINALLY peel and go back to ghostly white

 

we'll do some snorkling, though