Advice about excursions needed

[momof1son]

We are sailing on the Vista in March. We can only afford to do one excursion, and I want to get the best bang for our buck!

 

With that being said, we will be stopping in Grand Cayman, Cozumel, and Ocho Rios. Which port is the best to take an excursion in? We have been to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, but went on our own in both of them. We have never been to Jamaica.

 

I’m looking for my husband, myself and our 9 (almost 10) year old son. My husband isn’t a swimmer, and my son is afraid of most creatures (i.e. a dolphin swim is not for us). I'm not against going outside of Carnival for an excursion, nor do I have a problem with using Carnival. I just want suggestions for which port to look in, I guess.

[cortneyward]

I would vote something to do with Dunn's river falls in Jamaica. It's beautiful!

[kerryincork]

Do you mean your husband can't swim or he just doesn't like it much?

 

River tubing was fun, you wear flotation devices and no one fell in the day I did it. I found it quite tame myself, this was in Jamaica, I also did a bike ride, mountain to coast in Jamaica. They basically took you to the top of a mountain and you cycle down to the coast. Scenery was lovely, but you are going down hill most of the way and was fast. The bikes had breaks and the guides helped people. A couple of the older guests got back on the bus. If your family are speed demons and are fairly active this might be an alternative to a beach day😀

 

Horse riding is also fun. You can pretty much do this at any of the stops. I did it on Cozumel.

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Forums mobile app

[momof1son]

Do you mean your husband can't swim or he just doesn't like it much?

 

 

He can't swim, and water is not his favorite. My son can swim, but again, it isn't his choice of activity. It makes me sad, because I love the ocean, but I want us all to have fun.

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Luke gs Daddy]

I would vote something to do with Dunn's river falls in Jamaica. It's beautiful!

 

This one!

DRF is pretty cool and the other stops would be great beach days.

JMHO.

[nchikk]

I have a policy about not getting off the ship at Jamaica (personal preference). But if you want to get off at all the ports, the one I would NOT do on my own would be Ocho Rios. The trip to the falls is a bit of a drive but it's nice once you get there. Also, I'm not a stickler for doing ship-sponsored excursions, but I would at Jamaica.

[tigereye]

Different opinion than the previous poster. I love Jamaica and have been there several times. I think Dunns River Falls are beautiful. You have the stingrays in Grand Cayman and there is a lot to see and do in Cozumel, but a lot of it is beach connected.

[IPlayWithString]

Is there any way, prior to your cruise, that you could gently introduce your son to sea critters like sting rays, etc maybe through a local aquarium?

 

Because I get that your son is freaked out by some animals..mine can be too sometimes. The last time we cruised we took him to a dolphin encounter in Roatan where you just get to pet the dolphin, nothing more. We just were NOT sure how he was going to handle it, to be honest. We watched dolphin encounter videos on Youtube and I tried to remind him about how exciting this was going to be, how the dolphin was NOT going to hurt him and yes, it would feel really weird to pet a dolphin (it's a bit like petting wet rubber. Really SMOOTH wet rubber). But that it would be OK because he wasn't going to be there by himself and if he got too freaked out, we could just walk away no big deal.

 

It went ok. Not great, because he didn't like the temperature of the water (VERY cold) but once he adjusted to that he was more or less OK with watching the dolphin perform some tricks (something he's never seen up close) and getting to pet the dolphin.

[Athankfulheart]

Mystic Mountain in Jamaica might be a good day for folks who want to avoid water and creatures ? I thought it was kind of spendy for what it was, but it might be just what you guys need for a fun day together.

[LostPuppy]

AFA Ochos Rios, we went there as an alternate port due to a hurricane and had a great time!

 

We left the ship and walked down the main street, ended up finding an outdoor cafe that consisted of four tables under a tarp. Jerk chicken was cooked on a grill on the sidewalk, and cold Red Stripes came from a cooler under a stairway (the place was called "Under the Stairs"). No bathroom, you needed to walk to Burger King for that. Ate roasted peanuts purchased from some guy with a cooker right on the street.

 

It really was a wonderful time and probably cost the two of us around $30. Great memories, and while DRF is nice, it's a bit too "touristy" for my liking.

 

The more I cruise, the less I enjoy planned out activities (or CCL excursions) and the more I enjoy and look forward to random, spontaneous activities such as our day at "Under the Stairs".

[LostPuppy]

AFA Cozumel, I'd suggest trying a local restaurant and walking around a bit.

 

We generally take a taxi to "La Choza" for a nice meal, then walk over to "Woody's" and grab a couple of Sol's. Both of these places are perfect for a family desiring a more authentic view of Cozumel.

[mabones]

We did Mystic Mountain several years ago and had a blast. You have to ride on a Chair-lift to the top of the mountain. Up there is the Bob-sled ride (awesome) as well as, zip-lining. You can kill 3 birds with one stone. It's like one-stop shopping. I bed your son & husband would love this.

[tandemcruzr]

In Grand Cayman, look into the Turtle Farm. Our grandson had a ball.

[FloridaMommyof3]

In Jamaica my son and I went on the bobsled and went ziplining - which was a first for both of us and SO much fun!

[originalgeek]

IF you're all up for the walking, a visit to Tulum from Cozumel is pretty neat. It's a long ferry to the mainland and another long bus ride to the Mayan Ruins in Tulum but I loved the entire day. (I admit I love riding around in a bus though lol. I enjoy sightseeing even if it's just the sights off the highway and as long as I don't have to drive it's pretty relaxing to me) Carnival runs a few different versions of the trip but mine included a stop at a beach-side resort on the way back with buffet and beer and soft drinks included.

 

It was a LOT of hiking around the ruins - wear comfortable shoes - but the payoff was an historic adventure with beautiful views and lots of great photography opportunities. Informative and attentive guides made sure we had a good time.

 

Heck, I hardly crushed any candy at all that day. ;)

 

Be aware if you do this you won't have time to do anything actually in Cozumel. I figure we'll get back there eventually as it's on plenty of Carnival itineraries lol.

[IPlayWithString]

In Grand Cayman, look into the Turtle Farm. Our grandson had a ball.

 

Seconding the turtle farm...we loved getting to play with baby sea turtles and for me at least, watching the drunk college girls squeal like little girls because the baby sea turtles they were holding went flappy flap flap with their giant fin-leg things was pretty funny.

 

If you do the snorkeling part..bring your own snorkel. I was..less than impressed with their um..sanitization of the snorkels. :eek:

[momof1son]

Thank you all for the input! :)