Excursions from Dream

[Stephandboys]

First time cruiser! Going on the Feb 26 - 7 day Cruise. Ports are Montego Bay,

Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We've never been to any of these and plan to go on shore for all three. But it looks like it gets pretty expensive to go on an excursion to all of them. That'd be upwards of around $600 for two of us just to go do something. We'd really like to learn about and explore all of them, but........:p

So can anyone share their ideas and experiences that may not be so expensive? We will probably pay for at least one nice excursion and listen to your experiences for the other two, perhaps? Thanks!

[sailor05]

Go to the ports of call area of these forums and research things to do and look for recommendations for tour companies. It's almost always cheaper to book independently versus through the cruise line. Just keep in mind when doing this YOU are responsible for getting back to the ship on time or your'e out of luck. That being said, we've never run into any issues but try and pick things closer to the port so if a bus breaks down we can make other arrangements fairly easy to get back. If it's something far away then I'd suggest going through the cruise line.

[nealstuber]

First time cruiser! Going on the Feb 26 - 7 day Cruise. Ports are Montego Bay,

 

Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We've never been to any of these and plan to go on shore for all three. But it looks like it gets pretty expensive to go on an excursion to all of them. That'd be upwards of around $600 for two of us just to go do something. We'd really like to learn about and explore all of them, but........:p

 

So can anyone share their ideas and experiences that may not be so expensive? We will probably pay for at least one nice excursion and listen to your experiences for the other two, perhaps? Thanks!

 

 

To keep busy for a full day in port, we now budget $100/pp. So $600 for three ports seems about on target. But, when we were first starting out, we rented cars in GC and Coz, and did Sunset beach in MB and usually spent about half that.

 

 

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[Micahs Grandad]

Montego bay has nice beach Dr Cable or something like that. Can easily do that on your own for under $ 100 for the day for both of you.

 

Grand Cayman 7 mile beach take island bus.

 

Will cost more if you get a bunch of drinks.

[watermelonqueen99]

Nachi Cocom in Cozumel is a great value. It's $55 per person and includes food and unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Beautiful beach, hot tub, nice pool, swim-up bar, quiet atmosphere, and they only allow 100 people per day. Also includes your beach chairs, many right there on the beach under a palapa. You get a lot of bang for your buck there.

[garpmqt]

For a first timer, I would second Nachi if you want a beach break at Coz. They have a website. If you want a tour you can find and reserve a cab with and English speaking driver for about $100 for half a day, which is enough for a ride out to,the East side, maybe the ruins and tequila factory. Drop back at the square and roam downtown before heading back. Wet Wendy's is a good place for a drink and snack. Cayman I would do a stingray tour independent of Carnival. MoBay I would stay on the boat or do a Carnival tour for your first visit. Have fun and enjoy, we are on the Dream for 3rd time April 30.

 

 

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[1DreamComeTrue]

We will be going on the Dream (as our first cruise) on Feb 26 as well! Do you know if the recent "travel ban" will affect us?

[tandemcruzr]

We will be going on the Dream (as our first cruise) on Feb 26 as well! Do you know if the recent "travel ban" will affect us?

 

What 'travel ban' would that be?

[amydresh]

I just did that exact cruise on Jan 15. For Montego Bay we did an all inclusive through resortforaday.com at Sunscape Splash. It is not even a 5 minute drive to the resort and they pick you up and drop you off.

 

In Grand Cayman we did a Stingray tour which I HIGHLY recommend doing. It was the BEST of our entire cruise experience. We booked through Cayman Eco Adventures and they were wonderful! I would NEVER book through the cruise line to do the stingrays, they book their boats solid and all the people were just standing around in the water with nothing to do because the stingrays all swarm the smaller tour boats who feed them and know them by name.

 

In Coz we did swimming with the dolphins and while it was fun, the stingrays were far, far more exciting and the dolphins paled in comparison and didn't end up being worth the money we paid. I wish we had just done a beach day instead.

[maldenmusic]

In GC we did the Stingray City/Starfish tour with Acquarius Tours for $55 each and it was a great day. In Coz we rented a car and drove the island and it cost around $75 but we took out ALL the extra insurance. In Jamaica, we took a cab to Doctor's Beach Cave-$14 each per taxi and $6 each to get in to DCB.

[A&Jfamily]

If your budget is tight, and $600 is more than you want to commit to but want one main excursion, I would personally chose an excursion in Grand Cayman that lets you see the island, as well as swim with the rays. You will save more if you book privately and you can find many recommendations on the ports of call board as well as TA.com. I love the dolphins in Chankanaab but that is going to be a $250+ expense.

 

In Cozumel and Montego Bay, you can take a cab to one of the beaches. In Cozumel, we did Money Bar last time. It's not a sandy stroll beach, but like many near the pier, on the rock wall and thus one that has good snorkeling. We travel with masks and snorkels, so no rental expense. The food was good and the drinks reasonably priced. Its a small place but you can chose sun or shade. We probably spent $100 for our family of 4 including 4 adult beverages, 4 virgin daquiris, and enough food to feed everyone lunch.

[jgmpuma]

For a really cheap (but fun) day in Grand Cayman, there is a dive shop within easy walking distance from the pier (go to your right). They rent snorkel gear for $15 or so and there is easy access to a reef with lots of fish, coral,etc.

 

There is a restaurant next door for food and drinks.

 

We have done stingray city on an independent tour, and that was a great experience.

[nchikk]

The following are my experiences, thoughts and opinions only. I do not speak for others...and if your thoughts, experiences and opinions differ, that's fine too.

 

Jamaica -- I'll never even get off the ship there again. But since you want to, this would be the place I'd recommend a ship-sponsored excursion. Hunny has climbed Dunn's River Falls (I couldn't, back issues) and enjoyed the experience. This seems to be a popular excursion.

 

Cozumel -- We've done one independent excursion here...Cozumel Bar Hop. You can search them online. We had a fine time. You get out of the town and see the other side of the island. This includes a few shots.

 

Cayman -- We used Captain Marvin's for an island tour which included the turtle farm and Hell. They did well by us and we enjoyed the tour. The cost was very reasonable.

[1DreamComeTrue]

Sorry, I briefly heard about a travel ban...but apparently it was only for immigration and was blocked anyway. I am new to all this, so I panicked a little when I heard anything about traveling being banned.

[NWACruiser]

Jamaica:

We went to Secrets (adults only resort) on the first visit. It was nice. Sunset is similar and allows kids. We did a snorkeling trip on the second trip.

 

Grand Cayman:

We did the stingray trip on the first visit. It drops you on a sandbar where there are a lot of stingrays. You get an good introduction to this misguided creature. The second visit was a walkabout of the port. We also caught a shuttle to a resort on Seven Mile Beach.

 

Cozumel:

Actually we have been there four times. Passion Island was a good excursion. Beach was nice and the food was decent. We also grabbed a cab to downtown San Miguel for a shopping trip and to find a good local eatery. We also went to Nachi Cocum on a trip and we also spent the day in the port are.

[nealstuber]

Nachi Cocom in Cozumel is a great value. It's $55 per person and includes food and unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Beautiful beach, hot tub, nice pool, swim-up bar, quiet atmosphere, and they only allow 100 people per day. Also includes your beach chairs, many right there on the beach under a palapa. You get a lot of bang for your buck there.

 

 

Absolutely true, but to the $55 you need to add $20-$25 each way for a cab and maybe some tips. Note quite $200 for a couple in port for a day but getting there.

 

Not saying it's not a good value, just trying to help OP understand that it's pretty difficult to keep busy for a whole day in port, and eat and have a couple of drinks, without knocking at $100/pp.

 

 

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[CoW mAn]

I enjoyed the Pasion Island excursion in Cozumel...

 

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[SuiteTraveler]

Sorry, I briefly heard about a travel ban...but apparently it was only for immigration and was blocked anyway. I am new to all this, so I panicked a little when I heard anything about traveling being banned.

 

The travel "ban" would only affect you if you are not a US or Canadian citizen and then only if you are from certain countries. Otherwise, don't worry.

 

In regards to the 3 ports,

 

Montego Bay - choose tubing on the White River - it is clean and the tubing is great! It's a half day excursion which will give you time to do something else.

 

Grand Caymen - it's all about going to Stingray City and I would definitely take a shore excursion for that one.

 

Cozumel: Nachi Cocom or Mr. Sanchos - you need to make advance online reservations for either of these and then take a taxi from the port (easy to get one).

[CoW mAn]

The travel "ban" would only affect you if you are not a US or Canadian citizen and then only if you are from certain countries. Otherwise, don't worry.

 

Actually it IS affecting Canadian citizens if they have dual citizenship with any of the 7 countries.