purchase excursion from cruise or not

[nes]

This is our first cruise. All this is foreign to us. We are visting the Grand Caymen the first week in Feb. on the Enchament. All we want to do is sit and relax on the beach. A lounge chair and drink would be nice. ;) Do you recommend not purchasing a excursion and just winging it. (Getting a cab ride to a nice beach area). Can someone tell us about the difference other than cost and getting off the ship first. Also what happens if the ship has to leave early for some reason. How do you know? Thank you.

[Dgonza]

Hi Nes. You are going to love cruising. This will be my 2nd cruise and I am hooked. If you just want to relax at the beach and have some drinks then there is no need to do any excursions. From what I have read there is 7 mile beach and its just a short cab ride. I heard you can actually see the ships in port from the beach. However, it will be pretty crowded as this is the beach that most cruise passengers go to. If you are looking to do excursions like swimming with the stingrays, snorkeling, etc.... then you can book either with the cruise ship which is more money, or independently. I personally booked all of my excursions on my own and saved money. When you disembark from the ship there will a sign letting you know what time to be back. So no worries. Enjoy your cruise!!!