Recommendariona for excursions in Western Caribbean

goofy4wdw2

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
We will be sailing on the Fantasy in January. Western Caribbean stopping in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Falmouth Jamaica. Any recommendations (or ones you don’t recommend)? Two adults, kids ages 13, 11, and 7. Thanks!!
 
We are also very interested in this. I was just looking at the resort for a day at the Westin in GC. It is myself with my DH and DS7.
 
We have done the Western twice, the first time on purpose in May 2016 and the second in December 2017 when we were rerouted from the Eastern due to last year's hurricane.
Grand Cayman
On our first cruise we did the Rum Point Beach Adventure, and it was AMAZING. The price was very good value for what we received. We took a 45-minute catamaran ride to the beach, which was just a really cool experience - sailing over turquoise waters so clear you can see the bottom! We had about 4-hours on the beach, which was the perfect amount of time, and the lunch that was included was absolutely delicious. We still talk about this excursion - it was just such an amazing day.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/grand-cayman-rum-point-beach-adventure/

On our second cruise we did the Grand Cayman Bicycle Tour. We were really looking forward to this, but we were disappointed. The guide was pushy, we were taken into shops that were run by family members of the guide. The bikes we were given were in pretty rough shape (and we are not all that picky, most of my things are used and repurposed ;) ). We would not recommend this excursion - as far as customer satisfaction, it was the polar opposite of our first Grand Cayman visit.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/grand-cayman-west-bay-bicycle/

Falmouth
On our first cruise we did an excursion through DCL that involved an adventure pass to Good Hope Estate. Below is a link to one similar, the waterslides have been added since we were there. We zip -lined, did the river tube, and sthe obstacle course. We also toured the Good Hope house and the aviary. We enjoyed the aviary and the house tour far more than the adventure stuff. We camp, hunt, fish, etc, so we are not worried about getting dirty, but I was not all that impressed with the guides, one of the kept calling me baby and tried to friend me on FB when we came home o_O That said, we really enjoyed the self-guided parts of the estate - it was amazing! When we were touring the aviary, we actually managed to meet the owner of the estate and he chatted with us for quite awhile about the history of the place, etc.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/falmouth-jamaica-adventure-falls-thrill-seekers/

On our second cruise we did not stop at Falmouth, we went to Costa Maya instead, which was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, if we were on an itinerary that had a Jamaican stop again we would just relax on the boat.

Cozumel
On our first cruise, we followed some types here and checked out the port. We were kind of underwhelmed.

Second cruise, I have been trying to convince my husband to go on a weeklong trip to Mexico, I knew that I would have to knock his socks off to convince him to one day go with me. So, I decided we needed to go to Nachi Cocom. We absolutely LOVED it. It was super relaxing, and the staff were fantastic. Note - one of the reasons I chose Nachi Cocom over other inclusive beach breaks - I really liked the idea of an a la carte lunch as opposed to buffet style, and I was not disappointed - the food was made-to-order, fresh, plentiful, and delicious - it was a real treat!

http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com



I hope this helps!
Kristine ::MinnieMo
 
Last edited:
We have done the Western twice, the first time on purpose in May 2016 and the second in December 2017 when we were rerouted from the Eastern due to last year's hurricane.
Grand Cayman
On our first cruise we did the Rum Point Beach Adventure, and it was AMAZING. The price was very good value for what we received. We took a 45-minute catamaran ride to the beach, which was just a really cool experience - sailing over turquoise waters so clear you can see the bottom! We had about 4-hours on the beach, which was the perfect amount of time, and the lunch that was included was absolutely delicious. We still talk about this excursion - it was just such an amazing day.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/grand-cayman-rum-point-beach-adventure/

On our second cruise we did the Grand Cayman Bicycle Tour. We were really looking forward to this, but we were disappointed. The guide was pushy, we were taken into shops that were run by family members of the guide. The bikes we were given were in pretty rough shape (and we are not all that picky, most of my things are used and repurposed ;) ). We would not recommend this excursion - as far as customer satisfaction, it was the polar opposite of our first Grand Cayman visit.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/grand-cayman-west-bay-bicycle/

Falmouth
On our first cruise we did an excursion through DCL that involved an adventure pass to Good Hope Estate. Below is a link to one similar, the waterslides have been added since we were there. We zip -lined, did the river tube, and sthe obstacle course. We also toured the Good Hope house and the aviary. We enjoyed the aviary and the house tour far more than the adventure stuff. We camp, hunt, fish, etc, so we are not worried about getting dirty, but I was not all that impressed with the guides, one of the kept calling me baby and tried to friend me on FB when we came home o_O That said, we really enjoyed the self-guided parts of the estate - it was amazing! When we were touring the aviary, we actually managed to meet the owner of the estate and he chatted with us for quite awhile about the history of the place, etc.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/falmouth-jamaica-adventure-falls-thrill-seekers/

On our second cruise we did not stop at Falmouth, we went to Costa Maya instead, which was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, if we were on an itinerary that had a Jamaican stop again we would just relax on the boat.

Cozumel
On our first cruise, we followed some types here and checked out the port. We were kind of underwhelmed.

Second cruise, I have been trying to convince my husband to go on a weeklong trip to Mexico, I knew that I would have to knock his socks off to convince him to one day go with me. So, I decided we needed to go to Nachi Cocom. We absolutely LOVED it. It was super relaxing, and the staff were fantastic. Note - one of the reasons I chose Nachi Cocom over other inclusive beach breaks - I really liked the idea of an a la carte lunch as opposed to buffet style, and I was not disappointed - the food was made-to-order, fresh, plentiful, and delicious - it was a real treat!

http://www.cozumelnachicocom.com



I hope this helps!
Kristien ::MinnieMo
This was a HUGE help for me - thank you!
 


I would recommend doing one of the stingray excursions on Grand Cayman. We hired a private boat there and was able to do both the stingrays and starfish point which was really fun!
 
We've done western twice and did snorkeling adventures in GC both times and both times they were amazing. Stingray City Reef Sail & Snorkel (G09) & Shipwreck and Reef Snorkeling (G15) were fabulous and reasonably priced. Our DDs were 9 the first time and 10 the second while DS was 11 & 12. Kid friendly, fun, stupendous experience all around. If you can't tell, we all loved the snorkeling in GC.

In Cozumel the first visit, we did the Tulum Ruins (CZ09). We're history & culture buffs and highly recommend it. For a while all cruise lines suspended excursions to the mainland due to safety issues, and I'm unsure if those have resumed. If so, Tulum was a big hit for mom, dad & kiddos. The second time we hit the Punta Lagosta shopping area (fun) then dropped the kids back on the ship while DW & I explored Cozumel en route to the Cozumel museum. Got a guided tour by Oscar and had a very enjoyable experience. Recommended.

Jamaica was a severe disappointment. We did Chukka Taste of Jamaica at Good Hope Estate (FA28) and were let down on all fronts. The house was poorly maintained, the docent, while enthusiastic and friendly, wasn't armed with the history of the plantation beyond Wikipedia, the food was late and there were seemingly intentional delays (45+ minutes) where we could buy stuff at gift shops. Hmmm. Yeah, not recommended.

Our second Western we went to Costa Maya. The area directly off the piers was a touristy area, but DW got some good tequila for a decent price. Beyond that, not so much. A friend of mine from work visited there with his fiancée and they did a backcountry ATV type tour in the jungle and they had a good time. If we ever go back, I'd try that.

Love the Western cruise, enjoy your trip!!
 
Our second Western we went to Costa Maya. The area directly off the piers was a touristy area, but DW got some good tequila for a decent price. Beyond that, not so much. A friend of mine from work visited there with his fiancée and they did a backcountry ATV type tour in the jungle and they had a good time. If we ever go back, I'd try that.

In case you make it back to Costa Maya - we did the water/adventure park that was close to the pier - and we had an absolute blast :)

(also - December 2017 - were you on the December 2 sailing? If yes, we were too!!)
 


We just did the 7 night Western Cruise and here were our excursions:

Cozumel - Cozumel Beach Break: We enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone looking to spend a day at the beach with included kids activities, drinks, and lunch.

Grand Cayman - Stingray City Reef Sail and Snorkel (G09) - DO NOT BOOK this one. There are many better trips and we chose poorly. I put a full review on trip advisor under the same name, but in summary it was only 1 stop, was much shorter than advertised, and the crew did the bare minimum. I would choose a multi stop trip that goes to the Kittiwake and either the real Stingray City or one of the reefs.

Falmouth - Chukka Catamaran Cruise and Dunn's River Falls - They rocked. They crew was entertaining and worked their tail off to make sure we had an enjoyable experience. The falls climb was a bit challenging for some, but nobody had any issues including several grandparents (60's). Going into the cruise, I was not really looking forward to this excursion but it ended up being the best one, and rivaled our great day at Castaway Cay.

Castaway Cay - Nothing scheduled. My kids swam, did the water slides, and then we snorkeled for about 2 hours. During the snorkeling, the water was crystal clear and we unexpectedly saw sea turtles and a sting ray, along with the sunken Mickey's and other things we were expecting to see.
 
I will copy and paste the message I had posted a few months ago if it can help.

Cozumel :

We (my 64 yo mum, 11 yo son and 7 yo daughter and I ) did Xcaret the eco-archaeological park and it was just awesome! The place is so beautiful, jaw-dropping! We would love to get back to it because there was not enough time to discover it all. Expensive but worth every penny.

Grand Cayman :
Swim with the dolphins and Turtle Farm. We enjoyed both experiences very much, the kids were thrilled. But for the dolphins, you can't take pics (unless you have someone with you who is on the side and not actually in the water) and then the photos package is extremely expensive and not great quality (however we purchased it of course to bring a memory of the great experience back.)

Falmouth :
Dunns River Falls + Sky explorer + Lunch
We loved both places especially climbing the falls! The guides for climbing are great and they took videos and pictures of us all along the way. The CD with everything included was sold for 40$ but if you want they can take pics of your party with your camera too. The soaring over the rainforest by the sky explorer was great and peaceful and the lunch at the top of Mystic Mountain was very tasty.

3 excursions and we totally fell in love with Xcaret and Dunns River Falls (1st and 4th pictures).

1.jpg 2.jpg 3.jpg 4.jpg 5.jpg
 
We're doing the Western Caribbean itinerary later in spring 2019 and have the same stops. My kids will be 11 and 9.

For Cozumel, I'm torn on Tulum vs. catamaran + snorkeling stops. I would really like a combo to do the snorkeling and also tour the ruins right on the island. I know they're smaller, but I think would still be interesting.

For GC, we're definitely planning something that involves Stingray City. If I could get that combo with some additional snorkeling, that would be idea - but it sounds like that one didn't work out well for a PP. Or maybe a starfish/stingray combo.

For Jamaica, we want something involving Dunn River Falls.

In all 3 ports, we also want to find beer/wine to bring back on board - since we each get a six pack per port, we figured why not. We did that in Nassau on the last cruise, but it was surprisingly not easy to find - I figured lots of people would have the same idea, but at the store we found, they were more set up to sell single bottles of beer. So anyway if anyone has experience at a convenience store within walking distance of the piers, let me know!!

I know it's common to use one of those port days to just relax on the boat, but the problem is our family gets bored pretty quickly, so I want to have 3 fairly active days so we appreciate the downtime more!
 
Grand Cayman :
https://grandcaymancruiseexcursions...ty-starfish-beach-snorkeling-outrage-ecotour/ best tour ever! Private boat, stingrays, star fish, rum point and our own comfortable boat. Great captain and you can BYOB but we stopped at Rum Point for Mudslides instead;) .

Cozumel :
https://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/cozumel/cozumel-sailing-snorkeling-adventure/ Sailing and snorkeling in cozumel. We didn't do it as a private but we ended up with just us on the sailboat anyways!!! Such a bonus! Great snorkeling and loved sailing around Cozumel

Falmouth Jamaica: We did the River Tubing and Dunn's River falls as my youngest had never been and you have to go at least once
https://jamaicacruiseexcursions.com/excursions/dunns-falls-river-tubing-falmouth/
 

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