Need help-overwhelmed with shore excursion choices

[Roberta Rader]

I went online today with the intent of booking our shore excursions for our 8/2/15 Dream cruise and I am seriously overwhelmed. We are visiting Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We have budgeted about $1000 for shore excursions for 4 adults. We want to swim with the dolphins, interact with stingrays and in one of the ports just have a relaxing beach day. It doesn't matter to us what port we do what activity. I am considering the idea of not booking with Carnival to possibly save some money. Although what I have read about Jamaica, it may be wise to stick with the Carnival tour and not venture off too adventurously. Also, on our wish list is being able to purchase reasonable priced photos (especially of us with the dolphins) and preferably be able to purchase them afterwards online. Any suggestions or personal experiences are welcome and appreciated. The dolphin swim & ride with lunch in Cozumel seems like it has good reviews. Does anyone have any experience with this excursion and would you recommend it? Would you recommend one port over another for a relaxing beach day?

[momonthego17]

What I do is go to Ports of Call on CruiseCritic and pull up the appropriate port, then if the search engine is working, type in a search word like "dolphin" and the posts will come up for that topic. I then read through the posts and cull what info I could from that. I found out about The Blue Hole in Jamaica after doing this type of research and booked an excursion with Liberty Tours, (Carnival doesn't offer this excursion) for Thanksgiving 2015.

You can also get more info and reviews through sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp.

 

Hope that helps! Have a great cruise!

[FlaGrl4Evr]

In Cozumel we did the Passion Isle by Twister Boat excursion ( you can also get there by ferry-boat) It was one of the best excursions that we have ever done...... beautiful white sand beach and tropical island setting, all inclusive buffet and bar, beach toys, uncrowded atmosphere etc.....

 

I am almost positive that as a cruiser one must book with their cruiseline. I do not believe that you can book this independently..... It seems that once when I checked out another vendor, there was a disclaimer that stated this.

 

 

Another poster on this board had a very nice review of Passion Island. Perhaps she can post it here or someone else can recall how to find it.

 

It was a fantastic excursion on one of most beautiful beaches and islands that I have ever seen....... and this is from a Florida girl that is used to great beaches. 2 Thumbs up for this one !!!

 

 

 

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[re-re]

Grand Cayman Or Cozumel would definitely be my choice for a beach day, Grand Cayman has 7 mile beach, Royal palms is pretty, Cozumel also have lots of choices for beaches, Mr Sanchos, Paradise beach. Enjoy your cruise.

[ncbeachteacher]

I have not been to Montego Bay, but have frequently been to Cozumel and the Caymans.

 

If you want to swim with the Rays.... Grand Cayman has the best. We have used Captain Marvin's several times and have been very happy with them. You can book this independently and save a few bucks.

 

Cozumel has a variety of beach clubs/day resorts that offer wonderful beach time, many all inclusive. Our favorite is Nachi Cocum. It is not a party atmosphere but for $55 bucks, the food and drinks are awesome, the location is perfect and the service is great. Again, they are privately booked, as are many of the others. Just google it.

 

We did do Dophinaris in Cozumel many years ago. It is very pricey and we also got a video. Recommend it at least once. If Montego Bay has dolphin excursion, I would do that there.

 

Have a great cruise!

[LynnAnne]

We love sting ray sailings in Grand Caymen. Check out the website. You'll Love them!

[BigRed93]

Stingray sailing in GC

Check out Chankanaab park and their dolphin experience there. There are even some coupons online if you search

I have been to Jamaica but not Mo Bay, but this is probably where I would do the beach day

 

 

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[elainmir]

Do the stingray excursion in Grand Cayman...you won't regret it. The best port so far for us when doing stingray excursion! Cozumel is one port we've not done any excursions in yet...we do our own thing usually!

[RenoNanaOz]

I went online today with the intent of booking our shore excursions for our 8/2/15 Dream cruise and I am seriously overwhelmed. We are visiting Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We have budgeted about $1000 for shore excursions for 4 adults. We want to swim with the dolphins, interact with stingrays and in one of the ports just have a relaxing beach day. It doesn't matter to us what port we do what activity. I am considering the idea of not booking with Carnival to possibly save some money. Although what I have read about Jamaica, it may be wise to stick with the Carnival tour and not venture off too adventurously. Also, on our wish list is being able to purchase reasonable priced photos (especially of us with the dolphins) and preferably be able to purchase them afterwards online. Any suggestions or personal experiences are welcome and appreciated. The dolphin swim & ride with lunch in Cozumel seems like it has good reviews. Does anyone have any experience with this excursion and would you recommend it? Would you recommend one port over another for a relaxing beach day?

We did that same itinerary a few years back. Montego Bay we booked a Catamarran Snorkel through Carnival, lots of fun they stop at Margaritaville for a free drink after. Also rum punch after snorkeling. In GC I agree with another poster, Capt Marvin's for swimming with Stingrays is so awesome. Cozumel we did Nachi Cocom, it's quiet but beautiful. $55 pp all of the drinks included and a 3 course meal at your leisure. Have Fun!

[Rosethorn40]

I did a swim with the dolphins in Cozumel, and while the experience was great, the photos were very expensive ($100 for 6 photos). A few years ago DH & I did a stingray/dolphin combo in Grand Cayman. For swimming with the stingrays I think we paid $60 for all the photos of the two of us. They were emailed to us, and were excellent quality. When we did the Dolphin Swim I think we paid about $80 for a CD, but that included all the photos from our group. Just one photo would have been $15.

 

In Jamaica, especially if you have never been, you may want to consider the Dunn River Falls. You will find naysayers who will say it's too touristy and it's true the vendors are everywhere, but the falls are truly beautiful and I'm glad we climbed them when we were still able.

 

One of our favorite excursions was tubing down the White River in Jamaica. They sell photos that are pretty good.

 

IMO Cozumel has the prettiest water of the three stops, so I would do my beach day there.

[NOLAbebe]

We are also sailing that itenirary on the Dream a few weeks after you! Friends who have been to both places recommended stingrays in Grand Cayman, as the water is clearer and often shallower. We found a 2.5 hour 'deluxe stingray' excursion on a VERY nice boat called the Cayman Explorer on the Carnival site for $49.99pp. It leaves and lets out early enough (before 11am) that you could probably take a taxi to the beach after for a bit and/or grab a bite before getting on the ship again! The TripAdvisor reviews of the company were VERY good, as were the reviews on the Carnival site itself. We just booked ours last week and can't wait! Your biggest expense will obviously be the Dolphins and pictures. I'd be shocked if you got that under $200 a person...?

[micheecruise]

If you want to swim with the Rays.... Grand Cayman has the best. We have used Captain Marvin's several times and have been very happy with them. You can book this independently and save a few bucks.

 

My husband and I used Captain Marvin in Grand Cayman as well (it was a few years back) and really liked them!!...highly recommend them.

[BigB0882]

I am going to Nachi Coccum in Cozumel for a relaxing beach day on my June cruise. I will be happy to report back and let you know what I thought but there are TONS of reviews in the Cozumel section under Ports of Call. Go check it out.

[Roberta Rader]

Thank you everyone so much. You've given me some great pointers to help me narrow down the choices. I appreciate all of your input.

[NOLAbebe]

I just checked and Chankanaab park has a dolphin encounter, lunch, etc. WITH pictures option for under $200! Look under 'Dolphin Swim Adventure Memories'.

 

So, $50pp to do Stingray City in GC, $150pp for Dolphins and pics in Cozumel...that leaves $200 for excursions in MoBay, not including a few incidentals like taxis or lunch where it isn't included. TOTALLY do-able!

Edited March 15, 2015 by NOLAbebe

[Roberta Rader]

Wow! Thanks NOLAbebe. I'm going to look into that right now.

[kelly11]

We booked through Liberty Tours for MB, $65 per person includes transporation from the port, tour of the island, time at the irie blue hole for swimming, waterfall etc, lunch at Scotchies and return to the port.

We love Mr Sanchos in Cozumel and of course stingrays in GC (we usually use Capt Marvins but have also used Moby Dick Tours and liked them as well)

[Roberta Rader]

Ok, I got really excited about the dolphin discovery swim adventure memories including photos for $149 PP. I contacted them directly before booking just to make sure it was ok to book directly with them instead of Carnival. Their response was "contact your cruise line directly. They have an allotment with our company especially for their passengers ". However, the package with Carnival does not include photos. That is why I wanted to book directly. Very disappointed since I have heard horror stories about how expensive their photos are.

[Roberta Rader]

I forgot to mention this is in Cozumel.

[Roberta Rader]

I was just reading the reviews for the package that Carnival offers and there is a review on there from someone who booked directly with the company. I'm so confused. Has anyone booked this tour directly and if so, could you tell me your experience?

[vamartha]

In Grand Cayman, I can recommend Moby Dick for a Stingray excursion. We've used them twice, as recently as last December. Affordable and professional, I can promise you that you will have a better time than with one of Carnival's excursion. The crew with Moby Dick will have food for the stingrays and there won't be a million people on your excursion. Both times we have been with only about 15 others - fantastic relaxing excursion! Seven Mile Beach is also fantastic - and very picturesque.

 

In Montego Bay, we used resortforaday and went to the Hilton Rose Hall. It isn't exactly the most beautiful beach (lots of seagrass, not a large beach) but the waterpark (now, this isn't a US type of waterpark - think a lazy river and a pool) is nice and the service is fantastic!

 

In Cozumel, I have to admit that we have been to Chankanaab Park three or four times now. Not that we aren't adventurous, but Chankanaab has everything we want all in one place - at one price. We love to snorkel and the whole park is just wonderful. $21 per person (coupon available online too) and getting a taxi is extremely easy on both ends. There is food/bar service on the beach and several restaurants that are not only good but extremely affordable. There is a small traditional style beach but the larger area is the snorkeling area and it is not zero-entry style.

 

Have a good time!

[Roberta Rader]

Hey vamartha, I just checked out Moby Dick's website. They sound great. I'm finding quite a few excursions that won't let me book directly with them, forcing me to book through Carnival. Do you know if Moby Dick will let me book direct? Also, how far is it from the pier? Did you take a taxi? Also, do they allow you to bring an underwater camera?

[vamartha]

Moby Dick will let you book outside of Carnival. You will meet them right in the port area, they have a meeting place with shade and a few benches. Then you board the Moby Dick school bus that takes you from the port to the marina where they store their boat. It is just about a 15 minute drive and is pretty informative about life in the Cayman Islands. And please take an underwater camera - you are going to want it - this water and the sandbar are spectacular and so is the reef that they take you to for a short snorkel!

[Roberta Rader]

Decision made! Thank you so much vamartha. This sounds awesome. I will definitely book this one.