best excursions & how to pick for western Caribbean cruise (RC - Liberty OT Seas)

[lindsey2]

My family and I are going on our first cruise next Summer! We have 4 children, ages 19-8 and we are so looking forward to visiting Cozumel, Jamaica and Grand Cayman. I was curious if the best way to book excursions is through Royal Caribbean or through another company, such as Shore Trips or Shore Excursioneer?

 

Also, I was curious if anyone has any opinions on excursions that can't be missed?

 

Lastly, my son really wants to scuba dive at least once. He has never done this before. Can anyone give any input on which port city might be the best place to do this at?

 

Thanks so much!!

[Clarea]

There is a wealth of information in the ports of call forums:

 

Jamaica: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=111

 

Grand Cayman: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=147

 

Cozumel: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=210

[LeeW]

As Bob (clarea) says, you need to research what you are interested in on the port of call boards. You have plenty of time to do this. The boards will mostly recommend non-cruiseline tours because they are cheaper and have fewer people on them, but it really is your choice. The tour operators will get you back to the ship on time (note that Cozumel often is on a different time than the ship).

 

There is no such thing as "best" for a tour - it really depends on your interests. Assuming everyone wants to go on the same excursion, watch out for age limits - some may not let an eight year old on them.

 

A couple of pointers: In Cozumel don't try to go to the mainland unless you like long and choppy ferry rides and long bus rides. Snorkeling and dives are on a world-class reef, but it is drifting along a wall. Grand Cayman is really about a visit to the stingrays. Lots to do in Jamaica, including tubing and rafting on a river.

 

All three locations have scuba intro courses that don't lead to certification. Some ships run courses, but these take up a lot of your time. One option I have seen is to take a course at home and do the open water dive through a local dive shop while on a cruise. You might want to ask this on the scuba board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40 The water is clearest in GC, then Coz, and cloudiest in Jamaica. Whatever you do, buy a mask and snorkel and make sure the mask fits before you go - and local equipment can be pretty grimy.

[CruzieSue]

We have been to those three ports twice. On our first cruise, we booked everything through RC more for the peace of mind of getting back to the boat on time (or at least not getting left behind) and not being familiar with any of the ports or knowing the "cruising ropes" yet, so to speak. Second time, after lots of research here on CC and by googling, Youtube, etc., we felt confident to book outside of RC if there was an excursion we wanted to do and found a better price than RC offered. Just be sure that the tour has good reviews from lots of folks and reliable reputation for getting back to the port on time. At Cayman Island, we booked through Moby Dick both times for the Stingray City and snorkel excursion. We all absolutely loved this one and can highly recommend it. Great tour guides, smaller groups, and just the water and scenery alone is almost worth the cost. Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising and I know you will soon be hooked like the rest of us !!! :D Have lots of fun planning and actually going on your cruise!!! :)