WOW excursions in Jamaica, Grand Cayman & Cozumel?

[Cinderellie]

We are cruising on the Conquest on 8/29 to the ports of Jamaica, Grand Cayman & Cozumel. We are in our mid 40's, are NOT fitness folks, or people who like visiting museums, city tours, etc. We like WOW experiences and attractions. We also have two kids -- a son 14, and a tomboy daughter -- 10, also coming along.

We do love swimming, though.

Can you share your most WOW excursions -- or the ones you heard from other cruisers who raved about them?

Thanks so much!

Cinderellie

[gr1634]

Beginners scuba is a must. Don't need to be a jock and the training and supervision for this excursion was absolutely wonderful. Did this in Cozumel a year ago with my DD - she is 25. Loved it. A real must do.

til 4th cruise
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[L2J]

Gotta agree with gr1634 - the discover scuba is a must do and I'd do it again in a second. If the OP goes to the carnival site they have available shore excursions listed for the various ports of call.

Liv...Winds are 15 knots and holding....the whole world is a drop zone!


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Until the SINsational Cruise from the Bayou


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Until the Valor Vampires


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NCL Sky 2/02

[PSkinner]

In Jamaica, we loved climbing Dunns River Falls! We are not fittness folks either and both in our mid 40's and this was great! Kids should enjoy it...it is beautiful!

Grand Caymne we did the Stingray City tour. It is beautiful! Hard to believe you are actually in the water with the stingrays. They are so soft!

[img]http://www.animatedgif.net/animals/wateranimals/playful_dolphin_e0.gif[/img]
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Destiny 05/27/2001
Victory 06/16/2002
Voyager 09/08/2002

[rburns44]

For a WOW factor do the dolphin swim in Jamaica! You can do it as a package with Dunn River Falls. And have to agree on Stinray City. Both are Wow!!!

Becky

[sportsterjohn]

Scuba in Cozumel is great however I would not let a 10yr old dive without going through pool training 1st. ( Padi will allow 10yr olds to go through the Jr Open water course). If you don't want to dive at cozumel, I would do a dunebuggy tour. I did this a few weeks ago and it was a total blast and kid friendly.
[url="http://cozumelhomes.com/tours/tour1.htm"]http://cozumelhomes.com/tours/tour1.htm[/url]

NCL Sea 3/03
RCCL Sovereign 10/03
NCL Dream 3/7/2004

[Knights on the Beach]

I definitely agree that Stingray City is a must-do in Grand Cayman!

Beth
~~~~~~~~~~~

Countdown to Glory
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Emerald Seas 6/86
Emerald Seas 11/87
S.S. Royale 10/88
Celebration 6/97
Grandeur of the Seas 6/98
Sensation 6/99
Carnival Triumph 6/00
Carnival Triumph 11/17/01
Enchantment of the Seas 10/27/02
Carnival Victory 5/25/03
Carnival Glory 5/22/04

[Cinderellie]

Thanks -- I have to check the age restrictions for that -- my daughter is 10, so that might be a challenge. But we have never scuba'd before!

Thanks again.

Cinderellie

[mrsbooger]

Do not miss Xcaret in Cozumel, actually Playa del Carmen. It's true paradise. I could have spent three days there and still not seen everything. The underground river float was awesome! I highly recommend!

Happy Cruising!

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[3timecruiser]

We did the jeep 4x4 tour in Jamaica, in Grand Caymens,did the Atlantis submarine then rented snorkling equipment and snorked and in Cozumel we booked online with Eagle Ray Diver's to do beginner scuba and snorkling again. Thoroughly enjoyed all.

[CruiseMark]

Here are my choices for WOW tours:

Cayman: The 1000 ft submarine dive. Just about the only place in the world that civilians can go that deep. Amazing.

Cozumel: A half day at Paradise Beach (read all the reviews on the Cozumel Ports of Call board) then do SNUBA. Like scuba diving but with none of the certifications or hassle. The air tank stays on the surface and you sort of snorkel/dive to the bottom, connected by the air hose.

Mark

Star Princess - Sept 1990 - Alaska
Radiance of the Seas - Sept 2001 - Alaska


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Till we sail on the 8/21 Sensation!

[greybear]

As you can tell, there is not a shortage of WoW things to do in the Caribbean. My suggestions would be to hail a cab to the seven mile beach on Grand Cayman; I have never seen water that clear!

For Cozumel, you can take the excursion to the Mayan ruins of Tulum. Some of the people in my group were not real history buffs either and enjoyed the excursion immensely (it might be a little pricey for a whole family, though).

As for Jamaica, I do not recommend doing an "on your own" activity as we found it to be down right scary at times. There is a lot of desperate begging going on and even people offering to sell you "ganga", which is not the type of cigarette you smoke publicly in North America!

I hope this advice helps,

Have a great cruise

[FunshipSuzy]

Well, the group I was with did not include children so I can't recommend anything in Cozumel.
In Jamaica, we felt adventurous so we went for the horseback riding. Now, this may not be for everyone but there were lots of kids on this excursion who seemed to be having a blast...as did we. The guides were friendly and courteous and helpful. My mother in laws horse even had a leash, as she was a bit nervous not being much of a horse-woman. This does require a bit of muscle because it is a physically challenging activity...esspecially since you'll be actually riding the horse while it's swimming and then you'll be on horseback in the Jamaica sun riding through farmland for nearly an hour. However, we found it to be one of the highlights of our trip because this definitely isn't something we've ever done before and that was our goal. We can lay on the beach anywhere.

Grand Cayman was so crowded that we decided to bypass the beach and just do a little shopping and lunch at the Hard Rock. We also weren't in port very long so we were a little hesitant to commit to any lengthy excusions. A few of our friends did the Sting Ray tour but said the sand bar was so crowded that you could barely touch let alone feed the sting rays.

Well, have fun nomatter what you do and our best bet was to just make the best of everything we did and not let the little inconveniences ruin our good time.


"Once is NOT enough!"

Carnival Victory 3.14.04
Coming soon....???

[anastacia]

We just went on the Conquest in February with our daughter (16) and son (19).
In Jamaica I booked a tour online with Peat Taylor who picked us up right at the pier, took us to Dunns River Falls, Fern Gully, short shopping stop in Ochos Rios and lunch. Cost was $40 pp which included entrance to the falls. We thoroughly enjoyed climbing the falls but be prepared to get wet! He was very reliable and we felt safe the whole time.
In Grand Cayman, I had booked a tour through Soto Cruises to swim with the stingrays. Great value at $24 pp. They pick you up right at the pier and take you to their boat, fit you with snorkel gear. None of us had snorkelled before but we all had a great time even my husband who doesn't swim. The first snorkel stops are 10-12 feet deep so he couldn't get in there but he got in at stingray city. The stingrays are a great experience and although they make you a little nervous at first you soon become comfortable with them.
At Cozumel we decided just to go to Chankanaab Park because it seemed to have everything we wanted. There are plenty of taxis as soon as you get past the shopping area at the pier, $10 for a group of four to the park. Entrance to the park was $10 pp. There is a lovely beach, snorkel gear available, lots of refreshments and a lovely trail you can walk through the park. We saw quite a few fairly large iguanas and there's a turtle pond along the walkway. It was just a lovely relaxing way to spend the day. We finished by returning to the pier for some shopping and some refreshing beverages and nachos at Fat Tuesdays.
I know with a family you're usually having to watch the price on excursions which is what I had to do so I spent a lot of time on the internet. We're not a super active family but with teens, they usually want to do something that challenges them a little and our kids were thoroughly pleased with our excursions and so were we. Also didn't break the bank!

[hlfdzn]

In Cozumel, not far from the ports, is a park called Chakanaab State park. This is a wonderful place to spend the day . SNorkle equipment is $6.00 for the whole day and it only costs $10 to get in. We relaxed on lounge chairs while being served beer and snacks. No need to get up. They also have a nature trail where we saw lots of Iguanas and a lagoon to see Tropical fish. There are replicas of mayan ruins to see also, but we missed it since we wanted to go to Carlos and Charlies. NO I would not take kids there. My kids are kind of wild and I would not even want them exposed to what goes on at Carlos and Charlies.

The cab ride from the port is about $10 ( depending on which port).

You can look it up on the web also.. Melissa

[oceantravel]

Reed my review below. If you want to do the Royal Dolphin Swim in Cozumel...which I highly recommend...you need to book ASAP with Dolphin Discovery online. They book many, many months in advance. The ships do not offer this particular swim. Booking a year out would not be too early. If your cruise is right around the corner I still recommend checking for cancellations. It was an incredible experience and chance of a lifetime experience.

The next thing I would also book online is the Stingray swim and snorkel tour with Captain Marvins in Grand Cayman. Although our tour had to be cancelled by us due to wind (Carnival cancelled all their swim excursions) they were professional and cancelled without any problems. We did the stingray swim many years ago and it too is something not to be missed!

As for Dunn's River Falls. Been there and done that...my opinion ....it is not worth a 2 1/2 hour drive there and 2 1/2 hour drive back. That's a lot of time to be stuck on a bus especially in Jamaica.

Hope this helps and be sure to read my review. Jsut click on the link below. We were there March 21 - 28. you will love the Conquest!

Patti

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=969097554&m=571102001"]My Conquest Review[/url]

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[lankn]

Grand Caymans -- absolutely, positively do the Sting Ray City tour if you want a WOW! It can be a little freaky when you first get in -- but you'll get used to them. I thought the sting rays would be the size of your typical dinner plate -- hah! Those are the BABIES! The grown-ups are the size of your coffee table. They are very friendly (not aggressive). The hubby and I (both in early 40's) enjoyed it immensely -- be sure to bring an underwater camera!

For Jamaica -- I would recommend something via the ship; it's an extremely poor country and we were not comfortable at the shops. We did a "River Raft Tour" -- nice & easy; you sit on a 2-person raft made of bamboo that's been tied together, and get poled/floated down the river. It also included a tour of a banana plantation which turned out to be surprisingly interesting. If you're docking in Montego Bay (which we did), it's a 2+ hour bus ride to Dunns River ... so check the travel time.

[Rebellee]

We are sailing on Conquest in 21 days and are booked with Carolyn Barrett in Jamica. There are many great reviews about her on cruise-addicts.com and they are small groups, at great prices!

In Grand Cayman we are book with Nativeway Sports for sting ray tour, then on to the beach.

In Cozumel we too are doing the Chan. Park as we've been there several times.

We have a 10 yr. old girl, 11 yr old and 2 13 yr. boys with us and they so excited about everything!

There is also SNUBA in Cozumel, but unfortunately, the time will not work with our hours in port. It's sort of like 'intro' scuba... you are connected to a air tank that floats above you and you can only dive about 25 to 30 feet. Very cool. Did it in St. Johns.

Enjoy!

Rebel

[debby130]

We Just were in cozumel last week. My kids are 11 and 17. We took the jeep 4x4 tour. We had a blast. you follow your guides in jeeps through town then into the jungle and tear around on primative roads for a while then we went to paradise island for lunch and afternoon on the beach. the beach is wonderful with chairs, fairly nice bathrooms,a little bar etc. we thought it was our best tour of our cruise.

[Elaine515]

This is part of my review when I did the Western Triumph March 20th... Hope it helps you...

Our first stop was Cozumel where it rained but a group of us hopped into a van and went to Mr Sanchos. Hung out on the beach under the straw umbrellas and didn't let the rain get in our way. Some of us even went horseback riding there (the rain had stopped for that). It doesn't cost anything to use their beach/pool, all they want you to do is eat and drink there.

[url="http://mrsanchos.com/mr_sanchos/front.htm"]http://mrsanchos.com/mr_sanchos/front.htm[/url]

Of course, after that, left the little kids on the ship and did the Carlos n Charlies thing for the big kids!!

[url="http://www.carlosn-charlies.com/charlies/default.asp"]http://www.carlosn-charlies.com/charlies/default.asp[/url]


Our second stop was Grand Cayman where the water was rough and Carnival actually cancelled all of their water tours. BUT, we were lucky. We booked with Nativeway

[url="http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/shiptours.html"]http://www.nativewaywatersports.com/shiptours.html[/url]

Eldon (the owner) met us at the dock, explained the water condition to us and gave us a choice. We went out to the stingrays and yes, it was windy and there were waves but after Richard (our tour guide) went into the water, around 20 of us followed. 20 people with lots and lots of stingrays and not one other boat....WHAT A BLAST...IT WAS GREAT....I would definitely recommend this tour. As a matter of fact, Nativeway is the only company that didn't cancel. At the end of the tour, the driver dropped some of us off at 7 Mile Beach and the rest of us he took back to the ship.

Our third stop was great again. This was Ochos Rios. I emailed 3 independent tour guides because we wanted to do the Falls, River Tubing and still have time for Margaritaville. Only Belinda with A-Z Jamaica Planners emailed me back and told me it could be done.

[url="http://www.a-zjamaicaplanners.com/cruisetours.html"]http://www.a-zjamaicaplanners.com/cruisetours.html[/url]

We were off the ship within 1/2 hour of docking and on our way, 28 of us all whom met thru the ROLL CALL board and then the meet & greet. They had two vans waiting for us and took us directly to the Falls. It was an awesome climb and since I really can't see much without my glasses, our tour guide, Mr Day held my hand the entire way. A Carnival photographer was also there and took our group picture which came out great. From there we went to the River Tubing.

WOW, it was awesome, exciting, scary, rough, smooth, all of the above. The water was rough at the beginning and 4 of us were thrown from our tubes. Of course me being the lucky one, after doing a tumblesalt out of the tube, into the water I, of course, tried to swim to the top only to feel something over me. I didn't panic and tried to swim away from that just to feel the strong arm of one of the 5 really really strong tour guides pull me up, assure me I was ok and helped me back into the tube. Well after the initial shock, and the fact that it calmed down, the rest of the River Tubing was fine. Most of the group actually said they would do it again. From there we still had a couple of hours to hang out at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.

It was again great. We put together around 5 tables and hung out and had a blast. Our tables were right near the swimming pool where the slide ended so we were able to watch the kids and not worry. A note to future cruisers who plan on stopping at this location....if you want to go shopping....GO EARLY....DON'T WAIT...I saw a shirt that I really liked and said "I'll buy it on the way out, only they didn't have my size left on the way out. So buy on the way in....

The food and entertainment/band was excellent at Margaritaville and it was only about a 5 minute walk back to the ship.

Oh, and by the way, our group included adults as well as children from ages 6 - 17 and everyone had a great time..

[img]http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/elaine.gif[/img]

[TerriDHair]

I've done this route five times and will mention a few tours I considered to be WOWs:

Cozumel: Snorkel + Intro to SCUBA with Eagle Ray Divers. Small groups and great guides.

Renting waverunners at Playa Sol. They take credit cards, the water is beautiful, and there is a nice beach to relax on afterwards (and lockers and showers are there, too)

Ocho Rios: Horseback riding with "Hooves". Small groups, awesome guide, and got to ride in the ocean for a bit! Very cool!

Grand Cayman: Stingray City tour with Captain Marvin's. We've done it twice and the first time had a much bigger WOW factor.

Rented Waverunners on seven mile beach here, too. Again, awesome water and nice beach.

Holiday 7/95
Enchanted Isle 7/96
Jubilee 7/97
Destiny 7/99
Triumph 7/21/01
Explorer 6/22/02
Conquest 6/22/03
Navigator 1/24/04 (BEST CRUISE SO FAR!!!!)
Carnival Spirit 2/27/04 (OOPS, I Couldn't Wait Until October!!)
Mariner 10/17/04
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[llund]

We were on the Conquest with our 18 year old son and his friend and needed WOW trips. Here are some ideas:

Jamaica: Definitely climb the falls. We had Ionie McBeam pick us up at the dock, took the 2 hour ride to the Falls, took us to Fern gully, a Bob Marley museum and Margaritaville-then back to Montego Bay to get on the ship

Cozumel We booked the eco-jeep trip through the Conquest and this was a blast. We followed in jeeps behind each other. The leader talked through speakers in the jeeps. We stopped at the first church on the island, visited a Mayan ruin, went to the lighthouse, went to see the aligators in the swamps (this is really something to see), went off-road riding and then stopped at the beach to snorkle. It was a great trip and I highly recommend it.

Grand Cayman: We booked through Captain Marvins to visit stingray city. They were great. After, we went to the reef to snorkle. Captain Marvins' also arranged a tour to the turtle farm and hell. We did this first and then were dropped off at the pier for to meet the 10:30 boat trip.

12/04 Coral Princess
4/09 Monarch of the Seas
6/03 Carnival Conquest
3/03 4/02 Carnival Ectasy
8/02 Radisson: Paul Gaugin
8/01 Rhapsody of the Seas
6/00 Carnival Fascination

[CharleneDaniel]

We did Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Belize so I can only tell you the ones I know.

We booked on our own in Grand Cayman and had a great experience with [url="http://www.grandcaymancruiseexcursions.com/StingrayCityCaptBryans.htm"]Captain Bryans[/url] they operate a wonderful catamaran trip and it was incredible to sail on such pristine crystal blue water and the snorkeling and stingrays were incredible.

In Cozemul we went to Tulum through the ship and it was the first time we ever saw Mayan ruins and it was a nice trip.

In Belize we went on the [url="http://belizecruiseexcursions.com/CaveTubingBelize.htm"]Cave Tubing with XStream[/url] and it was an incredible jungle walk followed by an exhilerating ride through cave formation on a crystal clear river. What a rush.