Best Port Excursions for Cozumel/Grand Cayman/Falmouth

[Laura Anani]

Hello everyone! Long time looker, first time poster!

So my family (Husband and Daughter, age 7) and I will be taking our 3rd Disney Cruise Sept 14th-21st aboard the Disney Fantasy (our 2nd time on the Fantasy).
Our ports of call are Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Falmouth (and Castaway Cay). We have never been to these 3 ports before. What are the best excursions for each port (not too terribly expensive, under $100/person)?
Do any of these have a beach that we can just relax on?

Ive been looking at what excursions that are offered and have become a bit overwhelmed! I want to make sure i get the best bang for my buck! I would love to hear your opinions!

Thanks!!

 

[Laura Anani]

These were the excursions we are looking at:

Cozumel:
Cozumel Beach Break (CZ15) or Eco Park and Snorkel (CZ34)

Grand Cayman:
Cayman Dolphin Encounter (G54), Shipwreck and Reef Snorkeling (G15) or White House Beach Getaway (G61)

Falmouth:
Adventure Falls and River Tubing (FA25), Dolphin Cove and Dunn's River Falls (FA03), Exclusive and Fun Beach Break (FA75) or Green Grotto Cave Express (FA73)

 

[starvenger]

For Cozumel, I think one of the day resorts will provide what you need. I've done Nachi Cocum, might not be great for a single child as there aren't many kids there. Great for adults though.

I'm sure others can chime in on Playa Mia, Sanchos and Paradise Beach.

Grand Cayman you can go to Public Beach and rent umbrellas/loungers.

In Jamaica, I think you have to try Dunn's River Falls at least once. I recommend bringing water shoes for that. Don't know if there's a tour of Falmouth, but that could be interesting ("Usain Bolt trained here")

 

[soniam]

I can recommend Shipwreck & Reef snorkel on Grand Cayman. It's one of our favorites, and we will be doing it for the 3rd time on our next cruise.

I like the bobsled and Dunn's River Falls the best for Jamaica. However, all of the Jamaica excursions are a long drive about an hour, from the port. If you think the falls would be to much for your child, the Green Grotto Cave is decent. Skip the meal and beach for the cave though.

 

[mevelandry]

Cozumel: Save a Sea Turtle Experience. I noticed different cruise lines in our bus. Not sure if Disney offers it or how to book it outside of a cruise line excursion but it was extremely special.

Grand Cayman : Go to Royal Palms. It's only 2$/pp to get in, you can rent chairs and umbrellas.

Jamaica: I regretted not doing Dunn's River Falls...

 

[Summer12315]

Climbing Dunn's River Falls was my favorite excursion to date over our 3 7-day cruises. It was just a really unique and fun experience.

 

[KashasMom]

Cozumel: Save a Sea Turtle Experience. I noticed different cruise lines in our bus. Not sure if Disney offers it or how to book it outside of a cruise line excursion but it was extremely special.

Grand Cayman : Go to Royal Palms. It's only 2$/pp to get in, you can rent chairs and umbrellas.

Jamaica: I regretted not doing Dunn's River Falls...

Save a Turtle is the BEST!! We also like Chankanaab National Park (can do a dolphin swim) and spend the day there on the beach, snorkeling, etc. Book on your own - just grab a taxi and go. We've also spent the day at Paradise Beach - great food and pool, and beach! Book on your own - grab a taxi and go.

In Jamaica we've done tubing down the Rio Bueno but we booked it through Royal Caribbean. Not sure if Disney offers same river or how to book on your own. It was a blast!

 

[TracyC.]

We were on the 7-day Western at the beginning of April and booked all of our excursions through DCL. My boys (9 & 12) really enjoyed all 3 excursions we booked.

In Cozumel, we did the Amazing Secret River (Rio Secreto). Because the caves are in Playa Del Carmen, there's a 30 minute ferry ride each way, and we made it back to the ship with 5 minutes to spare before boarding time. We got about 30 minutes free time in Playa Del Carmen after the caves and before the ferry ride back if you want to shop, but everyone in our group headed for the beach. The caves are amazing - there's 5 different routes, and it's a 90 minute guided tour in the underground caves. The route varies between walking on rocky terrain to wading in water that's ankle deep to 10ft deep and you need to float/swim through. We were accompanied by a guide as well as a photographer, as you're not allowed to bring any phones/cameras/etc. The USB package with all photos is $99. Our boys (9 and 12) deemed this their favorite excursion. Lunch is included.

In Grand Cayman we did the dolphin swim and Stingray City. Stingray City was crowded, and having been there before with a private vendor, I feel that if we were to go again, I would not book this excursion through Disney. There were too many people in our group for the stingrays and every family got one interaction with the stingray (more of a photo op that they try to upsell you - you hold the ray, kiss the ray, and then the guide moves on to the next family). We did not buy the stingray pictures. The dolphin experience is a lot better. We had a group of 9, so it was a manageable group. Pictures for the dolphins are $60 per person. Lunch was not included in this excursion, but there's a food stand at the dolphin place.

In Jamaica, we did the bobsledding and Dunn's River Falls. Dunn's River Falls is so fun - my boys had this as their second favorite activity. Our bus did the bobsledding first, lunch was provided at Mystic Mountain, and then we were taken to Dunn's River Falls. The climb up the waterfall was amazing, with a lot of different stops to slide down a small rock slide, or be completely submerged behind a small waterfall. There was a guide to help move the group along and a videographer that filmed clips as well as took still shots of the family. The DVD that they sell you at the end is $40 with all the video clips and stills. The quality is poor - fuzzy pictures, but we were glad we got the family pictures.