Which Port Would You Skip in the Western Caribbean?

[DisGirlAllie]

I'm planning a cruise for next year and, though we're a long way off from making decisions, we've been thinking about some possible port excursions and were toying with the idea of skipping Grand Cayman and treating it like a sea day. However, after posting on Reddit, I got a lot of mixed feedback (some people said GC was their fave, recommended skipping Falmouth or Cozumel instead, said they never skip, etc.) so, bringing this over to the DIS too to see what y'all think.

Btw if there's any specific port adventures you found particularly worth doing, please feel free to share in the comments.

 

[cvjw]

We normally stay on the ship on western cruises. If I had to skip one, it would be Jamaica - seems most of the excursions require a really long bus ride - that’s a no for us.

 

[Skippyboo]

I skipped Jamaica, we ended up skipping Grand Cayman too because the ship couldn’t tender in the normal location so they had to park on the other side of the island and then you had to take a 45 min bus.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We love snorkeling and the beach, so Grand Cayman is great for us. Jamaica is a Very Hard Pass. Cozumel is shopping and more shopping (for my wife )

 

[LoveDaisy]

I’ve been to all 3. I would skip Jamaica. With that said if you’ve never been to any of these locations I would get off the ship, unless you plan to go back.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

We had such a negative time in Jamaica that we will never get off there again. Spent our excursion wishing we were back on the ship.

 

[dreamer17555]

It depends on what you would do as an excursion- Highly recommend Mystic Mountain zip-lining and bob sled coaster in Jamaica, love Fury catamaran in Cozumel and enjoyed Stingray City in Grand Cayman but I felt the stingrays were overly handled so would likely not return.

 

[princesscinderella]

We are sailing on a western itinerary on Saturday and we have decided to skip Jamaica it’s currently at a level 3 travel advisory and I have no desire to ride on a bus for an hour to get to any of the excursions.

 

[OhThePain]

We are taking a Western in a couple of weeks and are only getting off the ship in Cozumel (yes, that does include staying on the ship in CC). My wife doesn't do tenders which is why we wont be getting off the ship in CG. But, if I had to pick one, it would be Jamaica. The last time we got off the ship in Falmouth we did the raft down the Martha Brae which would have been nice if it wasn't for constantly trying to be pushed into buying something from people along the river or even the guy who was guiding our raft. Then, the little bit of time that was spent in public, I think we stopped at a church or something, we were swarmed by people. The locals in both locations made what would have been a real nice experience completely uncomfortable and awkward, so never again.

 

[kiford]

To me, it depends on whether you've already been there or not, what you've done and what you like to do. We've been to Grand Cayman a few times. We've done a snorkel excursion and the turtle farm. We're not beach people, so we're done with GC and don't bother to even get off the ship anymore, especially since it's a tender port.

We've been to Falmouth a couple of times and done an excursion out to Dunns River Falls and the bobsleds. Great excursion, and we loved it, but we don't need to do it again, and nothing else appealed to me. Last time, we just got off the ship, went to the duty-free store to pick up my favourite rum and got right back on again.

At Cozumel, we've usually gone over to Playa del Carmen to take an excursion out to Mayan ruins. I loved those, but I don't need to repeat them for at least a few years and the memories fade. Last time we did an excursion on Cozumel and loved it. I might repeat that again (honey, chocolate, tequila) or maybe see something else.

 

[jimmymc]

Falmouth for me. Excursions are a far drive away, which often means they're short and expensive. Grand Cayman and Cozumel both have better access to beaches and activities. Cozumel also has some Mayan ruin excursion options.

 

[mollygirl13]

We don't get off the ship in Falmouth and don't plan to again when we sail the treasure in May.

 

[OKW Lover]

I voted for skipping GC. But we are probably not typical as we have been to all the ports so many times that all we do now is get off to shop. In Cozumel we shop for silver jewelry which is usually a very good deal there. In Falmouth, we just hit the shops in the enclosed area for t-shirts for gifts and Sangsters Rum Cream (think Baileys but made from rum rather than irish whiskey) and maybe some other trinkets.

In GC, we've really never found anything that appealing. We did do the dolphin encounter and turtle farm one trip and that was fun. But not repeatable. It being a tender port pushes it to the "sea day" side of the ledger.

 

[Annabell]

I would skip Jamaica.