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.

 

[Cfabar1]

My vote is all of them. Enjoy having the ship to yourself.

 

[iona]

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.

Which excursion did you do? We‘re on the Western Caribbean itinerary next year and it sounds like that’ll be one to avoid.

 

[Disturbia]

For Grand Cayman don’t go to the six mile beach. They don’t have a working flushing toilet. A worker has to bring a bucket and they force 3-4 people to go before they flush. We paid for 5 chairs but they forced us into 2 chairs, we argued and got one more but it was broken (you couldn’t sit on it but we put stuff on it.). People put towels and line up before the chairs close to the ocean (google seven mile beach crowds) and threw their wet swimsuits onto the umbrella next to us for drying. Employees didn’t clarify which chairs were for our cruise and a staff member moved stuff and there were people running and panicking (thinking maybe their stuff was being stolen).

Wanted to go back early and a public taxi driver came up to us and told us she was going that way; she oversold and forced adults to sit on other adults lap who had prepaid via Royal Carribean (we had to put our kids and things on our laps and had no room).

Private resort excursions are the way to go. We had a great time on the Cozumel beach break but waves were dangerous and life vests (maybe 20 of them for several ships) were not adequate and had a time limit of 15 mins. Adults got drunk and jumped around and overcrowded the kids splash area by 1 pm (we were ready to go). Bus was good.

Did not get off at Jamaica (no hospitals or services if you have an injury. Can’t wear Camo clothing. Also have to manually adjust iPhone time - missed Royal Gathering (6 princesses!!) and had to stand in 20-30 min lines and skip nap time to meet 4).

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We've been to all 3, and I probably wouldn't skip one if we happen to return in the future. However if I had to pick one to skip, it would be Jamaica.

When we were there, we did Dunn River Falls plus a (very mild) rafting trip and lunch. We loved it so much except the distance to Dunn River Falls and getting stuck in traffic going there, and then as everyone has commented the pushiness of the local vendors. We don't have any plans to return, but if we did I might consider a raft trip that stays closer to the port. We really enjoyed that portion too, and it felt more laid back than the long trip to Dunn River Falls and all the vendors there. We ended up coming out of the river into a little bay, where we had some lunch, hung out with our guide a little longer, and the kids played in the ocean. Just the general level of crime and travel advisory in Jamaica is probably what could most make me decide to skip there.

We've been to Cozumel 2x and I don't think I would ever skip getting off there. We did Nachi Cocom once, and the other time we did a conservation type thing where we learned about coral reefs, planted mangrove seeds, and got to swim. I would love to see the honeybee farm next time we're there, and maybe combine with some ruins or a beach stop. We also go to the Mega right near the port and restock the beer we're allowed to bring onboard! And I don't think I'd want to miss GC either. Tendering is a pain, but it seems like there's a lot of variety to choose from there. We did Stingray City, and I would love to do that again, but some of the caves look really neat too.

 

[BarlowFamily]

We have enjoyed excursions in all three ports on a few different DCL cruises. On our first western we opted to skip Grand Cayman, simply to enjoy time on the ship. We didn't regret it. Waterslide with no line, empty kids clubs...we had a great day on the ship. We have been back to Grand Cayman and visited the turtle farm last minute when our snorkeling excursion was canceled. We'll be back in Grand Cayman in a few weeks with fingers crossed our snorkeling with Captain Marvin's is a go for launch. I voted that i would skip Jamaica. We really enoyed rafting the Martha Brae on our first visit (booked through Disney). We have a private excursion booked in a few weeks to vitsit Dunn's River Falls and a little river tubing (cost same as just going to the falls with Disney). Jamaica is beautiful. Of those three ports, this was the port I would be least comfortable grabbing a taxi on my own to explore. So we may skip it if we go on more Westerns. Cozumel has been a pleasant surprise. Our first visit we booked a DCL excursion that visited the Mayan ruins, lunch stop at a Discover Mexico and finished at the Mayan Cocoa company. It felt so rushed. Second time in Cozumel we booked a day at Nachi Cocom, grabed a taxi at the port and had a great day! We have book a private driver in a jeep to take us around the island this time. We want to spend a little longer at the runis and go back to the cocoa place with a little swim in between. I didn't realize we'd enjoy Cozumel so much. If we go back to Cozumel again, I think a beach day with the inflatables would be our pick. Our family has loved visiting different ports and doing lots of different excursions! We aren't opposed to skipping a port though. Especialy for more time on a Disney ship. Skipping all of them though? No way.

 

[Peaseblossom36]

Which excursion did you do? We‘re on the Western Caribbean itinerary next year and it sounds like that’ll be one to avoid.

Exclusive and Fun Beach Break (FA75)
Problems started as soon as on the bus. Incredibly pushy sales people ON the beach, the worst I've ever seen (And I've had people grab my hair in Nassau to try to get me to do braids). They did some kind of cooking demo right behind where they had the beach loungers with a sound system with really bad feedback. It was like something you would expect to see on a comedy show on TV.