In Cozumel, my husband and I went on a 2-hour morning excursion (booked through Princess) to the San Gervasio Mayan Ruins. The ruins, a 20 minute tour bus ride from the the dock, was once a temple complex dedicated to a fertility godess. Our tour guide was very proud of her Mayan heritage, and was very knowledgable.
If you take this tour, be sure to wear sturdy walking shoes or sneakers because the ground is rocky and uneven.
We did not go anywhere in Grand Cayman or Costa Maya. A coworker swears by the sting ray sand bar excursion in Grand Cayman. You can purchase this excursion through Princess or an independent operator (like Captain Marvin's, which I hear is cheaper and less crowded).
The jeep tour is a lot of fun you might want to look into that. Also don't forget to visit Carlos and Charlies that is a really great place....The diving or snorkling is very good there and they have a new golf course that was very tough.
Have a great time we will be in Cozumel in Nov. on the Island Princess, looking forward to the trip. Have a really great time.
Debi
Jeep tours are good, especially of the offroad ones that lead to private beaches. Though when they sey offroad, they mean jackhammered into your seatbelt often times.
If you want mayan ruins, there's the tour to the ruins on the island I believe or else, Tulum is probably another option. It's about 2 hours away from Playa Del Carmen which is the mainland ferry port to get to Cozumel.
If you go to Tulum, keep in mind its not the kind of tour that has a huge temple, it's a smaller mayan settlement but there is a beautiful beach/view from the cliffs that its built upon. Bring your swimsuit and towel.
Carlos and Charlies is a blast if you're into drinking and acting like a drunken college student. I know I had a ball. heh...
quote:Originally posted by tedd:
We are looking into different shore excursions, any help would be appreciated.
Grand Caymans,Costa Maya, Cozumel are our port of calls.
Dear Ted, Bear with me, this is my first time in the cruise chat rooms. My husband and I have cruised the caribbean many times. In Cozumel, we have done the ruins - interesting, but wear comfortable shoes b/c you'll be doing lots of walking over rocks. We also did the Xcarat resort, which is a sort of Disney world resort based on Mayan ruins; this also has a dolphin swim option at the resort, but need to book ahead. In Grand Cayman, we have done the sting ray city tour - loved it, but don't buy the sting ray food unless you want them to come really close by. The water was beautiful on the sand bar and the sting rays were like cats rubbing up against you. We even got a picture with one. The next time we were Grand Cayman we were going to go the public beach - the water there is the best in the Caribbean - but the taxi driver took us to a beach club where for $10 each we had access to bathrooms, purchase of food, beach, rental of beach vehicles. THe driver came back at agreed upon time and picked us up. Other than this beach excursion, we have booked all shore tours thru Princess, and have not been disappointed. Good luck & enjoy the Grand - this is our third time & compared with other trips on Carnival, which we will not do again, it is the best. We are going to try Royal next year if possible on the Mariner just for comparison and b/c we live near Port Canaveral.
In Cozumel and Costa Maya are there tour options from cabs and private operators that might be cheaper then the ones offered by Princess?
I have found in the past that cruise ship organized tours are time restricted and you waste a lot of time waiting for people to get on and off the ship and tour bus.
__________________
February 1998 - HAL Westerdam E. Caribbean
January 2000 - Carnival Ecstasy - Mexican Riviera
February 2002 - Costa Atlantica - W. Caribbean
February 2004 - Grand Princess - W. Caribbean
March 2007 - RCI Voyager of the Seas - E. Caribbean
May 2007 - RCI Voyager of the Seas - Western Mediterranean (Mrs. E. & daughter only - I had a medical emergency)
October 2007 - RCI Adventure of the Seas - Southern Caribbean
We're going Western Caribbean on the CP in May. Did same track in 03 on a different cruise line. In Jamaica we are hooking up with a local tour operator, the same one we used in 03. Got more for our money and very private. In Cozumel we are going to rent a car, the island is very small, only 1 road going around the island. This way we can go at our own pace and we are doing lots of research on where to eat along the way and where to snorkel. In Cayman, we took a private tour to Stingray City, loved it, but tooo busy, we are looking for something out of the way and unusual this time. The only difference we have found with the cruise line excursion is they do have to wait on everyone to get there and that takes time away from your tour, and they are short and expensive. If you are adventurous, you can go on your own, or a private tour company will usually cater to your needs and be more cost efficient.
Shelly
Linear Mode
