What do in Key West, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel

I am going on the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Sea that is leaving January 2nd, 2005. It will be the day after my wedding!!!!!

I was interested in some cool places for my lovely bride and I to go in our days in the port. We like to swim with the stingrays and other memorable stuff like that, we are just on a limited budget. So...any fun, inexpensive ideas would be great.

Thanks a ton,

Chris

[Darcy]

Chris

I just got back from a Western Carribean cruise on the Inspiration. We booked the Sting Ray excursion through Soto's Cruises. It was $24/pp and we had a great time. We did two snorkel sites and then the Sting Ray sandbar. Took about 2½ hours. In Cozumel we went to Chankanaab Park which was just beautiful. I did write a review which included our shore excursions if you want to take a look. It's under Carnival Inspiration.

Darcy

[hkolln]

We were just on the Inspiration in March and in GC we did the stingray tour with Nativeways and in Cozumel we did a Jeep tour but had to ferry over to Playa Del Carmen (very choppy and took awhile).

Our next cruise we'll be in GC and Cozumel again but this time we'll be doing a beach thing in GC (7mile beach probably) and in Cozumel we're staying in Cozumel cause I refuse to ride that ferry again!

[LisaK]

Grand Caymen - book a tour on your own to Sting Ray City and Sandbar - many really good tour operators to choose from, we have used Captain Marvin and had a great time - book in advance - fill up fast.
Cozumel - depends upon what you like to do. If you want a snorkeling experience then book a ships tours to the Palencaar Reef - amazing. If you want to relax on the beach, do a little snorkeling, explore mini-ruins, maybe swim with the dolphins then grab a cab to Channunkaab National Park - if you want to do a dolphin swim you must reserve that in advance - books up fast. Playa Del Sol is a fairly new beach area- hearing really good things about this place. If you want to explore Mayan Ruins - book a ships tours to the ruins ( only because its a fairly long ride to get there and it involves a ferry)
Make some time to walk around downtown - maybe do a little shopping and have a killer Marquerita at Carlos'N' Carlies

Where would I find independant tour links or info?

I highly reccommend the Sting Ray tour. We used Soto and they were wonderful very helpful. You can look under Sotos Cruises

Darla

[hkolln]

I have a webpage with my cruise on the Inspiration in March with links to the tours we took.....and capers from the cruise, etc...http://kollnfamily.com/inspirationcruise.htm

[Doreen]

What exactly are these capers I keep reading about...and is it possible you can send them to me...We're stopping at Cozumel~Grand Caymen~Ocho Rios...need to find things to do...where to book for the best price and what to look out for etc. Thanks Helen I've gone to your site and loved the pictures. Any more info you can offer I would appreciate. First time cruising and celebrating our 20th for the very first time ever...our son was born on our first anniversary so never got to celebrate...always did his birthday...Thanks again.

[hkolln]

I can't send the capers to you but you can view them on my website....at the bottom.
They are the daily activities for the days on the ship. Tells you what is going on, what to do, etc....

[tammar]

In Grand Cayman we just wandered the town. There are a lot of shops. Then we took a cab to seven mile beach, rented a chairs, swam and walked where no one was.
It cost us about 30.00 for the day.

In Cozumel we rented a jeep, about 40.00 and toured the island ourselves. Found some neat beaches.

Tours are not always the way to go. Make your own memories. Be adventurous.
Both Grand Cayman and Cozumel are tourist friendly. Have fun.

[irish3]

playa de sol in cozumel amazing beach party might want to try shoretrips.com the cost was$76 included everthing jet ski were cheap 2 around $55

[Doreen]

tell me more about this beach party...I wanted to do the dolphin swim in cozumel...will I have time for this beach party and all?

[irish3]

not sure you cantake a cab to playa del sol right from the ship.amazing it has eveything you want open bar all u can eat buffet snorkling gear the best thing i did on the cruise and also the cheapest it also has a pool which is fresh water and zoo

Yay for honeymoons! Congrats on the upcoming nuptials!

Grand Cayman we took a cab (they're mini vans) to 7 Mile Beach, entered the beach at a public access, found a quiet spot and relaxed for a few hrs. We then walked along the beach toward town for a bit, got back on the main road, hitched a cab back. Then spent the rest of our time window shopping...tons to see!

Cozumel we rented a car for the entire day and it was WELL WORTH the money! We got a Tracker for about $75. There are cheaper options (mopeds etc) and I bet you'd save $ if you made a reservation before you left on the cruise. We used Hertz. We had a great day travelling around on our own and it's impossible to get lost...there's only 1 major road around the whole island. Most of the beach clubs are free to use, so you could stop there for a bit...Paradise Beach is the newest and looks beautiful. We stopped at Nachi Cocum which was also nice. You can travel along to the east side of the island where things are more underdeveloped...beautiful, crashing waves, lots of private spots to be romantic. Drive on and stop at "Coconuts" for a great, affordable lunch ($30 including 2 huge margaritas!) with the best view of the coastline from its location on a bluff. You could then go tour the ruins at San Gervasio...I think it was about $6/person to get in. End your day shopping and strolling thru San Miguel...the center of Cozumel.

Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any ?'s.
-Angie

[LisaK]

Doreen - on Cozumel the dolphin swims are at Channunkaab National Park - book this as soon as you can as they are very popular and fill up fast. Depending upon how much time you have in port if you book your dolphin swim in the am you might have enough time to spend a couple of hours at Playa, if not then just spend the day at Channnunkaab Park - very pretty, nice beach, good snorkeling, good restaurants, replica of the ruins, small aquarium.

how much to swim with the dolphins there?