Disney Fantasy Cruise Port Excursions

[dcheels]

Hi! I was wondering what your favorite port excursions are & their costs, for the Western Caribbean Disney Fantasy cruise in late November. We are a family of 4 (2 kids - ages 7 and 11). Also, any recommended non-Disney excursion companies for cheaper $$ at the ports that you would recommend? Thanks!

 

[mrswillson]

My husband and I just sailed last month on the 16th - 23rd to the same itinerary. Here are the excursions we chose:

Cozumel - because both of us have been wanting to scuba dive but aren't certified, we picked Discover Scuba. It was roughly $110 per person if I remember correctly (which was the cheapest out of all the ports) and lasted about 3.5 hours. We loved it and it was the best part of the port as we were not fans of Cozumel AT ALL otherwise! They give you a safety lesson and get you right in the water, and you're in a great location with plenty of fish, coral, and statues to see. Hands down this was our favorite excursion of the cruise!

Grand Cayman - we ended up choosing Stingray City and Snorkel because I've heard nothing but great reviews. This one was around $60 per person. Unfortunately it was not exactly what I pictured, as all of the DCL pictures lead you to believe this particular excursion will have you on a sandbar surrounded by stingrays - come to find out there are actually two Stingray Cities, and we ended up at the "original" (which is much deeper at around 13-15 feet with only a few stingrays). In order to get the excursion that has you in shallow water with the stingrays, you need to book the one that specifically lists "sandbar" in the title. Overall the excursion team was phenomenal and very hands-on, we got to pet a stingray, and had plenty of snorkel time off of the boat. We were content with the price we paid for the experience, but it was nothing special for us. (I imagine this would be a much bigger hit for kids though.)

Jamaica - we bit the bullet and decided on Bobsledding and Dunn's River Falls and we're both very glad we did! It's one of the pricier excursions at $140-160 a person, however it's a great all-day experience that gives you a little bit of everything. You're given an hour long tour to Mystic Mountain (our tour guide was awesome), then you hop onto a ski lift that takes you up to the top for the bobsled ride and complementary lunch. The views are stellar, and with luck, you will see some other cruise ships at Montego Bay on your way up. Lunch was delicious, and the bobsled ride (while short) was a blast and a HUGE hit with my husband (who is a big kid at heart!) Dunn's River Falls was a very fun experience as well and a must-see-and-do while in Jamaica as it's just so unique. Be prepared to get soaked!

Have a blast on your cruise!

 

[adg06]

We just got off the Fantasy Saturday on this itinerary... my kids are younger (9 & 4) and not great swimmers so we did beach days instead of more active adventures. At Cozumel we went to Nachi Cocum. Reserved ahead of time directly with them, and then an easy cab ride to get there. It was small, private and relaxing, we loved it! At GC, we just got off and shopped for a bit since we had afternoon activities booked on the ship. At Jamaica, we booked a day pass at Jewel Runaway Bay through Resort for a Day (cheaper than booking through Disney). It is all-inclusive with a full waterpark, multiple pools, and a gorgeous uncrowded beach area with lots of lounge chairs and shade, etc. We wished we could have had more time there!

 

[SteveMP]

Our favorites are any of the Mayan ruins. Not like we can see those everyday. But we also love snorkeling, especially in GC.

 

[dcheels]

Awesome recommendations!! Any other thoughts? Our kids aren't "super amazing" swimmers and they are 7 & 11 years old..... we are intrigued by the all-inclusive resort for a day idea too....

 

[SteveMP]

Awesome recommendations!! Any other thoughts? Our kids aren't "super amazing" swimmers and they are 7 & 11 years old..... we are intrigued by the all-inclusive resort for a day idea too....

Well for snorkeling, you don't have to be an amazing swimmer. You have your face in the water with a snorkel to breathe through, pretty much anyone can do that, plus you can fill the float vest with air. If they can swim ok, maybe get them some swim lessons(or actually what we did our first cruise was have our swim teacher give the kids snorkel instructions). They learned how to breathe, how to clear the tube etc, so when we got out there they already felt confortable. Just a thought.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

We have done that itinerary 3 times.

Cozumel- nachi cocum (recommend), Mr Sanchos (don’t recommend), golf on own at Cozumel country club (recommend)

Cayman- have done the turtle farm twice on our own. Have also done semi submarine. These are both fine for little kids but when ours are older we will do new things.

Jamaica- tranopy adventure...bobsled, skyride, and ziplines. We did it as a date day and it was a lot of fun, albeit a long drive, and a lot of standing around waiting for your turn. After you have time to shop at the port if you want.

 

[dcheels]

Is there a non-Disney tour company that, in Grand Cayman, pairs a snorkel/submarine/underwater viewing experience with a beach lunch spot? I was looking into the Grand Cayman Seaworld Observatory Shipwreck and Fish Feeding Show .... does it go far enough away from the dock, to see a lot of fish underwater?

Any comparisons between Nachi Cocum and Runaway Bay, if we had to choose one of them?

 

[Happy2BMommy0812]

We got off the fantasy on October 7. We did the catamaran in Cozumel - but it rained like crazy, which was a bummer. It was still OK, but would have had more fun if it had not rained. If I ever went again I would book it again, but I might check the 7 day forecast before our 3 night cancellation window and cancel of the weather looks bad.

We did the aquabus tour in grand cayman - it was just OK. Again, rain may have messed with our experience, but the land tour was lame, the water tour would have been really cool if it had not rained, and the private beach we stopped at would not even let us sit in the empty beach chairs.

We did the Dunn River Falls climb and mountain chairlift thing - LOVED both of these. If my 5 year old had been taller, we would have also done the bobsled.

 

[dcheels]

How long does it take to get to Runaway Bay in Jamaica, from the cruise ship, how do you get there, and what is the cost?

 

[dcheels]

In GC, how did you get to the turtle farm from the ship? How much did it cost to do it on your own, and how was the snorkeling?

 

[KashasMom]

We've always had great excursions in Cozumel - 1) Save a Sea Turtle (loved it!), 2) Beach day at Paradise Beach - took a taxi to the beach - biggest pool in Cozumel (loved it!) , great food at poolside restaurant, and really nice beach, 3) Dolphin Swim at Chankanaab National Park - even if you don't do any dolphin encounter the beach at the park is nice. All of those can be booked on your own.

It's been a long time since we've been to GC (not one of my favorite places). We've done the turtle farm (just okay) and an island tour (went to Hell, etc.) and have also just gone to the beach. I hear the stingray excursion there is the best.

Jamaica - another place we've had great excursions 1) Did tubing down the Rio Bueno (a blast), 2) did the Heritage Walking Tour and then went on our own to Club Nazz for amazing jerk chicken and Red Stripe. We had a great guide and learned a lot. The same company does a food/culinary tour that comes highly recommended. 3) We took the tram for a relatively short tour - it covered a lot of what we'd already seen on the walking tour but it was just enough to get off the ship and explore a little.

 

[dcheels]

Do the cabs at each port take credit cards, or do they take cash only?