Shore Excursions while on a caribbean cruise
 

I'll be visiting Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Miya and Belize in April. I'd like to avoid the inflated costs of shore excursions organized by our cruise ship. Let me know if you have recommendations for activities and if you have specifics regarding location, transport, etc. We are generally interested in active sports (snorkeling, tubing) and doing things unique to each island (like the sting ray city on Grand Cayman). THanks.

We were just in Cozumel, the dock where the ferries from Playa del Carmen came in had a row of snorkel tour operators just waiting for people to sign up. I think we paid about $25 per person and they took us to several different spots to snorkel.

I saw the docks where the cruise ships came in, it was within walking distance of the ferry pier.

Don't know where the boats dock in Belize but if you have a chance to snorkel at shark-ray alley, that was pretty cool to see.

We went to Stingray City and Coral Gardens with Nativeway Watersports. They met us promptly at the pier and took good care of us. The sea was very rough that day and the crew was in the water most of the time helping people get back to the boat! They provided all the snorkeling eqiupment. We made the arrngements with them before the cruise and paid the day we took the excursion.I believe it was $30 each. Check out their website if you are interested. ..very nice people and a great time!!www.nativewaywatersports.com

Hi Linda,

I'm doing about the same thing in May -- please post to the board after your trip and let us know what you liked/didn't like.
Jane

I found information on cruisecritic.com. There are sections there for every destination to check out.
I used cbelize.com. I found them after reading about them on Cruise Critic. Winston was great! Although they had a glitch in their email system and did not respond to my email from the ship, he was standing, along with others, on the dock, waiting for tours. He is very passionate about Belize and we enjoyed his tour which he tailored to us!
The same can be found at all destinations. I always do it that way, as ship excursions are way too expensive for the same product!
Ronnie

We you get off there will be cabbies and local tour operators aplenty. And they are cheaper. Just wing it. You'll be fine.