Tom

Author: Tom ([email protected])
Date: 8/5/1997 8:07 pm


Message: My wife and I are going on our first cruise in the Western Caribbean next April. Can you please help us? We are going to be in Grand Cayman from 8a.m. to 11p.m., at Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala from 6 until 5 and at Cozumel from 1p.m. to 7p.m. What should we do to get the most use out of this short time at these ports of call? We want to snorkel, we want to see these areas' land marks. What food should we sample and stay away from? All of your past experiences and input would truly make this 25 year wedding anniversary memorable for us. Please share your past highlights with us. Thanking you in advance.

Susan

To see the best part of Grand Cayman, take the time this fall to get your SCUBA certification at home! Cayman is a nice clean island, but the real sites are below the surface. Incredible fish and visibility. If you only snorkel, try a Sting Ray City trip. (it is a 8-15ft dive/snorkel) I didn't
care for it after diving the reef and walls, but it is one of the most famous sites in the carribean and at least I can say I was there.

If your stop in Cozamel offers a trip to the mayan ruins at Tulum it is a must. It is on the mainland of Mexico, and the only ruins site on the coast. While there, you can have a print made in Mayan Hyrogriphics of any special date. It is very interesting to try to "decode" it plus it makes a not so "touristy" rememberance. (looks good framed here in my office too). Have a great trip!

nicole

Hi. I work on board a cruise ship and have the priviledge of going to cozumel and Grand Cayman every week. The first response was on the money. Cayman- you will probably have to tender from the ship (int the little boats) because there is no cruise ship pier. I suggest you hang out on the ship until they call open tenders and avoid the shoving. with 15 hour on the island you can do EVERYTHING. If you are certified do the dives and definetely do Stingray city. YOu can actually stand out there and they swim around you and you can feed them. Surf the net...I pulled down city maps and island maps and walking tours when I was studying up. Food in Cayman is safe. I have not heard of any bad restaurants or experieinces with any of the ones listed by Fodor's or Frommer's. Check out the turtle farm, but have your turtle burger before you go. Good shopping for cosmetic products like Lancome, Estee Lauder and Clinique. Several dollars off home prices. Try Conch Fritters. Cozumel, my favourite caribbean island. SCUBA, try Dive with Martin at the end of the pier at the international pier. Everyone seems to take dollars. Taxi to town is $4.00, NO MORE! Great Italian at Pizza Rolandis. Great Fajitas at Ernestos Fajita factory. Carlos and Charlies is not as fun as it used to be. Crew hangs out at Fat Tuesdays where they have wicked slucsh drinks and I know of no one who has ever gotten ill due to parasites. Snorkeling Chankanaab Lagoon beach park, pull it down off of the internet and check it out.Tulum is nice, BUT it will take your whole day and if you want to beach or snorkel ther probably won't be time. Cruising, confirm you table seating the minute you get on board, NO MATTER WHAT anyone told you. The people at the reception or purser areas are fonts of info and we love sharing our experiences. Specific questions let me know.

jankoprivnik

nicole,
Wow...a cruise ship employee to answer all of our questions! Thanks!
What about in Cozamel? We've done Sting Ray City and my teenage sons don't want to shop.
The ship offers excursions like Playa Mia Beach Day and Bike and Snorkel. We would like to get away from really crowded spots.
Do you know about the Snuba excursion in Cayman?
Thanks for the tip about asking for a table as soon as we board. That was the one thing I did not enjoy about my last cruise; we were seated with a really annoying newly single father and his equally annoying son. Couldn't wait for dinner to be over! Hoping for it to just be my family of 4. Is this possible?
What other secrets of the cruise can you share????

doug_stallings

I don't see that anyone has really given you an idea of what to do in Santo Tomas de Castilla. The town itself is unmemorable, but nearby are the ruins of Quiriga, a smaller Mayan city than Copan, but in its own way equally striking. You can do this trip in a half-day. If you are willing to do more traveling, then you can get to Copan on a ship-sponsored tour, but this is a full-day affair. Copan is impressive and worthwhile, but if you have already seen Tulum or are planning to, I'd say go to Quiriga.

KVR

We just did a Western Caribbean cruise in April stopping at Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We've previously been to Grand Cayman on a land vacation before and twice to Cozumel before.

For a first time trip to Grand Cayman I would definatly recommend a snorkel trip that goes to the Barrier Reef, Coral Gardens and Sting Ray City. Your are so lucky to get so much time in Grand Cayman. We only got a short 5 hours, which is not time to do hardly anything. You can also set up a land tour that goes to some of the tourist attractions like Hell, the blow holes, Pedro St. James, turtle farm, etc. There are tour companies or you can just hire a taxi. Also 7 Mile Beach is awesome. There are a few beaches that cater to cruise ship passengers. Shop for rum cakes and Tortuga Rum. Food and drinks are quite pricey in Grand Cayman. We stopped at Margaritville, which was fun. There is also a Sr. Frogs and a Breezes restuarant. They are right by the cruise ship pier.

In Cozumel, we just grabbed a cab from the pier and when to Chankanaab for snorkeling. Nice area with a beach resturant and bar. Good service and decent prices. They also have a dolphin swim program if interested. I would advise against excursions that take you to Playa del Carmen unless you are interested in a long, hot, full, tiring day. Save that area for a great land vacation. We also spent time at Sr.Frogs and Carlos & Charlies. Cozumel also has all-inclusive beaches that have water toys and watersports for an additional fee or you can book ATV tours or dune buggy tours to see the Island.

For everything you wanted to know about cruising go to www.cruisecritic.com. Just research your questions first before posting.

If you interested, we have several pictures on our picture page at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/kvrlvn