Please help..my friend and I are going on a Carnival cruise to Cozumel, Ocho Rios, and Grand Cayman. We would like to know a few things:<BR>1. Is it better to reserve a native tour guide rather than go with the ship for excursions? I have been reading that the ship excursions are crowded and expensive.<BR>2. What are the best and/or most fun/interesting things to do and see in each port? We like to scuba dive, go to the beach, and perhaps some other water sports. SHOPPING IS NOT IMPORTANT TO US!<BR>3. Does anyone have names and emails of tour guides in these areas? I emailed Peat Taylor in Ocho Rios but have not heard back from him.<BR><BR>Any info or advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help!

Quickly go to another message board - cruisecritic.com or cruisemates.com - this board will probably lead you astray - it's barely moderated and full of cretins and pompous asses...

The best shore excursion on your trip is Stingray City. It is something you cannot do anywhere else(almost) and it is a truly enjoyable and memorable experience. You swim with huge stingrays that will literally eat out of your hand...They feel good to touch, etc. Dont miss it

In Ocho Rios, I would definitely recommend a trip to Dunns River Falls. It's lots of fun, though it can be a bit treacherous. Just stay with the group and the guides will help you along. Don't book the trip through the excursion desk. Hire a taxi driver who will take you there and pick you up and bring you back to the ship.

I agree you should not miss the falls but don't recommend doing them on your own. Peat Taylor will sometimes take a couple of days to get back to you but he will. Or try e-mailing again. He also has a website. You can find the URL in multiple posts on the cruisecritic.com Carnival message board. It has come up several times just in the last few days. I concur with the recommendation to stick with cruisecritic.com boards for more info and avoid this one. Compared to the Europe and USA boards, it is a disappointment but you will love the folks at cruisecritic. Peat will charge you $30pp, take you to the falls early to avoid the crowds, pick you up and take you on a driving tour of fern gulley and the countryside, show you interesting native plants and local features, then take you basically anywhere you want to go, to the beach, to a restaurant, shopping, or back to the ship for lunch and then to anywhere you want to go.<BR>In Cozumel you can take a taxi right from the pier to Chankanaab Park for $8 per cab (4 people per cab). Admission to Chankanaab is $10 pp. There is a beach, snorkeling, changing rooms, food, a botanical garden, and a reproduction of Mayan Ruins.<BR>In Grand Cayman, you can take a cab to the 7-mile beach for $3 pp. Have him drop you off at the Marriott. They allow you on their beach for free, but it's kinda small. We walked up the beach just a bit to where we saw more people and found the Reef Grill. There is a bar there, a restaurant, a Subway sandwich stand, restrooms, & waverunner rentals. We had a nice afternoon there and easily caught a cab back to the pier.<BR>Anyway, go to cruisecritic and check out the Carnival board and also the Port boards for those three ports.

I'd recommend Capt. Marvin's for Cayman's stingray city trip. Look under snorkel trips at www.captainmarvins.com