Excursions
 

Cruising on RC Freedom of the Seas this summer to the Western Caribbean, stops in Labadee, Ocho Rios, George Town, Grand Caymen and Cozumel. Any suggestions on the best excursions to book for a 18, 22, 25 year olds + parents?

Personally, at the ages your children are, I'd limit how much I'd pay for (say 2 $60 excursions apiece or $120 per child) and let each child chose whatever excursions they were interested in. If they wanted to spend more, I'd ask them to come up with the difference. If I could afford more, I'd raise the limit. I wouldn't ask my kids to all stay together, but to have fun and enjoy themselves on the trip. The excursions are excorted so I wouldn't be too worried about safety. My kids all have different interests and desires. You could print out the excursions then give a sheet to each child to list the adventures they were interested in. That would be fun, sitting around the dining room table, passing around each sheet and letting your kids talk up the good and bad points amongst themselves about each one. You might find that they all want to do the same things! If they all live in different cities, they can check out the excursions themselves and text (or email) you what they would like, then you can organize the reservations. Do it early enough that if you feel the need, you can negotiate back and forth without feeling pressured for time.

Labadee is RCL's priavte beach. Outsode of payng for equipemnt rental, tehre is not much extra to pay here.

Dunn River Fall is the only worthwhiel place to stop at Orcho Rios.

Most people do just city tour and go to "Hell" ;) at Grand Cayman. The Atlantis submarine is a good choice. Water is clear and you can see lots. If not, go to teh 7 mile beach and call it a day.

Cozumel offers lots of choices. Talum or the ecopark would be high on the list.

Ochos Rios: Dunn's River Falls is great fun. Take your swimwear and towels. No need for an excursion. Just hire a taxi at the pier. It is a few minute's ride.

Grand Cayman: One of the greatest experiences is swimming with the sting rays (tours are offered at the pier). Otherwise, I recommend hiring a taxi and driving round the island with a stop at "Hell" and at the Turtle Farm. We told the driver to drop us at Smith Cove (one of Grand Cayman's finest beaches, especially for snorkeling) and to bring us back to the cruise ship on time. Worked out perfectly.

From Cozumel, the most impressive tour is to Tulum (Maya ruins and a beautiful beach - pack swimwear and a towel). We did it with a ship's excursion, but you can also hire a private tour in Cozumel.

Generally, the ship excursions are twice as expensive as the local tour operators. You will be even cheaper if you hire a taxis with four people. The risk is that you have to be back on the ship on time, so provide a time buffer for a breakdown, flat tire etc. (there must be sufficient time to hire another taxi).

In Cozumel, I rented a car at the port ($40) and explored on my own. We found a fantastic beach at one end of the island that was so much nicer than the other beaches we had passed.

In Grand Cayman, swimming with the rays IS very memorable. Also, if any of you scuba dive, they have fantastic diving there. The "wall" is well known.

We loved Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios, you acually walk up the Falls! And it is a large Falls. You and your kids will love it.

Snorkeling at stingray city is wonderful, something else your whole family will enjoy IMO.

In Coszumel, we rented a car as soon as we got off our ship and drove the island. Our first stop was Chankanaab Park about 10 min from the car rental. There's only one road around the island so you cannot get lost.We then stopped at a few other beaches and ended up driving thru town and then back to the rental place which is right by the dock. Chankanaab has a place to swim with the dolphins and they also have snorkeling: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...eninsula.htmld

Stingray City is in Grand Cayman

great memory, cd. If you stay on that road after leaving Chankanaab Park and go all the way to the tip of the island before looping back, the amazing beach we found was there. I think it was called Playa St. martin?