Excursions Rec. for West. Carib. on Grand Princess
Jan 14th, 2002, 01:05 PM
#2
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We returned from the Grand Princess Western Caribbean cruise last night and had a fabulous time. You will love the ship and all the activities. My 13 year old son had such a great time with the teen center and other kids we didn't see much of him many days. For shore excursions I would book outside the ship except for Mayan ruins. We book Capt Marvins for Grand Caymans. They charge $35 dollars per person vrs Grand Princess $58 and you have a better experience. They take you out on their boats to two snokeling areas and get in the water to help you find fish it you're a first-timer. You also go to stingray city which is an amazing experience. They are very friendly and helpful. Costa Maya is basically a man-made cruise port mostly for tours to the ruins. You need to book those tours on the ship and it includes a long day on a bus. They have a small beach but it's fun to sun on and there are free hammocks to relax in. The small center there sells silver, jewelry and other touristy things. My son loved a Mexican boy that makes paintings with spray paint. It was fascinating to watch and the paintings were quite good, cost about $15. Felt good about supporting local economy. They provide free Mexican dance shows. We had a good time watching. That's about it at Costa Maya. My husband spend 1 hour in the center and went back on board. In Cozumel we went to Chankanaab Park, $10 for taxi, $10 per person entrance. A clean, lovely national park with clean beaches, good snokeling, food, dolphin encounters (well worth the $75, it was the highlight of my trip), sea lion show, Mayan ruin replicas, etc. You can also shop but my daughter and I didn't find any great bargains especially with jewels. You will find better tanzanites and prices on the Grand Princess, especially the last day when they offer discounts. Have fun. It was our first cruise and we all loved every minute.
Jan 15th, 2002, 04:23 AM
#3
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June, regarding the dolphin encounter in Cozumel: I went to the website of the park that offers encounters and the opportunity to swim with the dolphins, and it said that all Princess passengers have to book with the ship. What is that all about? Is that what you did? And what exactly is an encounter?
Jan 17th, 2002, 08:52 PM
#4
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Lorraine, You can't book on-line for the dolphins if you are on a Princess Cruise. I waited until we arrived at Chankanaab Park (when it first opened) and went straight to the Dolphin desk. By the way, you take a cab $8 to the park and pay $10 per person to get into the park. My family enjoyed laying in the sun under umbrellas provided on the beach and snorkeling. My husband and son saw a 4' barracuda and a very, very large lobster along with the beautiful fish. Back to the dolphins. They were booked for the Dolphin Swim, which is an hour with the dolphins including instruction, doing tricks, holding onto the dolphins, playing with them, etc. I wanted that program first. It costs $119 at the park vrs. $149 on the ship. They put me on the wait list. By 12:00 I decided to sign up for the Dolphin Encounter which is getting on a platform in waist deep water in the dolphin's pen. The trainer instructs you concerning dolphins and how they are trained while he brings it in front of you for touching. You then can have the dolphin kiss you on the cheek and you kiss it on the mouth. Each participant can also feed it. The dolphin does tricks, jumps, goes backward high in the air on his tail, and swims around his pen and right in front of you going 25 mph on his back. I love dolphins and it was truly a wonderful experience, well worth the $75. Lasts about 30 min. Hope this helps.<BR>
Jan 21st, 2002, 12:53 PM
#5
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We are going on Western Caribbean Grand Princess Cruise in March. We are interested in any information of the shore excursions in Costa Maya. We're not familar with any of the places. We would like to see some ruins. But not sure which one. Any help would be great!
Nov 5th, 2002, 05:01 AM
#8
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Ingrid try www.cruise-addicts.com - they have some message posts about Costa Maya that I thought were helpful.
Nov 5th, 2002, 08:01 AM
#9
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When we sailed on the Grand last Christmas and they offered two different Mayan ruins tours. We did the shorter one (about 4-5 hours, I think) and loved it. Sorry, I don't recall the name of the actual ruins, but there were several completely uncovered pyramids and other buildings plus some that hadn't been excavated yet. They let everyone climb all over them which is fun, especially for your boys. Our legs were killing us from all the climbing around, but we loved the ruins. There's a small circular shopping/restaurant area at the end of the pier. You'll have plenty of time to wander through after you get back from the ruins. Enjoy!
Nov 28th, 2002, 11:20 AM
#10
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I looked at the Dolphin swim website but oculdn't find anything that suggested that you're not allowed to book diretcly with them if you're on Princess (is it somewhere in the small print???)<BR>Another question: When you booked with Capt. Marvin's did you do so on-line and pay in advance?
