Hi all- We will be going on the Carnival Cruise Tampa-to the Western Carribean.

Grand Caymans, Cozumel, Belize-
Especially in G. Cayman and Belize we are looking for snorkeling/adventure trips other than the ones offered through the cruise line
to avoid the "same old" and especially the crowds.

Any suggestions?

All three are easy to do on your own.

Grand Cayman: There are dozens of operators that will take you to Sting Ray City at the foot of the pier where the tenders will let you off. I personally would wait until you have landed before making a reservation, as Grand Cayman is passed by if there is rough water (happens frequently)

Cozumel: Just grab a taxi to one of Cozumel's great beaches and either take or rent your snorkel gear with you.

Belize: You might want to take one of the ship's tours here. It is a long tender ride into Belize City and folks on ship's tours will have priority. If there are a good number of ships in port this can take hours. If there are only a few, then it could go quickly. They use high speed tenders and there are only so many to go around. If you do decide to go on your own, then there are several operators right at the tender wharf inside the port.

You can find lots of reviews of these ports at http://www.CaribbeanPortReviews.com

Have a great cruise!

Tom Ogg
http://www.CruiseReviews.com

Strongly recommend , at Cozumel, going to Chankanaab Nature Park for snorkeling and beach activity. Its a $10 cab ride and an entrance fee of $10 per person. The snorkeling is tame but productive,ie,you'll see colorful and plenty of fish. Also, sunken cannon, anchor, and statute as well. You can change/shower there if you want before returning to ship or going back to town. I suggest you bring your own gear (maybe rent from the ship if you don't have your own).Not sure if park has gear to rent. Also,you can swim with dolphins, but at $120 ,its something you must really want to do. Have fun.

Chankanaab does have snorkel gear you can rent and the park is a great experience with a Mayan Walk interactive museum, miniture golf, and a nature walk area with iguanas. There are also awnings and lounge chairs available that are included with your admission. In Belize we did an independent Tour with Reggie and did his Cave tubing trip which was fabaulous. I believe he has his own web site reggietours.com (?) Check out cruisecritics.com message boards port of calls area for other independent excursions.

In Belize, Coral Breezes has a good rep for snorkelling trips. Read the reports on the Ports of Call section of the bulletin board at www.cruisecritic.com.

I went on a half-day ship's tour organized by Seabourn. We went to Swallows Cay (manatees pincushion starfish, mangrove), Shark Alley (swimming with manta rays and sharks) and a guided (sigh) snorkel through the reef area. We also stopped for a cold one in Caulker's Caye.

We got back to the boat about an hour late - had we not been on a ship's tour it could have sailed without us as our tour started about 1.30 pm. amd we got back after 6 (scheduled sailing time was 5). That said, I would have no hesitation booking independently for a morning tour with an independent operator such as Coral Breezes.

Hope this helps

Thanks to all!!