Shore advice for Ocho Rios,Cozumel,Grand Cayman,Limon?

[BarbJ]

We'll be on the Coral Princess Dec 9-19, and like to venture ashore when the ship is in port. We've decided on the Ocean to Ocean ship excursion in the Canal, but are trying to find interesting things apart from their usually overpriced and overcrowded offerings in the other ports.

We were in Cozumel a year ago and went to Tulum, which I highly recommend! On that one, if you go, I'd advise sticking with the ship trip, since it's hard to manouver it on your own, plus it's a bit of a distance, and if something were to go wrong in your timing, you run the risk of being the person on the dock waving goodbye to the ship. So this time we'd probably stay on the island.

Grand Cayman was a port of call on that trip too. There we hooked up with one of the many vans parked at the tender dock, and sawa lot of what the ship offered - turtle farm, Hell, . Don't recall the cost, but there are a lot of them, and it worked well at quite a savings in cost. Thinking of a snorkel cruise this time out with the stingrays. Tried to contact one private operator yesterday (Capt. Soto) but no response as yet.

Limon is more of a puzzle. Jungle River trip sounds interest. So does Tortugera Canal. Any experience with private operators in those areas? Or other suggestions?

 

[belgique]

Limon: the "stalls" on the Pier are a great place for wonderful leather bags. Got my favourite carry-on duffle there 9 years ago for $40.00 and still use it every trip. Was in Limon last year and the same style bag is now up to a whopping $45.00! It is wonderful leather. Also some great buys on wooden salad bowls, tongs, wine racks, etc. You have to pick through the usual souvenier stuff but there are some great buys on the piers.

The Jungle River trip should not be missed. I would recommend a ship's excursion as some people I spoke with almost didn't make it back to the ship in time. I was also with some people independent from the ship, but our guide made sure we were back in plenty of time. Guess it's just a matter of luck.

In all, I found the people of Costa Rica a delight - very friendly, sweet and kind.

Just returned from Cozumel and Grand Cayman a few weeks ago. Depending on which pier you dock at, Cozumel has a new (to me anyway) shopping plaza at the end of the pier. It's very modern, many shops. The silver is great and the prices on coffee and coffee liquers quite good.

Grand Cayman had 7 ships in port the day I was there in late Oct. It was a madhouse! Wall to wall cruise pax in the downtown area. Took the first free cab I saw and went to Seven Mile Beach for the day. Didn't shop much - just a flag for my collection.

Ocho Rios has some pushy vendors but a firm "no thanks" seems to do the trick. I'd use cash or travelers checks there as I didn't feel safe leaving my credit card # for some reason. There are a few upscale jewelry stores, but mostly the wood crafts are lovely and nice mementos of your trip.

Dunn's River Falls should not be missed if you are physically in fairly good shape. Tough, slippery walking up the falls, but worth it when you reach the top!

Bon Voyage!

 

[efoulks]

BarbJ,
We went to Georgetown, Grand Cayman a year ago and booked with an independent company for the stingray swim. This tour included 3 snorkeling stops--stingray city sandbar, barrier reef, and coral gardens--and they provided the snorkeling equipment, transportation from/to town, and non-alcoholic drinks. This group was super to work with--there were 18 of us (only 2 of us were together, other 16 were independent also)and we were at the stingray site when our cruise ship group arrived and there were about a hundred of them and it was much more expensive. If I recall correctly, it was about $30.00 each or $50.00 a couple for the independent excursion and the ship shore excursion for same thing was about $50.00 per person--quite a savings and much more personal service. Anyway, the name of the company was Stingray City Charter website: www.stingraycitycharters.com and telephone #345-949-9200 (cayman telephone #). They are really a nice, professional bunch and probably would have negotiated rates if I had pushed, but didn't. Hope this helps and have fun