Western Carribean cruise on Freedom of Seas ...arrival at ports..is it better to book tours from now ?

Question

Not sporty family , would like to know more to do besides swim at the ports.

Answer 1

I have been on that Freedom Western Caribbean cruise, a couple years ago.  The first stop will likely be Cozumel where you can go shopping, or to the beach.  There are  some Mayan ruins on the island but the better tour for Mayan ruins is the tour to Chichen Itza.  That's an expensive all day tour that you have to take a ferry ride for first to get to the mainland.  Then a bus ride, about 1-2 hours to get to the Mayan Ruins and pyramid.  If you want to do this tour I recommend booking it on line before the cruise because it will be limited AND you will be better going with a tour from the ship than booking one on your own.  That's because with the bus and ferry ride you do not want to be late getting back to the ship; they will leave you, but not on a ship's tour.

When you get to Cozumel the ship will dock at a pier about 5 miles or so from town.  There is shopping there and plenty of taxis to go into town and/or on a tour.  WE did a tour of the island a few years ago and frankly didn't see anything worth going back to see other than a few nice beaches.  Cozumel is known mainly for scuba and snorkel.

In Grand Cayman you will board a tender boat (one of the life boats or one provided by the port) to get from the ship to the pier.  There is a small town with some shopping (buy some Tortuga Rum Cake ... free samples in the shop).  You can get to the beach by just walking through the security age at the pier and catching a taxi/mini-van for $4.00 per person each way, (take cash, US dollars are fine).  Taxis will drop you at the beach and there are taxis to take you back about any time of day.  The beaches have changing rooms and bathrooms, a a snack bar and some souvenir shops.  You can rent chairs, mats, jet skis, snorkel equipment and go para-sailing.  So you don't need to reserve early for any of these.  But if you want to go swim with the dolphins you may want to reserve that.  There  is also a tour that goes to a butterfly conservatory, and another that includes a visit to a town on the island that has the name h**l.  Folks on our last trip to Cozumel said the trip to h**l was nothing.

There are two main attractions in Jamaica.  One is to Dunn's River Falls.  its a place where you wear your swim wear and walk up a waterfall.  Its kinda fun.  There will be ship's tours, some combined with a tour of a plantation and Fern Gulley.  But you can book a tour on your own or just catch a taxi at the pier for Dunn's River falls.  The other Jamaica attraction is a river raft trip (not a rapids trip but a lazy river).  Its a nice trip and recommended also.

The RC's private island is the best private island I have ever been on.  It huge and they have a free tram to carry you from one part to the other.  it has multiple beaches so you can swim, snorkel, reserve a jet ski trip, or a para-sailing tour, pay $5 to play in their ocean water park, just lay on the beach (plenty of sun and shade), or do the new zip line attraction (don't know what the cost is) it takes up up a mountain by the beach and the zip line crosses from the mountain all the way across the beach's bay to the other side.    besides that the island is nice to just explore.  It also has a big craft market on one side.

If you want to do the jet ski, para-sail, or zip line you may want to reserve in advanced because those tours seem to be rather small.

Answer 2

Well, apart from beaches the attractions of the Western Caribbean are mostly shopping.

I'm guessing your itinerary is the same as the one I was on:

Miami, Florida; Labadee, Haiti; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George Town, Grand Cayman; Cozumel, Mexico; Miami, Florida

Labadee - the private island.  It's an awesome beach, beautiful and not crowded.  If you only do one beach day, do it here.  You can rent a floating mat for about $5 and just float lazily in the sea if you don't want to swim.  There's also parasailing and jetskiing, but sounds like that's not your thing.

Ocho Rios - shopping or the wedding cake falls.  I'm not a big fan of Jamaica, though.  Expect to be hassled constantly for money and to buy drugs.  (And don't buy drugs - customs will search you coming back onto the ship, we saw kids get arrested.)

Georgetown - go see Stingray City.  Or shop - good high-end jewelry stores here.

Cozumel - Shopping or beach.  You could rent a scooter but I'd only recommend that if you have experience.  Lots of people get in really bad accidents.

In terms of booking tours beforehand or not, you really only have to if there's something you'd be sad if you couldn't do.  Some things sell out, but most don't.

This article talks about when to book shore excursions through the cruise line vs. an independent operator:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/kn...

You might also enjoy this "know before you go" guide:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/kn...

It covers what to pack, how to stay healthy, etc.

I hope you have a great trip!  And if you'd like to share your stories/pictures of your cruise, please consider writing a Cruise Journal (an example: http://www.cruisesavvy.com/journals/pj/2...

It's easy and free, and people really appreciate the info.

Answer 3

hey....u have to check out cruisecritic.com...they'll give u info on booking tours that are not thru the shiop if u wanna save money....my hunny and i booked tours thru the ship b/c we're newbies to cruising and we nervous about the whole time difference thing...but that site is amazing....u can even meet ppl who will be on the same cruise as u.....they give great tips and advice....HAPPY CRUISIN!!!

Answer 4

go online at a place like Taveleocity, etc., and look up cruises, then check out their cruise ship itineraries. Some cruise lines give discounts in certain month. For example, Carnival gives discounts in the fall because that is hurricane season. i have been on their ships many times in Sept. or Oct., and the most that happened was it rained when  we were out to sea, were given an extra day free, or went to a different port then was planned. WE ended up at Jamaica instead of Ocho Rios in perfect weather.

i don't know about Freedom of the Seas though. look 'em up at a travel site online.

Answer 5

If you are already booked on FOS, you should be able to go the RC website and check out their excursions.  If you see something you just HAVE to do, I would advise you to make a reservation before you go.

That being said, you can do tours on your own.  How easy/advisable this is depends on how comfortable you are, how reliably you can keep track of time and get back to the ship on time [they won't wait for you unless you are on a ship-sponsored tour], what you want to do, etc.

I would not do an independent tour in Jamaica, for example, but would do and have done excursions in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, Aruba, Curacao.

For lots of great advice, go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards" at the top of the page, then go to "Ports of Call".  You'll get reliable advice on both ship's tours and independent tours and you can judge for yourself.