DIY Shore Excursions in Cozumel and Grand Cayman

Save money by easily doing your own shore excursions in 

Cozumel and Grand Cayman

The Carnival Paradise departing from the Port of Tampa does four and five day cruises and calls into Cozumel on the four day itinerary and adds Grand Cayman to the five day runs.

Other cruise ships that include these two ports are numerous but include the Carnival Sunshine out of New Orleans, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas out of Port Canaveral and the Brilliance of the Seas out of Tampa plus the Princess lines Ruby Princess out of Fort Lauderdale among others.

Both of these ports are quite easy to navigate on your own and you can save a lot of money by creating your own shore excursion.  In Grand Cayman public transport is really cheap and really easy to deal with.  In Cozumel you can pile into a taxi and do just about anything you want from there at a considerable savings from the published shore excursions that you can purchase on the ships.

Doing things on your own or even with fellow passengers you meet on board can be fun and a lot less of a hassle than the organized tours.  We’ve done both over the years and can understand that every passenger is different.  If you don’t want to think, don’t care about money, don’t mind waiting for other passengers to load a bus, then the organized tours might be for you.

Otherwise, consider doing a little exploring on your own.  The following articles we did in the past will help you plan your cruise:

Cozumel, Mexico – Taxi to a Beach Club and a visit to San Miguel – This article will take you from either cruise port to a beach club where you can get food, lay in the sun, go snorkeling and then go back to the town of San Miguel for some shopping and food.

Cozumel, Mexico – Taxi tour of the entire Island – If you’ve never been right around the island, this tour option is perfect and will allow you to create your own pub crawl and sightseeing.

Georgetown, Grand Cayman – Beach and town visit – For under ten bucks you can visit one of the most gorgeous beaches in the Caribbean – Cemetery Beach in the Cayman Islands.  You can even stop at a local supermarket and pick up all you need for your very own picnic.

Here is a list of some of the cruise ships that include both Grand Cayman as well as Cozumel in their itineraries.  I may have missed one or two and it is really just intended as a guideline if you’re looking to include these two ports in your planning.

From Baltimore:

1. Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas

From Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades):

1. Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam
2. Carnival Freedom
3. Celebrity Equinox
4. Celebrity Silhouette
5. Princess Ruby Princess
6. From Galvaston, Texas:
7. Disney Wonder
8. Carnival Magic
9. Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas

From Miami:

1. Carnival Liberty
2. Disney Magic
3. Norwegian Pearl
4. Carnival Glory
5. Carnival Liberty
6. MSC Divina
7. Carnival Conquest
8. Carnival Breeze

From New Orleans:

1. Carnival Conquest
2. Norwegian Jewel
3. Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas
4. Carnival Dream

From Port Canaveral:

1. Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas
2. Disney Fantasy

From Tampa:

1. Carnival Legend
2. Carnival Paradise
3. Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas

Whether you book a cruise that only includes Grand Cayman and Cozumel or include other ports, we hope you enjoy yourselves and can save a bit of money at the same time while getting a more authentic experience.

Cruise well friends!