Cruise to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, & Cozumel

12–18 minutes

Overview

Date of Travel: May 12th – 19th 2024

Another cruise for the books, spending time with some good friends, celebrating a birthday and a friend and I were celebrating our master degree progress. On this cruise, we had a group of roughly 8 people, including myself. With this size of a group, I will say trying to coordinate events may begin before anyone gets on the ship. Especially if you want to eat in the dining room together, or dine in the Steakhouse with your group, someone in the group will need to call in advance with everyone’s booking number to be seated with or next to your group. When booking your cruise, everyone in the room gets their choice of dining time, if they desire to eat in the dining room communicate and decide on a time to eat in the dining room with everyone. Of course, there is no need to eat in the dining room, you can always eat at the buffet on the ship or the other restaurants that are included in your fare as well.

This time around, we were on the Carnival Liberty, she holds a guest capacity of 2,974. Dining options on board, included with your booking, consist of Guy’s Burger Joint with delicious burgers, BlueIguana Cantina for some great tacos and burritos, the Dining Room to add some ambiance for your brunch or dinner, the Deli with delicious sandwiches and fries, Lido Marketplace that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Mongolian Wok with a delicious asian twist onboard, and the Pizza Pirate that is opened the latest of all options and will hit the spot at midnight for sure! There is something onboard to enjoy eating for everyone, have a little bit of everything or stick to your favorites!

The Dining Room is quite nice if you want to enjoy some brunch on seadays, and dinner is typically pretty good here. Unfortunately, this time around the Dining Room was not up to par compared to my last cruise on Carnival Glory, so I stuck to eating at other options on the ship. The food was good, however the service received was not as good, and I decided after going twice, the dining room was not my choice this time around.

There are other options onboard the ship that will cost to partake in. The Coffee Bar, if you like coffee this place has some good coffee in my opinion. They also have milkshakes and bakery items if you are interested in stopping by. I highly recommend trying the coffee here and making your decision for it. The Seafood Shack is also onboard that you will need to pay to eat here, I didn’t try it but a friend of mine tried it out and he said that he enjoyed the food there. I’ll end dining options with The Steakhouse onboard. It is about $50 per person to eat here, and while I enjoyed the ambience, the food is not worth it. Two times trying the Steakhouse and I was not impressed for the price. I enjoyed the lobster bisque, but this time the lobster was not as good, and the steak was lacking again. I will probably give the steakhouse one more time, but I would rather save the money and if I’m feeling like eating steak, I’ll order it in the dining room.

On the cruise ship for carnival, there is almost always something to do. You can play Bingo, play Trivia, listen to a concert, attend a comedy show, watch a movie on the Lido deck, there is almost always something to do on the ship at any given moment. If you can’t find something to do on the ship, you are making it a point to do so. If you want to sit in your room and watch the cameras of the ship’s bow or lido deck, feel free to you paid for this vacation, but there is something to get into onboard.

Days at Port

For port days, I recommend trying to eat breakfast before heading out from the ship, brunch won’t be available and the casino and shops are closed. There won’t be as many options for food while the ship is at port, but once returned most of those options will be open as the ship gets ready to disembark. I recommend having a backpack of sorts to comfortably carry items on and off the ship, while also having room to carry any souvenirs purchased from port. Make sure you keep your ship card on hand, you will need that and your I.D. or passport to get back on board the ship.

Make sure you pay attention to ship times and the times posted for leaving port. The ship will leave you if you are not there by the time posted. On my first cruise, which you can read here if you haven’t (insert link to first cruise) I watched a few people miss their ship. I could hear them saying “what should we do now, this isn’t fair, that’s not right they just left us.” So be warned, if you miss the ship’s departure time, it will leave you behind! If this happens, you are responsible for finding your way back home however that may be done. Typically, the ship will boast its horn with a notification of it being time to leave if you are nearby to hear it and this announcement will be made before the ship docks at port. The times of arrival and departure are also provided the day before so it is known what time the ship will arrive at port, and what time is expected to be back onboard the ship. If you are going on a water shuttle because it is required for the port, pay attention to when the last shuttle will be making its way back to the ship because if you miss that shuttle again the boat will leave you behind. It is imperative you pay attention to the ship’s time when on a cruise because that is the time the ship operates on. If the ship says 4:00PM for departure, it is 4:00PM ship time departure, not local time. Ensure your watch or time keeping device is showing ship time to ensure you make it back aboard.

Helpful Tips at Port

While at port, bring a backpack to comfortably carry items to and from the ship. I like to have it on me so I have free hands at all times when out and about. Make sure you review the ports’ laws and regulations for sunscreen, many countries have requirements for sunscreen to be reef safe. Have a pair of shoes you can comfortably walk in for the planned tasks. If you are going hiking, it might be a good idea to have tennis shoes for comfort and protection. Wear clothes that are comfortable for your planned itinerary.

You can save some money by choosing third party excursions and things to enjoy, however, booking your excursions through the cruise ship ensures you’ll make it onboard. If a ship’s excursion is late, the boat will wait for that excursion to return but with a third party excursion it is up to you to make it back on time. I’d say compare the price and timing it may take to do excursions. For example, If you can get off the boat as soon as it arrives, you might be able to drive to the ruins and make it back to the boat for departure at a cheaper price. The ship excursion just guarantees you get your excursion and return to the ship.

Pay attention to travel advisories. If a port of call is not the safest destination, don’t leave the port’s safety net without safety measures. Most ports have a safe area that is blocked off to keep tourists safe, check your ports safety before walking out of that area. If you do leave the port, make sure you have your ship card and I.D. on you to regain entry to return to the ship.

Bottom line, have fun and stay safe. Ports can be as fun or as boring as you let them be, find things that interest you and do them! Most ports have time to do a couple of activities before the ship departs, while also still having a bite to eat while out and about. Find those activities and enjoy your cruise!

*For scuba divers, I highly recommend sending emails and contacting dive shops in advance to book and coordinate dives during your cruise. It can be a daunting task emailing many dive shops and not finding one that can do dives for you due to the departure time of the ship. Check dive shops in the area, and send them emails with the expected time you’ll be in port. You might be able to find private dive charters which will cost more, but shop around and try to find a shop that can accommodate you. Keep in mind the time you’ll need to return to the ship, after the dives. Unfortunately for this cruise, I could not get dives booked*

Unfortunately, on our second day at sea, my partner decided to soak in the sun a bit too long and decided red was the color of skin for the week. This was a horrible sunburn that lasted 2 weeks after the cruise ended.

Port: Montego Bay, Jamaica

Jamaica was truly wonderful, the wonderful views of the island, the beautiful water, and the hospitality of the people encountered was truly amazing. Jamaica tends to teeter on the U.S. Travel Advisory and is typically on a “Reconsider Travel” advisory due to their high crime rate. I went through a ship sponsored excursion for their zipline and river tubing which was with the Chukka Cove Adventure Ziplines & Tubing Tour. Getting there was fun, we loaded on the bus and the ride there was quite fun. We unloaded and they recommend leaving valuables in a bag or on the bus so they aren’t lost on this adventure. They put us in ziplining gear, with helmets, harness, and gloves, then do a quick demonstration of what to do on the ziplines. Keep legs up and tucked so we don’t hit them on platforms, and if we need to stop, use the glove to grab the cable behind the pulley. They share how if you try stopping in front of the pulley, you might lose fingers. The crew was hilarious the entire time, cracking jokes and making this an amazing experience. It was quite a nice hike too, with wonderful views and steep steps, you’ll be needing to catch your breath whether it’s from the views or the hike. This adventure is recommended for those who can handle moderate physical activity. I recommend bringing water for this so you can drink water while going on this hike through the ziplines because it does require quite some physical ability to do the hikes for the ziplines. However, the views encountered are worth every cent in my opinion.

Ziplining in Montego Bay

The hike starts light, with some views of ponds and a small waterfall. Then the real hike begins after one or two smaller ziplines. We begin climbing rocky paths and terrain where you’ll be enjoying some good views, while going through a nice stair climber workout. On our hike upwards, we begin getting a canopy view of the forest we are in.

Ziplining in Montego Bay

After doing the zipline course, we took the zipline gear off after hiking back to the pavilion, then we got ready to enjoy the river tubing. River tubing was quite relaxing after the hike we did from our zipline adventure. The water was cool and it was a nice ride, every now and then we’d have slight rapids to traverse in the tubes, but it was quite nice. Eventually, the crewmen working the tubes passed out a tropical rum punch that was delicious! The views were stunning, the rum was delicious, and at the end of the tubing, there was a rope we could use to jump into the river. Riding back to the pavilion, songs were sang and it was a fun time. When we made it back, we had Jerk Chicken for lunch that was very delicious, then it was time to head back to port.

This was very fun, and I will definitely recommend those who enjoy ziplining and river tubing to go on this excursion through Montego Bay. Be warned, the zipline course does have quite a slight physical demand due to climbing steep slopes, but it is definitely worth it! Pair that with a relaxing tubing experience after, it’s almost like a reward for the nice hike you just took through the zipline course. I will have Montego Bay as a place to return to on cruise itineraries

Port: Grand Cayman

George Town, Grand Cayman from the ship

Grand Cayman was beautiful! We had the luxury of catching a water shuttle to port for Grand Cayman and I highly recommend this place for travel itineraries. Unfortunately, I was going to try scuba diving here, but the timing wouldn’t guarantee making back to the ship in time for departure. If it weren’t for me traveling with the group, and my partner saying no, I would have risked missing the ship to scuba dive in Grand Cayman, I think I would have made it in time but there was definitely risk of not making it in time. Once the decision was made not to scuba dive in Grand Cayman, my partner and I decided to go snorkeling from Eden Rock’s Dive Center. I was trying to get some dives in here, but they required a buddy system and my partner wasn’t certified yet.

We decided to go snorkeling from Eden Rock, and it was a blast. Some marine life was seen, and I enjoyed seeing the underwater formations. In one of the pictures, we had a fish friend that swam with us the entire time! Next time we are here, I’ll hopefully have my partner become a certified diver, and we can scuba dive together. After snorkeling for a while, we got lunch at Eden Rock and it was quite delicious. I got a fried coconut shrimp dish that was delicious, and my partner had chicken tenders. The food was very delicious. We stopped at another dive center near the port ,Deep Blue and Off the Wall and got some rash guard shirts from there, as well as some souvenirs from shops in Grand Cayman. We walked around George Town for a bit and took in the area. Next time, I’ll hopefully have some dive photos to share with you!

Port: Cozumel

The last port on the itinerary was Cozumel, again I did not go scub diving but I did rent a vehicle and drove around Cozumel. We stayed on the ship for a little bit to get some rest, got off the boat and went to the rental place for the vehicle. The sunburnt crisp wasn’t feeling that well to be out and about in the sun today, so we just drove the entirety of Cozumel’s roads. We stopped for coconut drinks, drove around the island and made way to the opening of the Zona Arqueologica ruins. My partner wasn’t feeling well enough to make walk and enjoy the ruins so we didn’t go see them this time, but next time we will make sure to visit these ruins in Cozumel.

Summary

Overall, the cruise was one to remember. I had a great time with some great friends, it was the first trip my partner and I went on together, and the sunburn was horrible but made it quite memorable. It was quite a fun trip, with good eats, good sights, and even better memories made with friends! I loved my time on the Carnival Liberty and time spent in Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. Montego Bay’s zipline and river tubing experience was swell, especially with that delicious rum punch on the river. Grand Cayman was gorgeous, with amazing visibility in the water, and the snorkeling was great! Then we enjoyed a nice relaxing day driving around Cozumel. This cruise was amazing, and I look forward to the next one I take!