Ahoy, Tricia!
How excited you must be to head out to sea with Disney Cruise Line this summer! I'm sure you are happily planning away and hope you'll keep us in mind as you come up with additional questions.
My family has cruised the Western Caribbean many times including just last month. One thing we like to do on a cruise with four stops is stay onboard on one of the port days to experience
all the ship has to offer since it's a destination in itself. We enjoy doing this on the sea days as well, but this gives us an opportunity to enjoy some of the amenities with fewer people onboard. We may go see a first-run movie, play a round of Goofy Golf, enjoy the pool deck and let the kids hang out in the youth clubs while we lounge at the Quiet Cove, the adult-only pool. There really is SO much to do!
When my family has ventured out on our own, we typically stick to something easy like a beach day. One spot to consider that is easy to get to by taxi or shuttle bus is Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman. Once you tender over to the island (the ship can't dock here because of the coral reefs so small boats are used to get over to the island), you'll see plenty of transportation options. Just make sure you keep track of the time and plan extra time to get back to the pier to catch the tender over to the Disney Fantasy. When you visit Castaway Cay, a bike ride is a great and inexpensive way to see the island, and there are bikes with training wheels and seats if your younger ones want to ride along. The rentals last an hour, and there is a great observation tower that you can climb to capture a bird's eye view of the ship! And one final tip, when my Mouseketeers were younger, they did better with excursions that only lasted a few hours. They were always ready to head back to the ship to rest and enjoy the youth clubs!
Happy Planning, Tricia!
Nancy