Western Caribbean Excursions

Our recent 10 day cruise on Explorer was made even better by the unexpectedly enjoyable excursions. We are not beach people so we focused on the other offered excursions, especially Maya culture. We are 80ish; I'm a hiker; DW is healthy but has respiratory issue. We only did "included" excursions. The onboard lectures were about Maya culture, a perfect segue to our excursions.

Most passengers were relatively new to Regent; less than 100 (we had an almost full boat) were Titanium, Platinum, or Gold. Yet, the Destination Services crew handled the onboard services very well.

Our off-board experiences were typical of main-line cruise offerings. Explorer offerings matched those offered by the NCL ships. Most excursions felt "rushed" but still interesting and enjoyable.

We were in Cozumel on a Sunday; it was quiet. We did: "Island Discovery and Chocolate Experience" Very nice with excellent interpretation, good signage and good demonstration. No mobility problems.

Roatan Island - "Gumbalimba Preservation Park" - Small van and road with lots of potholes made a bumpy, unenjoyable ride. Park was very nice and easy walking. We had a great guide. Up close and personal with macaws and monkeys (including a few 5 months of age) and viewed many large iguanas up close - terrific!

Santo Tomas -"Quirigua" - Very good guide but otherwise a long, boring ride. Site was an excellent introduction for us to Mayan cities. Lots walking on dirt/grass and a very strenuous climb to top of ruins area (necessary to observe the layout of the ruins). Worth doing if physically able.

Belize City - Our most pleasant surprise! We did "Lamanai" accessed via long bus ride and then a long, high-speed boat (great fun). We had a very good 'Belize- background' guide and a superb 'Maya culture' guide. The site is excellent. You may climb (extremely strenuous) the Temple of the Masks. There lots of visible Howler monkeys which (surprise) are very noisey! Our best Regent excursion.

Costa Maya - We were worn out and canceled our reserved excursion but fell into the Regent "Jungle Beach Break" excursion. We got off the ship and visited the port area which is full of nice shops and things to do. A local tourist guide told us that Regent had pre-paid for its guests to ride to the nearby town on a open tram; visit the Beach Club; have free drinks, and return anytime via a pre-paid cab (authorized via wrist bands). We did and had a fine time.

George Town - Culture Express" This excursion suffered from our afternoon arrival. George Town is beautiful with lots of history and a wonderful Botanical Gardens. We had a terrific Docent in the Gardens.

Key West - an unexpected highlight - On our own, we did "Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden"; a parrot sanctuary. Ms. Forrester is a recognized lecturer on Rainforest ecology. She has about 2 dozen parrots of several species. At 10 AM, she hosts a chat in her back yard that is educational, entertaining, and a great photo op. Yes the parrots participate. It's on Elizabeth Street, an easy walk from Mallory Square and near the fascinating Key West Cemetery.

Loved Lamanai, done it twice! Thanks for reminding me.

Thanks for taking the time to share your excursion experiences.

The lamanai excursion is one of my favorites anywhere. Like Wendy, I have done it twice and would go back anytime.

Thanks for reporting on your cruise, DeepFreeze63. I'm always especially interested in details about excursions, and not everyone bothers with that. (I know that many people are more interested in reports about the ship, about dining and so forth.) Glad you enjoyed.