Exotic Locations - Do we need to worry?

[filmbufs]

We have travelled a good amount but this will be our first cruise and we couldn't be more excited. We haven't booked a cruise but we are leaning towards a Western Caribbean journey. This site is absolutely wonderful and we are gathering a lot of tips from you friendly people!

 

I haven't seen a lot of discussion regards to water and land safety during an excursion to an exotic location like Belize, Honduras, etc. Do we need to worry about any poisonous critters in the waters or on land? Do we need to worry about bites from bugs or spiders? We don't usually think of such things while on vacation but, then again, we haven't been anywhere 'exotic.'

 

Aside from using good old common sense, do we need to prepare or be on the lookout during these excursions or are they essentially tourist-proof and the mean little critters run for cover at the site of tour groups?

 

Any advice you might have is welcomed.

[jlovely]

I would highly recommend at least bringing bug spray that has a very high concentration of DEET. I found some that are 100% DEET so we'll be bringing that and applying regularly.

 

It's our first cruise as well and we're doing the western route too. From reading on here...the 'bad' bugs (malaria mosquitoes, etc) are usually found at dawn and dusk. Luckily for us, our ship isn't in port/tendered anywhere near the sun rising/setting. We will be doing cave tubing in Belize in the jungle but we'll be bringing tons of bug spray.

 

I know bug spray isn't the 100% best way to prevent anything. Others have suggested getting malaria pills from your doctor. We're still toying with that idea but we'll only be in the country for less than 11 hours.

[Johnthed0g]

Seek medical advice on the Malaria thing, if you need pills they are taken before,during & after the cruise in order to work.

[filmbufs]

Thanks for the quick responses. We are looking forward in traveling to some of these ports and trying some excursions but had a concern about whether or not to pack some bug spray with DEET or not.

 

I'm not fond of spiders and snakes either or anything else that might be poisonous. I don't want to worry, rather I just want to take basic precautions if they are warranted. If not, all the better. So tubing in the rivers are fine? Going off the beaten track is alright as well? Just use common sense?

[cb at sea]

You'll be fine in locations where the excursions go...if you're prone to bug bites, bring a spray with Deet....use common sense....the tour guides wouldn't be in business long if they kept killing off their customers!

You'll be fine!

[filmbufs]

LOL! Good point!

[Sheffie]

On all of our excursions, we have never seen a spider nor a snake. We have been to some rain forests and saw nothing out of the ordinary there.

[kitty9]

For a newbie, the Caribbean may seem exotic, but in reality, it's pretty tame stuff. Now, if you were taking a cruise on the Amazon or in Africa, then you'd have to consider health issues, but the Caribbean is pretty tame.

[UKBayern]

I would highly recommend at least bringing bug spray that has a very high concentration of DEET. I found some that are 100% DEET so we'll be bringing that and applying regularly.

 

 

Be very careful with high concentration DEET. In most European countries, bug repellent with 100% DEET is forbidden for good reason! DEET in high concentrations melts plastic. Very inconvenient if it happens to your sunglasses or the buttons on your shirt, but a potential health risk if you wear contact lenses and you did not wash your hands properly and start rubbing your eyes or applied it on your forehead and started sweating.

[UKBayern]

For a newbie, the Caribbean may seem exotic, but in reality, it's pretty tame stuff.

 

:D:D:D Yep.

 

 

 

We take malaria pills if we go backpacking in the jungle for a month, but I doubt if you really need them for a few hours in port. Use common sense, cover up (shorts and tanktops just shout "come and get it" at the bugs) and use insect repellent.

[filmbufs]

You guys are so funny. Shorts and tank tops = come and get it. LOL!

 

Thanks a bunch for the great advice! Great to know about high concentrations of DEET melting plastics and the potential hazards.

 

I'm happy we won't have to worry about anything except our use of common sense. YAY!

[MacSmooth]

We have travelled a good amount but this will be our first cruise and we couldn't be more excited. We haven't booked a cruise but we are leaning towards a Western Caribbean journey. This site is absolutely wonderful and we are gathering a lot of tips from you friendly people!

 

I haven't seen a lot of discussion regards to water and land safety during an excursion to an exotic location like Belize, Honduras, etc. Do we need to worry about any poisonous critters in the waters or on land? Do we need to worry about bites from bugs or spiders? We don't usually think of such things while on vacation but, then again, we haven't been anywhere 'exotic.'

 

Aside from using good old common sense, do we need to prepare or be on the lookout during these excursions or are they essentially tourist-proof and the mean little critters run for cover at the site of tour groups?

 

Any advice you might have is welcomed.

My wife and I did the Western Caribbean itinerary on the Carnival Valor for our honeymoon last year. We stopped in Grand Cayman (Cayman Islands), Roatan (Honduras), Belize City (Belize) and Cozumel (Mexico). I did snorkeling everywhere except for Belize, did some off road stuff in a Jeep and an ATV in Grand Cayman and Cozumel and did an Airboat tour through a lagoon and some marshes in Belize. Definitely didn't see any poisonous critters.

 

One concern I had was jellyfish, but out off all the snorkeling I did, I didn't run into any; though some people in our snorkel group in Roatan claim to have been stung by something in the water.

 

Make sure you bring some bug spray though. My wife forgot to pack hers and got eaten alive by mosquitos when we did the ATV Adventure through the woods and jungles near El Cedral (outside of Cozumel). And of course they sold out of it on the ship within the first couple days.

 

Here are some of the critters that we did see at our stops though:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[maureencruiser]

Hello, and something I have never done but plan to start doing is bring those TEVA water shoes. A lot of people are reporting being stung by sea urchins or other things or cutting their feet on rocky bottoms, so why risk it. I plan om getting a pair before my next cruise...Maureen

[filmbufs]

Here are some of the critters that we did see at our stops though:

 

 

Okay, see? This is the kind of critter I don't want to run into. LOL!

Tell me this wasn't the Cave Tubing area in Belize. :)

[MacSmooth]

Okay, see? This is the kind of critter I don't want to run into. LOL!

Tell me this wasn't the Cave Tubing area in Belize. :)

We did see this critter in Belize, but it definitely wasn't Cave Tubing. I'm a thrill-seeker, but Cave Tubing with Crocs??? Never going to happen. Don't even know if its ecologically possible, lol.

 

We actually saw this little guy on the Airboat Adventure we took after our Belize City tour. The tour operator said he was only about a year old. I had a blast cause I got to see it up close and personal. Here are a couple more pics:

 

 

 

[MrsPete]

We have travelled a good amount but this will be our first cruise and we couldn't be more excited. We haven't booked a cruise but we are leaning towards a Western Caribbean journey. This site is absolutely wonderful and we are gathering a lot of tips from you friendly people!

 

I haven't seen a lot of discussion regards to water and land safety during an excursion to an exotic location like Belize, Honduras, etc. Do we need to worry about any poisonous critters in the waters or on land? Do we need to worry about bites from bugs or spiders? We don't usually think of such things while on vacation but, then again, we haven't been anywhere 'exotic.'

 

Aside from using good old common sense, do we need to prepare or be on the lookout during these excursions or are they essentially tourist-proof and the mean little critters run for cover at the site of tour groups?

 

Any advice you might have is welcomed.

You don't need to worry. Cruise ships stop at rather touristy spots; while there's always the possibility of seeing a normal spider or other critter-bug, you're not going into the deepest darkest jungles and will not encounter serious animals that'll endanger your health.

[filmbufs]

It looks like we are indeed going to Cozumel and Costa Maya! Woohooo! I'm very excited and can't wait to see some of the ruins out there. Looks like we'll be able to avoid the crocs for now. Yay! Very cool pics of the baby croc, Mac. Always best to see them from the boat, eh?

 

I just saw a show on the Weather Channel called, "Weather Proof." They did a segment on mosquito repellent and compared Deet with some kind of Citronella lotion. In both cases, neither volunteer had any mosquito bites after two hours. Around the three hour mark, a few mosquitos bit the guy with citronella. I'll be searching for a more natural product containing citronella and simply reapply the lotion after a couple of hours (depending on instructions, of course.)

 

Also noticed they have vipers and tarantulas in the area. I don't expect to see any because I have no intention of moving rocks or climbing trees. And I'll let my tour guide lead the way first. ;)

[Kidsx5]

It looks like we are indeed going to Cozumel and Costa Maya! Woohooo! I'm very excited and can't wait to see some of the ruins out there. Looks like we'll be able to avoid the crocs for now. Yay! Very cool pics of the baby croc, Mac. Always best to see them from the boat, eh?

 

I just saw a show on the Weather Channel called, "Weather Proof." They did a segment on mosquito repellent and compared Deet with some kind of Citronella lotion. In both cases, neither volunteer had any mosquito bites after two hours. Around the three hour mark, a few mosquitos bit the guy with citronella. I'll be searching for a more natural product containing citronella and simply reapply the lotion after a couple of hours (depending on instructions, of course.)

 

Also noticed they have vipers and tarantulas in the area. I don't expect to see any because I have no intention of moving rocks or climbing trees. And I'll let my tour guide lead the way first. ;)

 

 

Yikes what area has Tarantulas? :eek: I HATE spiders!

[Now6]

We are also going to Belize/Isla Roatan and the CDC recommends malaria prevention drugs for both. I just called and found out that our regular doctor won't prescribe those drugs. You have to go to Traveler's Health Counseling doctors. Our local Passport Health charges $50.00 for the first person and $30.00 for any additional. Apparently all have to be seen, not just one person. This means for our family, it will cost $200.00 out of pocket just to find out what expensive medicines we will need. Our insurance doesn't cover anything, which I guess is standard when it comes to travel prevention. You can get the pills from places all over the world at about $1.50 each, but I would be leary about the safety. To buy just 42 pills from my local CVC pharmacy, it is going to cost $244.99! And, I think we would need more than that. I just threw that number at the person on the phone to get an idea. If cost were the only problem, I might just suck it up and pay for it alll, but I am also worried about the side effects. Assuming no one had any serious side effects, we would still be paying for a cruise where we would be suffering stomach problems and dizziness. (Just what I need when I'll already be suffering motion sickness!) I am now thinking about keeping our family on the boat for those two ports, even though it means missing basically half of our trip. I really wanted to do the River Wallace on Belize, but I'm thinking if anyplace has lots of mosquitos during the day, it would be a river. What has anyone else done about this? For those who have been to these places, would we be really missing out on something to skip them?

[Sheffie]

We are also going to Belize/Isla Roatan and the CDC recommends malaria prevention drugs for both. I just called and found out that our regular doctor won't prescribe those drugs. You have to go to Traveler's Health Counseling doctors. Our local Passport Health charges $50.00 for the first person and $30.00 for any additional. Apparently all have to be seen, not just one person. This means for our family, it will cost $200.00 out of pocket just to find out what expensive medicines we will need. Our insurance doesn't cover anything, which I guess is standard when it comes to travel prevention. You can get the pills from places all over the world at about $1.50 each, but I would be leary about the safety. To buy just 42 pills from my local CVC pharmacy, it is going to cost $244.99! And, I think we would need more than that. I just threw that number at the person on the phone to get an idea. If cost were the only problem, I might just suck it up and pay for it alll, but I am also worried about the side effects. Assuming no one had any serious side effects, we would still be paying for a cruise where we would be suffering stomach problems and dizziness. (Just what I need when I'll already be suffering motion sickness!) I am now thinking about keeping our family on the boat for those two ports, even though it means missing basically half of our trip. I really wanted to do the River Wallace on Belize, but I'm thinking if anyplace has lots of mosquitos during the day, it would be a river. What has anyone else done about this? For those who have been to these places, would we be really missing out on something to skip them?

 

From what I understand, those pills are recommended for people who will be going deep into the country, or who will be there for quite a while. We just got back from those 2 countries and I didn't see any bugs. We even hiked up through some forest to go river tubing in Belize. In Roatan, we went snorkeling. I would NOT stay on the boat and miss seeing a new location. As others have suggested, just spray yourself up for mosquitoes on the river tubing expedition. I didn't, and still didn't see a mosquito. The river tubing was through caves and was something that I am glad I did.

 

As I said, I would NOT miss anything for fear of malaria. I have NEVER heard of anyone getting it while on a cruise. If your doctor won't prescribe them, I would go by his recommendation. He obviously doesn't think you need them.

[UKBayern]

Now6: your post has "panic" screaming all over it, and that is absolutely unnecessary. I'll repeat what I have said before and what Sheffie is saying too: you will not be at risk and you definitely will not need malaria pills. We went trekking through the jungle in Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico for 4 weeks with our backpack. And yes, then you do need malaria pills, but only the very weak ones anyway. For a cruise those pills are not needed. Decent bug repellent will do just fine.

[elcuchio24]

We are also going to Belize/Isla Roatan and the CDC recommends malaria prevention drugs for both. I just called and found out that our regular doctor won't prescribe those drugs. You have to go to Traveler's Health Counseling doctors. Our local Passport Health charges $50.00 for the first person and $30.00 for any additional. Apparently all have to be seen, not just one person. This means for our family, it will cost $200.00 out of pocket just to find out what expensive medicines we will need. Our insurance doesn't cover anything, which I guess is standard when it comes to travel prevention. You can get the pills from places all over the world at about $1.50 each, but I would be leary about the safety. To buy just 42 pills from my local CVC pharmacy, it is going to cost $244.99! And, I think we would need more than that. I just threw that number at the person on the phone to get an idea. If cost were the only problem, I might just suck it up and pay for it alll, but I am also worried about the side effects. Assuming no one had any serious side effects, we would still be paying for a cruise where we would be suffering stomach problems and dizziness. (Just what I need when I'll already be suffering motion sickness!) I am now thinking about keeping our family on the boat for those two ports, even though it means missing basically half of our trip. I really wanted to do the River Wallace on Belize, but I'm thinking if anyplace has lots of mosquitos during the day, it would be a river. What has anyone else done about this? For those who have been to these places, would we be really missing out on something to skip them?

 

Listen, I have lived in central america for a few months at a time, on and off, for the past decade. I have also been to most of the ports in the area while on board cruise ships. You will not encounter malaria at these ports. Or yellow fever, dengay fever, giant spiders, forgotten tribes cut off from civilization. They are all clean ports, no swamps, ocean breeze, no fear of malaria. I have had malaria. It is not pleasant. When I go to the interior of guatemala or costa rica for a long stay I take a cycle of pills before I go (its a 6 pill cycle, good for 3 years). If I had any doubt about any of the ports I would not chance having my wife not immunized. You must remember that although, say, honduras is listed as a malaria risk country, there are only certain areas in the country that are listed as risky areas. The ports are certainly NOT listed as high risk areas. You are just as likely to get malaria in new orleans.

 

I know these locals seem super exotic, they really are not as out there as you might imagine. You are much more likely to run into a Coach outlet then a scorpion. Remember, if someone got malaria on a cruise, don't you think it would be all over CC? Go have fun, relax, enjoy, and DON'T WORRY!

[UKBayern]

I know these locals seem super exotic, they really are not as out there as you might imagine. You are much more likely to run into a Coach outlet then a scorpion.

 

There are more KFCs and MacDos in San José, Costa Rica, than in any average US city....:D

[Now6]

Thank you everyone. I know I must sound crazy. I only found out about the CDC recommendations when I was looking for information on how to get passports and saw the link. Then the more I read, the more worried I became. I have to tell you, when I went to Mexico almost 20 years ago (also on Carnival) we did whatever we wanted to without regards to missing our ship if we used locals for our excursions. And we certainly didn't bring our own food or water because the local vendors might not be safe. We were very fly by the seat of your pants. I think having children has probably made me insane. Thank you all for your voice of reason. I really didn't want to give medicine to my kids, particularly the girls who refuse any kind of pill. I had this vision of us holding them down in the cabin, forcing the anti-malaria medicine down their throats. Not my idea of a vacation!

[elcuchio24]

There are more KFCs and MacDos in San José, Costa Rica, than in any average US city....:D

 

 

Tell me about it, more starbucks too. I was in Guatemala way up in the mountains a couple months back, everyone was dirt poor, but everyone had a cell phone on their ear!! Crazy, kinda sad too.