Western Caribbean Excursion Choices - Help me choose

[bcl00]

All,

 

My wife and I took our first cruise on Princess (Eastern Caribbean) a few years ago for our honeymoon and did not take any excursions. Now we are doing Carnival Dream - Western Caribbean on 4/17 with friends and I thought I'd get people's opinions on the excursions I picked out.

 

Here are the activities that people in the group want to do:

 

1. ATV Tour

2. Swim with Dolphins

3. Zip line

4. Day at beach

 

Our ports of call are:

 

Cozumel

Belize

Costa Maya

Roatan

 

I looked around and it seems like the best dolphin package is booked with carnival for dolphinaris in Cozumel.

 

The Lost World Canopy Tour in Belize looks good although the bus ride seems a little bit long. The other one I was considering was BioMaya in Costa Maya.

 

I saw the ATV Tour in Costa Maya with costamayaexcursions dot com which looks decent. For the beach crowd, there is the Pez Quadro beach resort in Costa Maya. I see that we are only in this port from 7:00-3:00 (we probably won't make it off the boat until 9:00). I don't think it is feasible for me and the other guy we are with to do the ATV tour and get any value out of the beach club afterward.

 

Thanks!

[bruce-r]

Here's how I'd go:

 

1. ATV Tour ---> Cozumel

2. Cave Tubing ---> Belize

3. Zip line ---> Roatan

4. Day at beach ---> Costa Maya

 

 

Please don't patronize the dolphin exploitation programs

[donnamac]

If you're not afraid of a little physical activity, I'd recommend the cave tubing in Belize. It's a hike through the rain forest, which is beautiful, and the river itself is very scenic.

Costa Maya was not my favorite place, and after trying to convince ourselves that the pool area was good, we just got back on the ship. When we were there, there was some type of dispute about cruise ships and beaches, so the beaches were not available.

We've been to Cozumel twice, and did the same thing both times. Don't bother booking through the cruise line. Get off the ship, and grab a taxi to Chancanaab (sp?). It's a park with gorgeous beaches, snorkeling, walking paths through the tropical forest, etc. You can either rent snorkel gear, or take your own. At the end of the day, we just hopped a cab back to the ship. It was an amazing day, and cost us WAY less than it would have if we'd booked through the cruise line.

[crewsweeper]

Do the ATV tour in Cozumel...I beleive they take you up north on the east side and no one in cars can get up there so it's truly a great spot to see what others miss. A beer and munchies at Mezcalitos afterward is goodas it's right there. Brucer, correct me if I got this one mixe dup with another tour.

 

 

In Roatan, do the zip line at the pier, Clip N Zip. Save the cab/tour fare to other places. Then just hit the beach there. Not the world's greatest beach but there are chairs and food and beer and you can just relax. Skip the chair lift.

 

In Belize, if you don't want to bounce your butt slowly on the rocks in the cold water, the excursions to the Mayan Ruins are very good. And you can get to Altun Ha via a river ride, sorta two in one thing. This is a long excursion, but the only thing to do at the pier/tourist village is grab a Belikan at the Wet Lizard, so you're not "missing out" on anything special.

 

 

Costa Maya, either do the early bird reservations for Pez Quadro or just grab the taxi @ $3 pp ($2 pp return) and stroll down the malecon and find a great spot on your own. If you're looking for some good food, try 100% Agave one block over from the malecon up near the first taxi stop and soccer field. Thatched covered courtyard, extensive menu of more local oriented dishes with prices not inflated for tourists. Ask Fernando for a shot of his tequila. No lime or salt needed.

[Janan]

Here's how I'd go:

 

1. ATV Tour ---> Cozumel

2. Cave Tubing ---> Belize

3. Zip line ---> Roatan

4. Day at beach ---> Costa Maya

 

 

Please don't patronize the dolphin exploitation programs

 

I agree 100%

 

Andy

[curliQ]

Although you have already gone on your cruise, this I am posting for anyone else looking for suggestions on this thread. We went to cozumel and took the beach buggy/snorkel excursion. We had a blast. Although a few people in the party didn't actually snorkel they still loved it. We took beach buggies on a great ride, saw mayan ruins, alligator farm, went to beach had a fantastic lunch and went snorkeling. great fun!

[griffy116]

We did the dolphins thing on an island near Nassau. I'm not familiar with the Cozumel dolphin location but I think the dolphins will be the highlight. My Grandson is 16 and has been on 8 cruises. He still says the dolphin encounter is his favorite and beats the whale watch in Hawaii (where we saw a whale come completely out of the water and re-enter), the turtle farm, the submarine, etc. The pictures are priceless and it will be a lasting memory.