Western Caribbean cruise on the carnival..

[thebeas]

Will be going on this cruise in October with the wife. Had a couple of questions for anyone who has been on this cruise. 1st of all for shore excursions would you suggest booking through Carnival or a private party. Like we were thinking about doing the river ride and alta hun mayan site on belize and saw that carnival tours(not associated with the cruise line) does the same tour for a few bucks less. And then were thinking about doing the pirates of the caribbean zip line and beach day at isla roatan instead of any excursion offered by carnival. Just wanted opinions on the cruise line excursions vs. private vendor excursions. Also anymore suggestions on things to do both on and off the boat would be greatly appreciated. We will both be 27 by that time and will be newlyweds. Also curious as to what the weathers like in the caribbean around october. Thanks

[mrsbean1990]

We have done the Western Carribean twice and have booked all our own excursions and bypassed Carnival.

 

You just have to be smart about it and make sure that you have plenty of time to get back to the ship.

 

Check out the ports of call message boards...lots of good information there, and you can find out about reputable companies.

 

I highly recommend Captain Marvins in Grand Cayman for the stingray tours (reasonable prices; GREAT customer service...felt safe the entire time), as well as Paradise Beach and Nachi Cocum in Cozumel.

 

If I ever went back to Jamaica, I would book my excursion through Carnival for safety reasons.

[evandbob]

October weather still has possibilities for hurricanes, just be aware. Otherwise, hot and tropical. Since Belize is a 20 minute tender port, I prefer using CCL for any lengthy or all day excursions; IMHO, it is not worth saving a few bucks just to miss the last tender back to the ship. The only time I was late on an excursion, it was a CCL tour, and the ship waited almost 45 minutes for us. If it's only a 1/2 day excursion, then it doesn't matter who I go with. I did the Altun Ha River as well as the Xanantunich both with CCL because they can run 6 to 8 hrs, almost as long as the ship is anchored.

In Roatan Isle, there usually is plenty of time for any excursion with any company, because the tours never get that far from the dock.

[BettyCruiser]

In Belize, I would recommend going through the ship, if you are on a private tour and encounter delays the ship will not wait for you and you will be left in Belize. Their buses and roads are in bad shape.

 

In Roatan, I like to stay in the Mahogany Beach area. I think they have some zip lines there, but I haven't tried them. I do like riding the chair lift though.

 

In Cozumel I like Paradise Beach, but haven't been there since the new owner took over. Last time we were there we went on the bar hop tour, very fun!

[cincycruisincouple]

Will be going on this cruise in October with the wife. Had a couple of questions for anyone who has been on this cruise. 1st of all for shore excursions would you suggest booking through Carnival or a private party. Like we were thinking about doing the river ride and alta hun mayan site on belize and saw that carnival tours(not associated with the cruise line) does the same tour for a few bucks less. And then were thinking about doing the pirates of the caribbean zip line and beach day at isla roatan instead of any excursion offered by carnival. Just wanted opinions on the cruise line excursions vs. private vendor excursions. Also anymore suggestions on things to do both on and off the boat would be greatly appreciated. We will both be 27 by that time and will be newlyweds. Also curious as to what the weathers like in the caribbean around october. Thanks

 

 

We were on our first cruise in March and, after a lot of research, I felt comfortable going independent with every port except Belize because of the long tender. We did the Altun Ha/River Wallace through Carnival and loved it. The tour ran long and we made it back to the tender with 20 minutes before we were supposed to leave.

 

If you are going to Caymans you can't go wrong with swimming with the stingrays. Any tour is a good tour on Roatan. If you want to see the island definitely go independent and get away from Mahogany Bay. It is a beautiful island and our favorite port. I wish we could go back. I miss our cruise!! :)

[BaseballMomof4]

We did this zip line and to be fair, the staff was fantastic and the zips were amazing, the only negative was the location.

 

After driving up a ridiculously steep hill in a vehicle that had us fearing for our lives :eek: you land at the beginning of the zips and you are not alone. You share that area with cows and their *ahem* evidence :p

 

When we got to the second zip there is a "platform" which is basically some railroad ties on the ground that, the moment human scent lands on them, became a feeding frenzy for giant fire ants - there were thousands of them that seemed to come out of nowhere. I told my DH they are probably planted there to keep people moving - if it's a choice between being eaten alive by ginormous fire ants or jumping out of a tree - I jump, and FAST! We have fire ants in Florida, but it is like comparing a toy poodle to a rottweiler!

 

We encountered fire ants at least 3 times so let's just say we kept our party moving at a rapid pace!

 

Our friends went to a different zip location that ended on a beach. The zips were just as high as ours and they did not have to tiptoe through cow patties and they were not threatened by creapy crawlers! :p

 

Mahogany Bay is lovely but can get crowded and an inexpensive cab ride will take you to the same souvenirs for half the price in a matter of minutes. When we were there the snorkeling was non-existent but to be fair it was only a few months after they had dredged and the sea life had been very disrupted.

 

There are a number of private tours you can take - just check out the thread in the Ports of Call Section

[PunkinsDad]

Our favorites:

 

Grand Cayman: Capt Marvin. Very friendly and professional. Not crowded like some of the other tours you will see.

 

Cozumel: If we are staying on the Island, we usually book an independent tour. Isla Passion is excellent, so is Chakanaab. If we are doing a tour on the mainland we always book through Carnival. With that ferry ride, the risk is just too great. Just last month we were actually late getting back to the Legend because of traffic on the mainland.

 

Honduras: Victor Bodden Tours all the way. Mahogany Bay looks nice, but Roatan has so much more to offer. Victor and his tour guides will take good care of you.

 

Belieze: Been there twice. First time went cave tubing with cave-tubing.com. Very well run outfit, had a great time. This past time we just puttered around the port area.

[dapaddo]

Will be going on this cruise in October with the wife. Had a couple of questions for anyone who has been on this cruise. 1st of all for shore excursions would you suggest booking through Carnival or a private party. Like we were thinking about doing the river ride and alta hun mayan site on belize and saw that carnival tours(not associated with the cruise line) does the same tour for a few bucks less. And then were thinking about doing the pirates of the caribbean zip line and beach day at isla roatan instead of any excursion offered by carnival. Just wanted opinions on the cruise line excursions vs. private vendor excursions. Also anymore suggestions on things to do both on and off the boat would be greatly appreciated. We will both be 27 by that time and will be newlyweds. Also curious as to what the weathers like in the caribbean around october. Thanks

We did the river and ruins thur CCL and were glad becuse it is so long we were late back and they help the ship for us. (it was a great tour). I would stick with CCL in Belize, the other port you should be fine with a private tour group.