Share Recent Experience on Emerald Princess

[CruiserNorCal]

Looking for recent insight and suggestions for Emerald Princess cruise and excursions. We booked the Emerald for March 1st out of Houston with friends. After reading so many positive comments about this cruise (iffy on the port but insightful) the wife and I booked a B2B starting Feb. 22nd. We have cruised about a dozen times but never a B2B, that will be a new port experience... We also have to change cabins, mini-suite to a suite.

 

Hoping to hear current “must does” on the Emerald… AND excursions… and equally important, any OMG – disappointments to avoid. Because of our B2B, we will have an opportunity to visit both Costa Maya & Roatan in addition to Cozumel & Belize.

 

I am researching:

· Tours: The only excursion we have booked so far is the Princess tour to Lamanai Ruins / River Cruise in Belize… Good / Bad chose? We don’t mind private tours but chose Princess on this one because of distance and CC comments.

· Beach resorts for relaxing: Have notes on Passion Island Beach in Cozumel… the Tropicante and Maya Chan in Costa Maya. Suggestions? Where else?

· Non-certified diving or snorkeling packages?

· Port: Which are good to just get off and walk around or hang out after a tour? As I recall Cozumel is not such a port, correct?

 

If you have an excursion suggestion, how did you book it, through Princess, internet or on shore?

 

Thank you in advance for your input and suggestions.

[jeffdal]

I really enjoyed the Emerald in November and saw a great deal for end of March and just booked it again!

 

I have heard nothing but great things on the Lamanai Ruins excursion for Belize. We tried to go but our sailing had to skip Belize due to rough seas. So we will try again on our March 29th sailing.

 

Nachi Cocom Beach Club was outstanding in Cozumel. They limit to 100 people on cruise ship days. Nice, relaxing and the food was amazing. In Roatan, we just spent time on the beach in Mahogany Bay but we got far from the cruise herd and went to the farthest point of the cruise beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking for recent insight and suggestions for Emerald Princess cruise and excursions. We booked the Emerald for March 1st out of Houston with friends. After reading so many positive comments about this cruise (iffy on the port but insightful) the wife and I booked a B2B starting Feb. 22nd. We have cruised about a dozen times but never a B2B, that will be a new port experience... We also have to change cabins, mini-suite to a suite.

 

Hoping to hear current “must does” on the Emerald… AND excursions… and equally important, any OMG – disappointments to avoid. Because of our B2B, we will have an opportunity to visit both Costa Maya & Roatan in addition to Cozumel & Belize.

 

I am researching:

· Tours: The only excursion we have booked so far is the Princess tour to Lamanai Ruins / River Cruise in Belize… Good / Bad chose? We don’t mind private tours but chose Princess on this one because of distance and CC comments.

· Beach resorts for relaxing: Have notes on Passion Island Beach in Cozumel… the Tropicante and Maya Chan in Costa Maya. Suggestions? Where else?

· Non-certified diving or snorkeling packages?

· Port: Which are good to just get off and walk around or hang out after a tour? As I recall Cozumel is not such a port, correct?

 

If you have an excursion suggestion, how did you book it, through Princess, internet or on shore?

 

Thank you in advance for your input and suggestions.

[caribill]

· Tours: The only excursion we have booked so far is the Princess tour to Lamanai Ruins / River Cruise in Belize… Good / Bad chose? We don’t mind private tours but chose Princess on this one because of distance and CC comments.

 

Good choice. We enjoyed that tour.

 

In Cozumel, if you like chocolate, an unusual tour that Princess offers is:

 

Chocolate Seaside Workshop, Tasting and Wine Pairing CZM-260 2.75 hours

 

Have a devouring passion for chocolate? Then this yummy tour is for you. This tasty seminar not only reveals the history and mystery surrounding this divine "food of the gods," but you get to make your own sweet treat, indulge in tasting and learn how to pair wine with chocolate.

 

When you think of rich, velvety, scrumptious chocolate, you probably think of Belgium, Switzerland, or even Hershey, Pennsylvania…but Cozumel? You may not know this bit of culinary history, but the roots of chocolate are firmly planted in Central America; by the time the conquistadors arrived in the 16th century the Mesoamericans had been cultivating cocoa for at least a thousand years. When the Maya moved from their home in Guatemala to Mexico they brought cacao with them. This energizing elixir was so highly prized that when the Aztecs began to rule Mexico in 1200 A.D., chocolate not only became a symbol of power and authority, but cacao beans were used as currency. Of course, while they added many delightful ingredients like cinnamon, it never occurred to the Maya to mix milk into their chocolate.

 

Today, not much has changed. Chocolate is still valued for its flavor. During this two-and-a-half-hour excursion, you'll sip and savor the sweet delicacies of this potent potion, and discover how chocolate gets to your glass, mug or dessert plate. From the pier it's just a short (15 minute taxi) ride to a charming venue overlooking the sparkling Caribbean water.

 

Upon arrival, sit back and relax with a refreshing chocolate drink while your host regales you with tales of the Mayans and Aztecs and their affinity for this ancient brew that begins as a tiny blossom on a small tropical tree. Then, as now, there are simple steps in creating the perfect piece of chocolate. During an in-depth presentation, learn how the ripe, melon-shaped cocoa pods are cracked open to extract the beans, and harvested and placed on vats, which starts the fermentation process. After each bean is stripped of its outer shell, the tiny cocoa nib is left behind and ground into cocoa. Join in the fun by grinding some of the traditional ingredients yourself and making your very own bar of chocolate. (Time on site is 2 hours 15 minutes including 60 minutes free time.)

 

After the demonstration, you can indulge in a tasting of various chocolaty items including a delicious taco topped with a savory mole sauce, a pungent mixture of chilies, spices and chocolate that dates back to the early colonial period.

 

While chocolate can be sweet or savory, its intense flavor may make it difficult to pair with your favorite wine. During your two-hour seminar, your host will share the secret to the perfect pairing followed by time to browse the gift shop in search for a mouthwatering reminder of your visit.

 

At the end of your epicurean journey, you'll board the taxi and return (15 minutes) to your ship. Or, if you prefer, you can continue downtown and explore even more at your leisure before returning to the ship.

 

Medical Restriction: No pregnancies or guest with nut allergies

[Crowsie]

Does anyone know anything about the Pirates of the Caribbean zipline in Roatan?

Are they the vendor that Princess uses for their zipline shore excursion?

We're looking to do the longest/most vigorous zipline adventure.

Any insight greatly appreciated!

[Olentangy]

The Chocolate Tour sounds wonderful !!

 

Several years ago we did a bar hop in Cozumel and loved it. It took us to the other side of the island to bars on a hill overlooking a very rough sea that day. There were no other people around. Each stop included a drink.

 

I don't know if this is still offered or not......it was not a ship tour.

[Jase0581]

Loved my cruise on the Emerald.

In Belize I would recommend the cave tubing, if you haven't done it before. I booked mine through the cruise, but I have heard many have had great tours booked through cavetubing.bz.

In Costa Maya, the Dzibanche and Kohunlich Ruins tour is great (if you don't mind spending a lot of time on a bus to get to them). If you went that route I would only book it through the cruise ship as it is a full day excursion. On ours the bus blew a tire and we ended up waiting about 35 minutes for a replacement bus. We ended up getting back to port just a few minutes before the all aboard time.

We did Passion Island in Cozumel and it was a very wonderful and relaxing time. They had a decent lunch buffet and unlimited drinks (they do tend to be on the weak side). Multiple cruise lines offer this excursion, if the schedule is still the same as it was in January the Princess excursion will be first one to the island. We had our choice of loungers, but the ones on the Norwegian Epic who got there well after us seemed to have to search for the good ones.

Enjoy your cruise, the Emerald is a great ship.

[GradUT]

Belize: We did the Lamanai Ruins excursion on our visit to Belize on Christmas Day. I much prefer private excursions, but due to the fact that you have to tender from the ship to shore and that Lamanai is so far from the port, we did not want to risk getting left behind and booked the ship's excursion. I wrote a rather lengthy review of the excursion on my Member's Review of the Emerald, so you can look at that if you want some details. I will say that, like all large excursion, you do a lot of waiting around for people on this excursion. The tour of the ruins itself was well-done and I was glad to see them. The lunch afterwards was the worst lunch I've ever had on an excursion--a buffet of chicken legs and thighs ("no more than two pieces"!!!), coleslaw, rice and fried plantains for dessert.

 

Roatan: For our stop in Roatan we did a private snorkeling excursion with Radical Adventure Tours. (You can read that review on my Member Review as well.) This is a tour that I can really recommend. You spend a day on a private catamaran with the friendly owners and their exceptional crew. There are homemade snacks and unlimited drinks (soda, beer, and pina coladas) before and after snorkeling. The lunch is a hot and cold buffet which is plentiful and delicious. While the snorkeling was not the best I've ever done--that would be the Great Barrier Reef--it was fun and we did see some great coral and sealife. I really can't recommend this tour highly enough. I found out about this tour by reading threads on the Roatan forum and I booked this tour by contacting the owners through their website.

[DebJ14]

Looking for recent insight and suggestions for Emerald Princess cruise and excursions. We booked the Emerald for March 1st out of Houston with friends. After reading so many positive comments about this cruise (iffy on the port but insightful) the wife and I booked a B2B starting Feb. 22nd. We have cruised about a dozen times but never a B2B, that will be a new port experience... We also have to change cabins, mini-suite to a suite.

 

Hoping to hear current “must does” on the Emerald… AND excursions… and equally important, any OMG – disappointments to avoid. Because of our B2B, we will have an opportunity to visit both Costa Maya & Roatan in addition to Cozumel & Belize.

 

I am researching:

· Tours: The only excursion we have booked so far is the Princess tour to Lamanai Ruins / River Cruise in Belize… Good / Bad chose? We don’t mind private tours but chose Princess on this one because of distance and CC comments.

· Beach resorts for relaxing: Have notes on Passion Island Beach in Cozumel… the Tropicante and Maya Chan in Costa Maya. Suggestions? Where else?

· Non-certified diving or snorkeling packages?

· Port: Which are good to just get off and walk around or hang out after a tour? As I recall Cozumel is not such a port, correct?

 

If you have an excursion suggestion, how did you book it, through Princess, internet or on shore?

 

Thank you in advance for your input and suggestions.

 

Lamani is a good choice.

For a great beach day in Costa Maya check out Almaplena Eco Resort. It is an all inclusive day, including the taxi fare. Food was good and way too much of it. It was the best swimming of the entire trip. Water was crystal clear and the bottom totally sandy. If you want to snorkel bring some gear - you don't have to go that far off for some good snorkeling. They only accept 20 cruisers for the day. It is very quiet and super relaxing.

 

We didn't got to Roatan this trip, but have been there many times before. I recommend Victor Bodden Tours. Hire a driver for the day and go where you want and spend as much time as you wish at each place. We did it with our family and it was way cheaper than paying for excursions for everyone. We had them take us to the Iguana Farm, Monkey Farm, Gio's Restaurant for lunch and then to Bananarama for the beach on West Bay. We thought the Iguana and Monkey farms were for the kids, but we had more fun than they did!

 

Passion Island is beautiful if you haven't been there before, but you may like one of the other Beach Clubs like Papitos at Punta Sur, Nachi Cocom or Mr. Sanchos. Personally, we are Mr. Sanchos fans.

 

After a tour or the beach if you want to hang out and shop in Cozumel, that is a great place to do it. Taxi from the pier to downtown is about $8.00. Get off the main drag and bargain. Visit the museum and have lunch there - very good and reasonable. Or, we like La Mission Restaurant on one of the side streets not to far from the main plaza.

 

You will really enjoy the second week in the suite. Don't miss your complimentary dinner in Sabatini's or Crown Grill the first night of the 2nd week. Make the reservation early in the day. And don't miss breakfast in Sabatini's. Say hi to Gianni the Maitre'D and Magdalena (Magda) was our absolute favorite person on the ship.

 

We book Victor Bodden, Mr. Sanchos and Almaplena online before we go.

[ymi17]

Vitalino Reyes in Belize for cave tubing and zip line if you like that sort of thing. Inexpensive and excellent in every way. We just got off the emerald today and he was the excursion highlight. Avoid taking a taxi to a beach in Cozumel. They get kickbacks to send you to subpar beach with pushy/tourist trap type folks.

[ymi17]

I'll also second victor Bodden in Roatan!