Tours on western Carib cruise

[rundent]

We will be on a Mayan Mystique cruise in January and are trying to pick excursions. We don't use O's, are in our middle to late 70's but active. Don't do scuba or snorkel from boats [from the beach though] and not going to climb a pyramid but want to visit Mayan ruins on at least one of the stops and perhaps two of them. Additionally no hi-lines or rafting and canoeing. Also want one or two quite beach days. Don't need tours to see how the locals live. Have examined O's offerings to get a run-down and looked at Trip Advisor, but still can't decide.

The stops are: Costa Maya, Belize City, Santo Tomas, Roatan and Cozumel. It's not like I'm being lazy since I've done lots of research but probably never going back to these places want to make the best choices.

Thanks

[roothy123]

Hi. We did Mayan Mystique in 2012. It was a great trip. I liked each port, even some of the ones that other people don't like (e.g., Belize - port area is not the greatest, but the Mayan ruins were worthwhile to me). We're not big on doing ship's excursions, but in that part of the world, it's not a piece of cake to see things on your own. My pictures from the cruise are here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/mayan_mystique_cruise__late_feb_2012

 

We did a variety of things. I did a couple ship tours, as I had shipboard credit to use and didn't mind going on a tour with 30 others, especially if it was a tour to a place that was not easy to get to on our own. We also did at least one group tour arranged pre-trip, one motorcycle rental, and some wandering on my own. In Belize there is not much of interest right near the port; don't expect to be able to wander there. In Costa Maya, there is a man-made beachy place with bar, sad looking dolphins, a few shops, and dance performances by local troupes. It's mildly entertaining (and quite colorful if you're a photographer), but I wouldn't stay there the whole day. I took a cheap cab ride down to the beach and explored there - not a tremendous amount of things to see or do, but at least I was practically the only non-Mexican there, which I liked. The beach was nothing special, but you could get a beer or lunch delivered to you, or pay for a massage on the beach. There was a lighthouse there, and you were within sight of the cruise ship.

 

I did enjoy the Mayan ruins, although I didn't climb to the top of the pyramid, and didn't find the boat ride unusually exciting. (I've seen birds and alligators in Florida before.) The trip with Freddy (Happy Fish) was worthwhile (and can usually be booked at the pier) but be aware that the lunch is only so-so (along with the town where you eat), plus the ride across the bay is pretty bumpy. If you're picky about such things, you may not want to go with Freddy - or you may want to book an O excursion to some of the same places instead. Our ship had one, and I think people were taken around by bus, not boat.

 

This part of the world, especially Belize and around there, is not sanitized for visitors and therefore can appear to be a little rough. There also is not much around the port area in some of these places. However, all in all I loved Mayan Mystique, especially the ruins that included huge masks. I think that was the one that was booked up by the time I went to sign up for excursions (it happens) but O was able to get a ticket for me. If you just want to lie on the beach, Celebrity goes to the overly commercial but still beautiful beachy places. I love to sightsee and learn about new (and old) cultures, so Mayan Mystique was perfect for me. Each place was a little different and I enjoyed exploring whatever I could find to explore.

 

You may want to post in the Caribbean "Ports of Call" section to (hopefully) get more input on things to do in the ports you'll be visiting.

Edited December 12, 2015 by roothy123

[LHT28]

Cozumel & Roatan would be good beach days ;)

[Pet]

We are doing this cruise in mid January and have thought long and hard about which tours to do and with whom bearing in mind some slight mobility issues and the ports of call.

 

In Key West we have booked trolley bus tickets and entry to Little White House and Ernie Hemmingway's home direct - far cheaper than the ship's tour. We have a tour to the Chacchoben Ruins while in Costa Maya booked through Native Choice Tours for $55pp. In Roatan Henry's Tours pick us up and take us to Little French Key for a beach day. The only ship tour is in Belize on an air boat, partly because I couldn't find anything better to do and partly because I had read that weather conditions could mean the ship cannot tender so booking with the ship ensures no loss of money if the worse comes to the worse that day. A taxi to Paradise Beach is the plan for Cozumel; Guatemala may well stay on the ship and Grand Cayman will probably play by ear. Hope that helps.

 

Regards:)

[rundent]

been helpful. thanks

[SkystheLimit]

We were interested in the same thing. Thanks for all the post. Roothy 123 particularly liked your photos with the review.

[surfcitygirl]

We're also cruising this January and have booked the Native Choice Chaccohoben tour. We have also booked, through Shore Fox, a tour broker, a trip up the Rio Dulce river/canyon in Guatamala. Oceania does not offer this trip. We chose the broker's tour since it was a bit shorter than a tour from Happy Feet and did not include lunch, so even though it was a bit more, was just what we were looking for. Hoping to take a local Grand Cayman bus to the Botanical Gardens. Snorkeling tour in Roatan and cave tubing in Belize.

[oceanbill457]

We have been on two cruises with stops at Cozumel. Both times we went to Nachi Cocom which limits the beach to 100 patrons. Very reasonable price with drinks and food included.