Private excursions vs NCL excursions

[Seminole1975]

Hi! We are sailing on the Getaway May 29th. Does anyone have any thoughts or feedback about using private excursions vs NCL excursions? We have booked the following through the ship:

 

Roatan Bay: Maya Key Private Island

 

Belize: Cave tubing and rainforest trek

 

Costa Maya: Chacchoben Beach (with ruins and a beach)

 

Nothing booked for Cozumel yet.

 

We like swimming, the beach and snorkeling, but need a place to sit out of the sun.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[mizLORInj]

The only place I would be using the cruise line is Belize since it's a tender port. Other than that, we book independent excursions. Have NEVER had an issue or even come close to missing the ship.

 

Check out your roll call and ports of call sections on this board to see what others from your cruise are doing.

 

Most importantly, HAVE FUN! :cool:

[littlemeagain]

I would highly recommend Nachi Cocom Beach Club! It is an all inclusive beach with a 4 course lunch, unlimited drinks, a beautiful beach with palapas for shade. There is a pool, a hot tub and they only take 100 cruise passengers per day! It is a cab ride away from the pier and it is $55 per adult.

 

We have gone there twice and loved it!

[Seminole1975]

Sounds great! Which port is it in?

[Seminole1975]

The only place I would be using the cruise line is Belize since it's a tender port. Other than that, we book independent excursions. Have NEVER had an issue or even come close to missing the ship.

 

Check out your roll call and ports of call sections on this board to see what others from your cruise are doing.

 

Most importantly, HAVE FUN! :cool:

 

Thank you! Good idea. Our roll call has been pretty quiet so far, but I will ask there as well.

[littlemeagain]

Cozumel. You can google it! :)

[pathubia]

Hi! We are sailing on the Getaway May 29th. Does anyone have any thoughts or feedback about using private excursions vs NCL excursions? We have booked the following through the ship:

 

Roatan Bay: Maya Key Private Island

 

Belize: Cave tubing and rainforest trek

 

Costa Maya: Chacchoben Beach (with ruins and a beach)

 

Nothing booked for Cozumel yet.

 

We like swimming, the beach and snorkeling, but need a place to sit out of the sun.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

We have been to Maya Key twice and love it there!! Have fun.

 

We have been to Nachi Cocum once and it was very nice.

[mikeyd]

We have done both by booking on our own and thru the ship. They have their pros and cons.

 

On your own:

Much smaller crowds - crucial for snorkeling

Cheaper

A tad more authentic since it's sometimes a smaller company

 

Through Ship:

More vetted and qualified

Provides me peace of mind

No worries about missing the ship

 

Trip Advisor is a great resource too for learning of activities and tours any where in the world. We have found some fantastic tours.

 

In Cozumel we enjoyed the day pass at Playa Uvas which offered snorkeling (bring beach shoes) food, drinks, shade, etc.

[lilybean]

We did Nachi Cocom Beach Club as well and loved it. We even got a private snorkeling trip for something like 25 bucks a person for 5 of us from the beach club. It was money well spent rather then doing a cruise excursion.

[MikeBTN]

I did the cave tubing & zip line tour a few years ago privately. It was fantastic. We arrived a good hour before the cruise line, had a MUCH smaller group (8-10) and were able to take our time. It was also quite a bit cheaper. One of the best excursions I've done. Hitting Belize later this year and thinking about doing it again!

 

As for private vs NCL - I'd only worry about a long/late excursion. Mayan ruins, sunset sails, etc. Private tour companies rely on their reputation, part of which is getting you back to the ship on time. They want you on board as much as you want to be on board. But you do take a small risk going private. If you go through the ship they will either wait for you or make arrangements for you to be back on board.

[chesswiththedevil]

How wild do you like to get? If you like a great party and snorkeling I recommend Tiger's Adventures . We did this for our Carnival cruise 3 years ago and the year before that during a separate trip to Cozumel and it was fantastic. Great snorkeling, fun music, unlimiting drinking (if that's your thing), beautiful water at the Cielo (basically 3.5 feet of water over white beaches with sea stars, rays, etc.), and the crew is amazing. Tiger is a real blast and ensures that people have a fun time. 10/10 would do again next time I go to Cozumel.

[Laszlo]

Hi! We are sailing on the Getaway May 29th. Does anyone have any thoughts or feedback about using private excursions vs NCL excursions? We have booked the following through the ship:

 

Roatan Bay: Maya Key Private Island

 

Belize: Cave tubing and rainforest trek

 

Costa Maya: Chacchoben Beach (with ruins and a beach)

 

Nothing booked for Cozumel yet.

 

We like swimming, the beach and snorkeling, but need a place to sit out of the sun.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

We did Maya Key last year, its very close to the ship. Snorkeling was OK. The snorkeling was much better the year before at the West End (Tabyana Beach Party & Snorkel). The ride is longer but the reef was really nice

 

Our first time in Cozumel we went to Xcaret Eco Park. We had a blast, lots of things to see and do. You take a ferry then a short bus. Its a long day but its worth it. Last year we did Passion Island Beach Day, it wasn't bad, wasn't great either. Five hours was not enough considering your spending two of the traveling to get there and back