Cruise with 4 Ports Including Roatan - Which Ones Are Worth Doing Excursions In?

[sailingawaywithyou]

Hi all,

I am doing an NCL cruise this Fall to the following 4 Western Caribbean Ports, including Roatan, Honduras. I can't do an excursion at all of them. Help! Which ones have a safe beach nearby the ship vs. which ones would you do an excursion in? Any information on your own experience is greatly appreciated :)

Roatan, BayIslands, Honduras

Harvest Caye, Belize

Costa Maya, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

 

 

Thanks!

[crewsweeper]

See my response to you on the Costa Maya board.

[James in SA]

Of those 4 Roatan is the only one where you would need an excursion of some sort to get to a nice beach from where NCL docks. But there are some inexpensive ones that are nice. Booking through the cruise line Tabyana Beach Break is my favorite, usually only $39 through Carnival. I think it is more on other lines but may include lunch. Going off the reservation there are also low priced options.

 

In Belize you will be captive on NCL's new private island, so that is a beach day for free other than having to pay ship's prices for food and drink. It might be a place to book an excursion just to get off the private island though... reviews have not been that nice so far.

 

In Cozumel, you can take a taxi for about $4pp each way to Money Bar Beach Club. It is free admission and you just pay for whatever food and drink you order. Nice snorkeling, no charge for chairs or loungers etc., good food, and clean restrooms.

 

In Costa Maya it is just a short $3 ride to the Malecon which is a nice beach strip with numerous beach bars and restaurants, very reasonable and mostly just pay for food and drinks to use their area. Snorkeling not so great. There is also a nice pool area right at the port with (I think) a swim up bar.

[RoadTripFanatic]

I would do a snorkel excursion in Roatan. It is one of my favorite places to snorkel! (West Bay Beach!) In fact we are heading down there for a week for Spring Break to just sit on the beach and snorkel. :)

[lovebears]

I would do a snorkel excursion in Roatan. It is one of my favorite places to snorkel! (West Bay Beach!) In fact we are heading down there for a week for Spring Break to just sit on the beach and snorkel. :)

Do you have an excursion group to recommend?

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Forums mobile app

[BrotherCraig]

West Bay Beach for sure. If you are wanting to book through the cruise line, it is called Tabyana Beach Break. Check out the local tour companies like Rony Tours or Bodden Tours as well. We always use Rony and go where we want.

[AliceIn]

Roatan - We booked a Beginner Scuba with Boat Dive excursion from a private company.

Costa Maya - We haven't decided which excursion yet, but we want to do the ruins.

Cozumel - We booked a private day at Natchi Cocom. We love that place - so peaceful and relaxing.

Harvest Caye - nothing about that place looks inviting to me at all. We have a fantastic pool at our community center that has drop slides, zip lines, a lazy river, etc. The plain old pool they offer there just isn't exciting for my kids. The beach pictures I've seen thus far don't look as inviting as the other ports. The excursions available look pretty lame, even with private companies. We may just stay on the ship that day.

[limeyalchemist]

We are gonna to these four stops in two weeks, and we have booked:

 

- Cozumel - nothing, we will wing it

- Costa Maya - Nohotch cay beach, $50 each adult, incl unlimited drinks and food

- Roatan - zip line and west bay beach day, $53 per adult through Island Marketing

- Harvest Caye - winging it

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[GloriaF]

Cozumel is extremely crowded near the port, or it was when we were there. Seven ships! Our adult kids had a fun day in port drinking, eating and shopping.

 

Depending of what you want to see from your cruise, beaches or local sites and mayan ruins will dictate what activities you choose.

 

In Belize, we went to Altun Ha Mayan ruins on a ship excursion that included a boat ride through the jungle on the Belize river, lunch, and the ruins. We returned to the ship via a/c bus.

 

To each his/her own, depending on what you desire.

 

Any cruise day is a good day, so relzs and have fun!

[lisagro]

In Cozumel, you can take a taxi to Chankanaab Park. You can snorkel, lay on the beach, have lunch, have your hair braided, and even do a dolphin swim (pre-book dolphin swim.) Everything but dolphin swim is very inexpensive and close to port.:cool:

[heidikay]

In Roatan, I have booked snorkeling excursions twice with this company.

 

http://roatanoceanadventures.com/

 

I highly recommend them. Herbert keeps the groups small and someone is in the water snorkeling with you and taking pictures (which are emailed to you free) the whole time.

 

It was a wonderful day and we got to go the beach at the end. A beautiful place.

 

He can organize other things besides snorkeling. There is a monkey/ sloth park just a few doors down from his dock.

 

I would contact Herbert and express your desires for your day in Roatan and I bet he can make it happen though I would certainly recommend trying snorkeling.

[maja651]

We have cruised on NCL to those exact ports in the past, and will again next March. Here is what we did last time and what we will do again. LOVE those ports.

 

* Cozumel - we went to Mr. Sanchos. We paid for the All Inclusive for the day. It was a fabulous, fun day and we plan to go there again next year. The ride from the port was about 20 minutes via cab.

 

* Costa Maya - We went to Maya Chan and have already booked them for next year. Small, nice beach club owned by Americans who like to cruise. They limit the number of visitors so it does not get crowded.

 

* Belize - I did not get off the ship last time, as I am not interested in Belize city. This time, Harvest Caye is open and we plan to rent one of the beach cabanas. Yes, they are a bit pricey, but it is worth it to us to have a more relaxed, less crowded beach day with a private restroom and reserved loungers.

 

* Roatan - we booked a tour wth Victor Boden (not sure of the spelling) last time and toured the island, went to a private home type zoo to see monkeys and a sloth, and went snorkeling. I was not impressed wit Roatan based on that day and plan to stay on the ship next year.

[haply]

We have done that Norwegian itinerary the past two Thanksgivings and are doing it again this year. Please keep in mind that we are traveling with kids.

Cozumel-You can take a taxi to any of the beach clubs (usually cheaper to do on your own). You may need to pre-book if there are a lot of ships in town that day though. Paradise beach does not have an entry fee as long as you agree to purchase drinks/food. Mr. Sanchos does have a non-AI side (but may be hard to get if many ships in town). Playa Mia does have about a $ 30 entry fee. If no kids, highly recommend the Cozumel bar hop excursion (about $50 per person). They will pick you up at the port on their "party bus" and take you to the East side of the island (4 stops). Very fun.

Costa Maya-Definitely do not need to book an excursion at this port. You can take the $3 shuttle (at the very end of the port) into town and go to any of the beach clubs. We have never pre-booked any of the beach clubs. The first year we spent the day at Pez Quadro (4th stop), and last year we spent the day at the Krazy Lobster (2nd stop). No charge for chairs, table, etc. We are returning to the Krazy Lobster this year as we like a livelier atmosphere.

Harvest Caye-we went to Harvest Caye when they just opened last year. Very long walk down the pier so not realistic to "come-and-go", and they do charge for drinks/food on the island (not included). We took extra drinks and snacks off of the ship with us and hung out at the pool/beach. No need to really do excursions if you are OK with that.

Roatan-this port would definitely require an excursion (ship or non-ship excursion). We did Maya Key through the ship excursion the first year (so-so), and West Bay beach, monkey place and island tour (private driver) last year. Contrary to others, we really disliked West Bay. Narrow beach and very crowded. Most beach clubs had chairs crammed next to each other (including Tabyana). Non-ship excursions are usually cheaper and less crowded. We are planning on doing a non-ship snorkeling excursion this year with a short beach break (NOT going to West bay). We are not really interested in the island tour as it entailed hours of driving around (not our thing). We are planning on sticking pretty much to snorkeling.

[LisaRae]

We have done that Norwegian itinerary the past two Thanksgivings and are doing it again this year. Please keep in mind that we are traveling with kids.

Cozumel-You can take a taxi to any of the beach clubs (usually cheaper to do on your own). You may need to pre-book if there are a lot of ships in town that day though. Paradise beach does not have an entry fee as long as you agree to purchase drinks/food. Mr. Sanchos does have a non-AI side (but may be hard to get if many ships in town). Playa Mia does have about a $ 30 entry fee. If no kids, highly recommend the Cozumel bar hop excursion (about $50 per person). They will pick you up at the port on their "party bus" and take you to the East side of the island (4 stops). Very fun.

Costa Maya-Definitely do not need to book an excursion at this port. You can take the $3 shuttle (at the very end of the port) into town and go to any of the beach clubs. We have never pre-booked any of the beach clubs. The first year we spent the day at Pez Quadro (4th stop), and last year we spent the day at the Krazy Lobster (2nd stop). No charge for chairs, table, etc. We are returning to the Krazy Lobster this year as we like a livelier atmosphere.

Harvest Caye-we went to Harvest Caye when they just opened last year. Very long walk down the pier so not realistic to "come-and-go", and they do charge for drinks/food on the island (not included). We took extra drinks and snacks off of the ship with us and hung out at the pool/beach. No need to really do excursions if you are OK with that.

Roatan-this port would definitely require an excursion (ship or non-ship excursion). We did Maya Key through the ship excursion the first year (so-so), and West Bay beach, monkey place and island tour (private driver) last year. Contrary to others, we really disliked West Bay. Narrow beach and very crowded. Most beach clubs had chairs crammed next to each other (including Tabyana). Non-ship excursions are usually cheaper and less crowded. We are planning on doing a non-ship snorkeling excursion this year with a short beach break (NOT going to West bay). We are not really interested in the island tour as it entailed hours of driving around (not our thing). We are planning on sticking pretty much to snorkeling.

 

 

Who did you do the bar hop excursion with in Cozumel? Was that through the ship? I hate ship excursions. Too much money and too many people, like cows in a herd...