Excursion questions- first time caribbean cruiser

[4olivers]

A few excursion questions as we get started with planning for April! When we cruised Alaska we chose to do all but one excursion through Princess. We also did A LOT of excursions (2 per port) we knew it was likely our only trip to Alaska so we made the most of it and wouldn't change a thing.

 

We know this trip will be different, it's just our family of 4 to think about and not a big extended family group like our previous and only cruise so far.

 

My husband and I are early 40's and our boys will be 13,16 when we sail.

 

 

We LOVE snorkeling, lounging on the beach, exploring, trying local food, atvs to name a few things. We will be celebrating our 20th anniversary. We are sailing on the Magic and doing the western itinerary (Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Costa Maya)

 

Here are my initial questions:

 

- best excursions at each port? Loaded question yes, but I know there are some top picks and popular ones so what are they?!

- best port for snorkeling ( we may want to do 2 snorkel excursions)

-book through carnival or no?

-which port should we save for just a beach day?

- do the excursions have to paid for up front? (With Alaska only the excursion we did outside of princess was prepaid months in advance)

 

Thanks - I know we will have so many more questions!!

Edited July 30, 2017 by 4olivers

[evandbob]

Snorkeling can be great at 3 of your ports: Coz, Roatan and Belize. There are many good ones available. Coz has several reef and drift tours, Roatan has Tabyana, Little French Cay and Maya Cay, and Belize has Goeff's Cay, Caulker's Cay, and a wall/reef tour. Look on the Port of Calls thread for each port to get the particulars.

 

Great beaches can be found in Coz and Roatan, Costa Maya used to have a quaint fishing town called Marahuel about 5 minutes away by taxi or shuttle. I loved it back when it was still an old time village. It has since modernized itself to accomodate tourism.

 

Two places I avoid like the plague are Mahogany Beach in Roatan right next to the ship and the Costa Maya port shopping area as soon as you step off the pier.

 

Carnival excursions do get paid at the time of the booking.

[maryred]

For Roatan look up Victor Bodden tours. No need to pay in advance, but you do need to reserve a driver and discuss what you want to see on your customized tour.

In 2015 we paid $80 for an 8 hour tour, paying admission or ticket fees to individual attraction and activities for 2 adults. I have heard the price has gone up a little and they do charge a for each additional passenger (but not too much). If interested in a bit of snorkeling right from the beach request time at the West End.

 

For Belize stick with the ship offered excursions, this will give you priority tender privileges as long as you follow the directions on the tickets and confirmed by what is printed in the FunTimes (activities daily). My suggestion is for the cave tubing.

 

I Cozumel we did the Atlantis submarine, but otherwise to us this was the stop to shop at.

 

Never been to Costa Maya but people here under the port section have many great stories of successful excursions done on their own and with independent operators.

 

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[mskillern]

We are going to Cozumel again on our cruise in October. It's a great place. We have done the Money Bar one other time and will do it again this time. The snorkeling is great there! It's free to go there, you just pay for your food and drinks. It's fine to take your boys to, also.

There are paid snorkeling tours outside the rope of the Money Bar. It's not a beach but there is sand and a "beach" area and is beautiful!!

Look it up on Youtube.

I hope you have a great time!!

[WaggesAZ]

 

- best excursions at each port? �� Loaded question yes, but I know there are some top picks and popular ones so what are they?!

- best port for snorkeling ( we may want to do 2 snorkel excursions)

 

-which port should we save for just a beach day?

 

 

I have only been to 2 of the ports, but we had great experiences and our boys were similar ages.

In Roatan we went with Rony's Tours and had a FABULOUS day-we toko a tour of the island and then went to West Bay Beach which is beautiful with fabulous shore snorkeling. Here is what I have in my email that we reserved:

 

#4 Freestyle Private Tour

- Cost: 1 person $ 80, two person $ 40 Each, three person $ 30 Each, four or more $ 25 Each .

- Payment is in U.S Cash, @ the end of this excursion

Then in Cozumel we chartered a boat and the boys fished and then we snorkeled while they made us lunch of fresh Ceviche and Guacamole. IT WAS AMAZING!! We went with Chichi Charters and it was about $400 for a 6 hour charter, if I remember correctly. It was just our 4 and was a really wonderful day. Their reef is incredible and the water is ridiculously beautiful!

Enjoy your cruise and whatever you choose to do!

[cath32]

Our very first cruise in 2010 was the western Caribbean with extended family. My immediate family essentially matched yours.

 

In Cozumel we went to Chakanaab National Park and swam with dolphins. We booked privately and took a cab from the port. Everyone loved it. I'm sure much has changed since then, but I believe there was snorkelling off the shore there. There were lots of other things to do at the park, so you might want to check out what is currently available.

 

In Roatan, we stayed at the port. We did the zip lining that is right there and the family loved it. At the time, it was private but it might be through carnival now. We then just walked to the beach for the afternoon.

 

In Belize we did the carnival excursion that was Altun Ha with the river cruise. This was more for Hubby who really wanted to see Mayan ruins. We all enjoyed it but it was the least favourite for the kids. We have since done river tubing (through Carnival) and the kids enjoyed that. I personally love the excursion to the Belize zoo - but never had kids with me for that one.

 

Our fourth port didn't match yours - Grand Cayman - where swimming with the sting rays and snorkelling was a huge hit.

[dmdiver]

In Belize, we've done cave tubing, zip lining & Altun Ha tour with River Wallace. Our friends went to Starfish Island. Cave tubing was booked directly with cavetubing dot bz - great trip. Zip lining was booked through the ship - Chukka Tours - great trip. Altun Ha & River Wallace would have been more enjoyable if it had not been the hottest day of the year (last week of April, first week of May). Our friends that went to Starfish Island loved it and a dolphin even swam among the people. I think there was also an Elvis impersonator there for entertainment.

[marshhawk]

When we are in Cozumel, with Carnival, we walk down and get day passes at El Cid, best snorkeling we have had in the Caribbean so far, better than Belize Goff's Caye, and better than Mahogany bay once the beach gets busy (early morning we came upon some lion fish (that was interesting). my theory is you are snorkeling in the Caribbean, how bad can it be? Second favorite is just find a dive shop in Grand Cayman, but I don't think that was an option. I would do a ruin in Belize.

 

have a great cruise.

[easyboy]

You can also get additional suggestions if you also post on the Caribbean Port of Call Forum. Just scroll down and choose your itinerary port.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

[nchikk]

 

We LOVE snorkeling, lounging on the beach, exploring, trying local food, atvs to name a few things. We will be celebrating our 20th anniversary. We are sailing on the Magic and doing the western itinerary (Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, Costa Maya)

 

Here are my initial questions:

 

- best excursions at each port? �� Loaded question yes, but I know there are some top picks and popular ones so what are they?!

- best port for snorkeling ( we may want to do 2 snorkel excursions)

-book through carnival or no?

-which port should we save for just a beach day?

- do the excursions have to paid for up front? (With Alaska only the excursion we did outside of princess was prepaid months in advance)

 

We've been to three of these ports, so I'll comment only on those. I'll preface by saying we're not necessarily "beach people". That being said...

 

Belize -- We snorkeled here, thru Carnival. The tender took us straight to the snorkel spot at a barrier reef. We were about an hour in the water. Afterward, we were taken to a little cay to relax and chill by a lagoon or play on the beach. There was also food/drinks for purchase. The same tender took us straight back to the ship.

 

Roatan -- We booked a private tour thru Victor Bodden Tours. Book it online and you select exactly what you want to see. We did an island tour and had a driver/guide all to ourselves. We saw only what we wanted and nothing we didn't. We toured the entire island pretty much and saw the monkeys, which was real neat. Also here, I asked our guide to take me to a place to eat a baleada (local food kinda like a cross between a burrito and a quesadilla). The tour was paid for about midway thru when we stopped at their office. We highly recommend them.

 

Cozumel -- Our favourite excursion here is Salsa y Salsa, thru Carnival. We were taken to a little resort and to an open air place overlooking the water. The margaritas were flowing throughout. You were with your partner at an 8-top and there were lots of ingredients on the tables. They taught you to make about 7-8 different kinds of salsas and provided chips, quesadillas and taquitos to eat with the salsas you made. Afterward, the tables are cleared and it was a group salsa dancing lesson, which was fun since most were well lit by then. After this, we had the choice of pool time there or being taken back to the port. We chose the latter so we could shop a bit. We're doing this one again in September.

[4olivers]

We are going to Cozumel again on our cruise in October. It's a great place. We have done the Money Bar one other time and will do it again this time. The snorkeling is great there! It's free to go there, you just pay for your food and drinks. It's fine to take your boys to, also.

There are paid snorkeling tours outside the rope of the Money Bar. It's not a beach but there is sand and a "beach" area and is beautiful!!

Look it up on Youtube.

I hope you have a great time!!

 

 

So if we wanted to spend this day mostly shopping, enjoying the beach, doing free snorkeling, having local food/drinks would you suggest the Money Bar for the "free" snorkeling option? We will likely do an excursion in Roatan for snorkeling but we'd like to snorkel at least twice and would love it if one of those was "free"

[4olivers]

So out of our 4 stops (coz, belize, roatan, costa maya) which one would you recommend as the port to reserve as a "beach" day to just relax, enjoy the water, eat/drink, shop a little?

[dmdiver]

Hmmm, Cozumel has lots of beach clubs that are an easy taxi ride, but not sure snorkeling off the shore is gonna be great. Roatan, we have just gone down to the beach by the ship. It's fine for a beach day, but again, don't know that snorkeling is any good right there. I've never done beach stuff in Belize, but my neighbors really liked Starfish Island. Costa Maya we snorkeled from a boat - no beach.

 

You haven't considered a discover scuba excursion, have you? Anthony's Key Resort does one through Carnival. They have a good dive operation and scuba is good there.

[A&Jfamily]

So out of our 4 stops (coz, belize, roatan, costa maya) which one would you recommend as the port to reserve as a "beach" day to just relax, enjoy the water, eat/drink, shop a little?

 

 

 

Costa Maya is your beach day. Take a quick cab to the Malecon. You can find recommendations on the ports of call board and certain places will hold you a spot.

 

Coz has way too much going on available to make it a beach day, though we often do at Chankanab after doing a dolphin or sea lion encounter. We like Money Bar too for cheap, easy and great snorkeling from shore. Neither are sandy beaches but rather coral rock walls.

 

Roatan is our fav port. Book a customized island tour with island marketing of Victor Booden. It's a lovely port with a beach but getting out and seeing this island is awesome. Each will offer things from animal encounters with sloths or monkeys to zip lining to beaches etc.

 

Belize also has lots of options. Book a snorkel trip, go cave tubing or go to the ruins at Altun Ha and ride the boat down the river back to the port.

 

 

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[fkfad]

Roatan -- West Bay Beach for snorkeling (we went to a beach club (small admission fee) and snorkeled off the beach)...

Cozumel -- The Money Bar for snorkeling (free and off the beach)... Chankanaab Park is another option, however, there is an entrance fee, and getting in and out of the water can be pretty difficult (slippery steps made out of the rocks and waves constantly breaking over the steps).

 

Both of the above we have done numerous times on our own...both are snorkeling off of the beach. We always take a cab to and from the beach...

 

Belize -- We took an excursion to the barrier reef for snorkeling... I did not enjoy it at all. It was out in the open ocean, very windy, and very wavy. I spent most of my time watching the boat to make sure I was getting too far away and not able to make it back (I'm a very experienced snorkeler and swimmer)... It could have just been the weather that day, I'm not sure.

[cb at sea]

Get a guidebook...read up on your ports, and you'll find you can do most of the things you like WITHOUT an excursion at all! If you know something about the places you'll visit, you can easily (and much more cheaply) do things like beaches or snorkeling on your own. Research is KEY to a good time!!!

[kc58ab]

In Cozumel we have done the Atlantis submarine, Chankanaab National Park, and the jet ski excursion. All were through Carnival. Submarine wasn't worth the money and you couldn't see much through the windows. National Park was nice it has snorkeling although not a vast variety of fish, beach area, Unlimited alcoholic drinks and buffet, and a nice pool. I would do that again. They had a sea lion show here that was free as well and a tequila tour .You can also swim with dolphins here for additional cost. I didn't love the jet skis but my teenage son and daughter thought it was great.

 

We have done the cave tubing and the snorkeling at the reef in Belize . Both of those were decent.

 

In Honduras we just went to the beach there. It's ok for being free but pretty crowded.