TXfunlovingmom Posted January 20, 2018 #1 Share Posted January 20, 2018 Hi all, My husband and I are taking our first cruise ever in March with our children (one to be six) and the other is ten. Roatan is our first stop, and we will be on a Royal Caribbean ship. We are trying to figure out what the best tour for us is, and after reading about the ferocious bugs I am pretty concerned about our little guy who is a bug magnet, and just becomes miserable. Oh and then there is the Malaria. We really would like to see the Daniel Johnson Monkey and Sloth resort and maybe the Iguanas. We were considering snorkeling but that is not a top priority as we are planning to snorkel in Cozumel. What else could we do where we wouldn't get eaten alive? Glass bottom boat? Hang out in one of the ports? Is there stuff to do at Royal Caribbean ports? Are the food and cocktails tourist safe? Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahospud Posted January 24, 2018 #2 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Have you considered a private tour? We've used Victor Bodden but Rony's is also rated high. With a private tour you can design a day around what you want. You can get in the monkeys, sloths, iguanas, and even some snorkeling. The snorkeling in Roatan is far superior to Cozumel and is easily accessible from the beach. I wouldn't pass it up. Have to be honest on the bugs, I've been to Roatan probably six or seven times and haven't noticed anything other than flies being a huge problem at any of those stops. Does bug spray not work for your little guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXfunlovingmom Posted January 24, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Have you considered a private tour? We've used Victor Bodden but Rony's is also rated high. With a private tour you can design a day around what you want. You can get in the monkeys, sloths, iguanas, and even some snorkeling. The snorkeling in Roatan is far superior to Cozumel and is easily accessible from the beach. I wouldn't pass it up. Have to be honest on the bugs, I've been to Roatan probably six or seven times and haven't noticed anything other than flies being a huge problem at any of those stops. Does bug spray not work for your little guy? Deb, what you described is basically what we decided on and a tour around the island if we have time! :) So relieved to hear you say that about the bugs. I read some things.. I think they were mostly on Trip Advisor about people getting eaten up. I did some bug spray research and hopefully we will be good. Great to know that about the snorkeling also.. we were starting to lean that way. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahospud Posted January 24, 2018 #4 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Your kids will love it! Holding a sloth was amazing, feeding iguanas was a bit scary for me because there are so many of them everywhere, and the snorkeling was great. We have time to get all those things in along with a tour of the island. Enjoy your trip! Are you all set for the other ports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXfunlovingmom Posted January 24, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Great! We are pretty excited. Yes, I think we are all set for other ports. We are planning our beach day in Cozumel and we booked an excursion for Costa Maya to some ruins that aren't too far away. Can't wait. This will be a new experience for us all. Thanks again for the tips! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahospud Posted January 25, 2018 #6 Share Posted January 25, 2018 There is nothing like that first cruise! We just finished number 60. Not as exciting as the first one for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXfunlovingmom Posted January 25, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted January 25, 2018 There is nothing like that first cruise! We just finished number 60. Not as exciting as the first one for sure. Wow! :D:D:D:D:D:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonimarieb Posted January 30, 2018 #8 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Daniel Johnson’s was the highlight of our last trip. Your kids will love the Sloths! It was such an inexpensive excursion and our entire party(ages 8-60) loved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXfunlovingmom Posted February 1, 2018 Author #9 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Daniel Johnson’s was the highlight of our last trip. Your kids will love the Sloths! It was such an inexpensive excursion and our entire party(ages 8-60) loved it! That's so great to know, thank you! Looking forward to it! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidikay Posted February 2, 2018 #10 Share Posted February 2, 2018 I can recommend. http://roatanoceanadventures.com/ We have gone on snorkel tours twice with him. There is a place with sloths just a few doors down and he can arrange that. Check out the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidikay Posted February 2, 2018 #11 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Also the two times we were there I don't remember bugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-leg5 Posted February 2, 2018 #12 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Also the two times we were there I don't remember bugs. Bugs on the beach are notorious in Roatan. They bother some people they don’t affect others. They can be one place one day, another place another. These are not mosquitoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXfunlovingmom Posted February 4, 2018 Author #13 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Bugs on the beach are notorious in Roatan. They bother some people they don’t affect others. They can be one place one day, another place another. These are not mosquitoes. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenhopster Posted February 6, 2018 #14 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Hi TXfunlovinmom, We have been to Roatan 3 times and each time we use Victor Bodden. It is the best. Private driver and we go to the iguana farm and the monkey business, and all over the island. The driver will do whatever you desire. He will wait for you if your hanging at the beach or having lunch in some very neat waterside restaurants. We also bring some school supplies for an elementary school on the island. Driver will run us by the school and we hand over a couple of bags of supplies they can use. You can't go wrong with Victor's service. The kids will love the animals you can play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillRobin1971 Posted February 8, 2018 #15 Share Posted February 8, 2018 If the sun is setting and you’re still there, spray everyone. We got destroyed our first couple of times there, until we were told the no see ums are most bothersome toward sunset. We no longer have issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristi Barber Posted February 10, 2018 #16 Share Posted February 10, 2018 We also used Victor Bodden and had Tex as our driver. Tex took us several places and we had a great time. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2474234 Here is my review and details of what we did with Tex in Roatan. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXfunlovingmom Posted February 11, 2018 Author #17 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Thanks so much you all for the tips! We had already booked with Daniel Johnson's and we are getting a tour guide with them. They sound pretty flexible, but I will tuck the other place away in my brain. :) Kristi, great pics, we would love to get to NOLA with our kiddos for a little family vacay there. Love the pic of you and the sloth, I SO want to do that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volk904 Posted February 11, 2018 #18 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Snorkel would be much better in Roataan than Cozumel. It has been a few years but I sure don’t remember the bugs on West Bay Beach any worse than any other Beach. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#1TravelMom Posted March 1, 2018 #19 Share Posted March 1, 2018 We have toured with Ronystours.com many times. Rony is awesome. Our kids love the monkeys and sloths. Also, you could add a stop in Rony's village. He is from a small, very poor town. Your children could take gifts. Rony could arrange for your children to meet kids their age and give them the gifts directly. We have wonderful memories visiting and interacting with children there. They are just precious and extremely appreciative for anything you give them. I think it has been a great experience for my girls to see how some children live with much less and are happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheggy Posted April 28, 2018 #20 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Thanks so much you all for the tips! We had already booked with Daniel Johnson's and we are getting a tour guide with them. They sound pretty flexible, but I will tuck the other place away in my brain. :) Kristi, great pics, we would love to get to NOLA with our kiddos for a little family vacay there. Love the pic of you and the sloth, I SO want to do that! We did this and it was wonderful. The sloth we held was named Dori and she was so gentle and sweet. Hair feels like it's course like a horse's tail. Hope you have happy memories as we do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarimaJ Posted May 7, 2018 #21 Share Posted May 7, 2018 At Little French Key there were no bugs and I am a mosquito magnet as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geduffer Posted May 8, 2018 #22 Share Posted May 8, 2018 I’m going to Roatan next April and I’ve found this thread to be extremely enlightening! Thanks to all for their contributions to this discussion. I will add what I experience when I go. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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