Caribbean itinerary recommendation

[WifeynMe]

Hello everyone,

I thought I would tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience on the board here. Looking for recommendations for a Caribbean itinerary, here's a little background on us. Traveling will be my wife and I and her parents. My wife and I are in our early 50s and are fairly active. we like the beaches, kayaking,snorkeling,etc. also enjoy sightseeing. Her parents are early and mid 70s, dad is fairly active, mom has some mobility and stamina issues but does not use a walker or wheel chair. Sightseeing and shopping would probably be their favorite activities. What would you recommend, an eastern or western itinerary?

TIA

[coevan]

do you have to do the same excursions? They could do a shopping excursion and you can do a more active excursion and meet back at the ship. We like both Eastern and Western Caribbean, both have many things to do and see. The only port we do not care for and stay on the ship is Grand Turk. We find it to be one big tourist trap.

[WifeynMe]

do you have to do the same excursions? They could do a shopping excursion and you can do a more active excursion and meet back at the ship. We like both Eastern and Western Caribbean, both have many things to do and see. The only port we do not care for and stay on the ship is Grand Turk. We find it to be one big tourist trap.

Thank you coevan.

[cruisinqt]

Eastern caribbean sailings tend to be mostly beach related and water related excursions so we go there when we are in a beach type of mood. Western Caribbean sailings tend to have a more diversified selection of excursions that aren’t all beach related. We go there when we want to do something unusual like river tubing in Belize or Mayan ruins in Cozumel. If your in laws aren’t going to want to hang out at the beach much then I’d do a Western Caribbean sailing.

[CruisingMummy]

We go there when we want to do something unusual like river tubing in Belize or Mayan ruins in Cozumel. If your in laws aren’t going to want to hang out at the beach much then I’d do a Western Caribbean sailing.

 

We were looking today for excursions in Belize. Would you recommend the tubing? If so, do you remember which one you did? Thanks!

[A&Jfamily]

I would recommend western as other have mentioned there is a wider array of activities. Grand Cayman is famous for the sting ray interactions and Roatan has some amazing shore snorkeling as well as beautiful scenery, zip lining and sloths. And island tour with someone like Victor Bodden or Island Marketing could accommodate everyone. Belize is primarily a water activity port but it is a relatively short and easy trip to see the ruins at Altun Ha and enjoy a cruise down the River Wallace. Cozumel has an enormous variety of activities from dolphin encounter to beaches to local cooking.

 

There really is something for everyone on Western.

 

 

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[spleenstomper]

I’ve done the Cozumel, Roatan and Belize itinerary twice and have enjoyed it.

[Fergus]

We were looking today for excursions in Belize. Would you recommend the tubing? If so, do you remember which one you did? Thanks!

 

We did it with cavetubing.bz and LOVED it! Not having to carry your own tubes was great. Pick up and drop off were easy and timely. Our guides were great, and they were generous with the rum punch on the ride home!

[CruisingMummy]

We did it with cavetubing.bz and LOVED it! Not having to carry your own tubes was great. Pick up and drop off were easy and timely. Our guides were great, and they were generous with the rum punch on the ride home!

 

Thank you! We have a dolphin excursion and a ziplining one scheduled in the other ports, but haven't figured out anything for Belize yet. I'll have to check, but I think that's the port with a tender and we just purchased the FTTF today so we should have a little extra time cushion to do an excursion there as well.

[Fergus]

It is a tender port, and I think we also had FTTF that cruise. The pick up drivers were easy to find and we only had to wait about 10 minutes for the rest of the group to show up. The company was very professional and very careful about getting us back on time - it's about an hour drive to the location where you hike to the caves. I was a little worried about the hike, but it was easier than I anticipated it being. You'll wear a bathing suit for the hike up there, and be sure to wear comfortable shoes. I wore an old pair of tennis shoes and was glad I had not worn typical water shoes! There are bathrooms where you can change into dry clothes before lunch and the ride home. Hope you enjoy it!!

[CruisingMummy]

It is a tender port, and I think we also had FTTF that cruise. The pick up drivers were easy to find and we only had to wait about 10 minutes for the rest of the group to show up. The company was very professional and very careful about getting us back on time - it's about an hour drive to the location where you hike to the caves. I was a little worried about the hike, but it was easier than I anticipated it being. You'll wear a bathing suit for the hike up there, and be sure to wear comfortable shoes. I wore an old pair of tennis shoes and was glad I had not worn typical water shoes! There are bathrooms where you can change into dry clothes before lunch and the ride home. Hope you enjoy it!!

 

I have some decent $200 tennis shoes, meaningless flip flops and water shoes. Suggestions? Should I buy a $20 pair of sneakers just for this so that I don't ruin my other shoes? Also, to clarify, did you do this through Carnival or outside of Carnival? Thank you so much for the advice. I've actually been to this location before, but didn't do an excursion there, so I just want to be prepared so that we all have as much fun as possible. Thanks again!

[OCruisers]

Hello everyone,

I thought I would tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience on the board here. Looking for recommendations for a Caribbean itinerary, here's a little background on us. Traveling will be my wife and I and her parents. My wife and I are in our early 50s and are fairly active. we like the beaches, kayaking,snorkeling,etc. also enjoy sightseeing. Her parents are early and mid 70s, dad is fairly active, mom has some mobility and stamina issues but does not use a walker or wheel chair. Sightseeing and shopping would probably be their favorite activities. What would you recommend, an eastern or western itinerary?

TIA

 

An Eastern would probably suit your need best. ;);)

[cruisinqt]

We were looking today for excursions in Belize. Would you recommend the tubing? If so, do you remember which one you did? Thanks!

 

We liked the cave tubing so much we did it twice with the same guy. His name Reggie and it’s Reggies Cave tubing. Just google it and he pops up. He has good reviews on the Belize boards, that’s how I came across him. It’s a very unique one of a kind experience and we really liked it. Floating down the river on a tube is fun when you’re surrounded by a jungle. And then there are the caves which are pretty cool too. The Mayans used to worship in those caves so the history of it all is fascinating and it’s beautiful.

[cruisinqt]

I have some decent $200 tennis shoes, meaningless flip flops and water shoes. Suggestions? Should I buy a $20 pair of sneakers just for this so that I don't ruin my other shoes? Also, to clarify, did you do this through Carnival or outside of Carnival? Thank you so much for the advice. I've actually been to this location before, but didn't do an excursion there, so I just want to be prepared so that we all have as much fun as possible. Thanks again!

 

Our family wore water shoes both times and it was just fine. As long as they fit good (not looose and floppy) and have a sturdy sole you’ll be fine. I would hate to wear sneakers in the river, wet squishy sloshy shoes drive me nuts. ;p I definitely wouldn’t go through Carnival. We saw their tour groups and they were HUGE which made the tour drag along very very slowly and the people were not getting personalized attention. With a local tour guide the group will be small, it will move quickly, and you will get personalized attention. And like I said, try Reggies. ;)

[Fergus]

Our family wore water shoes both times and it was just fine. As long as they fit good (not looose and floppy) and have a sturdy sole you’ll be fine. I would hate to wear sneakers in the river, wet squishy sloshy shoes drive me nuts. ;p I definitely wouldn’t go through Carnival. We saw their tour groups and they were HUGE which made the tour drag along very very slowly and the people were not getting personalized attention. With a local tour guide the group will be small, it will move quickly, and you will get personalized attention. And like I said, try Reggies. ;)

 

I agree about the shoes - don't ruin your good sneakers. If you don't have sensitive or difficult feet, your water shoes should be fine! Cavetubing.bz was not thru Carnival. I think we had maybe 16 ppl in our group. I'm not familiar with Reggie's, but the company we went with does not have you carry your own tube, and you actually hike up one cave beyond where the other groups get in the water, so you get more tubing time. And, yes, some of those other groups were huge!! It was awesome to float past all of them as they were thrashing around getting into the water!

[DukeASUGirl]

We were looking today for excursions in Belize. Would you recommend the tubing? If so, do you remember which one you did? Thanks!

 

I did rainforest tubing in Belize through NCL. It was SO much fun, although in retrospect I wish we'd gone with the cave tubing instead. But I still enjoyed it.

[tea4ular]

We did it with cavetubing.bz and LOVED it! Not having to carry your own tubes was great. Pick up and drop off were easy and timely. Our guides were great, and they were generous with the rum punch on the ride home!

Same here, cavetubing.bz - wonderful excursion, includes homemade lunch at the owner's home. Great company, great all around.

We booked independently online (direct with .bz) - and we wore water shoes - they were fine. No flip flops for sure!

Edited July 3, 2018 by tea4ular
Added info

[SNJCruisers]

What would you recommend, an eastern or western itinerary?

TIA

Neither, I would recommend an 8 day Southern itinerary to Aruba, Curacao, La Romana and Grand Turk. The Vista is currently doing it out of Miami till September when she relocates and the Horizon takes over. The Sunshine does it without La Romana so it has an extra sea day out of Port Canaveral. Conquest also does it out of Ft Lauderdale, so that gives you 3 different embarkation ports to choose from.

[WifeynMe]

Thank you everyone for your replies. So far it seems like more people would recommend the western itinerary.

OCcruisers- tel me a little more on why you recommend the eastern.

SNJcruisers- what excursions would you recommend, and how do you feel about the Fascintion out of San Juan?

 

 

Thank you again.

[teague38]

We were looking today for excursions in Belize. Would you recommend the tubing? If so, do you remember which one you did? Thanks!

 

We used a company called Butts Up. They were wonderful. You can book directly through their website. They also carry your tubes for you. You can add zip lining and ATV's also and they feed you lunch.

[SNJCruisers]

SNJcruisers- what excursions would you recommend, and how do you feel about the Fascintion out of San Juan?

 

 

Thank you again.

I would not sail on the Fascination because I have long outgrown the Fantasy Class ships and unless the ship is newer and at least 110,000 tons, I will not sail on her. I feel this way because of 27 cruises to the Caribbean and the ship is more of a destination for me as opposed to the ports. But, Aruba is my favorite port, having been there 3 times and will be back August of 2019 on the Horizon. Curacao is a unique port since it has a late arrival and departure.

[WifeynMe]

I would not sail on the Fascination because I have long outgrown the Fantasy Class ships and unless the ship is newer and at least 110,000 tons, I will not sail on her. I feel this way because of 27 cruises to the Caribbean and the ship is more of a destination for me as opposed to the ports. But, Aruba is my favorite port, having been there 3 times and will be back August of 2019 on the Horizon. Curacao is a unique port since it has a late arrival and departure.

I understand. We would like to do a stop in Barbados since that was where we did our honeymoon many years ago. But I'm not too excited about a smaller, older ship and such a port intensive itinerary. I like sea days :D. Wish one of the newer/bigger would make a stop there.

[jsglow]

I understand. We would like to do a stop in Barbados since that was where we did our honeymoon many years ago. But I'm not too excited about a smaller, older ship and such a port intensive itinerary. I like sea days :D. Wish one of the newer/bigger would make a stop there.

 

Certainly understand your preference but if you think about it, having an upgraded Fantasy class ship do that route probably does make sense simply because it's so very port intensive.

 

Personally, I wish Carnival would add an alternate route to Fascination's itinerary. Maybe a loop that gets down to the ABCs. Let me add that we've done 3 San Juan sailings (2 Carnival) in total. Probably our favorite departure port.

[SNJCruisers]

I understand. We would like to do a stop in Barbados since that was where we did our honeymoon many years ago. But I'm not too excited about a smaller, older ship and such a port intensive itinerary. I like sea days :D. Wish one of the newer/bigger would make a stop there.

There are 4 options I found with a Barbados stop that may interest you. The shortest is a 7 day on the Freedom of the Seas (2006, refurb 2015 160K tons) out of San Juan, of course it hits 5 ports and only 1 sea day. Another similar option out of San Juan is on the Celebrity Summit (refurb 2016 91K tons). Longer options out of Miami would be 10 days on the Norwegian Jade (2006 93K tons) or 11 days on the Celebrity Equinox (2009 122K tons).

The best bet in that region without Barbados would be a 9 day on the Equinox visiting Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Key West and 4 sea days.

[OCruisers]

Thank you everyone for your replies. So far it seems like more people would recommend the western itinerary.

OCcruisers- tel me a little more on why you recommend the eastern.

SNJcruisers- what excursions would you recommend, and how do you feel about the Fascintion out of San Juan?

Thank you again.

 

Because of your parents ... but there would also be enough to suit you.