Carnical miracle Shore Excursions

[wildsuey]

Can I get your input as to what shore excursions are worth doing and which are a waste of time? I am going on a cruise with my entire family of 36 and I am trying to organize excursions for us to do but I have never been to any of these places before and some excursions look like fun and some look like they would suck. We were specifically looking at the following:

Beginner Scuba in the Caymans

ATV Adventure in the Caymans

Canopy Tour in Belize

Dolphin Swim in Costa Maya

Any of the kayaking trips

 

Any advice on any excursion would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

[MsMiMi]

Well I am going in 21 days and I'm not going to be doing any of the excursions you mentioned, (sorry)

 

But have you tried looking at the "ports of call" boards, there is a ton of info. there... and you will probably have a lot more luck there in getting the info you're looking for.

 

Good luck,

Michelle

Go to this link, and then scroll down to each port, and wal'la...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

[Scorpiorose]

We were just on Miracle in april and I loved the private tours we took. I'm worried thought that 36 ppl is a lot and wonder if you'll need to do the carnival excusions because they can handle that many ppl. It is a shame though because the private one's are always so much better, less ppl, less money.....anyway....you might check into the following and see if they can take that many ppl........In Grand Ca. - Do the sting ray city tour, we used www.captainmarvins.com and had an excellent time. It's a must see and a very worthwhile experience for young and old. In Balize we did www.sumgglersrunbelize.com with trevor and his wife. This was the best. It included a tour of his beautiful plantation (limes mainly) lunch which was a traditional meal home made by his wife. You can also get him to take you on a private tour of the ruins too, we did and we were treated more like friends than family. Carnival wants him to do this tour for them but he likes to keep it a personal operation. You'll eat lunch on his varanda that is something to see. We went to a beach in Cozumel. Just get off the boat and walk to waiting taxis, it's about $12 to the most beautful beach (I grew up in Hawaii so I have something to compare it to) ever! The beach is free, the drinks and food you pay for and it was wonderful. A very clean beach with a swimming area and lots of umbrellas and chairs. For a day at the beach you can't beat Paradise beach. Enjoy yourself, the miracle was great!

[lrtjs5]

We went on the Miracle in 2005. We went inner tubing in Belize and that was great! I did not like the turtle farm in the Caymans but the sub ride was cool. We went to a beach in Costa Maya that was beautiful and went to the ruins from Cozumel-FANTASTIC! (take your own bug spray!) A sunset catamaran cruise in Cozumel was also worth it.

[dsnygrl]

We were on the Miracle last September and rented a private charter for our family, in Grand Cayman. While the boat we were on was not large enough for all of you, it might be something to look into a larger boat for you to rent and go on your schedule rather than an excursion. In Belize we did the canopy tour though Carnival. It was awesome. It was 2 adults and my then 11 year old. We all loved it. This is an excursion that you can book on your own but I would suggest booking it with the ship. Belize is not really a place you would want to get left behind in. The roads in most places are unpaved or barely paved. On our return from this excursion our bus got a flat. Within 5 minutes the tour operators were in contact with both their bosses and Carnival to tell them what happened. There was a flurry of cell phone and CB calls back and forth. We were told another bus was on route to get us and that we should proceed on the remaining tires. We made it back OK but they had to hold the tender for us and we were late returning to the boat. Had we gone on our own, they would have not held the tender and we might have been stuck. The tour was great and since we were traveling far from the boat we felt safe that the tour was booked through the boat. I will also say that the workers who operated the actual tour were funny and saftey was their number one concern. They checked and double checked everything and never once were we scared. My 11 year old was the youngest on the tour and there was a man in his late 70's. We liked it so much that we have booked something similar in Dominica.