Shore excursions

[travgurl]

Trying to decide on what shore excursions. Any recommendations of what to do in Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Nassau? Also, do you recommend booking through Carnival and or Shore Trips? I like some of the excursions that Shore Trips offer but leary of booking with them for fear I would not get back in time. First time cruisers. Thanks

[robhawk]

In Belize we did the zipline/cavetubing combo. What a great day!:) The cave tubing is something that is unique. We booked independently. Less money and smaller groups with more individual attention. There are several good companies. Do a search for reviews for cave tubing and decide for yourself.

 

Rob

 

NCL Dream 2/07

[quiltingandcruising]

In Belize my husband, son and I went on the cave tubing - This is a can't miss excursion - One of the best I have ever been on

 

In Costa Maya - my husband and I laid on the beach - rock area no really water access under a straw roof hut and were served drinks and munchies by a very nice young man - while watching the ships and hearing the waves break on the rocks - loved it very relaxing - It is kinda like a compound - salt water swimming pool with swim up bar - beach with chairs, shops all within sight of the ship and pier - very nice

[Sheffie]

First, check out the Ports of Call boards for those islands. You can get there via the Forum Jump drop-down box at the bottom of this page.

 

For Costa Maya I suggest David and Ivan's Mayan Ruins tour. These men grew up there and do a fabulous job of sharing their experiences and love of this place. I have pictures from that excursion in my signature. We had enough time afterwards to lounge on the beach at Majahual.

 

On Cozumel, if you just want a tour of the area, or to go to a beach for the day, it is very easy to do on your own. There are taxis when you get off the ship. If you'd like to snorkel or SNUBA, try out http://www.cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/CozumelSnubaDivingExcursion.htm . We had a great time with them before the hurricane hit the island. I bet they still take people to somewhere great.

 

In Belize we went to Shark/ray Alley with Belize Rays and had a great experience. If you have never swum with stingrays, this is a good place to see some. The cave tubing would be great to do there, too.

 

Since you are a first-time cruiser, you have to decide if these excursions are for you. Shark/ray alley may be too far away for your comfort. The other 2 should be great.

 

You must do what you feel comfortable with. Do you homework, and then have a great time!

[clackey]

Trying to decide on what shore excursions. Any recommendations of what to do in Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Nassau?

Congrates on the first cruise. We have been to all of your stops except Nassau and have never had a bad stop. In Coz we have taken taxis to Chankanabb Park, Paradise Beach and Palancar and would not hesitate to go to any of them again. Chankanabb has some neat stuff but access to the water is a little more difficult. The other beaches are sandy and have gentle slopes into the water.

 

Belize is cavetubing country. This is really neat and one of the few places to do it. We booked through Wet & Wild but I have seen rave reviews on several other companies. Check the destination boards. We also had a good time at Bannister Island in Belize. We booked at the tender pier with Fab Tours, went on their snorkel tour and then hung out on the island. It was a very pleasant and relaxing experience.

 

Costa Maya is not one of my favorite stops. The town is nothing but wall to wall stores and bars and everyone trys to sell you junk. We don't drink so we took a snorkel tour and ate at Tapas. When we go back in 2 weeks we will either go to Maya Palms or through the hole in the fence to Chac-chi Resort. If you have never been to mayan ruins You need to take the David and Ivan Tour. I hear that it is great. Ginger D and I have been to two other ruins and I can't get her to go to another. She says that when you have seen one that you have seen them all. I think that she is wrong but what can I say? We've been married 36 years. There is no need to start something now.

 

We have booked 2 tours through the cruiselines before we learned better. Now we research the ports and know what we want before we arrive. If we can grab a taxi, we do. If we book a tour we go through independants that have had good reviews on these boards. These companies don't want any bad PR and are more aware of the time schedules than we are. No problems on 5 cruises, but if there ever is a problem I'll have my Passport and credit cards. It would just be another adventure.

 

;)

[Irishvisions]

Great snorkeling with Stuart Cove's Snorkel Bahamas. They even take you to an area where you can snorkel with sharks (completely optional). Very reasonable and they pick you up at the dock and return you afterwards.