FMCowboy Posted June 21, 2008 #1 Share Posted June 21, 2008 If you do not want to pay for the costly excursions, what can we do in our 4 ports of call? Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan? thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2girls Posted June 21, 2008 #2 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I suggest you get an excursion in Belize. It doesn't have to be a ship sponsored one, but everyone I've talked to who didn't have an excursion booked was very disappointed. I suggest you check out the port of call boards. They have many suggestions for all the ports. Many excursions booked privately (not through the cruise line) are much cheaper. I have booked many excursions that way. The port of call boards are here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annabell08 Posted June 21, 2008 #3 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Swim with the Stingrays in Grand Cayman. That was one of the highlights of our Inspiration cruise in May. I booked ahead of time with Nativeway for $35pp. There are lots of people offering this excursion at the dock for $40pp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaDivaMom Posted June 21, 2008 #4 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Grand Cayman- You can rent a car for 85.00 dollars from Grand Cayman Car Rentals. If you turn left out of the port and walk 1/2 mile to the big blue building they will take care of you. You can drive to Hell and the Turtle farm if you would like. We like to drive over to Rum Point, relax and see the ocasional stray sting ray. It's fairly inexpensive if you have a group. Cozumel- is pretty easy to navigate on foot or you can hire a taxi and take your own snorkel equipment. This should cost less than 30 bucks. We will be in Belize and Rotaan in July. Since our first time there, I will report back later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trock Posted June 21, 2008 #5 Share Posted June 21, 2008 go to your library or even Barnes and Noble and sit and read the Frommers Guides on what to do in these ports.. You will get a wealth of info and it wont cost you a dime.. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnival Game Posted June 21, 2008 #6 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Never been to Cayman. We enjoyed just walking around Cozumel. There's plenty of shops and restaurants nearby. Nothing to do in Belize and Honduras without an excursion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeldarb Posted June 21, 2008 #7 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I cannot stress enough the need for a shore excursion both these ports. The zip line\cave tubing in belize is a lot of fun. You can get this from many outside vendors. Cheaper and less crowded than the cruise line excursions. We arranged a taxi on roatan and had them take us around the island. The Lizard farm was pretty cool and the beaches were nice. Lots of info on the destination boards. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsgocruz1 Posted June 21, 2008 #8 Share Posted June 21, 2008 If you do not want to pay for the costly excursions, what can we do in our 4 ports of call? Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan? thx I really enjoyed my day at Passion Island in Cozumel. The website for info is www (dot) tourcozumel (dot) net. This is a private island and is beautiful, quiet, and all inclusive. There is a running thread on the Cozumel board about it. Also, Paradise Beach gets lots of great reviews if you are looking for a little more action. Its a pay as you go place. For Roatan, I too highly suggest booking some sort of tour. We booked thru Victor Bodden tours and had driver for the day. We took a short tour of island, but spent most of our day at the Mayan Princess resort for $10pp. Its absolutely gorgeous there. For Grand Cayman, take a taxi to seven mile beach. Ask to be dropped off at Royal Palms. I think we paid $4 pp each way. Gorgeous beach!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yurita Posted June 21, 2008 #9 Share Posted June 21, 2008 I did this itinerary last May, so here's my advice: Grand Cayman: Stingray city. After I returned from the tour, I walked all the way to The Wreck of Gamma, which is a 15- 20 min walk from port. It's actually really neat because you can snorkle inside the ship wreck, and around it, it's pretty cool, expecially if you like to snorkle. Belize: HAVE TO do Cavetubing (dot) com. It was great! most people do this in Belize. Roatan: I booked the Zipline and Tabyanna beach excursion thru Carnival and totally recommend this. Tabyanna beach was a dream, the coral there is fantastic. Ziplining was cool too, we all loved it. Cozumel: We went to Chakanaab park, swam with the dolphins and then enjoyed the park. They actually have some kind of "museum" with some Mayan ruins and other remains from the Mayan time, they have great snorkling, a pool, a little beach and a very nice restaurant with great mexican food,,,, ummmm yummy!!!! My family decided to go to Paradise beach instead, and they totally regreted it. They said the beach was murky, and they went back to the ship early... I told them to come to Chakanaab park!!!!!!:D That's what I did, and if I ever go back to these ports, I would probably do it all again... yeah, it was that good, enjoy your cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yurita Posted June 21, 2008 #10 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Here are more pics from the wreck of gamma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chigirlcruzin Posted June 21, 2008 #11 Share Posted June 21, 2008 An inexpensive option for Roatan is Fins and Flippers. $20 per person includes a ferry to the island, access to the beach, pool, gardens. It's beautiful. An additional $8 allows you to rent snorkel equipment, and the snorkeling is fabulous. I also recommend cave-tubing.com in Belize. $45 and it's a better tour than the Carnival tour at $95 (two caves through .com vs one through Carnival, guides that lead you instead of letting you float on your own). I wouldn't go to either port without an excusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrettyLA Posted June 21, 2008 #12 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Definitely do an excursion in Belize. If you don't I think you will be bored out of your mind there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cards5440 Posted June 22, 2008 #13 Share Posted June 22, 2008 I suggest booking excusrsions on your own from independent tour companies. Each port of call has it's own board here on Cruise Critic and there are a ton of reviews and suggestions. Booking from an independent operator is less inexpensive than booking through the ship. The groups are a lot smaller, making the experience much more personalized. In Cayman- If it's up you alley, definitely book a swim with the stingray excursion. It's a great experience, I'm going for the 3rd time in September. I've booked with Capt. Bryan's for $35 a person. I have also used Moby Dick Tours which I believe is the same price. Both companies are great at what they do! Cozumel is definitely a place to hit up a beach or just shop and explore. Chakanaab Park is a great place to do snorkeling and they have a few different activites at different price levels there if that interests you. You can swim with the dolphins, but it is pricey. I've yet to visit Roatan or Belize- and we booked with cave-tubing dot com in Belize for $45 a person- much better cost than the ship and I've read their tour is longer too. In Rotan we booked with Victor Bodden to have a personal driver take us around the island and go ziplining. This by far is the priciest of our excursions, but this is our splurge for the trip. With Victor, the more people in your group, the cheaper it is per person. Definitely check out the boards, scope out some travel books. You'll be sure to find something in your budget that everyone would enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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