Coral Cay or Tabyana Beach?

[donoiv]

We are going to be visiting Roatan in March (aboard the Voyager of the Seas) and can't decide between the Coral Cay beach trip and the Tabyana beach trip... Any thoughts?

 

Also, one of us would like to snorkle and the other would not. Any problems with one of us picking the trip W/ the snorkle and the other getting the basic trip? Does the transportation leave at different times or all on the same busses?

 

JD

[NSgal]

I've asked this question myself, and there should be a thread on here somewhere. I was debating the 2 as well. They seem to have the same snorkleing, food etc. We are going to Coral Cay because it has an area that you can see turtles, sharks etc. Plus, it seems to have buses running back and forth all day. I didn't see that listed for Tabyana Beach. I wouldn't think it would be an issue for 1 person to book the basic excursion, and one to book snorkleing...on the NCL Pearl they both leave the same time.

[lilpootr]

We will be at Roatan in Feb (Carnival) and I've run into sort of the same issue. We are thinking of going to Coral Cay, my family will most likely snorkel, I will not (it's just not my thing), but I do want to see the sharks, turtles, etc. I just called Carnival to ask if I can book the basic break for me and the snorkel for the family. The woman I spoke with told me that the basic break would not include marina access (sharks, turtles, etc). She did tell me that I could purchase the snorkel adventure (of course) for me but just opt out on the snorkel part.

 

Hope this helps!

[amyj23]

We were in Roatan on the 14th of this month and here is my advice... We didn't do the excursion to Tabayana Beach because we figured we could take a taxi there ourselves. We had a personal driver for the day. It was $40.00 and we tipped him $5.00. He waited at the beach until we were finished. Although the beach was gorgeous, it was not relaxing. 5 minutes didn't go by before another child was pestering you to buy their wares. It was heartbreaking, but annoying. We had been to beaches in Grand Cayman and Cozumel previous to this that week, and no one bothered us. So it was a big difference being bothered the whole day. On the flipside, the snorkeling was the best I did the whole week, and no one tries to sell you things while you're snorkeling!!! There is a man on a kayak by the reef to help you if something goes wrong and you can rent any snorkel equipment that you need at the beach. Another con to Tabayana is that it was CROWDED and loud. There were tons of people there and not quiet people. Also, unlike the other beaches we'd been to, I would NOT have left my belongings on the beach unattended. So if you're going, make buddies with some fellow cruisemates who can watch your stuff while you're in the water. One of our tablemates did the Coral Cay excursion and said that it was good snorkeling and no one was selling things on that beach. So although I'm all for doing independent things on cruises, Roatan may be one that you pay for the excursion if it will get you to a quieter, safer beach... But I would definitely look into Fins and Flippers if we went again....

[iluvtocruise33]

I have been to both of these beaches. I liked Tabyana better much more fish to see. Coral Cay was very quiet where Tabyana was more congested but I personally liked Tabyana better.

[shmthaus]

We booked the Coral Cay Beach Break and Free Drinks excursion through RCCL. This excursion was for the pax to be able to use the beach, snorkel on their own and have all you can drink rum drinks.

 

Unfortunately, the ship was an hour late docking due to weather and engine problems, so we arrived at Coral Cay an hour late (about 11am).

 

When we first got there, it had just finished a big rain storm, but the sun was coming out and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.

 

We got chairs together for our rather large group (about 20 people) and some began drinking the free rum drinks. Others of us weren't particularly rum drinkers, so we ordered buckets of 6 Corona beers for $18. We ordered several buckets over about a 4 hour period. As for the rum drinks, there were about 10 drinks that our group consumed. At about 2pm, a couple of people from our group went to get a drink and the setup was gone. We were supposed to have free rum drinks all day (the last shuttle back to the ship was 4pm). One of our group asked the bartender and she was told the drinks were done for the day. A little discussion ensued and a free rum drink was served.

 

We ordered several different items from the menu and were told that they were out of hamburger meat and we had to have chicken sandwiches.

 

The server that took our order couldn't quite get the individual tabs sorted out and complained that once we had sorted our own tabs, that we had barely covered the bill and he didn't receive a tip from anyone. Everyone I talked to stated they added their own bill based on the menu and added a tip.

 

A couple of us had brought our own snorkel equipment and when we went to the pier, we were told we could not go where the guided tour was going. He told us we could only go on a different side of the pier (where the water was cloudy and there wasn't much to see). One of our group told him that was bull**** and that we wouldn't interfere with his group. As soon as they cleared out, we went to the beautiful coral.

 

Despite the above incidents, we did have a wonderful time and the DJ did a great job. There was a covered deck with tables and while we were eating, it began raining. We began interacting with the DJ and livened up the party atmosphere. DW and I began dancing and that prompted others to dance also.

[CruiseLuver83]

We just got back from our cruise last week and we went to Roatan for the first time and I have to say Coral Cay was absolutely beautiful. I loved it there. It was really fun.

We did the excursion that included the drinks and it was well worth it. The Rum punch was excellent.

When I was there they had a singer out there singing all kinds of Caribbean songs which was really nice and they also have an outdoor restaurant. If you go there get the Chicken sandwich, they give you some kind of sauce that goes with it and it is sooooooo good!

I also got a massage on the beach by the ladies that work there for only $50. they are wonderful.:D