Help me pick a cruise for non-water-lovin' husband...

It has been decided that we would go on a cruise for our 25th anniversary. We are active with no health or weight restrictions.

We have also decided that we will leave the port of Galveston because it is close and we won't spend much or transportation or travel time getting there.

So, we are basically going to have to chose between 3 Carnival ships and 1 Royal Caribbean ship.

We did the Carnival Ecstasy 10 years ago. We went to Cozumel and Progreso. I booked an ATV ride with snorkeling in Cozumel and it was AWFUL!!! My husband thought he was going to drown. He ended up swimming back to shore without the group even with the 'guide' yelling at him to stay with us. We did the ruins and a rodeo in Progreso. That was fun.

So... looking at the itineraries can someone suggest fun stuff to do in each port that does not involve "relaxing on a beach" or snorkeling? He is fine with water activities, like deep sea fishing, kayaks, tubing, stingrays/dolphins. Just nothing where he has to snorkel. LOL

Also... I REALLY prefer to do excursions through the ship. We did an Atlantis excursion on a Disney cruise on our own and I worried the whole time about missing the boat. Not sure the money savings is worth the stress.

So! Here are my choices:

Carnival FREEDOM ~ 7 Nights ~ 3 Ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Belize City - tubing Cave tour

Mahogany Bay - ???? so much water stuff!!!

Carnival BREEZE ~ 7 nights ~ 3 ports

Montego Bay - Kayak and sting ray combo

Grand Cayman - ???? so much water stuff!!!

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Carnival LIBERTY ~ 5 nights ~ 2 ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Merida/Progreso - seeing a ruin, thinking Uxmal

Royal Caribbean ~ LIBERT OF THE SEAS ~ 7 night ~ 3 ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Grand Cayman - ???? so much water stuff!!!

Falmouth - Zipline or any suggestions?

It seems that each cruise has 1 port that basically just has beach and snorkeling stuff. Which cruise do you think would be better for us and do you have suggestions for post excursions?

Thank you soooo much! I appreciate all of your suggestions!

My husband is also not into water /snorkeling etc.

I do those on my own.

Grand Cayman has a land bus tour with a submarine .

There's also a sting ray experience where you don't snorkel but you are just in the water with the rays.

Not sure if that is possible without also snorkeling but I have seen folks just sit on the boat and not get into the water for the snorkeling part of the trip.

We are going on the Freedom on Oct. 1. to the same ports.

Cozumel - Chankanaab all inclusive beach day. We chose this because it's not just a beach. Sea lion show and plenty of other things to do there. Xcaret is a very long, wet boat ride to get there, but it is amazing. We didn't want the long boat ride. My bro and his wife are doing the Mexican Fiesta Eat, Drink, and Dance. Looks pretty neat.

Belize - Zoo and City tour. Not as lame as you would think. Very nice zoo and informative tour of the city.

Roatan - Pirates, Birds, and Monkeys. My bro did this in Feb. and said it was a blast. Where else can you hold and pet a monkey and tropical birds? A nice little tour.

Just some ideas for you that don't have to include water but it is available.

Have FUN!!

Cozumel - Not enough time to do Xcaret... It is a LONG boat ride with only a short time there... Don't try to do this on your own, too many issues with ferry. Maybe try a cultural type day, we loved Cozumel Chef tour... Great food, local flavor and sights and very professional and fun. Or they have the Americas Cup sailing challenge there now where you sail as crew in a sailing regatta on a real Americas cup 12 meter Sailboat... One of my favorite excursions EVER!

Roatan - Daniel Johnson Monkey and Sloth hangout tour (need to book ahead as he limits how many... It is AMAZING or The monkey and jungle tour

Grand Cayman, the stingray city is a sandbar that you stand... No swimming involved... The Submarine is a cool experience too.

Regarding booking through the ship ... do it! Then look for the same excursion through private parties. Carnival will price match on excursions. I have quite a bit of OBC for my next cruise from doing this. It's a win/win ... you don't have to worry about making back to the ship on time and you pay the same as those who do.

I'll share with you our experiences over the last two years.

Last April my wife and I sailed on Carnival Freedom to Cozumel, Jamaica and Grand Cayman. This cruise we booked everything through carnival. In Cozumel we booked a jeep excursion which we both enjoyed. In Grand Cayman we booked a sting ray city excursion (this is still our favorite excursion to date). As others have stated this is a boat ride out to a sandbar in which you then get into the water where it's waist deep. In Jamaica we did a horseback riding excursion.

This April we sailed on the Liberty of the Seas to Cozumel, Belize and Honduras. In Cozumel we didn't have anything booked so we just got off the ship walked through the shops and ate at senior frogs. In Belize we booked with cave tubing.bz. Although this was a fun excursion, they were really pushing the time limits. We made it back to port at 4:27 and the last tender was supposed to leave at 4:30. Lucky for us there was a long line of people waiting on the last tender. I'd strongly suggest booking through carnival or Royal Caribbean if you decide to do cave tubing. In Honduras we booked a private excursion for horseback riding. The excursion itself was short. But our driver was fantastic. He took us to a resort were we had a beer and relaxed a while(this was not part of our excursion).

This next year we are booked at the end of March on the Carnival Breeze to the Bahamas. All in all I wouldn't do this last itinerary again. I'd go back to grand Cayman and Jamaica in a heartbeat, however the Liberty of the Seas is a very beautiful ship.

I appreciate all the replies.

Still trying to figure out exactly which cruise. LOL

I do think I'm leaning more toward a 7 night one now...

The sting ray encounter does sound amazing so I think I'm going to find one that goes there!

Cozumel - Not enough time to do Xcaret... It is a LONG boat ride with only a short time there... Don't try to do this on your own, too many issues with ferry. Maybe try a cultural type day, we loved Cozumel Chef tour... Great food, local flavor and sights and very professional and fun. Or they have the Americas Cup sailing challenge there now where you sail as crew in a sailing regatta on a real Americas cup 12 meter Sailboat... One of my favorite excursions EVER!

 

Roatan - Daniel Johnson Monkey and Sloth hangout tour (need to book ahead as he limits how many... It is AMAZING or The monkey and jungle tour

 

Grand Cayman, the stingray city is a sandbar that you stand... No swimming involved... The Submarine is a cool experience too.

I'm glad to hear you liked this one. I've got it booked for my DH, but he's a sailor anyway. I think we even own the movie about the World's Cup that some of these boats were a part of.

It has been decided that we would go on a cruise for our 25th anniversary. We are active with no health or weight restrictions.

 

We have also decided that we will leave the port of Galveston because it is close and we won't spend much or transportation or travel time getting there.

 

So, we are basically going to have to chose between 3 Carnival ships and 1 Royal Caribbean ship.

 

We did the Carnival Ecstasy 10 years ago. We went to Cozumel and Progreso. I booked an ATV ride with snorkeling in Cozumel and it was AWFUL!!! My husband thought he was going to drown. He ended up swimming back to shore without the group even with the 'guide' yelling at him to stay with us. We did the ruins and a rodeo in Progreso. That was fun.

 

So... looking at the itineraries can someone suggest fun stuff to do in each port that does not involve "relaxing on a beach" or snorkeling? He is fine with water activities, like deep sea fishing, kayaks, tubing, stingrays/dolphins. Just nothing where he has to snorkel. LOL

 

Also... I REALLY prefer to do excursions through the ship. We did an Atlantis excursion on a Disney cruise on our own and I worried the whole time about missing the boat. Not sure the money savings is worth the stress.

 

So! Here are my choices:

 

Carnival FREEDOM ~ 7 Nights ~ 3 Ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Belize City - tubing Cave tour

Mahogany Bay - ???? so much water stuff!!!

 

Carnival BREEZE ~ 7 nights ~ 3 ports

Montego Bay - Kayak and sting ray combo

Grand Cayman - ???? so much water stuff!!!

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

 

Carnival LIBERTY ~ 5 nights ~ 2 ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Merida/Progreso - seeing a ruin, thinking Uxmal

 

Royal Caribbean ~ LIBERT OF THE SEAS ~ 7 night ~ 3 ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Grand Cayman - ???? so much water stuff!!!

Falmouth - Zipline or any suggestions?

 

It seems that each cruise has 1 port that basically just has beach and snorkeling stuff. Which cruise do you think would be better for us and do you have suggestions for post excursions?

 

Thank you soooo much! I appreciate all of your suggestions!

Royal Caribbean also has itineraries that include Roatan, Belize and Cozumel and there are some dates with Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel. If you like Mayan ruins Costa Maya might be a good stop as there are several ruins in the vicinity. There is also a Mayan cultural experience as well as the normal water activities.

Xcaret from Cozumel is a trek. You have the ferry ride both ways and the bus ride from Playa del Carmen. It is a man made attraction with copies of the various ruin sites, and a dolphin area. It is better at night when they do the show, but that is not possible when cruising. If you are going to the mainland go down to Tulum. Beautiful ruins. Skip Xel Ha since he does not do well snorkeling.

If you stay on Cozumel, there are a couple of interesting places (non water) to visit. San Gervasio is a ruin on the north side of the island and El Cedral is on the south side. The small museum in San Miguel is very interesting and definitely worth a stop if you have not been there before. Also, a visit to the "wild side' is in order if you have never been there before. It is interesting to contrast the rough water on the Eastern side of the island with the calm on the western side. Also, lots of interesting places to stop for a drink or a bite to eat. On the southern end is the lighthouse, which is also worth a stop. You can hire a driver for the day and hit all of the places I have mentioned.

Roatan has lots of non water activities. You can arrange a tour with Victor Bodden that includes the Iguana Farm, Monkey Farm, and zipline. We also went to the beach, but then again we are beach people. But it would have been a good day without the beach.

In Belize you can visit ruins at Lamani or Xuantunich (my personal fav). Or you could visit the Belize zoo. You can do the ruins at Altun Ha along with the ride down the Belize River to see the howler monkeys and manatees. Plenty to do without swimming. If he could handle it cave tubing is also super popular.

Falmouth is not a beach stop per se. There are some historical tours offere by RCCL there if you are not into the beach or rafting on the Martha Brae.

If you don't want to do ruins in Progreso then a visit to Merida would be good. The city is beautiful and there are some historic buildings you can visit like the Cathedral, gov't house etc.

Xcaret is something best done in a multi day/evening experience. Stay at the Occidental Grand Xcaret with the unlimited Xcaret pass.

Don't worry about being late on Cozumel. There is just one road around the island, which is 17 miles long. We stopped taking ships tours there back in about 1990. Have been there more than 35 times on cruises and we have hired drivers, just used taxis or arrange a tour on the pier (much cheaper). We only rent a car when we stay at a hotel on the island and are not worried about schedules. San Gervasio is a delight on a Sunday morning with no cruise passengers. Just us and the iguanas and the old man we paid to watch the car.

I wouldn't snorkel if you paid me to do it! Tried it several times...doesn't "float my boat"! There are PLENTY of things to do that don't require snorkeling! Even on "snorkel" excursions, no one if forcing you to do that! Hubby enjoys it...I stay on the beach or boat while he does his thing!

If you decide on Liberty of the Seas try to get one of the new panoramic cabins up front on deck 12, they're pretty amazing. Also, the Tranopy adventure in Jamaica is awesome! Zip lining and the Jamaican bobsled run. We did that on one of our Disney cruises and are doing it again next October on our LotS cruise.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

We went to Xel-Ha which is another part of Xcaret. It took waiting on ferry for 30 minutes and then took 55 minutes to get to mainland and then it was a 15 minute walk to the bus. It was raining that day and it took another 50 minutes to get to Xel-Ha. We was there for 2 hrs and they said we had to be back to ship by 3. It would have been great if we was there for a few days, but to pay out alot of money for 2 hrs was ridiculous. I did get a refund but it's a cool place just needed more time.

We did Uxmal and it was awesome - especially being able to climb the Grand Temple! However, we did it thru Autoprogresso - great outfit, cheaper than gong thru Carnival but the hour plus bus ride without a restroom on the clean bus was the only down side

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It has been decided that we would go on a cruise for our 25th anniversary. We are active with no health or weight restrictions.

 

We have also decided that we will leave the port of Galveston because it is close and we won't spend much or transportation or travel time getting there.

 

So, we are basically going to have to chose between 3 Carnival ships and 1 Royal Caribbean ship.

 

We did the Carnival Ecstasy 10 years ago. We went to Cozumel and Progreso. I booked an ATV ride with snorkeling in Cozumel and it was AWFUL!!! My husband thought he was going to drown. He ended up swimming back to shore without the group even with the 'guide' yelling at him to stay with us. We did the ruins and a rodeo in Progreso. That was fun.

 

So... looking at the itineraries can someone suggest fun stuff to do in each port that does not involve "relaxing on a beach" or snorkeling? He is fine with water activities, like deep sea fishing, kayaks, tubing, stingrays/dolphins. Just nothing where he has to snorkel. LOL

 

Also... I REALLY prefer to do excursions through the ship. We did an Atlantis excursion on a Disney cruise on our own and I worried the whole time about missing the boat. Not sure the money savings is worth the stress.

 

So! Here are my choices:

 

Carnival FREEDOM ~ 7 Nights ~ 3 Ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Belize City - tubing Cave tour

Mahogany Bay - ???? so much water stuff!!!

 

Carnival BREEZE ~ 7 nights ~ 3 ports

Montego Bay - Kayak and sting ray combo

Grand Cayman - ???? so much water stuff!!!

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

 

Carnival LIBERTY ~ 5 nights ~ 2 ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Merida/Progreso - seeing a ruin, thinking Uxmal

 

Royal Caribbean ~ LIBERT OF THE SEAS ~ 7 night ~ 3 ports

Cozumel - Thinking xcaret might be okay?

Grand Cayman - ???? so much water stuff!!!

Falmouth - Zipline or any suggestions?

 

It seems that each cruise has 1 port that basically just has beach and snorkeling stuff. Which cruise do you think would be better for us and do you have suggestions for post excursions?

 

Thank you soooo much! I appreciate all of your suggestions!

I would do the one with Mahogany bay. When I am there, I go to Little French Key. It is not a ship tour. However, I have been twice and you leave when you want. There is always someone to take you back to the ship. It is the best of everything. They have a zoo with rescue animals, they have a spa, they have snorkeling, they have kayaks and paddle boards..ect. It comes with lunch and there is so much to do that everyone can do their own thing and be happy. Look it up..it is one...if not the most beautiful places I have been in my life. http://www.littlefrenchkey.com