Which would you do Belieze & Co. or Grand Cayman & Co.

I'm booked on the Magic to Cozumel, Belieze & Roatan. Buddy of mine who went last year says it wasn't that great. Thinking of changing to Freedom to

Cozumel, Jamaica & Grand Cayman.

Two questions

1) Anyone agree with my buddy?

2) What would be the penalty to change. I haven't paid in full yet.

Thanks,

JT :confused:

Unless doing an excursion, if you exit the main shopping district in Belize you will be putting your personal safety at risk...third world like. Have been to Cozumel and Grand Cayman several times and do our own land based dives/ snorkeling. Roatan has a great beach with great snorkeling dedicated to just the cruise ships. Never have been to Jamaica so can't help there.

"Roatan has a great beach with great snorkeling dedicated to just the cruise ships."

Do you recall the name of the beach in Roatan?

As far as the ship I would choose Magic. As far as the itinerary I would choose Freedom. Belize and Roatan just don't do it for me. Although the destinations are not the whole cruise experience either. Given the choices, to me I would pick Magic for the ship. It really depends on what you want to do in the various ports. This one is a 50 50 mix. Either way you will enjoy.

"Roatan has a great beach with great snorkeling dedicated to just the cruise ships."

 

Do you recall the name of the beach in Roatan?

Mahogany Bay

Will you be doing excursions? What types of excursions do you enjoy? I think more information is needed to give you a good answer.

The Magic itinerary! I've done all those ports and I will only go back to Grand Cayman if I'm scuba diving. Otherwise it is way too touristy for me. We loved Roatan especially and just do an excursion in Belize. We went to the ruins and they were fabulous. However, others had other good experiences with adventure excursions in Belize. I like my ports with some local and authentic flavor but others see the same thing as dangerous. Also, been on both ships and I prefer the Magic (though we had a fantastic cruise on Freedom)

If you do the cruise with Roatan please do yourself a favor and hire a guide to see the Island.

Roatan is much much more then man made mahogany Bay.

Would stay with Magic a much newer ship

We stay on the ship in Belize unless we're diving.

i went to Jamaica years ago, and promised myelf I would never go back. Period. Belize is a third world country, that said, it has some of the best Mayan ruins. if that's your thing, or snorkel, Goff's Cay is beautiful.. I am one of those folks who have wandered the streets of Belize-we walked to the museum. Loved the history at the museum, streets are dangerous, watch your step, and street venders are relentless, but seeing this country really makes you appreciate ours. I would never pass up Cozumel, but Grand Cayman while it has great snorkeling, I could skip. If you are not a water person, there is little to do.

I like Mahogany Bay, I am a water baby. The island is beautiful! Paradise found. A cruise is what you make it, you are not your freind. What do you want to do when you get to the ports? and decide based on your wants.

I love Grand Caymen and I would do Dunns River Falls in Jamacia

If you cruise for the ship (we do) I'd stick with the Magic. If you cruise for the itinerary / shore excursions I would definitely do the Freedom.

We just did this itinerary over Spring Break.

In Jamaica, we chose to do the Jamaican Bobsled/Dunn's River Falls climb, which was really fun but not something I would do again because of the time it took to get there. Carnival ported in Mo' Bay and it took 2 hrs by bus (with the most annoying person ever in our group..he spent the entire 2 hrs there trying to "sell" his daughters, granddaughters and wife to the tour guide as workers. I'm not entirely sure he was joking either.). The excursion was really good other than that though...loved the Jamaican Bobsled ride and wished we could've gone more than once. The Dunn's River Fall climb wasn't quite what we expected but still really good. Make sure you bring water shoes if you do that though because you WILL be in the water climbing the falls which is hard but fun. :)

In Grand Cayman, we visited the Turtle Farm which was also great. We were with the guide for about 30 min or so and then he turned the group loose to do whatever they wanted. The baby turtles were SO STINKING cute and I loved snorkeling in the salt water lake(??) they had there. I saw lots of fish and a couple of turtles in the water. It was kinda neat.

In Coz, we did the same thing we always do which was Passion Island by Twister boat. My son LOVES going on the Twister and while the food isn't the greatest and the drinks are watered down, it was still a relaxing day just hanging on the beach.

Mahogany Bay

A man made beach with a slimy crushed limestone pasty bottom. It does have a fenced in corralled shopping area next to it if you like that sort of thing, I don't.

There's Tabyana Beach (which is part of West Bay Beach), and Maya Cay if you are interested in a real Caribbean Beach.

I'm booked on the Magic to Cozumel, Belieze & Roatan. Buddy of mine who went last year says it wasn't that great. Thinking of changing to Freedom to

Cozumel, Jamaica & Grand Cayman.

 

Two questions

1) Anyone agree with my buddy?

2) What would be the penalty to change. I haven't paid in full yet.

 

Thanks,

 

JT :confused:

We have done both routes twice. Alta Hun mayan ruins are great, we took a boat ride up the river then climbed the ruins and had lunch and another great river ride back. Grand Cayman the turtle farm and "Hell" are always fun along with stingray city.

I've dove several times in Roatan so I usually stay at one of bars at the ports and drink more than my fair share of Salva Vida beers. Jamaica we never get off the boat. Cozumel again many many dive trips there so Nachi Cocum beach resort of us.

A man made beach with a slimy crushed limestone pasty bottom. It does have a fenced in corralled shopping area next to it if you like that sort of thing, I don't.

 

There's Tabyana Beach (which is part of West Bay Beach), and Maya Cay if you are interested in a real Caribbean Beach.

Is Tabyana Beach within walking distance of the cruise port in Mahogany Bay? Because really, that's probably what we're going to do...just go to the beach. I've looked at the list of excursions and there is just nothing I want to do in Roatan since I've heard the butterfly garden is closed.

Is Tabyana Beach within walking distance of the cruise port in Mahogany Bay? Because really, that's probably what we're going to do...just go to the beach. I've looked at the list of excursions and there is just nothing I want to do in Roatan since I've heard the butterfly garden is closed.

No it's not. You will need a cab ride, about 30 mins, but it's a beautiful tropical island and I enjoy the ride. I would look at using a local tour service. You will pay about the same for a cab ride as you would for their services all day.

We did a Belize, Roatan, Cozumel itinerary a few years ago. Did cave tubing in Belize. It was a fabulous one of a kind adventure. We had a long lovely walk through the rain forest, with our guide explaining the native flora and fauna, then we started in the upper cave, so we got an extra long ride. Then a homemade lunch on the way back to the ship. Oh... and time to shop too. It was the best!

In fact the family was just talking about how this adventure ranks right up there with our best excursions ever. That would be after exploring 11 island itineraries. They were all memorable, but all of us like that we did cave tubing in Belize!

I would take cayman over Belize any day. I have no desire to return to Belize but that's just me.

We just got back from Freedom's Roatan, Belize, Cozumel itinerary. We hung out at Mahogany Beach this time, but have done scuba with Anthony's Key Resort's dive shop in the past. The water is beautiful & warm!

In Belize, we did cave tubing with cavetubing dot bz. They carry your tubes for you. Mine had a bottom in it and a backrest. The guides give tons of info about the country on the bus ride and show you all the different plants on the hike. Then on to the cave - very cool. Then back to lunch of chicken, cole slaw, rice n beans & rum punch or soda or water. Bus was air conditioned.

In Cozumel, we dove with Sand Dollar Sports - lots of fish, saw spiny lobsters & a huge eagle ray.

Freedom has Guy's Burgers, Red Frog pub & Alchemy bar. It has only one slide. Aft pool & hot tubs are adult only.

Magic has no Guy's or Alchemy, but has the Red Frog pub. It also has a large splash area & 2 water slides. There is no adult only pool.

Both ships have a Serenity Adult area.

Belize + Roatan >>> Jamaica + Grand Cayman

For these reasons: better snorkeling, more interesting scenery, less commercial, truly feeling like you're getting a feel for another country. That being said, based on what activities you like to do, you may disagree. :cool:

FYI - never felt unsafe in any of these locations as a 20-something female travelling with a few other young women. You can "put your life in danger" in any major city in the US if you're not careful. Safety is somewhat subjective and I have a hard time with blanket statements about the safety of any location.

My answer would be easy, but won't help you. I've been to Jamaica and Grand Cayman but not to Belize or Roatan. While I occasionally go back to a place I've visited if I absolutely love it, I think traveling is about discovering new places. On that basis, I'd pick the Belize-Roatan itinerary, everything else being equal (dates, price, cabin availability).

That said, I should say that I loved Grand Cayman. It was the one stop where we chose to do our own thing and had the best day of the cruise just sitting on that amazing beach.

Belize I'd skip although those waters are BEAUTIFUL. there is an excursion that can take you right off the boat to an island to snorkel. Had a friend that did it and enjoyed it very much.

ROATAN!!!! One of our favorites. This island has so much to offer. Our current favorite is Little French Key. What a day! Paradise!

Jamaica - IMO you have to be a little adventurous here. We did the Blue Hole on a last minute whim. This is jumping off a waterfall (bucket list kind of thing) and in hind sight not something I'd tell loved ones to do but so so so very glad we did it. The tubing is a blast.

Grand Cayman - if you haven't been there before, Stingray city is gorgeous and a must do. But more than once... well we were there for the 3rd time and stayed on ship. Not a bad thing having a boat to yourself!

We have done both routes twice. Alta Hun mayan ruins are great, we took a boat ride up the river then climbed the ruins and had lunch and another great river ride back.

The ruins that you reach via the river are called Lamanai and you are right, they are great including the access via the river! Did you hear the howler monkeys? Alta Hun ruins are closer to town, no river.