ABQrobin

I wouldn't go independent in Belize for any of the ruins past Altun Ha.  They are a long distance and if you get back late the ship will not wait for you.  When we did Xunantunich thru our ship we got back barely in time, but since it was thru the ship it was fine.  Lamanai was the same way, we got back to the pier and the line for tenders was over 30 minutes long.... but we had gone thru the ship so no issues.  If you do independent and arrive after that "last tender" time, no guarantees.  We've been to Belize 7 times now and our ship is always pulling up anchor right at the time they state.  

Also, JiJi's is served family style... so each person orders an appetizer and main course, but they bring a plate of each with enough for 2 people (or more).  Tons of food and the best stuff.  We have been 3 times and it is our favorite Carnival restaurant.  

Here is the duck appetizer.

22 hours ago, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Thanks for the help. But, on our page, it actually says 4 max. 

I am confused.... why do you need a cabana for 8 people.  It is a free beach with plenty of free chairs under palm trees.  They also have the sun shades you can purchase.

If you are looking for really good snorkeling, you probably aren't going to find it in Cozumel.  Cozumel is known for its scuba diving, some of the best in the world, but not snorkeling.  The reefs are too far off shore and too deep for "great" snorkeling.  YOu can take a boat to Paradise reef and see some nice shallow coral reef and fish but it isn't great as compared to other places.  (I am a scuba diver and have been going to Cozumel for 22 years now),  Roatan has fantastic snorkeling, if you are going there.  

I forgot to mention.... there is not a lot of walking, but the walking is either up stairs or down stairs, and walking in a dark cave on rocky surface.  You also have several points where you are bending over and crawling under stalagtites.  DO NOT do this excursion if you have any difficulty with walking.  No kidding.

It depends which tour and at what point you are put in water, as well as which cave.  We just did the Crystal Cave tube adventure with dry cave exploration.... totally different place than where we went on our first cave tubing experience.  The first one we did was a hike in jungle, put in tube and float downstream, get out of water.  This time we hiked UP a hill, then down wooden staircase  into a cave, tube went in cave then we drifted back to same entry point, climbed back up wooden stairs and up hill, down the other side.  It was a workout!  Lots of walking on uneven surfaces this time as well as stairs.

Mayan ruin tours are AMAZING in Belize.  So are all the Cave Tubing excursions.  

I would book one of those.

2 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

 

Yea, I don't blame you. Probably not a place I would go back to either. 

 

We are doing well and have a cruise booked but for the first time in years, we will not be vacationing at Christmas. I'm finally having another foot operation the 1st of the year after suffering for a little over 3 years now from my injury. 

Wow.  I remember that, sorry its still a problem.  Take care and enjoy your cruise. 

We are contemplating a cruise early next year because we have some remodeling going on for our house and the $#%^#!! contractors are booked up until spring.  Maybe we will go on the Cabo/Mazatlan cruise.  We love Mexico and the culture, never been that far south though.  New adventures!

32 minutes ago, mitsugirly said:

I hate to hear you had a bad experience at Playa Uvas. We went here on our land vacation and had issues with the snorkeling area. It was roped off but yet boats were coming in and out non-stop, which made it very hard to snorkel around. We kept being motioned to "move" because of them and we were always on the look out for boats. It just wasn't a very pleasant experience for us. OUR DAY THERE

I doubt we would go there again.... there are too many other beach clubs and we have never seen such weak food offerings and tiny drinks.  I am sure some people had decent food, if they paid extra for it.  Guess we should have done that.  

Hope you are doing well and hi to the whole family!

OMG... why would anyone want to go to Greenland?.  My hubby was stationed there for a year remote in AF and it was horrible... no trees, just ice and snow and dark.  Summers weren't better even though the sun was up.. he hated it and gained 30lbs since there was nothing to do but eat, work, and sleep.

those independent websites are often wrong about who is in port where and specific ships sailings.  I don't trust them at all.

14 hours ago, DavidsNana said:

Thank you so much for this video.  May I ask you if your tour was a private tour with only the two of you or were you in a group?  Stopping at Roatan twice next year and am looking at tours to do.  Other times we have been there, we just went to the beach.  I have been looking at Bodden tours on their website.  Thank you.

We booked a group tour, just the 2 of us agreeing to share a tour with anyone else who booked.  Ship got in a little early so meeting time was confusing I guess.  They said meet an hour after ship docks.  The other people who booked didn't show up on time so they took us on to start the tour with Rolan.  The others showed up later and got their own guide for the day.  Bodden tours is fantastic!

Here is my video from our day in Roatan Nov 2022....  we had a blast with Bodden tours and would recommend them highly!  Great tours, great service, perfect adventure at your pace.

all the snorkeling boats will stay on the west side of the island.  The east side is waaaay too far and expensive (gas money) and seas are too rough.  Snorkeling by boat is almost always done at the same spots... either Paradise reef which is near Money Bar, or Chankanaab reef off that beach club, or father south it El Cielo lagoon.  Some snorkeling boats go to places they list as "Palancar reef" but that really isn't very good for snorkeling as the water is deep and lots of current.  I would steer clear of anything listing Palancar.  

A nice snorkeling tour from the ships is the Fury Catamaran and we can personally  recommend it.  They go to Paradise reef area which is nice and shallow and close to shore, then they stop at their private beach club for a few hours.  I did a quick video of it a few years ago... hubby and son loved it, the snorkeling and the beach toys, as well as the flowing drinks.

most cruise lines have at least one tour that will take you to several spots and teach you some of the local history.  Just driving around the island you won't get that as the majority is now recent development of hotels and such.  There is one excursions called "Mayan ball game" or something like that, which I can recommend.  My son and I did it a few years ago as he wanted to see them play the game.  It was a great history lesson as well as fun to actually watch a real game played on a real court.  After the game you can get photos with the participants.  

We just got back from a cruise a few weeks ago and honestly it was crazy busy in Cozumel with 6 ships, so we did a cruise ship tour and it didn't go as we had hoped.  Part of the problem was that our ship didn't arrive until 10am...

Here's a video to explain:

hey everybody!  we were on the Carnival Vista a few weeks ago and did a newer excursion... Cave tubing with dry cave exploration. 

It was an absolute blast and I put together a video:

We just did Victor's and we only got about 5 minutes each holding then got to visit the other ones (not holding) including the mom and baby another 5 minutes.  Totally worth it.  And they do bathe them, so no smell at all, very soft.  This was a bucket list item for me and my hubby.  

I am working on my trip videos this week, hope to have them posted to our YT soon.

We just got back and we did the Victor Bodden Fun-n-Sun tour.  They only take you into one enclosure with monkeys and the one we had did get on head or shoulders but very friendly and docile.  You stood on the outside of the pens next to the other monkeys as our guide said they could get aggressive. Our guide asked us before we went into each enclosure so if you don't want monkeys he would skip those, no problem.   The sloths were so amazing!  

I am working on my video of the tour, should have it up on our YT in the next week.

Cozumel is one port where I do not feel it is necessary to do a cruise ship sponsored excursion.  Unless you are going over to the mainland (Tulum, Xcaret, etc) you can go anywhere on the island easily.  So it all depends what you want.  The best beach clubs are independent and you book straight thru their websites, then take a taxi.  

Do a Discover Scuba.  Of course, I am recommending this knowing that they will be hooked and you will have to get them both certified after this.  Scuba is another world exciting.

Any updates?  I read it was supposed to open back up yesterday(Nov 9th).  We have booked a cave tubing excursion for next week and just wondering if things are good to go or not.

18 hours ago, furf_n_slo said:

We used the veteran rate one time and it was so horrible we haven't even looked into it since. They wouldn't allow us to choose our room, only a category. And we were in since a tiny room right next to a crew passage way and an elevator. It was miserable. And it wasn't even that great a discount.

 

I would just forgo looking for veteran discounts and stick with their sales and VIFP offers.

Ditto.  We are both vets and have found that our platinum discounts and other specials are just as good if not better.  Unfortunate, but true.

3 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

How were the same ones getting back in line ahead of your husband or others and keeping them from riding?  Were they cutting in line? 

there were several groups, making the line over an hour long when he did stand in it.  He did it and got to ride finally, but an hour wait!  Other people were there complaining about it, also.  So many kids just spending the whole day there, over and over.  So yes, you could get in line, and ride it eventually, but a lot of people didn't as they had other things to do instead of stand in line for an hour.  

I would recommend you make reservations though, they have a limit and if there are several ships in port they may sell out.