Western Caribbean Itinerary - Excursion suggestions needed

[misterf]

I know some of you will say to look at the individual port of calls first, but I was looking for more of a general idea of what to do before researching each place in depth.

 

We're going to Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel

 

My gf isn't a fan of scuba diving or anything involving deep water (including the submarine tour I've heard about), is fine with snorkeling though. Also doesn't want to do the Stingray tour in GC.

 

Looking around Carnival's site as well as some of the posts, it seems to be the choices available to us would be:

 

Beaches

Snorkelling

Dolphin Encounters/Swims

Ziplines

Cave Tubing

Parasailing

Visiting Mayan locations

 

Am not really interested in city tours...

 

So, I assumed we would zipline in Roatan (everyone seems to rave about it) and go cave tubing in Belize.

 

From the list above, are some of the ports of call better than others for those choices? I know they all have beaches and snorkelling can be done everywhere, just not sure what ports we should focus on...

 

Thoughts? Thanks for any suggestions!

[MamaParrotHead]

Cayman and Coz the beaches are easier to access, in general. Belize you're going to want to book something through the ship if you want to do snorkeling to beach time because tendering is a PITA. I really enjoyed Tabayana Beach in Roatan, it was my favorite stop on that route.

 

I wouldn't say that snorkeling is everywhere at all, though. Coz you can snorkel off the beach (Chankanaab has good snorkeling). Cayman you have to really take a snorkel trip out, nothing at either of the public beach areas (7 Mile or Rum Point). Belize, again, there aren't beaches or snorkeling to be had without an excursion, and usually it's at two different locations (the snorkeling isn't off the beach). Roatan, same thing, we didn't see anything much off Tabayana, though there are reports of people that report the snorkeling as "good" (though the difference in opinions as to what "good" is may be suspect).

 

Hope that helps.

[sharkaymon]

We are going to exactly the same ports. Belize - zipline excursion via Carnival. Coz - snuba via Island Marketing, Grand Cayman - waverunners to Stingray City via Island Marketing and the one we are most looking forward to. . .Sante Wellness Center on Isla Roatan! Heard about this place here on cruisecritic. Went straight to their website and signed up!

[ajl5102]

mohogony beach in roatan is free. it is a brand new beach created for carnival cruisers. there are plenty of new shops and bars also. do a search on the forums and you will find some pretty neat pictures of the place.

[misterf]

Cayman and Coz the beaches are easier to access, in general. Belize you're going to want to book something through the ship if you want to do snorkeling to beach time because tendering is a PITA. I really enjoyed Tabayana Beach in Roatan, it was my favorite stop on that route.

 

I wouldn't say that snorkeling is everywhere at all, though. Coz you can snorkel off the beach (Chankanaab has good snorkeling). Cayman you have to really take a snorkel trip out, nothing at either of the public beach areas (7 Mile or Rum Point). Belize, again, there aren't beaches or snorkeling to be had without an excursion, and usually it's at two different locations (the snorkeling isn't off the beach). Roatan, same thing, we didn't see anything much off Tabayana, though there are reports of people that report the snorkeling as "good" (though the difference in opinions as to what "good" is may be suspect).

 

Hope that helps.

 

Any recommendations for which port is "best" for snorkelling, either off the beach or on an excursion?

[klmorg]

I know some of you will say to look at the individual port of calls first, but I was looking for more of a general idea of what to do before researching each place in depth.

 

We're going to Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel

 

My gf isn't a fan of scuba diving or anything involving deep water (including the submarine tour I've heard about), is fine with snorkeling though. Also doesn't want to do the Stingray tour in GC.

 

Looking around Carnival's site as well as some of the posts, it seems to be the choices available to us would be:

 

Beaches

Snorkelling

Dolphin Encounters/Swims

Ziplines

Cave Tubing

Parasailing

Visiting Mayan locations

 

Am not really interested in city tours...

 

So, I assumed we would zipline in Roatan (everyone seems to rave about it) and go cave tubing in Belize.

 

From the list above, are some of the ports of call better than others for those choices? I know they all have beaches and snorkelling can be done everywhere, just not sure what ports we should focus on...

 

Thoughts? Thanks for any suggestions!

 

That's what we did on Belize (cave tubing) and Roatan (zip-lining...FANTASTIC). If you want to swim with the dolphins, I suggest Cozumel (Dolphin Discovery at Chankanaab Park). Grand Cayman... beach day, parasail. We don't snorkle and haven't been to the ruins, so can't really comment on those. It's a great itinerary... enjoy!!

[A&Jfamily]

I know some of you will say to look at the individual port of calls first, but I was looking for more of a general idea of what to do before researching each place in depth.

 

We're going to Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize and Cozumel

 

My gf isn't a fan of scuba diving or anything involving deep water (including the submarine tour I've heard about), is fine with snorkeling though. Also doesn't want to do the Stingray tour in GC.

 

Looking around Carnival's site as well as some of the posts, it seems to be the choices available to us would be:

 

Beaches

Snorkelling

Dolphin Encounters/Swims

Ziplines

Cave Tubing

Parasailing

Visiting Mayan locations

 

Am not really interested in city tours...

 

So, I assumed we would zipline in Roatan (everyone seems to rave about it) and go cave tubing in Belize.

 

From the list above, are some of the ports of call better than others for those choices? I know they all have beaches and snorkelling can be done everywhere, just not sure what ports we should focus on...

 

Thoughts? Thanks for any suggestions!

 

You almost have to do this iten. twice to get in everything, particularly the ruins. IMHO, it is too much of a pain to see them in Cozumel cause you have to take a boat to the mainland and then have a long drive. Whereas if you go to Belize, or Costa Maya, they are within an hour.

 

You can kill 2 birds with one stone at Chankanaab as other posters have suggested. I would book independently through them and spend the day with a dolphin encounter, and some snorkeling. At Grand Cayman, I would take it easy and go to 7 mile beach or something relaxing.

[golfadj]

Wonder how long before this gets moved?

[misterf]

Wonder how long before this gets moved?

 

 

Which forum would it have been better to ask this in?

[cruise-aholicRN]

I enjoyed the turtle farm in Grand Cayman. Also, Grand Cayman has an open air shopping mall with Margaritaville.

 

Belize- Al Tun Ha mayan ruins

 

Cozumel- my friends enjoyed racing speed boats, I love Paradise beach but not a good spot to snorkle

 

The section for Ports under boards will have more ideas

[golfadj]

Which forum would it have been better to ask this in?

 

Either port of call or your roll call.

[TortieGal]

Since you look like you are new to CC, I'll first say welcome! And learn to ignore some people....

 

We did a Western Itinerary in October and if you would be interested in a straight beach day, we did Nachi Cocum in Cozumel. It's an all inclusive place but probably the best thing about it is that they limit the number of guests. This comes in handy if you are in port with lots of other ships. I think on our particular day, there were 5. There were people snorkeling but not sure how good it would be for that.

 

Besides checking the actual section for each port, I would also recommend doing a search for reviews. Not sure which ship you would be sailing but I know there were a whole bunch of reviews for the Legend recently and she does a Western itinerary.

[danacline]

It's too bad she's not interested in stingrays in Grand Cayman - it's one of the most memorable tours available. The water isn't deep and its not that scary - hopefully you could persuade her to change her mind.

 

There is snorkeling within walking distance of Grand Cayman's tender piers, turn right and walk a few blocks to the Eden Rock dive shop...they should let you snorkel there for free.

 

In Belize, you can get a combo tour with ziplining and cave tubing. We did both, with a decent chicken and rice lunch in the middle. That same location now offers Zorbing (flying down a hillside inside an inflated clear ball).

 

The Roatan zipline had a fatality just a year or two back - google for more details.

 

Cozumel's main attraction is swimming with dolphins, another must-do experience. We also took the tour to Tulum - the most beautiful Mayan ruins due to the fact that they're the only one on the coast.

 

More info and photos on my web site under the port names.

[MamaParrotHead]

Any recommendations for which port is "best" for snorkelling, either off the beach or on an excursion?

 

Well, I'm kind of biased, LOL. I was super stoked to snorkel both Roatan and especially Belize in our last trip. The Belize snorkeling trip was a nightmare and I literally didn't see ONE fish (because the sea was so rough it was stirring up the bottom).

 

I'd say Cozumel is probably the best for snorkeling right off the beach, and as someone else mentioned, they have the dolphin programs at Chankanaab there as well.