Maya Key or Tabyana?

[ash115]

Hi... I am going on a cruise in two weeks and I have no clue which shore excursion to book in roatan.... I was wondering which beach is prettier and less crowded? What are the pros and cons of tabyana or maya key?

[islandwannabee]

Hi, I can't help you with tabyanna beach, but Maya key aka Finns and Flippers gets my vote.

 

I just returned from the Glory and once again we went to Maya Key. Have been there 4 times now. It is the most gorgeous private island I have ever been to!! This last time, I was told there were 120 people there, I swear never saw more than 5 people in any one spot. The fresh water pool is magnificent. The food and drinks are really inexpensive.

 

The snorkeling is the best I have ever experienced. The beach area is secluded and full of beautiful vegatation, creating plenty of shade.

 

There is also a small zoo of sorts, with many rescue animals. If you are lucky you will meet the islands Animal Vetinarian, who will tell you tales of the how and why their animals have come to them.

 

Getting there is easy too!! From Mahogony Bay, just walk outside the gated are and up the small hill, then you will see a sign for Maya key. They will call you a modern new bus and have you on your way within minutes. Transportation is only 10.00 roundtrip per person.

 

Any questions, just let me know, Cindy

[jimpop]

Tabyanna gets more visitors and is a larger beach with more activity...Maya Key has two beach areas...not great for swimming as there is sea grass in fairly close to shore...but you can go out on their cabana pier and swim out to the outside of the reef from there to snorkle....so if swimming is important to you, Taby...if smaller and quieter with fewer people is for you, then Maya Key...I will be on Maya Key the first week in April on Voyager of the Seas...Jimpop

[gogracey]

Jimpop, we will also be on the voyager the first week of April. Am nervous about booking something that is not affiliated with the cruise line as far as the safety issue. Is this this in a safe area?? Looks absolutely beautiful though!!!

[1cruiseaholic]

Jimpop, we will also be on the voyager the first week of April. Am nervous about booking something that is not affiliated with the cruise line as far as the safety issue. Is this this in a safe area?? Looks absolutely beautiful though!!!

 

Hi there, I was nervous the first time I went on a shore excursion that was not through the cruiseline but I was with an experienced cruiser who I trusted. We ALWAYS book on the internet with non-cruiserline excursions (about 20 different times) and we have always had an amazing time with very professional people. [The one time we went with a cruise line excursion was a sail and snorkel in Roatan and we were so upset with the conditions on the boat (filthy and no sailing just motoring) that we asked the cruiseline for a refund. All we got was a promise of 4 drink coupons on our next cruise. ] Anyway, the bottom line is to fight your fears and put your faith in the local people. At the beginning of several Carribean excursions, I have had to push down what I thought was my intuition screaming at me about safety, only to have the most amazing times of my life. Best to relax and enjoy the ride. All people working on these excursions know that we communicate on the internet and they want to be known as professionals earning a living with dignity while sharing the great beauty of the places they live. Have fun! :)

[dhawkins]

It's my understanding that since Maya Key is now a Carnival offered excursion that they can no longer book guests over the web. As a matter of fact I received an e-mail from Maya Key's website stating such.

 

Can you still go there as a private party of do HAVE to book the excursion through Carnival to get in? Can you just walk off the boat and go to their desk and get in?

[beachyking]

Do you know if you can take a taxi from Mahogany Bay to the Maya Key ferry instead of the bus?

[gogracey]

1cruiseaholic,

thanks for the reply, booked it! This is my first cruise ever, so going off on my own seemed a little daring :) I don't know about carnival people but I was able to book it off the website but I'm on Royal Caribbean.

[RobDoce]

We went to Fins and Flippers, now known as Maya Key, last year aboard Voyager. We booked it ourselves over the internet. Just walked off the pier, turned right at the gate, and walked on down to their dock. We took a 15 minute water taxi ride to the island. The water was warm, my husband enjoyed the snorkeling even though it was windy, and the food and drinks were fantastic and not pricey! We had no problems with sand fleas, although we brought along the recommended bug spray just in case! This place is totally safe and very nice and clean. Very nice friendly staff, too! There are also clean restroom and changing facilities, and a fresh water swimming pool. A large patio deck with tables and deck chairs for lounging are also available. We will be going on Voyager again in April, and this place is at the top of our list to visit! I highly recommend it! :o

[TXMary]

1cruiseaholic,

thanks for the reply, booked it! This is my first cruise ever, so going off on my own seemed a little daring :) I don't know about carnival people but I was able to book it off the website but I'm on Royal Caribbean.

 

gogracey,

 

We are on your cruise. We did Fins and Flippers last year before it was Maya Key. It was absolutely wonderful then. No need to worry!! It's a beautiful place. Very clean, nice and secluded. We have it booked again this year, so you won't be alone there without others from your cruise.

 

I admit I'm a little worried about it now being a Carnival excursion. I won't be too happy if it's overcrowded. That was one thing we really liked about it before was that it wasn't crowded at all. I thought about canceling, but I am willing to give them one chance to see how it goes now that they are a Carnival excursion. I hope it's still the wonderful experience that we had last year or we won't be going back or recommending it to anyone else.

[gogracey]

RobDoce and TXMary, now you two are getting me excited, Thanks!

I looked it up and the carnival ship doesn't arrive until the afternoon. So if we head over there first thing in the morning we should have a good 4 hours or so to ourselves :) Mary hope to see you there. It will be my husband and I and our 17 y.o. DD.

[realmccoy]

It's my understanding that since Maya Key is now a Carnival offered excursion that they can no longer book guests over the web. As a matter of fact I received an e-mail from Maya Key's website stating such.

 

Can you still go there as a private party of do HAVE to book the excursion through Carnival to get in? Can you just walk off the boat and go to their desk and get in?

 

We booked through Maya Key in November for our Carnival Dream sailing in three weeks! Did not know about this "new" rule for Carnival guests. Maya Key never contacted me to inform me of this...and I discovered this from your post. I have sent them an e-mail so we will see what their response is. That would of been really bad if we had shown up at the dock looking for them and could not go. I will start making other plans...:mad::mad::mad:

[CocoaMom]

We booked through Maya Key in November for our Carnival Dream sailing in three weeks! Did not know about this "new" rule for Carnival guests. Maya Key never contacted me to inform me of this...and I discovered this from your post. I have sent them an e-mail so we will see what their response is. That would of been really bad if we had shown up at the dock looking for them and could not go. I will start making other plans...:mad::mad::mad:

 

 

From what I've heard, you should be fine since you booked before carnival took over. This 'rule' applies to all new reservations for carnival passengers (it's $60 pp now inc transportation / lunch). When I had emailed them they responded quickly, explained the new policy etc., but she never answered my question ... all I really wanted to know was if they now limit the number of people or at least give me an aprox nbr etc. If anyone's been recently, I'd love an update!

[Kruzergrl]

Cocoa Mom,

I'm headed there in 2 weeks, I'll let you know!!!!

 

Brenda

[Carol999]

Tabyana, BUT if its raining dont go ,,the mountain coming back from the beach is a bugger . There was a crash on it from a bus and a car sliding down,,and when our taxi tried getting up,,we slid backwards too! Everyone on the island seems to know about this hill. It is treacherous when wet. Im the crazy tourist standing in the rain waving everyone to slow down coming from the other direction cause they couldnt see around the bend as my cab attempted to climb up.There was no way I would stay in it while it slid attempting to go up.

[realmccoy]

I have finally given up on Maya Key. I have a reservation I made in November 2009 before the Carnival deal. Yes, they said the reservation is still valid...However, at this point they have refused to tell me where I would go at Mahogany Bay for the pick up...and I will be there in 2 weeks! I have sent 4 requests, each request they answer half my question and don't tell me anything about what I would need to know about where to go at Mahogany Bay. The last one (today) still didn't tell me and pretty much told me to just reserve with Carnival. To me...that means I would be high and dry with no excursion when I arrived at Mahogany Bay. I had looked forward to going but now I don't trust their buisness practices. :mad:

[ADL3]

I am kind of sad to hear that FnF is now a Carnival excursion. This was definitely the highlight of our cruise last summer, mostly due to how private, secluded, and sparsely populated it was. I'm guessing it will get busy now that it's a Carnival excursion? We will try it again this summer, and hopefully it will be a similarly wonderful experience!

[rfrey]

First time to Roatan. Does anyone know the detail about getting to Tabyani and what to do to use the beach. FnF looked like the deal until I saw the Carnival hook up. Any help would be appreciated. Leaving in less then 2 weeks.. Thanks Robin

[Hector's Mom]

I have finally given up on Maya Key. I have a reservation I made in November 2009 before the Carnival deal. Yes, they said the reservation is still valid...However, at this point they have refused to tell me where I would go at Mahogany Bay for the pick up...and I will be there in 2 weeks! I have sent 4 requests, each request they answer half my question and don't tell me anything about what I would need to know about where to go at Mahogany Bay. The last one (today) still didn't tell me and pretty much told me to just reserve with Carnival. To me...that means I would be high and dry with no excursion when I arrived at Mahogany Bay. I had looked forward to going but now I don't trust their buisness practices. :mad:

 

Um.. okay. We did this just last week, had booked it as a non-Carnival excursion, and had no problems with anything. To get there, leave the Mahogany Bay area by going up the hill, there should be someone there with a "Maya Key" sign. They called a transport, took us to the dock, and we were there. I can't tell you any more than that, but for us, it was easy.

 

As far as those who are unwilling to go because it is now a Carnival excursion (seriously?), we spoke with Edwin and a couple of other people who told us that they are limiting the amount of people to 100, from ANY cruise line, and the Carnival excursion is limited to 40. There were at least 60 total while we were there, and we only saw 20 at most. It's a beautiful island, very worth any amount you spend.

[bumbles]

Um.. okay. We did this just last week' date=' had booked it as a non-Carnival excursion, and had no problems with anything. To get there, leave the Mahogany Bay area by going up the hill, there should be someone there with a "Maya Key" sign. They called a transport, took us to the dock, and we were there. I can't tell you any more than that, but for us, it was easy.

 

As far as those who are unwilling to go because it is now a Carnival excursion (seriously?), we spoke with Edwin and a couple of other people who told us that they are limiting the amount of people to 100, from ANY cruise line, and the Carnival excursion is limited to 40. There were at least 60 total while we were there, and we only saw 20 at most. It's a beautiful island, very worth any amount you spend.[/quote']

 

Thank you for posting this. I was getting a little leary about the amount of people they were allowing. Do you recall if the price for transportation still the $10 per person that was originally quoted from Mahogany Bay?

[nuttypretzel]

We just did this tour and booked it through Carnival. We were on the Valor. Maya Kay uses their dive boat to transport the guests to the island. There were about 25 people on each boat trip and they only made 3 trips. They separate the transfers by ½ an hour so everyone has dispersed by the time the next group arrived. The return trip time is also set so the first group on is the first group off. It never felt crowded and like others have said, we never saw more than a dozen people anywhere. The food was good. The snorkeling was clear and there were plenty of fish and coral to look at. My son loved interacting with George the monkey. You can stand right next to the fence and he will come to you. George liked opening and closing the Velcro on my son’s pocket. For my son, that part was as good as the swim with the dolphin that we did at an earlier port.

[pjtulsa]

Update email from Cindy says that they will not sell passes to ship passengers per the agreement with Carnival. They have also set a max number of guest at 300 persons!!!! I dont care what others say about it feeling crowded, you put 300 people on Maya Key and its going to be crazy!!!

[luvtravel38]

are you required to tip anyone at the end of your day at Maya key??

[pjtulsa]

are you required to tip anyone at the end of your day at Maya key??

 

When we were there we did tip the waiter, the beers were only $2 so it was still a great deal but drink prices have increased too!

[nuttypretzel]

On the way back, they put a tip jar in the boat. Some people contributed and others did not. No one else had their hand out for a tip.

 

As far as crowds go, the Valor was the only ship in port and they had around 75 guests on the excursion seperated into the time groups. There would be no way for them to transfer 400 people to the island, so I don't think that information was correct.