Things to do for us Non-Excursion-ers' ???

[vacation_junkie]

My DH does not like to do any excursions when we cruise. He is sooo paranoid that the excursion will run late and we will missed the boat and end up stuck on the island in some Fantasy Island situation! He will only do excursions when we are on the islands.

what is their to do in port? Shopping? We love shipping , flea market shopping in ports. What is a good deal here? I know some ports have things like Rum cakes, vanilla , etc that is cheap and people recommend you buying! Any advice would be super fantastic!

[outdoorlady79]

I could be wrong as just booked my first cruise but I was under the impression from what I read that as long as you stuck to the ship offered excursions they would not leave you behind. Will be watching to see what others have to add of course.

[vacation_junkie]

I could be wrong as just booked my first cruise but I was under the impression from what I read that as long as you stuck to the ship offered excursions they would not leave you behind. Will be watching to see what others have to add of course.

 

Oh they will leave you :eek: I'm not sure about the ship offered excursions.

 

When we are staying on an island for a week he has no problems doing an excursion.

 

He was always paranoid when we cruise....but then last Carnival cruise we left a "Dining room" staff member in St Thomas..he joined us again in St Maarten. He fell asleep on the beach!

[GeckoGirl]

Oh they will leave you :eek: I'm not sure about the ship offered excursions.

 

When we are staying on an island for a week he has no problems doing an excursion.

 

He was always paranoid when we cruise....but then last Carnival cruise we left a "Dining room" staff member in St Thomas..he joined us again in St Maarten. He fell asleep on the beach!

 

They cannot leave you behind if you book a ship sponsored excursion. If you book independently, then they have no obligation to you and can leave you behind.

 

Here is what Carnival's website states:

 

"One of the major advantages of participating in shore excursions sold through Carnival is that we closely monitor the excursion departures and returns. Therefore, we can assure you that even if there are unexpected delays on an excursion, your ship will be there when you return. Please be aware that if you make your own arrangements, or leave an organized excursion, you will be on your own and it will be up to you to make sure you return to your ship on time."

 

I am pretty sure the other ships follow the same guidelines.

 

So maybe your hubby would be willing to do a ship excursion now.

[World Gallery]

They will not leave you if you are on a ship excursion. As much as I dislike ship excursions (don't like the "herding" of too many people), I would have to recommend one in your case. In Belize, you have to tender into tourism village (about a 15 to 20 minute boat ride). If you are on a ship's tour, you have first priority in regards to tender service (usually those without ship's tours have to wait until the ship's tour are done or line up early to get a limited, "early tender ticket"). They give you very specific instructions on where to meet, etc. if you book through the ship.

Tourisn village (where the tender drops you off) doesn't have much to offer in my opinion, so if you don't plan on doing an excursion, you would probably be better off staying onboard and taking advantage of having a less crowded ship. It does have shopping and one bar but it is very touristy, inside of a fenced-in area where locals are not allowed (but they do gather at the gate overwhelming tourists if they try to leave the gate).