Excursion Help!

[klampetts]

We are cruising on Carnival Legend in April to Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Grand Cayman. Is there beaches and things to do at each port or is it best to booked excursions in advance? There are 6 of us traveling and we are trying to keep the cost down a bit, but don't want to get stranded at a port with nothing to do.

[Upper Decker]

There is a small beach right by the port in Cozumel, and you are steps away from a lot of great window shopping. We hired a cab to take us to the ruins in Cozumel (San Gervasio). They were relatively small but there weren't too many people there so we got some excellent pictures. You may want to book something for Belize as I don't recall there being a beach at the port. We booked a stingray feeding/snorkeling excursion in the Caymans and it was the highlight of our trip. Bring a waterproof camera and have a great time!

[FlaGrl4Evr]

We did the Shore Snorkel through Carnival while in Cozumel. This was a small beach that was exclusive for the dive shop only so it was not crowded.. There was a small beach area, patio sytle bar, Mexican restaurant and small gift shop. The place was very clean and offered lockers for $2 USD., clean restrooms and shower areas and a small photo shop. We had a great time and got back to the pier area in plenty of time to do shopping. The excursion included transportation to and from the beach. You could also stay as long as you wished and the guides would hail a cab when you are ready to leave. We had some in the group that left right after snorkeling and some, like us, stayed and had lunch and enjoyed the beautiful view. They also offered massages on the beach area but we did not partake in this.

[Grits53]

I see that you're new, and you might not have found the "ports of call" boards yet. Go to the drop down box at the bottom of this page and scroll down to "ports of call". Then you can find a separate board for each of your ports. You can find tons of info there.

In Grand Cayman, "THE" thing to do is swim with the stingrays. It is a "must do" if you can afford it!! Experience of a lifetime! If you can't afford that but like to snorkel, you can snorkel very near where the ships are anchored. That area is not a beach and is rocky, but the snorkeling there is awesome and free (just pay to rent your snorkel gear). There is a free beach at the dock in Honduras. I don't think there's much to do at the port in Belize. We went cave tubing there, and I was disappointed in that. Cozumel has so many cool things to do, I can't begin to list them all. I suggest you visit the Cozumel port of call board. Enjoy your cruise!

[golfadj]

At Roatan there is a nice beach where the ship docks that is free. Easy walk to the beach so you dont have to pay for chair lift.

[Colorado Kat]

Cozumel - Paradise Beach! Grab a taxi there, about $5 pp each way.

Free to get in, loungers $2 pp, brand new pool. Buy drinks/food on your own. Menus available if you google Paradis Beach. Bracelet for water toys $12, if you wish.

[LittleMissMagic]

We just got back from a cruise with almost that itenerary!

 

At Roatan, if you are docking in Mahogany Bay, then there is a beach right at the port for you to use free of charge. You can pay to take a chair lift to the beach ($12 adult, $7 child, all day unlimited), but it is a short walk. You can also rent floats and snorkeling gear there. Chairs are free, but you can rent chairs with a canopy or a cabana through Carnival. Also in Roatan at the port, there is Clip and Zip ziplining. It is walking distance and very easy to find. We booked it online for $40 a person, but you can also just go there and pay $45 per person. It's 13 ziplines - very scenic, very fun, and a great price! I suggest going early in the morning because there is a wait later in the day.

 

We've been to Cozumel three times, now. Once we did the Adventure Park Zipline, which is not exactly as advertised (they show a picture of someone ziplining in the jungle... but it is a park with rock walls and ziplines and bridges between the walls). It's still very fun for the adventurous. It also includes snorkeling, but the snorkeling there isn't that great. It's at a resort with a beach and a pool that you can use for the rest of the day, so bring your beach gear with you. We've also done clear-bottom kayaking which was disappointing to us because we had to wait so long to kayak and the resort was not as nice as advertised. They took pictures of their two wicker chairs (the rest were plastic and dirty) for the brochure. It was also all rocky, not a sandy shore for wading. Last week, we just went downtown to go shopping (we docked at Puerta Maya, the smaller ships dock at the downtown port). They have a Margaritaville and Senor Frogs. We had planned to try and find a beach, but it was cool and windy when we were there. Just ask a cab driver to take you to a beach, though. I don't recommend booking their expensive beach breaks unless that's your thing.

 

Belize is a sketchy port, but it's very safe within the secure gates. Not much shopping, so I recommend booking an excursion. We did not book an excursion - we just wanted a beach. We were going to take a cab, but they tell you not to do that, so we just booked a beach break through a snorkel and beach break excursion. They really don't want you leaving the secure area. We took a boat there and it was nice. The snorkeling in Belize is great because Belize has the 2nd largest reef in the world to Australia. However, there number one excursion is cave tubing. We didn't book either because we didn't want to get into the cold water, but many people from my roll call did cave tubing through http://www.cave-tubing.com/.

 

We didn't go to Grand Cayman on this past cruise, but I've been a few years ago. It's a lovely port with great shopping. It's also home to 7-mile beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I highly recommend taking a cab and doing that (don't book Carnival's beach break).

[westmich]

Caymans: Swimming with stingrays is one of my cruise highlights from three cruises! It was just awesome!

 

Belize: We really enjoyed the cave tubing with Yhony and his crew. They were SOOOO very funny! Plus, his company has you tube a longer distance than the cruise tours. During the 30 minute walk through the jungle, his operators are constantly singing and joking. They go from lady to lady, carrying several of their tubes at a time! You can find them at: http://www.cave-tubing.com/.

 

Ah, we just booked an Eastern, but reminiscing about this makes me think we should have done the western again to take the kids on these adventures!

 

Enjoy!!