Has anyone don the Grand Cayman/Roatan/Belize/Cozumel itinerary?

[BahamaMama1214]

Since there are 2 tender ports on that itin (Belize and Grand Cayman) I would consider getting Faster to the Fun for priority tenders IF you aren't booking Carnival excursions - instead of waiting in lines, just go to guest services and they will escort you right to a tender boat to go into the cities. (other good reasons for it but those especially) - If you book Carnival excursions in those cities they will pretty much walk you to the tenders anyway.

 

Faster to the Fun is sold out, unfortunately. We ALWAYS buy it :(

[originalgeek]

Faster to the Fun is sold out, unfortunately. We ALWAYS buy it :(

 

don't give up - for our July cruise I saw FTTF sell out and come back 3 times between March and July. I got it the second time it came back. good luck! :)

[megb123]

I love Roatan...both times there we used Ronys tours! This has been my favorite excursion thus far and ive cruised 3 times and been to many all inclusives. You customize the tour to do what you want and the price was the cheapest i could find!

 

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[leite]

I did cozumel, costa maya and roatan with carnival dream in 2011 (review here: https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php%3Ft%3D1530906&ved=0ahUKEwjCqrjrh-bQAhUIyWMKHeVaCO4QFggaMAA&usg=AFQjCNFmcYfzsOnWyiL2wBUmzXfk_CTvTQ&sig2=Cpsztbtr_IbZ117ygSnbTQ) and did Cayman Islands 2 years later with Disney.

Edited December 9, 2016 by leite

[smarks]

double post

Edited December 9, 2016 by smarks

[smarks]

I've done this itinerary about 15 times and it never gets old.

 

Cayman: options are :

Sting Ray City, 7 Mile Beach, and various snorkel tours - maybe even combine all 3!

 

Cozumel: Mr. Sanchos, Nachi Cocum or Paradise Beach are pretty much along the same strip of sand; shopping in San Miguel, the main town (go off the main street and explore a few streets inland); island tour.

 

Roatan:

Tabyana Beach (on West Bay Beach), Little French Cay and Maya Cay are great combo beach/snorkel stops; independent island tours; avoid Mahogany Bay

 

Belize: Caulker Cay, many snorkel spots on the largest reef in the hemisphere, cave tubing, rappeling and zip lining, Mayan ruins like Xanantunich or Lamanai, not Altun Ha.

 

Have fun doing your research (google and trip advisor are your friends, as well as CC port of calls ) and making your decisions.

May I ask you, why not Altun Ha. I have never been there but have plans to visit in a couple of weeks. I have been to Lamanai Ruins which I really love but that would be the only place we could go. I have 2 new cruisers with me that want to do a city tour, rum factory and Altun Ha. What did you not like about it. May have to consider a change of plans. Thanks for the help.

[Salem615]

We did this last year on the Glory. Had a very nice time.

 

In Cozumel we went to Mr. Sanchos all inclusive. We booked the day trip on their website and took a cab over to the club. Great food and drinks and it was a very nice relaxing day.

 

In Belize we did cave tubing. We went with cavetubing.bz (I think that is right). We booked this from their website and it was a great deal. We met the bus outside of the port and on the way to the caves we got a great tour and some history of Belize. The guides we had were awesome. We didn't have to carry our tubes through the jungle like some places make you do. We were even treated to a little extra ride on the river so we didn't have to walk as far back. (Be warned- check your helmets before putting them on! When I took mine off there was a scorpion in it!) After the cave tour we were treated to lunch and a lot of rum punch!

 

In Roatan we just walked over to the beach area and did some of the shops. Then we went back to the ship and enjoyed the quiet!

 

Grand Cayman we did a tour through Carnival. We made a stop at the turtle farm, Hell and did a semi-submersible tour. We also stopped at a rum cake place. It was a nice little tour.

 

Glory was a very nice ship. We were on the Panorama deck in a balcony room. Our room was only steps to the doors leading out to the lido deck. Great location.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Salem615

[Desiree D]

We've cruised to these places, but that was more than one cruise. Cruised to Belize three times now; Grand Cayman twice, Roatan, three times, and Cozumel- multiple times...

 

Booked all excursions through the Cruise Lines;

 

Roatan, once we rode horses on the beach- that was nice; but a swim with dolphins at Anthony's Key Resort- (yr 2000), was the BEST. Recently, Mahogany Bay- $25 through Carnival covers TWO people for the chair lift, clam shell (?) tent with two lounge chairs, and two floats for the water. VERY NICE! Enjoyed our cheap beach day, very much!

 

Belize- we have snorkeled with nurse sharks and rays. Lots of fun, also went cave tubing once. This last time we took a city tour-suppose to be 1.5 hrs- turned into 3 or 4, but it was nice.

 

Cozumel, favorite thing was parasailing. Also "Encountered" dolphins once, a sea trek helmet dive thing once, on the ocean floor. We planned nothing at all this last time-and had no regrets.

 

Grand Cayman-Bus tour, Turtle Farm and Sting Rays (Sting Rays LOTS OF FUN). Disappointed that there aren't more excursion options here. I want to try a new adventure in Grand Cayman. We'll see....

[CoW mAn]

I've done this. Grand Cayman is pretty nice...

 

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For Cozumel I really enjoyed the Carnival excursion to Pasion Island...despite my lack of skills or athletic ability...

 

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[birdy]

Putting in my two cents :)

Grand Cayman - Stingray tour with Captain Marvin (did this 3x)

Cozumel - Dune Buggy and Tequila tour (2x with the same guide)

Belize - Cave tubing with Buts up (2x)

Roatan - Ziplining with Pirates of the Caribbean (3x)

 

They were all fantastic, with small groups and great guides.

[IPlayWithString]

BahamaMama1214--I always try to warn people away from that particular tour because it went so sideways. It's also the example I use when people ask me why we always book through the ship vs going with an outside vendor/tour operator. If we'd gone through an outside operator, we wouldn't have had any recourse because the excursion wasn't what we'd paid for or expected. Carnival went above and beyond to make it right..they not only refunded our money (which we used the next day in Roatan for ziplining) but Jessica (a nice young Czech lady who Carnival had assigned as our onboard point of contact in case things went wrong since we have a special needs son. We don't ask for this, but sometimes we get assigned one anyway. It's just a thing they do to be nice. :) And we seriously appreciate it) was horrified at how wrong it had gone when we told her what had happened. She above and beyond to fix this for our son by getting him a stuffed monkey from Camp Carnival as well as a private tour of the navigational bridge AND a signed coffee table-style book about the ship (which happened to be the Magic) from the Captain. :)

[_beachgirl_]

Great itinerary. We just did this exact cruise on the Glory in January 2016.

 

Cozumel - We just walked around here and did a little shopping. We did make sure to stop at Pancho's Backyard for lunch which was delicious. Make sure you go to the website and print the coupon for the free margarita before you head off.

 

Grand Cayman - We had a beach day here this time around because we've been before but the leading attraction would definitely be Stingray City.

 

Belize - We did a private snorkelling tour over on Caye Caulker with Caveman Tours. It was a fantastic price and we had a boat with just 4 of us and our guide. Highly recommended. Many people rave about the cave tubing here. I haven't personally been so I can't give you any advice about that.

 

Roatan - My favourite stop. We contacted Daniel Johnson from Daniel Johnson's Sloth and Monkey hangout and had an AMAZING time. He took us for a tour of the entire island and then back to his place to see the animals. If you want to hold a sloth, he is your guy. I think he also has a snorkelling option for a tour as well if you wanted to add that on.

Edited December 10, 2016 by _beachgirl_

[birdy]

We never use the ships tours. I do all my research here on CC and the people here have never steered me wrong with their recommendations for tour operators.

[NickandJonsmom]

I was onthe Glory November 5-12. Loved it

[steph7021]

Here's what we've done...

 

Cozumel: Scuba diving with Sea Robin as well as deep sea fishing tours--both on our own and with Carnival.

 

Grand Cayman: Snorkeling or diving is a must here. This coming summer we've secured a lion fish hunting course and dive with Dive Tech! My husband is very excited about this.

 

Belize: I think the ship tour to the ruins is excellent. It's a long bus ride but it's worth it.

 

Roatán: We did Little French Key here. Loved Roatan so much we came back for a week and discovered little known Turquoise Bay and Subway Sports. Whether you dive or not; they have snorkel tours as well...the resort is lovely, away from tourists and is peaceful place. They do day trips for cruise ships and you'd have the resort to yourself while the divers are out! All inclusive.

 

 

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[mpcaruth]

We've sailed the western Caribbean numerous times. Here are some of the things we have done at the ports:

 

Cozumel: Private Jeep Excursion, Chankanuub, Punta Sur, western side of island, Paradise Beach, Mr Sanchos, Playa Azul w/ jet skis, and snorkeling just about everywhere. I recommend all of them!

 

Grand Cayman: Sting rays, snorkeling, Turtle Farm, and Calico Jacks (I recommend all, but Calico's as it was just too crazy busy and loud for us.)

 

Belize: Alun Ha & River Belize tour, cave tubing, Shark Ray Alley snorkleing, and Cay Caulker. All were AWESOME!!! Belize is amazing.

 

Roatán: Mayan Princess day pass, snorkeling at West Bay Beach (awesome), private tour of island and orphanage and beach, Maya Key island excursion (best snorkeling ever!). We love Roatan also.

 

Detailed, picture-heavy reviews of some of our past excursions can be found in my reviews:

Norwegian Getaway to Great Stirrup Cay, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, and Cozumel http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331862

Carnival Sunshine to Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Costa Maya: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2169332

Norwegian Jewel to Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, and Costa Maya: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1976718

[Foxinspace]

Did this run in 2011.

 

Cozumel - We decided in advance to use this as our ship day and we stayed on board just to enjoy the empty ship. We did go off for about an hour and wandered the pier, but mostly relaxed

 

Belize - Cave tubing. Went through an independent tour and loved it!

 

Roatan - Zip lining. Also through an independent tour. Drove up into the hills and had a fantastic time!

 

Grand Cayman - Stingrays and snorkeling. Done this twice now and I actually can't imagine a future Grand Cayman stop where this wouldn't be our excursion. It is fantastic!

 

Have a great time!

[FanofFlorida]

I absolutely LOVED the Turtle Farm in Grand Cayman

What made the excursion awesome was snorkeling in the private lagoon WITH the turtles. It was a wonderful way to introduce my teen daughter to snorkeling and had a lovely beach area.

If you book the excursion, make sure to purchase the option that INCLUDES snorkeling.

[Namelocg]

I am just off this itinerary on the Glory 2 days ago. I agree with most of the previous suggestions.

 

We always do the all inclusive at Mr Sancho's in Cozumel. You can find discount reservations on line. It's only a $5 savings per person but that will cover the cab fare for one way.

 

I give 2 thumbs up to any tour with Victor Bodden in Roatan. Just be aware that it is a long walk to where your meeting place will be since independent tour operators cannot enter the port to pick you up. You can take a cab for $2 per person if you don't want to walk. There is also a very nice beach right at the port if you don't want to do an excursion.

 

In Belize I don't usually get off the ship.

 

In Grand Cayman the beaches are wonderful. The stingrays are great as well as Hell and the turtle farm. There is great diving and snorkeling. But if you are looking for something off the beaten path with few other people and you like beer visit the Caybrew brewery. You can take the public bus for $2.50 per person, each way. The bus will drop you off right across the street from the brewery. For $6 you get a tour and 5 beers.

 

Hope this helps. I'll be doing this itinerary again on the Glory on 1/28/17.

[uprivermama]

We just did this route on the Glory in November. Great time.

 

Grand Cayman- booked a Stingray City tour at the pier. Had a great time, despite initial reluctance due to my fear of stingrays. We had them drop us off at Public Beach after the tour, and spent about an hour and a half there. What a gorgeous beach! I would recommend the stingray trip if you've never done it. Next time, I'll go straight to the beach and enjoy a beautiful beach day. Public bus system is easy and cheap.

 

Roatan - Did a private tour with Victor Bodden. Friendly tour guide, completely customized. I mostly just wanted to take pictures, but it was absolutely pouring that day, so not many turned out great. We went to West Bay beach for awhile (it had slowed to a drizzle by then) but it was pretty rough, so no snorkeling.

 

Belize- We didn't book anything, and I really wish we had. The port area is just a big, hot, busy shopping area. We walked around for awhile and headed back to the ship. I hate crowded bus rides on crappy roads, so I wouldn't do anything land-based here. Given a second chance, I would personally do a snorkeling/swim with stingrays trip, probably to Caye Caulker next time.

 

Cozumel - This time we did an all-inclusive day at Occidental Grand through Shore Excursioneer. Drinks were meh, same with food. Beach was great, and found some decent snorkeling there too. All in all, it was a perfectly fine day-not the best, but definitely not the worst.

 

Have a great time on your trip--this is a really nice itinerary!

[originalgeek]

...But if you are looking for something off the beaten path with few other people and you like beer visit the Caybrew brewery. You can take the public bus for $2.50 per person, each way. The bus will drop you off right across the street from the brewery. For $6 you get a tour and 5 beers...

 

Oh neat - we'll be there again in April 2018 and I didn't do that last time. I do indeed like beer! :D

[Bostwick girl]

If you do one of the sting ray tours, be sure to get the first one in the morning, they are hungrier then and you see a lot more. It's an awesome excursion!

[Namelocg]

Oh neat - we'll be there again in April 2018 and I didn't do that last time. I do indeed like beer! :D

 

I see from your post that you are in Orlando so you'll appreciate this. The reason we went in the first place was because my daughter was a Rosen college student at UCF and she was taking a course in brewing and fine beer and visiting a brewery was a homework assignment and she wanted to visit a brewery that no one else in her class would visit.

[originalgeek]

I see from your post that you are in Orlando so you'll appreciate this. The reason we went in the first place was because my daughter was a Rosen college student at UCF and she was taking a course in brewing and fine beer and visiting a brewery was a homework assignment and she wanted to visit a brewery that no one else in her class would visit.

That sounds like a great course! Might be time to go back to school...

 

sent from my galaxy tab a

[davy jones]

Roatan - You can put together a good tour with Victor Bodden.

 

Grand Cayman - Sting Ray City tours are popular and abundant. 7 mile beach is very good. You don't need to go to the beach clubs. There are chairs, umbrellas, and food available at "Public Beach".

 

Cozumel - We go to the beach here. If you want all inclusive, try Mr. Sanchos or Nachi Cocum. If you do not want all inclusive, Paradise Beach is very good.

 

You can get a lot of information on the Ports of Call boards.