Just did a face palm when I read this article.

[kelmac]

If you like to snorkel or play golf -- Roatan is the best in the Caribbean for both activities!

 

Enjoy,

Kel:)

[zqvol]

We like Roatan and it has a nice free and walkable beach just off the ship.

 

Maybe . . . if you are one of the lines owned by Carnival Corporation then you dock at their made for cruising village and there is a beach there. Everyone else docks at Coxen Hole and there is no beach close.

 

Having said that OP needs to consider the source of what he read. Roatan is one of the best stops on a western Caribbean cruise. Belize has greast snorkeling and diving, and lots of people love the cave tubing. NCL has recently opened a private space south of Belize City where all other lines go.

 

A three year old Yahoo article is probably not the best place for valid information.

[Heather1972]

Just remember, that is someone else's opinion.

[JTBCruiser]

Three words for Roatan.

 

Victor Bodden Tours

 

 

Ditto! We used them on our last excursion, professional, friendly, reasonable price and all the way around, fun time.

[babs135]

Article is dated December 2014. Only port I've been to is Nassau and whilst it wasn't brilliant it wasn't that bad. Perhaps the fact that neither DH nor I participate in water activities makes a difference to how we viewed the place.

[compozer]

Love both ports, especially for scuba diving.

 

Did Victor Bodden Tour on our first visit - excellent.

[cbr663]

The US Government has travel warnings out for Mexico, so you should be concerned. You can read details of the warnings and areas affected here: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/mexico-travel-warning.html.

[jeromep]

That article is total click bait, not real journalism.

 

Anyway, it is always good to check with the State Department's travel alerts to see what warnings they have for a particular country or port, however there are always certain risks posed to tourists in port. Remember, everywhere you go, if you are a tourist, especially from North America, you stick out like a sore thumb and already have a target on your back.

 

I tend to err on the side of guided tours and shore excursions offered by the cruise line. It doesn't completely insulate you from having the worst happen, but if you book your excursion through the cruise line you have some reasonable assurances that the tour operator is reliable and the overall quality of the tour is better than average. In these instances the tour also operates in places which are generally considered safer for tourists than just meandering around a port on your own.

 

My wife likes to immerse herself in local culture and always views tours and excursions as something "old people" do, but in the end she can never identify an excursion she didn't enjoy. So when visiting most ports, especially Western Caribbean ports, I tend to book my entertainment through the ship and leave my experience of that port up to the pros.