Late to book excursions for Getaway - what to do on the boat?

[GeoGirl22]

My husband and I are taking our second cruise on the Getaway on 6/10. Life has been crazy the last few months (hence the reason we need this trip), so haven't gotten around to booking any excursions. I know I can just read the NCL website to see what the ship offers, but what are some good things to do while everyone is off the boat during the day?

[Big E Dawg]

Ropes course, rock climbing, putt putt, water slides, pool, hot tubs, find your favorite outdoor bar and try various drinks. Refer to your daily and pick from a plethora of onboard activities.

[www3traveler]

A number of excursions will be available for booking once you board for each port of call. The Shore Excursions Desk is in the Atrium (lobby) Deck 6.

[bruadhin]

Excursions will be available for sale while on board. Also, as soon as you leave the dock and enter the terminal/shopping area in each port there will be people offering excursions. We have booked excursions many times this way, even went to Altun Ha in Belize just booking it as we left. That one was a bit scary as it was our first cruise and we had no idea how far it was.

 

Buyer Beware, but realize most people are honest and decent. You're a paycheck and they'd like to get you back to the ship happy and on time so you come back again.

[the2006Junket]

GeoGirl, while there is plenty to do on-board, I'd recommend getting off the ship in every port! Whether you book NCL excursions while on board or head over the the Cruise Critic Ports of Call boards for the Caribbean or Tripadvisor and research things to do on your own or with private tour companies...why not explore these interesting ports?! Or at least go walk around the port and have lunch or go sit on a beautiful beach instead on the ship! Travel is about exploring new places and cultures!!

 

You've got over a month to do some research and find exciting and fun things to do. We've taken 5 or 6 cruises now and only use cruise company excursions about 20% of the time since we can find either the same activities for less $ or the same activities with a much smaller group (think van instead of coach bus...important when touring some places) or much more adventurous activities than most cruise ship offerings.

 

Happy planning and sailing!

 

Lynne in Boston

[cruisegal415]

You don't need to book excursions! Do you like to just chill on the beach? There are various day passes you can get at the different ports. Look on the boards for the ports and you can find them. We are going on the Getaway in August. I've booked Nachi Com for Cozumel because it's just DH and I, no kids, there are other places that more cater to kids, but we don't want that. I booked Maya Chan in Costa Maya, there are others if they are full. I booked directly with the places but there are third party vendors you can book with as well. Look on Trip Advisor for info also.

[BostonGal35]

the waterslides are amazing.

depending on the ports, we often have a ship day. its nice.

[zqvol]

You can easily get excursions at all of the ports that you will be visiting except Harvest Caye. If you want to go off the ship there is really no need to book NCL excursions.

[cb at sea]

Go to the library and check out a guidebook on your ports. There's no need to stay on the ship just because there are no excursions! Almost EVERYTHING is easy to DIY....but read up first so you know something about where you're going! DIY is cheap and easy and more fun than being herded like cattle!

[zqvol]

Go to the library and check out a guidebook on your ports. There's no need to stay on the ship just because there are no excursions! Almost EVERYTHING is easy to DIY....but read up first so you know something about where you're going! DIY is cheap and easy and more fun than being herded like cattle!

 

There is no need to go to the library, use the Internet, and the Ports of Calls forums. Much better and more current than any printed book.

[kitkat343]

It's no problem - you're better off with independent tours. We've used Bodden adventures twice in Roatan, and they have done a great job. They will take you anywhere you want to go on Roatan. You can look at the ship tours and duplicate any tour they do for less. If you like animals, you can play with monkeys and other animals at Bodden's house and there's the iguana farm (and you might want to buy bananas before visiting since the animals love them at both stops). If you like to snorkel or scuba dive, Roatan is great for that. We also really liked the canopy walk through South Shore Canopy, and they have great zip lines there.

 

I would not necessarily get off in Roatan and pick a tour in the port. Roatan is very safe with an pre-organized tour like Bodden Adventures, but not necessarily one of the ports I'd recommend wandering around without a plan. We were with a 2 year old, and felt completely safe on our entire tour, but you should organize something ahead of time.

 

In Costa Maya, we really liked this tour: https://www.thenativechoice.com/tours/mayan-experience-tour .

 

The tour itself was great, and it was with a nice air conditioned van, and we really liked the Mayan lunch. The only bad thing is that 5 years ago their office wasn't that close to the port, and it was a little bit of a walk to get there with our 2 year old. They recommend a cab for travelers with disabilities, but none were available when we disembarked. You should check with them to see if they now pick up passengers from the port. Have a great trip!

[djgsem]

I've been using https://www.shoreexcursioneer.com/ the past few cruises for excursions. A lot cheaper than the ship, most are the same excursions. Never had a problem and their customer service is fantastic!! We will also be on the 6/10 cruise and have booked all our excursions through that website.... it's worth taking a look at... you just put in your ship, sail date, and it pulls up the itinerary.