Mahogony Bay vs. Mayan Princess Resort Day Pass

[cruisin4dhr]

We are hoping that folks in Cruisecritic land can share a comparison of their experience at the Mahogony Bay Beach area vs. time at Mayan Princess Resort booked as an excursion through the ship.  Did you feel like the Mahogony Bay beach area was over crowded?  How much of the excursion to Mayan Princess was taken up by the travel?  Was your experience at Mayan Princess any different than the resort guests?  Thank you in advance.

[Guest 2000]

I will be interested to see if anyone has done both Mahogany Bay Beach and Mayan through the ship.  

 

I have not been to Mahogany Bay but I can tell you crowd or not completely depends on how many ships are in port. From what I have read if sand and typical cruise ship type food are all you seek Mahgonay Bay delivers rather well. 

 

Mayan Princess is on West Bay Beach which is a healthy 45 mins drive from Mahogany Bay. 

 

I am not sure how anyone could say of their experience was different than that of resort guests without having been both a staying guest and a cruise ship guest. I know at one point Mayan was restricting how much of the property Day Pass people could access but one would have to chat with Mayan about their current offers. 

 

West Bay is the premier beach on the island, there is more than one way to visit. This thread had heaps of info about West Bay. 

 

As said above it all you seek is sand. Mahogany Bay FREE will do the trick. 

If you wish to see parts of the island during the drive, snorkel then perhaps West Bay is a better choice. 

 

If I had friends visiting the island I would recommend a private driver, a local who could tell them all about his little island, I would suggest they be dropped in the village of West End to wander the shops and experience the island vibe, then take the water taxi to West Bay and a pre-arranged day pass option to snorkel, play in the crystal blue water and relax in the sun. The driver could them collect them in West Bay. 

 

There is some discussion about the beach vendors and hawkers on West Bay Beach, some people have the ability to say No and others get caught. If such people bother you, perhaps Mahogany Bay is the better choice. 

 

Please keep in mind you are visiting an island off the coast of a third world county.  

[crewsweeper]

Having docked at Mahogany Bay several times and having been to West bay and West End many times, I would opine that the experiences are very different.  As Guest 2000 says West Bay is the premier beach site on Roatan.  I believe the attraction to Mayan Princess has always been the ability to use their pool ( Infinity Bay also has a pool, BTW) but unless things have changed, there are restrictions on what facilities at Mayan Princess can be used or are off limited to day passes.

 

Mahogany Bay is a manmade beach carves out of a cove fed in part by runoff.  The beach structures used to be an eco-camp for youths back in the early 00s.  That outfit lost its lease and the owner/local politican partnered with Carnival to create a "resort" for ship passengers.  Coxen Hole could only handle 1 ship at the dock and all cruise lines were clamoring to add the island to itineraries. 

 

The beach has a slity/sandy bottom.  the water fairly calm due to a breakwater.  Best chairs are reserved for people paying $$$ to have the best chairs. There are also cabanas for use for $$$ too.  All other loungers are free-first come first laying.  All food and drink are separate, not included in cruise fare and any unlimited drink options don't apply.   There is a shopping center with standard cruise shopping.  There is a "flying beach chair" which costs $$ and get you to the beach 1/2 minute earlier than walking.

There is a pretty good zip line directly across from the shopping area.  And you can rent kayak-limited area for use-or other things.  there's a dolphin show.   In short a lot going on.  The area can get crowded with two ships in port, especially in mid afternoon when many return from excursions.  But it's not overly so.

[cruisin4dhr]

Guest 2000 and crewsweeper, thank you both for your comments.  🙂