Considering cruise change after itinerary swap, advice?

[Dragoncruiser22]

Hello all,

 

Long time lurker, first time poster. My wife, myself and my 3yo daughter are booked on Liberty's Western Caribbean cruise on April 10th, 2022. Like I've read in many other posts on here, we have had a schedule change so we are now visiting Roatan and Costa Maya which has left us disappointed as we had shore excursions booked we were looking forward to.

 

I have 2 questions:

1. What are Roatan and Cota Maya like compared to Falmouth and Grand Cayman? We had a relaxing beach break, and snorkelling on the Kittywake booked and if we can't do similar things then we are reluctant to stick with the cruise, which brings me onto my next question.

2. We looked up other cruises around that time, and it looks like for a similar price we could get on the Explorer of the Seas on May 8th (6 night Western Caribbean & Coco Cay). Is it possible to transfer? And for those who have been on both ships, is it worth switching? It looks like Explorer is pretty nice (We went on the Navigator in 2012 and loved it) but it doesn't have the splash pad for our daughter that the Liberty has, but then it DOES go to Coco Cay.

 

I'd appreciate peoples thoughts. I haven't contacted RCCL yet so don't even know if a switch is a possibility.

 

[Sunshine3601]

Costa maya and roatan have some very nice beaches and along with great snorkeling.   In costa maya there used to be an excursion to tour the mayans and get a 2 or 3 hr beach break with lunch.  

As your daughter is only 3 yrs old she would have fun wherever she goes.  

Personally, I would stay with your current booking for liberty, your daughter will have fun at splash pad too.  

If you decide to switch ships it is easy to do.  If you booked direct with royal you simply call give your current reservation number and ask to switch the funds you paid to date to the new booking.  You would keep the existing reservation number.    Or a travel agent can do if you used one.

If you have never been to coco cay it's a lot of fun too but I dont think the snorkeling is all that good if that's something you really want to do.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, Dragoncruiser22 said:

What are Roatan and Cota Maya like compared to Falmouth

Pretty much anything rocks compared to Falmouth, seriously. Falmouth is one port we can always skip. None in my family like it.

 

We love low-key beach breaks in Costa Maya (Blue Kay beach club is very low key and nice, but I don't know if cruise excursions will still be required in April 2022 with unvaxxed kids). And you don't even have to leave the port to have a great time with a 3 yo. It's a lovely cruiser-oriented port with lots to see and do.

We don't care to tour the ruins.

Roatan is also great for a beach time. Also - sloths! We like Infinity Beach club (may not be a part of cruise excursions, but it's right next to Tabayana beach which is usually included in cruise excursions). 

 

I would not switch. Grand Cayman is nice for beach time, but so are Roatan and Costa Maya.

 

P.S. we started sailing with our DS when he was 3 as well. Been having a blast for 7 years with him!

[firefly333]

Idk if you have to do bubble tours. Roatan is my favorite port. I love to hold a sloth. I assume for a 3 year old they cant go off privately. Roatan is kinda like hawaii, green and mountains. Vs bahamas which are brown and flat. ..though people love bahamas because of all the beaches.

 

West end on roatan is a nice beach. So to the iguana farm you 3 year old will love the animals. 

 

Costa maya not a big fan. Though I did see good reviews for the bubble tour of the aviary. 

 

Gained a good port and gained a so so port, lost 2 so so. I lost them too. I'd like to trade away Costa maya tbh. Going to same ports in dec I was changed to in 2022. I'm not a fan of rcl port in jamaica. Did all the ship tours already. 

[CaroleC]

4 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Pretty much anything rocks compared to Falmouth, seriously. Falmouth is one port we can always skip. None in my family like it.

Totally agree. The last time we stopped there, we were back on the ship again within 30 minutes. 

[jean87510]

If you like snorkeling, I'd take Roatan in a minute even though I love snorkeling in Caymen.  And would gladly switch Falmouth for Costa Maya for a beach day any time.  

[brillohead]

21 hours ago, jean87510 said:

If you like snorkeling, I'd take Roatan in a minute even though I love snorkeling in Caymen.  And would gladly switch Falmouth for Costa Maya for a beach day any time.  

Double ditto from me!

 

[vswan]

One of my favorite cruise memories is taking our grandson to the beach in Roatan. Got him a plastic bucket and he played in the sand and ended up carrying around a star fish - which was later released back to where he should be. Another time we were out in the water about knee deep and you could just look down and see the fish swimming all around us. Love the beaches on the west end.

[AustinCruise]

I love roatan. 
 

not really a fan of costa Maya, but did enjoy some of the ruins tours. 

[Dragoncruiser22]

Thank you all! 

 

Apologies for the delay in replaying, I was travelling. Based on replies we are going to stick with the cruise we have. My daughter is getting very excited about the splash pad!

[flamingos]

When did you find out that they changed from Grand Cayman?  

 

We just booked Odyssey on January 9, and it lists GC, even though they say they aren't open to cruise ships until January 27.   

[Dragoncruiser22]

We got an email about a week ago.