Excursion Suggestions--Belize, Costa Maya

[PaddleAddict]

Hi all!

I am so happy I found this message board.

My boyfriend and I are sailing on the Miracle on 9/17/06 to the Western Caribbean (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya). This is my second cruise.

Any suggestions for the shore excursions in Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya? We are 29 and 33. We like beautiful beaches, but we are also somewhat adventurous, and I am not familiar with these areas. We DON'T want to shop or do city tours. I'd love to do a day swimming and lounging on the beach (we are young, so we also like the "party" scene), as well as a few more adventurous things (snorkeling or seeing the rain forest, etc.).

I have been to Grand Cayman and we plan to do the stingrays there, but I haven't been to the other places.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[batzmaru]

There are whole board dedicated to the different ports, which will have more ideas, but I'm just off the 6/18 Miracle sailing and this is what we did:

 

Belize - Cave tubing with cave-tubing.com. It was amazing!! DO NOT book this through Carnival unless you want to spend way more money and not have as much fun. The cave-tubing.com guys are awesome, and I really felt like I got the most 'authentic' feel for the country at the port because of them.

 

Cayman - we did the stingray/snorkle half day tour with Captain Marvins

 

Costa Maya - went to Mahahual and laid on the beach. Then went back to tourist land and rented a souped up golf cart thingy to drive around. Don't rent these in the morning - they drop the price by the afternoon.

 

Cozumel - went to Paradise Beach - relaxing and fun at the same time. They have kayaks, snorkel gear, water trampolines and a climbing iceberg thing all day for $8, and giant margaritas. What more could you want?

[kelz66]

Costa Maya you MUST do the Myan ruins!! Look on the Costa Maya board for "David & Ivan"....after reading about thier tour you will understand (also check out my pics in the link in my signature)

 

After the tour you can sit on the beach at the "Cat's Meow" and drink Corona's and snack on mexican food!!! It was hands down the best day of our trip and every day was fantastic!!:D

[Gloryhound65]

Just be aware that at Costa Maya, your shore time is going to be almost entirely taken up by a Mayan ruin expedition. When my expedition got back, we had almost no spare time at all. It was pretty much a case of "Run, Forrest, run!" if you wanted to get back to the ship by the time you were supposed to. But of course, they want you back on board at least a half

hour before they're going to depart so it's not such an emergency.

 

Don't do the ruin expedition if you're not a big fan of seeing very old buildings in a remote jungle. You need to have an appreciation for ancient history and a good imagination to really get into that sort of thing. It's great if you're that sort of person. I did the ruins once but probably won't do them twice.

 

 

Chris

[kelz66]

Just be aware that at Costa Maya, your shore time is going to be almost entirely taken up by a Mayan ruin expedition. When my expedition got back, we had almost no spare time at all. It was pretty much a case of "Run, Forrest, run!" if you wanted to get back to the ship by the time you were supposed to. But of course, they want you back on board at least a half

hour before they're going to depart so it's not such an emergency.

 

Don't do the ruin expedition if you're not a big fan of seeing very old buildings in a remote jungle. You need to have an appreciation for ancient history and a good imagination to really get into that sort of thing. It's great if you're that sort of person. I did the ruins once but probably won't do them twice.

 

 

Chris

 

WOW...really? We did the ruins, spent 2 hours beach side relaxing and drinking, and hour shopping at the port and still got back to the ship early..I guess it depends on what ship you are on and the itinerary.

 

Good point tho..double check the amount of time you have in that specific port.:D

[Bunkie103]

If you decide on cave tubing think about using Coral Breeze. We thought they were wonderful and the lunch is spectacular.:D

[angelkisses]

Since you are young and adventurous look for the excursions that offer both the zip lines and the cave tubing in Belize. Also, check out the thread about the Chac-Chi Resort in Costa Maya.

[Helen]

We are scheduled to cruise in 3 wks. and will be going to Belize for the first time. We booked a zip line/cave tubing excursion with Nacho and Cynthia. Got great feedback from the ports board about them.

 

We've been to Cozumel several times and really enjoy renting a jeep (plentiful right off the dock) and driving around to see the Island. Love Paradise Beach and would recommend going there first and spending the morning, eat lunch (great) and then off to other areas. You can spend a one time fee of 7 or 8 dollars there and it includes all their water sports. They have a nice beach with lounge chairs and a wonderful staff. Have fun!

[Pjnc]

Hi

 

We have done the cave tubing twice. Once with NCL and once with Nacho and Cynthia. I cannot say enough about the time with Nacho and Cynthia. Were with them last Sept. from the Miracle. My husband, 10 yr old granddaughter and self. Just the three of us with two guides. Awsome experience. Diddn't have to walk as far to the river as the ship tours, extremely knowledgeable about the area. Felt extremely safe with them and they took excellent care of our 10 yr old granddaughter. they are NCQ Belize adventure tours. e-mail nachoq_860@hotmail.com website http://www.ncqadventuretours.com

 

My granddaughters favorite excursion of the cruise and we swam with stingrays in Grand Cayman and swam with the dolphins in Cozumel.

 

Hope this helps to give you an idea about cave tubing

 

 

pat, SC

[Gloryhound65]

I went to the Kohunlich ruins, which are a solid two hours away by bus, ONE WAY. THAT one will eat your day. There are other ruins that are considerably closer and I'd guess those allow you some time to do something else.

 

Chris

[Terri102066]

My husband and I are on the same cruise as you will be on. Several of us on the roll call board are going to go cave tubing in Belize with cavetubing.com (I think). Come and check the roll call board out. You are welcome to join us in Belize also.

 

Terri

[punkinheads]

I went to Belize last year and did the Shark & Ray Alley excursion which is a speed boat ride to the Barrier reef to snorkel with the nurse sharks, stingrays and all other fish as well! It was absolutely unbelieveable! The best snorkeling I have done, and do quite a bit. The reef is beautiful, colorful and the fish are incredible. We also got taken to Ambergris Caye for lunch and shopping. That was a treat too. Good luck in deciding. You will have a good time no matter what!

[bagspacked]

We are just off of the 6/25 Miracle cruise. We had booked with cavetubing.com but Carnival cancelled their cave tubing excursion because of weather so we didn't want to chance going with cavetubing.com even if they did go as scheduled which they might have.

 

As far as Costa Maya, we did swimming with the dolphins, stayed at the beach awhile, and did some shopping and swimming at the port. Our teenage daughters had a great time at the beach playing volleyball and doing paddle boats, and then had an even better time at the swim up bar at the port.

 

For Cozumel we cannot recommend San Francisco Beach highly enough, right next to Paradise Beach. If you do the all inclusive for $40pp you will get unlimited drinks, nachos, lunch and a seat by the water and use of the pool. Jorge was our waiter and he was wonderful. It was by far our best day on the cruise. I also had a wonderful beach massage $20 for 25 minutes. You must book this ahead of time online for the all inclusive special.

[PaddleAddict]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions! Do many people book through Carnival, or is it better to book on your own? If we do book on our own, is it hard to get over to the mainland in time for the excursions?

[cruise.freak]

In Belize we did Goff's Caye through Carnival and it was wonderful. They take you to a caye out in the middle of nowwhere where it is the most beautiful sand. They offer snorkleing which was also great and terrific food!

[cruise.freak]

In Belize we did Goff's Caye through Carnival and it was wonderful. They take you to a caye out in the middle of nowwhere where it is the most beautiful sand. They offer snorkleing which was also great and terrific food!

[LizaMM]

As previously stated you will find a lot of info on the Ports of Call Message Boards! You can read and plan for hours and hours! Part of the fun of cruising I think!!

 

In Grand Cayman I think that the Stingrays are great! I did this with NativeWay Watersports and they were fabulous!! I did the Rays, Reef and Rum tour which gave a nice combo of Stingray City, a second stop for a snorkel and then to Rum Point for lunch and some time on the beach. We had some time to shop for souveniers before having to tender back as well.

 

In Cozumel I absolutely loved Paradise Beach. The beach was nice, staff and service were excellent, facilities very clean, food was great and well priced and there were choices of things to do as well as simply enjoy the beach. You can opt for a small fee which included use of snorkel gear (although the snorkeling is not very good here), water trampoline, water climbing iceberg, kayaks. For additional fee there is motorized watersports, hair braiding and massges. Taxis were very easy to get.

 

In Belize I did the Goff's Caye snorkel through Carnival. I very rarely do excursions through the cruiseline but I was glad I made this decision!! We opted for the early morning tour and it was great. The excursion boat picks you up and returns you direvtly to the ship so no tendering required for the excursion. They take you out to the Caye and then you are given the option of snorkeling right off the beach or going out with the boat. I went out with the boat and it was a fabulous time! Then back to the Caye to spend some time on the beach of a truely tiny island....think Gilligans and then think smaller. We got back to the ship in time to eat lunch and take a tender over to shore to walk around and souvenier shop.

 

Costa Maya.....ahhhhh! I had the greatest day ever here I think! Took a ride over to Mahahual....walked along the sand road, found a nice place to lay in a lounge chair and then total R&R! There are also places along the way where you can find a kayak or massage as well as tons of purchasing opportunities. We went back to the pier area a little ealy so we had time to buy some liquor and also enjoy some of the dancing show. A superb day!

[Tightlinerods]

Rum snorkle in Belize...

 

they take you out to an atoll and you snorkle in from about 50' deep and then have a rum party when you get to the atool....

was a blast....

 

Sail Away

 

John

[anne09]

We are trying to book a cave tubing trip with cavetubing.com, but are haivng trouble getting to the website becasue it says it is temporarily under construction. Would love to know if you found another way to book with these guys or if the website worked for you.

[bagspacked]

Here is the link to cave tubing with Yhoni. I just tried it and it works.

http://www.cave-tubing.com/

[PaddleAddict]

Wow, reading all of your responses is making me so excited for the cruise! We are really leaning toward the zip-lining/cave tubing in Belize. It sounds amazing.

 

Hey, does anyone know if there are creepy crawlies out there? Specifically, snakes?

 

Also, I see on Nacho and Cynthia's website that the tours start at 8 am and end at 5 pm, but on my itinerary it says we port at 7:30 and depart at 4:30... will they work around it?

 

(I apologize in advance if I have some dumb questions. I have only cruised once before.)

[Serangel71]

Hi all!

 

I am so happy I found this message board.

 

My boyfriend and I are sailing on the Miracle on 9/17/06 to the Western Caribbean (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya). This is my second cruise.

 

Any suggestions for the shore excursions in Cozumel, Belize, Costa Maya? We are 29 and 33. We like beautiful beaches, but we are also somewhat adventurous, and I am not familiar with these areas. We DON'T want to shop or do city tours. I'd love to do a day swimming and lounging on the beach (we are young, so we also like the "party" scene), as well as a few more adventurous things (snorkeling or seeing the rain forest, etc.).

 

I have been to Grand Cayman and we plan to do the stingrays there, but I haven't been to the other places.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

May I suggest a few ideas --

 

Grand Cayman -- either stingrays or the reef & wreck snorkle(2 hour tour) - both great. I have done the island tour (high point was the turtle farm) & as you are not into shopping(very short day here) then I would take the stingray tour or do the stingray & wreck. Wreck sells out fast - kids loved it.

 

Belize - Xantunich(sic) -- It is a long trek as you go w/in 2 miles of Guatemala- but they have El Castillo there that you can climb - 130' high with very little (just ruin) to hold onto but it has fantastic views from the top. This is not for the weak but the seniors on HAL did it, so I did it- paid for it with a large ibupropen & whirlpools afterwards. Take the ship tour as it will wait for you. Lunch was at a horse hacienda & great. Ruins great but they have been using concrete to put them back together - the ceremonial sacrifice pit. Had freinds do the cave tubbing - great fun.

 

Kids did the Lost World Canopy - they loved it and it was only 1/2 day. (mid 20's but they said everyone enjoyed it - you rappel down at the end.)

 

Costa Maya - if you do go to Kohunlich - it is fantastic. Here again all day trip & you can climb quite a few. (I did some but still sore from Belize) Ruins here are natural and everywhere, including popping up from the ground you walk on. Has painted face masks & steep climb by masks. Anyone can do the climbs tho. Not for too young a guest, as they would get bored. Can also see where ruins have been built around & on others. That is cool.

 

We plan to go to a shorter trip to the ruins here as we did 0 shopping or we are taking a taxi to the small village & drink $2 beer, eat loads of fresh seafood & laz on the beach all day. (check costa maya board)

 

Cozumel - I usually shop. Tulum is just too far(been there 2 x's-78 & 99), too hot in summer & I want to hit the shops & drink at our little watering hole. You can eat & drink here as everything is brought in. There are some nice beaches & some ruins @ San Cerviso but I hear the ruins got pounded pretty bad. The stones from the ruins were laying loose on the ground but you could walk on them. Fear they have been tossed everywhere. That cruise also incl an island tour & beach stop.

 

Whatever you do -- try a margarita -- quite wonderful. The food is outrageous too. Many great places to go. My fav is the one above Viva Mexico-looks like grass hut. Not too much carrying on but just a lot of fun-not canned touristy like Carlos & Charlies(sorry, but it was way too loud even for our sons-20's)

 

Sorry this got to be too long. There are plenty of places to explore. Have fun & let us know how your cruise went.

[CorbinCatFan]

We went on the Miracle cruise this past Christmas and it was the first that we did not take any Carnival shore excursions. It was a blast.

 

In Belize, we took the Coral Breeze Beach Day in Paradise. Coral Breeze was a good tour company and gave us great service. The tour of Caye Caulker was very layed back. We were basically on our own on this tiny island. Very relaxing but I don't think I will do it again. (My wife is not much of a thrill seeker.)

 

What I would do is the zip line canopy and cave tubing from X-Stream Tours. This tour looks great and would be something that I would try to book on the next cruise.

 

(We also did the Beach Break at Costa Maya from Costa Maya Excursions. This was at Pez Quadro Beach Club and it was wonderful. I would go back in a minute,)

 

Happy Cruising.

[HERKIMER417]

"WOW...really? We did the ruins, spent 2 hours beach side relaxing and drinking, and hour shopping at the port and still got back to the ship early..I guess it depends on what ship you are on and the itinerary.

 

Good point tho..double check the amount of time you have in that specific port"

 

*******************

Just as with this post - DW and I did the ruins tour with Ivan and David and was back in Majahual before 1pm. Ship sailed at 4 so even giving an hour of time there was a lot of relaxing done on the beach and eating at the Cats Meow.

 

You leave about 8:30 - It's 100K to the ruins and you spend 2 hours there. The road is paved and flat and no traffic problems. Ivan and David use the smaller 9-12 passenger buses or taxis.

 

We did know of folks that went with the ship tour - they travel with a large group in a big tour buse and didn't have any time to go to the beach after the tour.

 

**********************************

We also did Yhoni's cave tubing in Belize- that was a great day as well. That does take the whole day and doesn't leave time to do any swimming - especially with the tender ride of 5 miles.

 

 

DW and I are booked to be on the Miracle in March 07 - we will be looking to do alternates of our first trip there, so we are enjoying the comments and additional suggestions.

 

Enjoy

J

[wildsuey]

I just got back from the Miracle cruise to these ports and here are some suggestions. I highly recommend an excursion in Belize because the port is pathetic. We did the cave tubing and zip lining tour and it was amazing. Beautiful and fun...the only downside was the 1.5 hour bus ride there and back. Luckily the bus driver was entertaining and it went by fast. We went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel and went snorkeling, kayaking and jet skiing. The drinks were very over priced as was jet skiing and the beach was also very crowded. You can still see hurricane damage everywhere you go. Some family members went and swam with the dolphins and they loved it so I recommend that. Costa Maya had the worst weather out of all the ports. The Miracle docks right at a beach and shopping center. There is also a swimming pool with a swim up bar but it was closed for repairs this trip. Half of our family did the kayak and bike trip with carnival and loved it and some signed up for a half priced snorkeling trip (due to the rain) but they said it was mediocre. Teh rest of us took cover from the rain at the bar on shore (good prices and very strong drinks) If the weather was better the beach there would have been perfect.