Help me figure out excusions

[eyzwdeshut]

Going on the Sun - Cozumel, Costa Maya, Santo de Tomas Castilla, Belize - & need some help figuring out what to do where.

 

Would like to do these things -

snorkeling & beach time

Seeing Mayan Ruins

shopping

 

Out of the ports we will visit what would you recommend?

[hatchie]

Hello-

We are going on this same cruise (NCL Sun 3/18) and are trying to also figure out our excursions.

What did you actually decide to do ?

What would you do again-or not ?

What did you hear about from other passengers that was good or bad ??

 

Did you book independent of the cruise line-if so which ones ?

 

I thank you so much in advance for your assistance !!!

 

 

Going on the Sun - Cozumel, Costa Maya, Santo de Tomas Castilla, Belize - & need some help figuring out what to do where.

 

Would like to do these things -

snorkeling & beach time

Seeing Mayan Ruins

shopping

 

Out of the ports we will visit what would you recommend?

[Zeno]

Going on the Sun - Cozumel, Costa Maya, Santo de Tomas Castilla, Belize - & need some help figuring out what to do where.

 

Would like to do these things -

snorkeling & beach time

Seeing Mayan Ruins

shopping

 

Out of the ports we will visit what would you recommend?

 

Strictly my opinions:

Cozumel - Beach and/or shopping -check the Cozumel board for suggestions

Costa Maya - We loved the tour to the Mayan ruins of Chacchoben with David and Ivan - check the Costa Maya board for more details on them. Also the beach is nice at the little town of Majahual near the port

Santo Tomas de Castilla - We did the Amatique Bay resort excursion with NCL. We enjoyed it BUT I would not recommend it for everyone - do a search for my comments. Also check the board for other suggestions - tours with "Gus" sound good

Belize - On our first trip to Belize, we did the Lamanai and New River excursion with NCL - see my comments on another thread on this board. we enjoyed it very much. On my 2nd trip to Belize, we did a snorkeling tour + beach with NCL and frankly I was somewhat disappointed - I really could not recommend that.

 

Hello-

We are going on this same cruise (NCL Sun 3/18) and are trying to also figure out our excursions.

What did you actually decide to do ?

What would you do again-or not ?

What did you hear about from other passengers that was good or bad ??

 

Did you book independent of the cruise line-if so which ones ?

 

I thank you so much in advance for your assistance !!!

 

Do agains - Mayan ruins with David and Ivan and Lamanai - both VERY different types of tour but excellent.

NOT do again - snorkeling with NCL in Belize

Others - some people did not enjoy the Amatique Bay excursion in Guatemala and I can understand why - it would appeal mostly to people who want a quiet day or families with young children.

Independent - David and Ivan in Costa Maya, day at the beach on Cozumel

Ship - Lamanai - it is an ALL day excursion and we wanted to be very sure that we got back to the port on time.

My general rule - if it is a tender port and an all-day excursion, I just feel safer booking with the ship (getting back on time can be an issue).

However if you do good research, you can often find independent excursions that are sometimes much cheaper and often better than what is offered by the ship (e.g. David and Ivan in Costa Maya).

 

Have great cruises!

[edinburgher]

We returned two weeks ago and Costa Maya and Cozumel were two of our ports.

 

From Costa Maya we visited the Kohunlich Mayan ruins and from Cozumel the ones at Tulum.

 

If you go onto the Costa Maya and the Cozumel boards you will find much info and discussion on both of these ruins, also the ones mentioned above which are another option from Costa Maya. At Costa Maya you would need to choose one or the other.

 

Once you read the various threads you should be able to decide.

[sandradeen]

Strictly my opinions:

Cozumel - Beach and/or shopping -check the Cozumel board for suggestions

Costa Maya - We loved the tour to the Mayan ruins of Chacchoben with David and Ivan - check the Costa Maya board for more details on them. Also the beach is nice at the little town of Majahual near the port

Santo Tomas de Castilla - We did the Amatique Bay resort excursion with NCL. We enjoyed it BUT I would not recommend it for everyone - do a search for my comments. Also check the board for other suggestions - tours with "Gus" sound good

Belize - On our first trip to Belize, we did the Lamanai and New River excursion with NCL - see my comments on another thread on this board. we enjoyed it very much. On my 2nd trip to Belize, we did a snorkeling tour + beach with NCL and frankly I was somewhat disappointed - I really could not recommend that.

 

 

 

Do agains - Mayan ruins with David and Ivan and Lamanai - both VERY different types of tour but excellent.

NOT do again - snorkeling with NCL in Belize

Others - some people did not enjoy the Amatique Bay excursion in Guatemala and I can understand why - it would appeal mostly to people who want a quiet day or families with young children.

Independent - David and Ivan in Costa Maya, day at the beach on Cozumel

Ship - Lamanai - it is an ALL day excursion and we wanted to be very sure that we got back to the port on time.

My general rule - if it is a tender port and an all-day excursion, I just feel safer booking with the ship (getting back on time can be an issue).

However if you do good research, you can often find independent excursions that are sometimes much cheaper and often better than what is offered by the ship (e.g. David and Ivan in Costa Maya).

 

Have great cruises!

Just to let you know, I have done a search trying to find your post(s) about Santo Tomas de Castilla and haven't been able to find it.

Since this is a relatively new stop, would love if you could repost.

[Zeno]

Just to let you know, I have done a search trying to find your post(s) about Santo Tomas de Castilla and haven't been able to find it.

Since this is a relatively new stop, would love if you could repost.

 

We took our cruise about a year ago - so I think my post must have dropped off the board (I couldn't find it either).

 

So hear goes re: Amatique Bay Resort NCL excursion:

 

You take boats to the resort. If you have any mobility difficulties, use the big boat - very easy to get on and off. You may have to wait till it returns since it is slower than the small boats. It is like a large covered launch. The small boats are more like water taxis and much harder to get in and out of if you have knee problems or are older.

 

The resort has lovely grounds, a very nice pool, a good children's area complete with a great pirate ship and water slides (suitable for adults too). There is also a simple but nice playground type area and several animals for the kids to enjoy (giant turtles and lizards).

 

The beach is OK for sunning on but I (who love the ocean) was not in the least tempted to get into the murky water. We did our swimming in the pool.

 

Staff were very friendly and helpful - especially the tour guides. Note: many of the hotel staff have very limited English (which did not bother me at all but I speak Spanish).

 

There is a quite a decent shopping area - with the usual t-shirts etc on sale PLUS some more interesting stuff like native crafts (like rugs, bedspreads etc). You can bargain for the crafts and I got a nice small rug very cheaply.

 

Lunch was OK - the desserts were actually quite tasty.

 

Washrooms were clean.

 

Overall: a good excursion for families with small kids or people who just want to relax by the pool. If You want an active day, choose another excursion.

We enjoyed ourselves but I don't think everyone did.