Carnival - Maya Key worth the money for 4

We have been to Roatan before - Tabyana beach, and do not want to go there again... nor do we really want to drive around the country and do a tour that way. We are mainly interested in snorkeling.

For Maya Key - can you snorkel all you want, or? is it more to snorkel with the sharks? etc...?

We are trying to decide between this and just taking a break on Mahogany beach in May.

We are going two times - Once in May and once in late December. We have not decided on either time. The other excursion we are considering in December is the Catamaran sail - So between this and Maya Key or Mahogany beach then.

I would do Maya Kay. You can snorkel all you want. The activities on the island are there for you but your not limited to doing only what is listed.

Snorkeling at Mahogany Bay isn't good. It is a great spot to practice, but you're not going to really see anything other than the silty bottom of the cove. If you decide to stay at MBCC, skip buying the beach break, you can go on your own, it's a 3 minute walk, and then pay-as-you-go.

For what I've seen of the catamaran sail, it's a crowded excursion. They jam the people on board. Not my cuppa saltwater:D.

We're in the small boat to speak. Have been to Roatan before and had the island tour and west bay beach. Snorkling is our primary goal. We went ahead and booked Maya Key due to all the great reviews. Yes, it's pricey, but so would any excursion once you added in food and transportation.

You all convinced me. Just booked for the four of us. We have all excursions booked now for the entire cruise. I may go into withdrawals. 33 days SIGH.

We were at Maya Key a few years ago when it was still private and called Fins and Flippers. At that time a lot of the attractions were not there, but the snorkeling was some of the best I have experienced. You climb down off of the pier into waist deep water and then swim through a winding path in the rocks and then suddenly you see the edge of the reef. If we go back to Roatan I would go back to Maya Key just for the snorkeling, assuming it hasn't changed.

Maya Key is absolutely awesome snorkeling. I mean amazing. We loved it there (better than we did at West Bay). My personal opinion is it is well worth the money to go there. There's other things to do there as well.

If you want to do the swims with the sharks, sea lion interaction and other things, it is extra. But the snorkeling comes with the price of the island. You simply walk down the dock and get in and you're there. :D

I have a really nice LONG reviews with TONS of pictures listed in my signature line. It's pages and pages long with pictures of the entire place if you are interested in seeing it.

I completely agree with Ron L. We were there back in 07 when it was Fins and Flippers. What he says is 100% correct.

The only thing now is that I think the only way onto the island is via cruise excursion.

Last time we just made reservations by email and showed up at the dock for the ferry.

And, it was only $20 pp! Now the cruise industry has purchased it and jacked up the prices.:(

We will be there again in July!

I wonder if you are restricted to the 5 hour excursion or leave whenever.

I completely agree with Ron L. We were there back in 07 when it was Fins and Flippers. What he says is 100% correct.

The only thing now is that I think the only way onto the island is via cruise excursion.

Last time we just made reservations by email and showed up at the dock for the ferry.

And, it was only $20 pp! Now the cruise industry has purchased it and jacked up the prices.:(

We will be there again in July!

I wonder if you are restricted to the 5 hour excursion or leave whenever.

When we went, they had a boat leaving every half hour and you could get on it at any time and head back to the ship. Of course we were docked right in front of Maya Key (NCL), so I don't know if that was the reason or not. With Carnival docking a little further away at Mahogany Bay, they might not offer the same. :confused:

We were docked right there right in front of Maya Key back in 07 too. Has that changed since the cruise lines bought it?

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We were docked right there right in front of Maya Key back in 07 too. Has that changed since the cruise lines bought it?

 

 

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If you are sailing with Carnival, then yes. They (Carnival) has built their own man-made cruise port with a beach and that's where they dock now. So, it's a little longer ride over to Maya Key.

If we book Maya Key thru NCL is there an additional charge for the snorkeling equipment upon arrival that we would have to pay? If so, how much?

I am confused about the location of Maya Key. I thought it was right next to Anthony's Key Resort, on the north side of the island. But every time I see Mohagany Bay on a map, it shows the southside of the island. That photo just posted shows them on the same side. I am so confused!!!!

I am confused about the location of Maya Key. I thought it was right next to Anthony's Key Resort, on the north side of the island. But every time I see Mohagany Bay on a map, it shows the southside of the island. That photo just posted shows them on the same side. I am so confused!!!!

Maya Key is owned by Anthony Key, but it is not located by Anthony Keys Resort.

Maya Key is located basically right by the port that NCL (and other ships) dock at. You can see the ships from Maya Key and it's a VERY short 5 minute boat ride from the port.

Carnival has their own port (made by them) for their cruisers, which is located in a different location and futher away from Maya Key. (As shown on the map in my above posting).

When on Maya Key, here is how far away the NCL port is (standing on the island looking at the ship in port):

When in port at Mahogany Bay on Carnival...looking toward the left, in the picture below, you will see the airplane strip in the middle. The little island right after that is Maya Key.

Here is a map that shows the location of Anthony Keys Resort, which is across the island:

Hopefully that explains it and puts it into perspective. :)

that makes sense now. I just looked at the Anthony's Key resort website, and they have a "free" visit to their private island, Maya Key listed... I just didn't realize it was on the other side of the island from the resort! Interesting... seems they have it for their guests on Monday's only now. I think that is a recent change, maybe since they opened it up to cruise ships.

thanks!

that makes sense now. I just looked at the Anthony's Key resort website, and they have a "free" visit to their private island, Maya Key listed... I just didn't realize it was on the other side of the island from the resort! Interesting... seems they have it for their guests on Monday's only now. I think that is a recent change, maybe since they opened it up to cruise ships.

 

thanks!

Yea, people staying at their resort can go over to their island and it's probably on a day that there are no cruise ships in port, which makes sense.

Anthony Key I believe has been around since maybe 1982 and they opened up Fins N Flippers around 1998, then changed the name to Maya Key I believe around 2009 or 2010? :confused: So if they decided to only offer free day passes from their resort to only Mondays and it's a recent change, they probably figured that's the only day that it would be less crowded for their resort guest to be there. Just guessing of course, but it makes sense. :)

mitsugirly, I was wondering, if you had to chose between going back to Maya Key or LFK, which would you choose? I'm having trouble deciding on which to visit. How would you compare them with snorkeling, amenities, animal interaction at their rescues, and food?

Thank you for any information.

mitsugirly, I was wondering, if you had to chose between going back to Maya Key or LFK, which would you choose? I'm having trouble deciding on which to visit. How would you compare them with snorkeling, amenities, animal interaction at their rescues, and food?

 

 

Thank you for any information.

Sigh. I get ask this question often and it's so hard to answer. Each island has its own unique features and they are both very different.

Hands down LFK is just a beautiful and amazing island. You can not beat the beauty there!

If you are going for snorkeling, Maya Key was our best experience BUT that might be because I never bothered to take the snorkeling tour out to the reef at LFK. So, I can not vouch for what type of snorkeling is out there (I hear it's amazing and found an amazing video of the color out there). However, I did snorkel around the 2 beaches at LFK and found plenty of fish and I was also able to find several sea cucumbers and hold them. That was a new experience for me. Any time I have a "new" experience, it makes it all the more worth it during snorkeling. :D

As for the amenities...Maya Key has the pool where LFK doesn't. I don't know if a pool matters to you (which is doesn't for us), but it was just an added extra that my munchkin liked at the end of the day before heading back to the ship. Maya Key also has a huge gift shop...once again if that matters. Maya Key also has the replica ruins you walk to. But if these things are no big deal, then.....

As for the animals. They both had a variety of animals. If I was to guess, I would think that Maya Key probably has more and is more like a "zoo" setting with the cages lined up down this beach path. LFK has several cages of monkeys and birds and they of course now have the lion and the jaguar, oh and some deer too. They also had a pony that ran on the island free, but it was scared. At Maya Key, they had a certain time that you could go over in front of the "monkey island" and hold a monkey where LFK had a cage that you could go into and hold several at any time. I now hear that they only allow you to hold the baby, which is named Lisa, because the others may be "biters". I would really love to go back to see the lion and jaguar (when we were there they had taken the jaguar off the island while they were building his brand new cage).

As for the food...for some reason I did not like the food at LFK. The hubby enjoyed his though. I think I just wasn't hungry that day. I had eaten a really big breakfast and just wasn't ready to eat. :cool: So...that may have been it.

It's really hard to pick where to go back. BUT, I'm headed back to Roatan in November and have yet to find another place that I want to go to (that's new). I have decided that if I can't find a new place, I will probably head back to LFK...if that tells you anything. :p :D

Thank you so much.. I read both your reviews on both islands, and I was torn both ways, and you honestly seemed to love both of them.. Its like if they both merged it would be the perfect island get-away! haha

Thank you so much.. I read both your reviews on both islands, and I was torn both ways, and you honestly seemed to love both of them.. Its like if they both merged it would be the perfect island get-away! haha

Absolutely!!! Merge them together. :D But honestly, I'm thinking about heading back to LFK this time around (like I said, provided I can't find something "new") and if I do, I will be checking out the snorkeling there this time. If it's as good as I have heard, it may be the tie breaker. :p

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