JenaMH

Another vote for "Cozumel Bar Hop".  I've done this one many times and still love it!

Grand Cayman is the best place to see sting rays! They take you out to the sandbar where the wild rays are. It's incredible!

I've used regular ziplock bags myself. Helps with organization. I don't normally bring clothes that wrinkle so I can't help there! :)

Does Megabus have a route there?

No, the beer isn't for the baby, lol!

Considering this beach for an easy family excursion.

If we were to bring our then 6 month old, is there shade for him? (Or should we check him into the nursery on the ship?)

My father is picky about his beer, are there other brands available?

Thanks in advance!

~Jena

video montages linked below!

UPCOMING:

05/14/17 - RCI Oasis of the Seas - Labadee, Falmouth, & Cozumel

PAST CRUISES:

11/02/14 - CCL Dream - 7 Day - Cozumel, Belize, Roatan - Family cruise -

10/14/13 - CCL's Elation - 5 day - Progreso & Cozumel Mexico - Group of 13 friends -

11/24/12 - HONEYMOON - RCI Oasis of the Seas - 7 Day - Caribbean (Labadee, Falmouth, & Cozumel)

01/16/12 - CCL's Fascination - 5 Day - Key West & Nassau

10/02/11 - CCL's Legend - 7 day - Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, G. Cayman -

10/17/10 - RCI's Serenade of the Seas - 7 day - (San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominica, Curacao, Aruba)

01/07/10 - CCL's Fantasy - 4 Day - W. Carib - Cozumel - BLOG

04/19/09 - CCL's Legend -7day- W Carib - Cozumel, Belize, Roatan, G. Cayman -

11/28/08 - NCL's Sky - 3 day - Nassau & Great Stirrup Cay Bahamas BLOG

08/31/08 - CCL's Sensation - 4 day - Bahamas (Freeport, Nassau & Hurricane Hanna!)

12/07/07 - RCI's Sovereign of the Seas - 3 day -Bahamas (Nassau & Coco Cay) - BLOG

01/20/07 - CCL's Holiday - 5 day - Cozumel - BLOG ; Tulum blog

Days at sea: 66

I did Carnival's bar hop excursion with a friend a few years ago and had a great time. Planning on doing the same when I return with my hubby.

We did this one on our 11/2/14 Carnival Dream cruise, so I wanted to reply back with my thoughts. :)

Please note: I've done a river tubing excursion before in Dominica, so I have that in the back of my mind to compare this one to. In Dominica we also wore a helmet, were in solo tubes, unattached to each other, and had a wooden paddle to push off with if we got stuck. Staff was spaced in trouble areas along the river to help.

When I booked this Hell's Gate / Sibun River excursion with Carnival for Belize, I went into it expecting to NOT have my tubes attached to other people. That was the specific reason I booked this one instead of other tubing excursions. I carefully researched the Dark Night website and saw their tubes weren't attached. I was excited that I could book through Carnival and NOT have to go independent to get this feature.

We were sadly disappointed when we got to the river and were hooked together in groups of 8. Everyone else we talked to had also expected to go solo too.

Our guide was new, so I understand the learning curve involved with engaging a group and scripting, but she had to paddle/guide 8 of us down the river too. We ended up in the trees and my mom's tube popped later too. (There were no spares.. meaning my husband and I uncomfortably piled on a tube so she could have his.) By letting some of the other guests hang from their tube instead of a butt in hole typical approach, it also put the whole group in an un-safe situation when one of them began to drag their legs and catch on rocks. We had to stop in a shallow area to re-situate her. This could have been remedied if she guide had taken more control.

Please don't think I'm a complainer! It just went a little haywire for what was supposed to be the highlight portion of the excursion.

There were many positives to this excursion:

1. Our guide on the bus was very informative, youthful, and interesting. (And tried his best to fix the broken microphone, it would later start working on the drive back, something that wasn't his fault. Unfortunately we couldn't hear much of what he was saying without the microphone.)

2. We enjoyed the bus ride and landscape, sightseeing.

3. The meal was good: chicken, cole slaw, and rice and beans.

4. We were able to store our belongings on the bus. (Lockers were also available.)

5. There was a stopping point on the river where we got a chips snack and water, and were able to swim. Some crossed the river with the staff's help and jumped from a jumping rock.

6. Scenery was beautiful on the river. We saw monkeys too!

Based on my experience, would I recommend this excursion? Probably not without a few tweaks.

I still think Carnival's landrover/river/caves excursion is the best bang for buck with the most variety.

I'm very interested to hear of other's experiences!

I like to do the MDR about half the time, and the other half buffet for the quick convenience.

I've never tried a specialty.

Can you tell me where you heard they are coming back a day early? We have family members on board the Magic, and I had not yet heard that detail.

The original assumption came from the carnival website's ship tracker. It isn't displaying correctly for Magic.

Umm, Internet packages, port stops, so many opportunities to get news.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I stand corrected. :)

(I don't get the internet packages, I assumed media blackout was standard cruise mentality.)

Reading between the lines....

 

 

 

 

 

... The now cruising healthcare worker hears of this and out of caution self quarantines and notifies relevant authorities (both on and off ship)

 

 

 

... all hell breaks loose and even though exposure was 19 days ago and the passenger is showing no symptoms everyone is desperate to get her off the ship and off their hands

 

alt with promptly.

The cruising health care worker wouldn't hear of the travel ban to self quarantine, they don't air negative news stories on cruise TVs..

Well.. The Magic has returned a day early. It is almost back to TX now. Check out the tracker. http://ships.carnivalentertainment.com/#ship/carnival-magic

There's at least one different link posted as a comment on John Heald's facebook too. I imagine the beards are scrambling for a press release? I have not seen anything on a major American news outlet.

The last time I was in Belize (Oct 2013), we took the tender in and went to one of the bars and just hung out upstairs. (Thirsty Lizard I think was the name?) If I recall correctly it is owned by an expat, she was very friendly and genuinely wanted to make sure her guests had a good time.

We've also done the land rover excursion on Carnival back in April 2009. We had a blast and enjoyed the variety with the river ride, jeep navigating through the countryside, jungle bus tour, cave tour, and lunch. We felt it was well worth the money.

This time around we will be going on a new excursion: Hells Gate River Rafting and Tubing. It looks like it is independently offered by DarkNight if you don't go through the ship. We don't want to do the caves and have to link up, and felt this would be a great family excursion with my first time cruiser parents. (We enjoyed a similar experience in Dominica in 2011.)

IMHO, it always a shame to stay aboard the ship in any port you have not been to before.

You will miss a tender ride on a really large capacity tender, an interesting look at the many stores there in the Tourist Village, & for those that like to really mingle with the locals, a walk outside of the TV to look at the flea market just outside those gates.

We have been to Belize probably two dozen times plus & would never stay aboard & we are both now over 70 & enjoy the outside flea market.

You could even take a walk to downtown Belize City to see those shops along the way.

Enjoy Belize.

 

Bill in FL

And while there's not much to see in REAL downtown (outside of Brodies which is like a big general store and further down the church and the old Governors Mansion now a cultural museum) Just across the swing bridge on Alberts Street is Birds Isle with a great little patio and nice view of the TV and the harbor. In addition to the Belikin brews, they also have Carib, the Carib Brewery's version of Mackeson' Stout and Red Stripe and Red stripe's Dragon Stout plus the Caribbean version of Guinness. but are known for their Red Bull enhanced cocktails.

For those who have been outside the Tourist Village - did you ever feel unsafe? In the past, I had read more reviews than not about those who did not enjoy the experience outside the gates. It has been a few years since then though, has it changed?

I'm trying to remember the prices we paid for a cab for the day in Roatan over the past several years. In both 2009 and 2011 we just took a taxi. Has anyone noticed an increase in overall prices on Roatan?

I don't ever remember seeing this Carnival excursion and it doesn't have any reviews on their site. Has anyone done this one? :confused:

Considering it for our November cruise instead of cave tubing.

Direct link with info: https://secure.carnival.com/Activities/Excursion/509080/

We are going with .bz this coming week. we search the forum and the general consensus was they usually do a very good job of getting you back ok. I have yet to find a post of someone from them who got stranded... or from any of the reputable independant operators on these islands. If they do then the will loose a lot of buisness i guess. That being said. i will moniter how long it takes to get there and will be watching my watch to make sure we leave with plenty of time.... And i would say it is always up to us the traveler to keep track of the time ourselves...:p

How did it go?

I would not drive over 20 hrs. for a 3-5 day booze cruise.Best buys from large discount cruise only agencies who give lines the most biz.

We drove over 10 hours to get from Atlanta to Miami once for a 3 day.. never again! We spend the whole short duration of the cruise dreading the drive back.

Also regarding seasickness, I found this thread with a poll with yes/no/sometimes seasickness results: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1987943

There are many other threads with recommendations on what to take/do to help prevent it.

Also, without knowing more information on where you are coming from. I did Google maps distances from Cincinnati. Using that starting point, you could get to New Orleans quicker. There are a lot of fun things in that area also including historical tours and swamp tours along with all the other things New Orleans is known for. Carnival Elation is currently cruising from there. I was on her last October to Cozumel, Mexico and Progreso, Mexico and would recommend it as a good first cruise. (See my blog in signature, there is an entry for each port and the ship)

We enjoyed leaving out of that port so much, we are taking my parents this time and will be doing it again with a day included for New Orleans this November too. :)

For the first time out we're thinking of a 3-day or 4-day to the Bahamas (to see if we like the concept of a cruise vacation--if so, we have ideas for future, if not, we note this as a learning experience that is not horribly expensive compared to an all-inclusive).

I agree with the others to consider at least a 5 day. I've taken a 3 day Bahamas before, and I feel like that I would have judged cruising poorly had that been my first cruise. Have you considered a 5 day out of Tampa to Cozumel? There are also 5 day itineraries that go to Key West along with the Bahamas. Please also be aware that the smallest/older boats are often the ones available for short cruises. I much prefer other ports to the Bahamas, but that is just personal preference.

b) What would be probably the best time of year (that is not roughly April-June) to go?

 

Basically my biggie question is "are the little guys better"?

c1) Do travel agents typically charge for a consultation on "Here's the sort of cruise you'd like best based on your preferences for line, general things you like to do, and budget"?

c2) In general, can one get a better deal by booking with a travel agent or with the likes of Expedia et al or direct with the cruise line?

B - I typically cruise in October/November. The weather is great. Only once has a hurricane affected me and that was many years ago. The captains are fantastic about steering the ships for beautiful weather. Worse case scenario is a port being skipped or time on shore being shortened.

C - I have always booked directly with the cruiseline website or through Orbitz. Only for my cruise this fall did I use a TA. It was a friend and I was able to save $15 pp. TA's these days know their search engine competition and should not charge you a consult fee. If they do... you're better off doing your own homework anyways to see all the details.

d) Neither of us get particularly carsick or anything like that, and everyone I've talked to says "If you can, spring for the balcony rather than a regular exterior room". Is it that much more worth it? :D

g) When the heck IS the best time (on average) to actually bite the bullet and arrange this with a travel agent or a cruise booking agency? Is it better to book early, or is it better to book closer to the time of the trip?

What the heck is "early" and "late" as far as cruise booking, anyways?

D - I almost always get an inside room. I've had a balcony and enjoyed it, but with as little as we are actually in our room on a cruise.. I'd rather allocate the money elsewhere. I did appreciate having a porthole on my first cruise. I was a bit nervous and appreciated seeing "air" outside. :) Do double check to see where your room will be located. I've heard you can hear the casino/clubs if you are above/below them.

G - I typically book 2-4 months in advance of the cruise. I watch the prices and have learned that when I see the low price, it isn't worth hoping for another $20pp drop when they can start going up just as quickly. Compare the different dates for your desired itinerary and use those prices to get an idea of the base lines.

h) Other than the usual hints I've seen on the forums (plan for spending at least twice what you paid for tickets on things like boozahol and extras, turn the phone on airplane mode if not off (not a problem as I want to be in a Zone of Inaccessibility ;)), GET THE TRAVEL INSURANCE, pack light, etc.) does anyone else have their own suggestions for the cruise-curious?

For example, excursions that might be nice for a couple? Excursions that I should AVOID?

My advice is to try new things and get involved. Carnival has "didja" items on their menu for example. These are things that many people have never tried and can vary nightly from froglegs to escargot. Don't get the alcohol packages, most don't drink enough to break even every single day.

If you do end up in Nassau, its corny, but I suggest taking the water taxi if you are going over to Atlantis instead of going by land. It takes a bit longer, but I enjoy the little stories they tell. (And if you end up at Cabbage beach by Atlantis, there are beach vendors you can get a coconut/drinks from... but I was a bit grossed out to later see my vendor guys drinking straight from their mixer bottles... ick.)

We've taken a taxi twice and enjoyed the informal tours that way in both 2009 and 2011. We felt safe both times. :)

We've really enjoyed taking a cab to Fostor's Beach the past 2 times. Very quiet and beautiful. :)

Thank you for everyone's answers. I've been debating too about just staying around the port when we take my parents this fall. Does anyone remember what restaurants and bars are right there? Is there a Fat Tuesdays? (Or am I thinking about the other pier?)

We loved it! The tour guide was great and everyone got ample time to interact with the rays. Our day had bad weather during the snorkeling, but it was still a lot of fun.

Pictures and blog: http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Cayman-Islands/Grand-Cayman/blog-657878.html

I prefer Carnival to NCL*, but in this case, the port would trump it for me. It is less common for cruises to go to Bermuda!

(*I think of Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and NCL as all along the same lines, but I feel that Carnival has more silly humor which we enjoy.)