ajtraveler66

I just read a post from about two months ago in which the person making the post knew that their ship would be the only ship at port that day.  How does one going about finding out that information without checking every ship in the book to see if they are going to be there.  Would love to have this information at my disposal because that info can be useful in determining which excursions to take/avoid.  I am specifically looking at Ocho Rios.

Will be doing a Caribbean Cruise with NCL in February.  We prefer to do ship excursions when good ones are available, and these two (see the title) both looked like they might be our thing.

Which of these two would you recommend and why?  Both excursions have animals and both excursions offer nice beach areas.  Look forward to your input.

We did a cruise to Bermuda out of New York on the NCL Breakaway.  That was two years ago, and I hope to do it again down-the-road.

The plus about this cruise is that once you get to Bermuda, you are there for several days.  You get to do Bermuda however you choose, and the cruise ship serves as your come-and-go hotel.  No worries about getting back to the ship for the whole time you are there.

The first day, our group went out to St. George's and spent some time there.  All of us enjoying an 'afternoon tea' at Sweet P.   

The next day we had a day-pass at the Elbow Beach Resort.  To date, this is the most memorable beach day of my life.  There was a restaurant (Mickey's on the Beach) right there where we lounged along the beach, and it was excellent.

And I will have to go back someday because we never got around to seeing Horseshoe Bay.

You will love Bermuda!

Torn between two excursions for this next February:  Tabyana Beach (possibly combined with Gumbalimba Park) versus Turquoise Bay (just the basic excursion, no frills).

The park looks interesting, but Turquoise Bay will probably win out if the consensus is that it is the better beach of the two.  But if Tabyana is definitely the better beach, then we will possibly opt to go ahead and likely include the park in the mix.   FYI:  There are no children in our party....so it's possible the park may not be that appealing to adults.

We will be on the NCL Getaway...it's a huge ship, so the crowd factor may have an influence on our decision.  Perhaps one of the beaches may be more likely to be less crowded than the other.

Look forward to your input.

24 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

 

If you want a long walk along the beach, that doesn't work well.  Royal Palms is very close to the port, and the beach stops not that far after, near Margaritaville Resort.  See this google map to get an idea:  https://goo.gl/maps/zRvQRsSqjCbZdFkp9

 

Along the beach, most restaurants are in hotels or beach clubs.  There are a few restaurants nearer to the port that overlook the water, but they're not on beach.  Along the Seven Mile Beach strip, there are many good restaurants but the best ones are along the road, not along the beach.  Go to the restaurant link I posted above and see what/where you are interested in eating.

 

The maps and websites will help you get an idea of what I mean.  Checking them out will be helpful in your decision-making.

Thank you so much for your helpful input.  Since we won't have to book an excursion, much will depend on the weather that day, of course.  So we will probably come up with a Plan A (Great Beach Day) and a Plan B (Not Such A Great Beach Day) beforehand.  But I know that we will want to visit a decent lunch place either way. ...   One last question that might be helpful:  "If we don't make a reservation, would we have any problem finding a place to have lunch in those places that you mentioned slightly away from the beach?  We will be on the NCL Getaway, and that's a pretty big ship.  Not sure if others will be in port that day or not.

16 hours ago, bookbabe said:

 

Depends on what you mean by access point?  If you mean a spot you can settle in and lay out towels, rent chairs, have facilities like food/restrooms available, then it’s Royal Palms.  If you mean a path to the beach, there are public access points about every 200 yards or so up and down the length of the beach.  Those paths are marked with signs labelled “beach access” and are fairly easy to spot.  You can also usually cut through hotels, the first of which is Margaritaville Resort.  

 

Note, it will be tough to convince a taxi (shared ride vans) to drop you off at any access point closer to the port than Royal Palms.  Your better option is to take a taxi or the bus to the furthest point you want to go to and then walk back towards the port.

If we would taxi out to Royal Palms and then walk our way back toward the ship would there be any places to find a decent lunch (other than Royal Palms) along the way?

Looking for suggestions for a memorable but reasonably priced lunch somewhere along Seven Mile Beach.  Would then like to take a leisurely walk along the beach that would include some uncrowded areas.  [Probably would prefer a local restaurant that includes some seafood...with sandwiches as an alternative].

Where would be the best place to get off from the taxi.....and where would be the best place to board a taxi for getting back to the ship.  

We are considering going to MC in February 2020.  Our ship is at port only from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.   A little concerned that that might not be an ample amount of time to allow for complete relaxing.....considering the travel logistics.

Thoughts appreciated.

We are trying to make plans for our cruise in Jan or Feb of next year.  

I understand that this is NCL's private island--which is fine.  Just wondering if the beaches there are decent.  If that's the case, we will probably just do some beach time and walk around.  Other thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

Have any of you ever taken this excursion (White House Beach Resort) or been to this place?  What are your thoughts?

We prefer to do the cruise ship excursions if they are worth the effort just because of the convenience and knowing we'll get back to the ship in time.  But this is the only beach excursion offered by the ship...and I'm not even sure if this is on the Seven-Mile Beach.

We are open to other suggestions if you think they would be of interest.  All we care to do that day is spend some time on the beach and to have a decent lunch experience.

Thanks.

While in the Cayman's we would just like to walk along the beach and have lunch at a local restaurant--preferably on the beach, but lunch could be just off the beach if your suggested restaurant is highly recommended.

Can we walk to Seven-Mile Beach from the 'tendering-in area' or would we need transportation?  Seven-Mile Beach would be great, but if there's a decent beach within walking distance from the 'tender-in-area' that would probably be fine.

Look forward to everyone's input.

We are planning a Norwegian cruise for January of next year.  We pretty much know what we are going to do in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  However, we will have four other ports of call.  At one of those four ports of call, we would like to have a top-notch beach day (no snorkeling...just beautiful beach, WHITE sand, and decent waves).  Here are those other four ports:  Costa Maya; Roatan (Bay Islands, Honduras); Harvest Caye in Belize; and Georgetown, Cayman Islands. [The more quiet the beach--if that's possible--the better)  Other suggestions for any of these ports of call are welcome....especially for Roatan since this is where I am posting.  Would also like to include a decent Maya ruins site at one of these ports of call.  Thank you so very, very much.

Any good restaurants or beaches within walking distance of the port?  We will be on NCL Getaway February 2020.  If not, any beach recommendations?

Our time in Costa Maya is limited.  So we are going to see the ruins that day with an NCL tour.  So...that leaves us with these other port days:  Cozumel, Harvest Cay @ Belize, and Roatan, Honduras.

Out of those three ports, we would like to do ONE beach day.  What beach would you recommend if you could only pick one out of these three ports?  

Wish there were a board for Caribbean (in general) but I didn't see it.

We are considering booking an NCL Getaway cruise for February of 2020.  

Costa Maya is one of the ports, but we are only to be there from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.  

I would love to go to Maya Chan resort, but it just doesn't seem like it would be very practical with such a short time at the port.  Thoughts anyone?  If it were a ship excursion, I would do it in a minute.  But since we have to be on our own, I really hesitate.

19 minutes ago, OCruisers said:

On which cruise line will you be sailing ... makes a difference in where you'll dock.  ???

Norwegian.  (NCL)

Thanks....Didn't realize this.

Trying to make plans for our W. Caribbean cruise.  On this webpage, we are specifically asking what cruisers can do in Roatan, Honduras without venturing out too far from the boat.  Your input is appreciated.  [If a port offers nothing nearby, then we will be sure to do an excursion in those places].

Also...even though this is the site for Honduras posts, I will ask the same question for Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Harvest Caye Belize.  Responses would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I know it's a little way off, but we have fun trying to plan things early.  

We almost did a Yucatan Peninsula cruise a year or so ago.  We had plans to go to Maya Chan at that time, but an emergency situation arose and we didn't get to go.

The cruise we are currently considering is only in Costa Maya from 7am until 2pm.  So to me, a day pass to Maya Chan doesn't appear all that feasible--especially since the bulk of the time at the resort would only be in the morning.

So....any suggestions on what to do while in Costa Maya?  We are certainly willing to do one of the ship's excursions.  We just need a little guidance on what would be worthwhile.

We are planning a cruise in January or February of 2020 on one of the new NCL ships.  

Right now, the excursion that looks interesting to us is one that takes us over to St. John (a champagne/catamaran sail).  I'm assuming that by then (unless there is a bad hurricane in 2019) that conditions should be favorable for us?

Also if you have done this excursion, any comments would help.  It has 7 terrific reviews on the NCL excursion pages.

.....

Also, this cruise will go to the British Virgin Islands too.  So any input you have on that would be appreciated as well.

I gather the Virgin Gordon is worth seeing. But I understand that is can be quite crowded.

I do not snorkel, and I'm claustrophobic (I've seen videos of the tight-spots in the big rock areas).....so I'm wondering if I wouldn't be better off choosing another excursion.

We would be content with just about any nice beach, but if this one is extraordinarily special, then we might give it a try.

Look forward to your input.

Free-style is the key. No assigned eating times unless YOU want to reserve a specific time at a specialty restaurant (all of which are WONDERFUL if you do go that route).

I'm a guy, and I wanted nothing to do with special dress-up nights. On NCL all you have to do is make sure you wear long pants at the main dining rooms or the specialty restaurants. Jeans are fine. Otherwise shorts are fine at the buffets, etc.

The thought of having to share a table with someone I don't know (as in assigned eating) horrifies me. I like to meet new people, but what if you get stuck with someone who doesn't let you get a word in edgewise throughout the entire meal. No thanks. I can't risk the possibility of that happening. NCL for me ALWAYS! :):):)