NCL GETAWAY eastern carribean port EXCURSIONS ADVICE NEEDED

HI WE WILL BE DOCKING ON NCL GETAWAY Roatán, Honduras, Costa Maya, Mexico ,Cozumel, Mexico, Harvest Caye, Belize. HI CAN ANYONE GUIDE ME IF THEY HAVE BEEN HERE IS THE SHIP DOCKED RIGHT AT THE PORTS ITSELF AND CAN DO A FREE AND EASY WALKING EXCURSION BY OURSELF. ARE THE MAIN STREET NEARBY.. COZ THE NCL EXCURSIONS ARE A RIP OFF. ALSO WE ARE NOT VERY BEACH TYPE GUYS WHICH OF THESE PORTS ARE GOOD FOR SEEING THE CITY LANDMARKS ETC, PLEASE GUIDE AND ADVISE. ALSO IF ANYONE CAN PROVIDE FOR PRIVATE EXCURSION OPERATORS PLEASE DO FWD WEBSITE LINKS. THNX:)

The ports of call forums might have some ideas for you:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=587

All caps is considered yelling...

Harvest Cay is a self-contained beach day....but a guidebook will let you see ALL there is in your other ports. Pick one up at a library!

OR, if you live in the 21st century, consult the Ports of Call forum and the Roll Call for your ship's sailing. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=110

On your roll call you may find that your fellow cruisers are discussing excursions, and perhaps organizing private tours.

Trip Advisor forums are also a good source of CURRENT, up to date information. This is particularly important for any of the Ports still trying to recover from last year's devastating hurricanes.

We've done this itinerary several times; we almost never take a ship excursion.

Like others have said, check out the ports of call or your roll call for tour ideas. Trip Advisor is good too. Also, all the ports except Harvest Caye will have private tour operators at the dock looking for customers. We usually plan ahead, but have picked up tours like this before.

Roatan: where NCL docks not too much to walk and see, but tours at the dock are cheap and we've had good luck doing that. Also good private excursions to book ahead, or beach days.

Costa Maya: you can easily catch a cab or tram to the beach town nearby; it can be walked--we've done it--but it is far, hot and the last part has no sidewalks. There are also tour operators outside the port area, plus a lot of people just stay in the area at the port which has a nice pool and lots of shops. We really like Native Choice for tours there. A day at the beach is good there too and only about $3 cab ride away.

Cozumel; lots to do, many good private tours, or here you can just walk around and shop; I wouldn't, but we've been there many times.

Harvets Caye: it's a private 'island' with mostly beach and pool activities, shops, places to eat, etc. It has a zipline, paddle boards, etc. for extra cost. Not my favorite stop, but ok. You don't need to spend anything extra unless you want to. Last year we took a ferry over to the mainland, about $20 pp and walked around the beach town there.

I agree that the NCL tours are way too high.

Your question asks for Eastern cruise advice but all the ports you have listed are on a Western Caribbean cruise.....?

Thnx nebr.cruiser

Great information for us.

We've done this itinerary several times; we almost never take a ship excursion.

 

Like others have said, check out the ports of call or your roll call for tour ideas. Trip Advisor is good too. Also, all the ports except Harvest Caye will have private tour operators at the dock looking for customers. We usually plan ahead, but have picked up tours like this before.

 

Roatan: where NCL docks not too much to walk and see, but tours at the dock are cheap and we've had good luck doing that. Also good private excursions to book ahead, or beach days.

 

Costa Maya: you can easily catch a cab or tram to the beach town nearby; it can be walked--we've done it--but it is far, hot and the last part has no sidewalks. There are also tour operators outside the port area, plus a lot of people just stay in the area at the port which has a nice pool and lots of shops. We really like Native Choice for tours there. A day at the beach is good there too and only about $3 cab ride away.

 

Cozumel; lots to do, many good private tours, or here you can just walk around and shop; I wouldn't, but we've been there many times.

 

Harvets Caye: it's a private 'island' with mostly beach and pool activities, shops, places to eat, etc. It has a zipline, paddle boards, etc. for extra cost. Not my favorite stop, but ok. You don't need to spend anything extra unless you want to. Last year we took a ferry over to the mainland, about $20 pp and walked around the beach town there.

 

I agree that the NCL tours are way too high.

:)

Your question asks for Eastern cruise advice but all the ports you have listed are on a Western Caribbean cruise.....?

Thnx pattycake . I meant eastern Carribbean. :):)