W. Caribbean Excursions??

[josephmz]

Anyone have experience with tours on Island Marketing website?

 

Specifically looking at Nohock Kay beach trip in Costa Maya, Roatan

beach & wildlife tour and Nachi Cocom beach in Cozumel.

 

Not overly concerned about taxi in Cozumel, but wonder about R/T

in costa Maya.

[K&RCurt]

You will have better luck on the "Caribbean", "Port of Call" forum for the specific ports in question.

 

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

[Lena B]

I really love Nachi Cocom in Cozumel. It's a great way to spend the day.

[SpinnerCOyyy]

Just returned from cruise including Belize, Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel.

 

We used Island Marketing for two separate tours on Cozumel. We had a group decide to do the underwater scooters. It was booked for three and online booking was not a problem. We tried to get a reservation made for x-rails on Cozumel for two. After booking online, and making payment for the x-rails, we received an email indicating the booking was sold out. We changed the reservation to underwater scooters, at the same time as our previous reservation for two. We received confirmation of that booking, and a promise of a refund of approximately $20.00 for the cost difference. We never received the refund. Additionally, the taxi that was supposed to take us to the Cozumel Hotel, dropped us off at the wrong hotel. Shame on us for not paying close enough attention. But after taking another taxi to the excursion location, our underwater scooter went off without a hitch. In fact it was a kick in the pants!

 

Another two in our group booked and paid for a cooking class excursion for Cozumel. Upon arrival to the excursion location, the two were told the excursion was cancelled for lack of minimum number of participants. The representative promised a full refund, plus refund of taxi fare to the location. It is one week post cruise and the refund has not yet been made.

 

So bottom line is I was not impressed with Island Marketing. We booked all of our excursions privately on this cruise. I have written reviews for our excursions on Costa Maya, Belize and Roatan and can provide you those if you want. Those companies that we used were FLAWLESS in their excursion experience.

[Mrsdigi]

Just returned from cruise including Belize, Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel.

 

We used Island Marketing for two separate tours on Cozumel. We had a group decide to do the underwater scooters. It was booked for three and online booking was not a problem. We tried to get a reservation made for x-rails on Cozumel for two. After booking online, and making payment for the x-rails, we received an email indicating the booking was sold out. We changed the reservation to underwater scooters, at the same time as our previous reservation for two. We received confirmation of that booking, and a promise of a refund of approximately $20.00 for the cost difference. We never received the refund. Additionally, the taxi that was supposed to take us to the Cozumel Hotel, dropped us off at the wrong hotel. Shame on us for not paying close enough attention. But after taking another taxi to the excursion location, our underwater scooter went off without a hitch. In fact it was a kick in the pants!

 

Another two in our group booked and paid for a cooking class excursion for Cozumel. Upon arrival to the excursion location, the two were told the excursion was cancelled for lack of minimum number of participants. The representative promised a full refund, plus refund of taxi fare to the location. It is one week post cruise and the refund has not yet been made.

 

So bottom line is I was not impressed with Island Marketing. We booked all of our excursions privately on this cruise. I have written reviews for our excursions on Costa Maya, Belize and Roatan and can provide you those if you want. Those companies that we used were FLAWLESS in their excursion experience.

 

Hi can you post your reviews of your western Caribbean excursion, please? We are going next year and I need some ideas. Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SpinnerCOyyy]

Mrsdigi, Posting reviews as requested.

 

Our group of 14 signed up for the Dzibanche Ruins excursion offered by Native Choice. All our excursions for the cruise were booked independent of the offerings from the cruise line. We choose Dzibanche specifically because it offered a more hands on experience, and less crowds than closer ruins. This is a long tour 6 hour tour. Many people suggested against booking such a long tour independently. There is always a chance the cruise ship will leave without you, should something go wrong and you are late back to the ship. We decided to take the chance.

 

The dock in Costa Maya is at least 130 yards long. Additionally, it is another 150 yards to the Native Choice check in. The check in area is past the cruise terminal, out the terminal gates. We found the check in desk where there were many cruisers waiting. A Native Choice Representative was passing out cold bottles of water to everyone standing in the lines, regardless of which tour they were going on. We received our bracelets and were assigned a van, and within 10 minutes we were on our way.

 

Frine was our guide for the day, Eric was our driver. There was another guide in the second van for the other two of our family members on this trip. Our van was clean, comfortable and air conditioned.

 

I can not even come close to reciting everything our group learned on the ride to the ruins. Frines' stories were interesting and jam packed with history. We learned about gum imports, mahogany, Brits, Dutch, Africans and Mennonites. Cylindrical calendars, 12 layers of heaven and hell, everything in groups of 20. New ruins location, farmers vs royalty, and a very large lagoon. The terrain changed, going from swamp to savanna to forest to jungle. After an hour, we stopped in Bacalar for bathroom break and to purchase snacks if we wanted. We learned that the Dzibanche ruins location was lost for 75 years. Dzibanche means “writing on wood”, and was a great city in 200 AD. We were offered a final restroom break before our arrival at the Dzibanche ruins location.

 

Exiting the van you begin your walk to the ruins structures. The first 100 yards is uphill on a dirt, rutty road. It is quite a task if your preference is flat and unobstructed. We approached the first set of structures as Frine explained what each structure represented. Frine discussed construction techniques on a wall which appeared like a cutaway. We were able to see a wall which still had red coloring, and glyphs. Ceiba trees, which the Mayans believe hold up the sky, and are the tree of life, are everywhere. We saw a small group of Howler monkeys in the tree tops.

 

We walked up the stairs at Temple 2. A 73 year old member of our group began to struggle with climbing the steep steps. Two attendants working at the ruins park literally sprinted up the steps, rushing to help her. A little bit of bravado, with a genuine desire to enhance her experience was impressive.

 

We were in the large open area, approaching Temple 6. Although we could climb all of the structures, our group choose this structure to climb first. And I do mean climb. The vertical steep steps are certainly a blood pumping experience. The view from the top was astounding. It was here, that you could really see how large a site (15 square miles) Dzibanche is.

 

Frine asked my 6'4” son to grab some leaves from a branch above us. She took the leaf, and tore it apart, giving each of us a piece. Frine encouraged us to put it in our mouth and chew it. Those of us who did, tasted the familiar tang of Novocaine. Chewing on the leaf for a bit quickly numbed our gums and made our lips tingle. We had been offered a taste of the allspice tree. Used in the production of Novocaine, but as an added spice to cooking or baking. After approximately 90 minutes of exploring, we all walked back to the van. We were provided with a sack lunch of a sandwich, granola bar, orange, and bottle of orange juice. This had been included in our tour price.

 

We all piled back into the van, and began the two hour ride back to the cruise terminal. We stopped at a roadside vendor and Frine purchased bags of fresh pineapple for everyone to share. A tiny bag of cayenne pepper is included to sprinkle on your pineapple.

 

We arrived back to the cruise terminal where we had about an hour to shop. Native Choice provided a professional, exciting and friendly excursion. Their driver Eric, was helpful and a safe van operator. Frine, our tour guide is a true gem. She was informative without boring, creative in her stories and a pleasure to listen to. It's obvious her knowledge on Costa Maya is vast, and she loves her job. We heartily recommend using Native Choice on a visit to Costa Maya. Forgo the crowds and visit Dzibanche. Insist on Frine as your guide, and you won't be disappointed!

[SpinnerCOyyy]

Mrsdigi, Posting reviews as requested.

 

We booked our group of 13 with VIV Tours, without going through Norwegian shore excursion options. Best decision we ever made! Our tour was set for November 21, 2012. VIV Tours did an outstanding job taking care of our group. Their description of activity level, and what to expect was spot on. Our group ranged in age from 16 to 74.

 

It is tender ride to port. We took our towels from the ship with us. The lobby where tour operators held their signs was about 40 yards from the tender boat. We found our guide holding the VIV sign. He led us through the crowd of people, outside the lobby, past the cruise terminal gates. We were then led to the parking lot, where there were waiting vans. We sat on the wall next to the ocean, where we signed our waivers and paid for the excursion. It felt a little sketchy to be paying for the excursion next to the van. There was a fairly aggressive vendor who sat with us on the wall as we waited to complete the paperwork.

 

The van ride to the Park was narrated by Roberto. He was informative, clever and gracious in answering questions we had, or pointing out points of interest during the journey. There were two military manned check points on the trip. Before we stopped for one, Roberto explained that it was for the safety of those traveling on the roads and there was nothing to worry about. Having frequently traveled in Mexico, the check points were no big deal to our group. We were waived through quickly.

 

The road was smooth and even for all but the last two miles. Once we turned off the main road, we drove on a rutty dirt road to the park. Maya, our driver took great care to navigate the van very slowly through some of the very deep ruts. Once we arrived at the location, we were able to change clothes if we needed, rent water socks and grab some water. There was a large park bathroom with at least 30 stalls available on the women's side. Helmets and life vests were passed out to everyone. All of our belongings stayed in the locked van with Maya. There were 6 large greyhound buses from cruise lines, as well as 30-40 passenger vans. Obviously a popular excursion point. George, another excellent tour guide was added to our group and we gathered at VIV's starting point.

 

As we began our tour, George took over the narrative. He pointed out specific trees, and explained their medicinal uses. George then proceeded to grab hold of our 73 year old family member and adopt her. He held her steady throughout the walk through the forest reminding her the whole time that he was there for her, encouraging her to walk at her own pace. He had an incredible howler monkey call that often times had other tour guides attempting to answer. We could hear other guides also call out to him to make the call, which he quickly responded to. Although our group got straggled out along the trail, each group still had a guide providing interesting information on the Mayan culture and Belize conservation efforts. We were passed several times by other tour groups who were forced to lug their own tubes. Other groups did try to slow their pace to listen to our guides narratives, as their guides provided little to no information.

 

The walk through cave portion was easily navigated while we learned about specific formations, and areas where bats were often found. Because it had rained the day before our arrival, bugs were scarce. I would otherwise suggest a bug spray. George led us to the fertility cave where he sent the young kids out to the side then pointed out why that cave earned that nickname. I should point out that many times during the tour, George was providing information to more than just our group. He became the super guide many times. We observed lots of groups stopping to listen to what he was saying, much to the chagrin of their groups tour guides.

 

We were a little surprised to find that we had to cross the river at one point. That may be a little fact we failed to pick up on. The crossing was easy as the river flow was mild and water did not exceed mid shin. There is a rope that is strung across the river that you could grab ahold of for support. Taking it slow, no one in our group or other groups I observed had problems. George took great care escorting our family member across. We reached the launch site where our tubes were waiting for us. There had to be over 100 people entering, standing alongside, or in the water at the launch site. Because no one single tour company has a contract on cave tours, there are many companies represented. We noticed three different cruise ships at port when we arrived that morning. Possibly as many as 6000 people visiting Belize that day. Because of the large crowd of tours entering the water it was a little chaotic, but our guides lined us up and one by one, got us easily into our tubes, and connected to our group tube line. The water temperature was described as “refreshing”. For our group from Colorado, the water temperature was mild. It was not shocking in any manor.

 

We managed to lazily drift along while our guides provided further narrative on what we were seeing. There were a couple of times we hit log jams of tour groups. Our guides quickly pushed and pulled his group through the jam. We heard other tour group members openly state their envy at our experience. It became clear to us that the gold standard was large tubes with head rests and net bottoms. Not having to carry your tube along the 35 minute hike through the forest. Tubes linked together with carabiners. Informative personable guides who took great care to ensure the safety of elderly tourist. And..... our tour was $40.00 per person! The cruise ship cave tubing excursion available had a cost of $110.00. I do not know if anyone participating in the cave tubing experience at the same time as our group was from our ship.

 

Our tour ended at a point where it was just a short walk back to the park facilities. There were several booths selling food, t-shirts, and some beautiful rug/table runners. One vender was offering coconut wine. We were tempted but could not get the wine back on the ship easily. We got back to the van with snacks for the ride back. We made absolutely sure that our guides were tipped well. They had taken such good care of our group.

 

We drove through the city on the way back. The city of Belize is very poor. Although our group travels a lot in very poor countries, we were a little culture shocked. We were dropped off about 10 yards from the cruise terminal gates. It was a bit of a struggle to get filed back, as there were vendors standing on either side of the sidewalk. We were forced to go single file through the vendor line, before entering the cruise terminal. Inside the terminal there are many vendors who offer everything from standard t-shirts, liquor and diamonds. Most vendors were in buildings with a small group of vendors with tent booth area. There are several restaurants and bars catering to cruisers. We found Moho Chocolate, a company offering organic cocoa products made from beans found in the Moho River Valley, Belize. Milk chocolate with salt and vinegar, ginger or even chili. They had truffles, plain dark and milk bars, chocolate tea, and even chocolate covered bacon.

 

If you are considering a Belize cave tubing excursion LISTEN TO ME.... book your excursion with VIV Tours. http://www.vivtours.com. Their guides care about their customers. They are knowledgeable and love Belize. You won't regret using this quality tour company for any of the tours they have available. It was a fantastic experience for each and every member of our family group!

[SpinnerCOyyy]

From the very beginning we have received top notch service with Pirates of the Caribbean Canopy. We received confusing information from Island Marketing about a package they were offering. Island Marketing had an excursion package that included visiting Roatan Iguana Farm, Pirates Caribbean Canopy for zip lining, and ending with a beach break. I contacted Pirates directly with questions about their two zip line options. I needed to ensure that the Island Marketing package included Pirates Extremely Extreme zip tour. Our group did not want the milder zip package that included rope bridges.

 

Pirates answered my email by offering to match the Island Marketing package, and guaranteeing that the tour would include the Iguana Farm, Extremely Extreme zip tour, and ending with a beach break at Parrot Tree, a premium resort spot. We booked online with Pirates for the package deal at $75.00 per person for our group of 10.

 

The ship dock at Roatan is right up next to beach. It was a fairly short 50 yard walk from the ship to the Pirates of the Caribbean Canopy tour booth. We presented our confirmation ticket and received wrist bands for Pirates and Parrot Tree. We were pleased to learn that we would have our own van for the day, with tour guide Edder. As it turned out, Edder was tour guide extraordinaire.

 

We all piled into the van where Edder introduced himself and advised we could tailor our day in any way we wanted. He began to give us a little background history on Roatan. We began our ride through Roatan. It reminded me of Maui. The van was clean and air conditioned. Edder would slow the van, and point out items of interest as we snapped pictures along the way. He showed us Honduras currency, and stopped off at a quick mart to pick up a six pack of beer for us to enjoy after our zip tour.

 

Our first stop was the Iguana Farm. The sign in desk failed to give us wrist bands for the Iguana Farm. It was hinted that because we did not have wrist bands, we may have to pay again for access to the park, which was $7.00 each. We still had our original printed receipt showing what the tour included. Edder made a quick phone call, and we were allowed into the park without additional cost. We had expected about 30-50 iguana's in a large cage, or penned in area. Not what we found, by a long shot. You enter the park and within 10 feet, iguana's everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Be careful where you walk. There are about 3000 iguanas in this park. Unpenned, along the sidewalk, behind the monkey cages, on top of the cages and in the trees. There were also a bunch of turkeys. One male turkey strutting his stuff... oblivious to the fact it was Thanksgiving day in the US. There was a small shop on the farm complex that offered trinkets and very reasonable t-shirts.

 

We got back into the van and headed towards Pirates of the Caribbean Canopy Zip line tour facility. It is a short 10 minute ride from the iguana park. The last 50 yards to the facility house was on a dirt road. It had rained the day before on Roatan and the roads were still quite muddy. We needed to take great care getting out of the van, as it was quite slick. Edder got us up to the counter to sign our waivers and get our gear. Edder placed the six pack of beer for us in the cooler behind the counter.

 

There were two attendants helping to get our gear on. You step into the harness one leg at a time, guide it up to rest along the top of your legs, and around your waist. The attendants advise you not to make any adjustments to the gear on our own. Any adjustments should be made by Pirates Personnel only. The gear felt secure but not overly tight. Helmets are fitted and you are set. A large open back jeep takes you from the tour facility, to launch point for both the standard zip tour, and the extremely extreme tour. A large step up, and let over is required to get into the back of this vehicle.

 

It is a short 3 minute ride to launch point. Because of the rainstorm the day before, the roads were quite slick and rutty. A tiny little man loaded shovels and a pick ax, and rode on the back step of the jeep, holding onto the frame. We was dropped off half way up the hill, to repair the road as best he could.

 

We could only get half way up the hill because of the mud, hiking up 15 yards then down a path to the first launch point. This first point is 328 feet up above the canopy, and a monstrous 1980' long. This is a two cable zip and feels quite secure. Your harness is hooked up on each cable, where you are instructed to either run and jump, or just step off the platform. A push off the platform can be arranged if necessary :). The views are absolutely amazing. Because of the length of this first zip, you really have a chance to look around, as you zip along the skyline. You end the first zip in a controlled slow stop to a waiting guide. The guide then removes your connection from the zip cables, asks if any adjustments need to be made to your gear and walks you to the next launch point. You continue through the 8 zips, each progressively lower, and shorter. The last zip lands you a short walk down some steps back to the facility. Somewhere along the zips, their cameraman manages to get pictures of you approaching a zip stop. The photos are available for purchase on a CD for $45.00. Obviously the larger your group, the better this price is. We purchased one CD, with 4-5 individual pictures of all 10 in our group for $45.00. At this end point, we removed our gear, and enjoyed one of the beers that Edder had chilling for us. Water was available for purchase as well. We were advised by the owner, we could repeat the zip tour for $25.00 each. We were very tempted but we still had one more stop on our tour, so we headed to the beach.

 

Edder offered to drive us to see the other side of the island if we wanted. He also offered to make a food run for “local” food if we wanted to avoid the pricier resort menu options. We arrived at Parrot Tree Beach Resort and walked towards the line of beach lounges and palapas covered tables. The Parrot Tree resort was uncrowded and very clean. A fairly large bar offered all types of beverages, and a fairly extensive menu. Food portions were large, fresh and hot. Drinks were standard. We did order one “green” drink that was quite unpleasant. It was about $200.00 for 10 meals, plus one mixed drink each. Some in our group did venture into the water, which was more like a lagoon. The water was shallow and mild. There was a slight sulfur smell coming from a point we were unable to identify.

 

We got back into the van where Edder again offered to take us to see the other side of the island. We instead opted for a drive to the highest point of the island which was much closer. After some really steep, hair pin turns up a road, we stopped at a flat area. In this area, there were a number of venders in tents offering sea shells, purses, t-shirts, and wooden toys. From this point we could see the many cruise ships in port that day. Edder took a group picture of us standing at the highest point on Roatan.

 

The ride back to the cruise terminal was quick. Edder got us back quickly and safely. The extra personal service provided by Edder was extraordinary. Any kind of odd requests we may have had, he could handle easily. He turned our three stop tour into a very personal, customized tour for our family. I would recommend using Pirates of the Caribbean Canopy tour's on a visit to Roatan. Ask for Edder specifically. He works very hard make the tours enjoyable for everyone. The iguana farm was a short but enjoyable visit. The Pirates Extremely Extreme zip tour is the best I have ever been on. It is long, high and extremely beautiful. Our group, ages16-74, had a great time. Parrot Tree Resort was uncrowded and clean. If you are going to zip, use Pirates of the Caribbean!