Belize?? Any better than G.C. and Jamaica or Coz.?

[robin67]

We are planning a family cruise.... are interested in Belize, but do not want to count out cruises that only go to Grand Cay, Coz., and Jamaica... Has anyone visited all these ports?? Any suggestions as to preferences??..... our children are 13 and 8. We are considering RCL and Carnival... our last cruise was with Princess (Diamond) WONDERFUL but not "Family" oriented.... any help is much appreciated!:confused:

Robin

[picktowncruzr]

We took the family (kids 7 & 16) to caymans, jamaica and coz last April on Carnival. It was perfect. Haven't visited Belize yet (going in Sept) but personally I think our trip with the kids was perfect. I like having a couple of days at sea and it gives the kids a break. Four stops may be too many with kids if you ask me. Our excursions were perfect for the kids too - - stingrays, dunns river falls & royal dolphin swim.

[idlewood4]

We're going in August, taking Carnival Miracle. My kids are 11 and 15. We've booked the Altun Ha/River Wallace excursion in Belize. Have read great things about it in these boards. If you're interested, can let you know how it went when we get back.

 

Steph

[Mike2131]

We are planning a family cruise.... are interested in Belize, but do not want to count out cruises that only go to Grand Cay, Coz., and Jamaica... Has anyone visited all these ports?? Any suggestions as to preferences??..... our children are 13 and 8. We are considering RCL and Carnival... our last cruise was with Princess (Diamond) WONDERFUL but not "Family" oriented.... any help is much appreciated!:confused:

Robin

 

Hi Robin:

 

We have not been to Jamaica, but we visited all of the other ports during the Panama Canal cruise in December.

 

Grand Cayman - Rough seas caused cancellation of all the snorkel and scuba tours for the 4 ships in port. We missed our Reef and Stingray snorkel, but it just gives us a reason to go back.

 

Cozumel - I went to Tulum and my girfriend took the Dolphin Royal Swim. We both had a wonderful excursion. The Dolphin swim was the highlight of her cruise.

 

Belize - We took the Lamanai and New River Safari excursion and it was fantastic! The boat ride was interesting with wildlife sightings (not near as many as in Costa Rica, however), the lunch was very tasty, and the ruins were very impressive. Lamanai is in the jungle and two very active (and vocal!) groups of howler monkeys added a real Indiana Jones feel to the tour. Belize is also noted for fantastic snorkel and scuba adventures and we will get wet next visit.

 

Take a look at a Panama Canal cruise and you can enjoy all the ports you mentioned - and more. You will probably just have to choose between Jamaica and Grand Cayman.

[TexasAlexus]

Robin, our kids 15,10 and 6 have been to all these ports and had a great time at each. We took the Altun Ha and River Wallace excursion in Belize on our May 29th cruise and it was fantastic! We saw all kinds of wildlife including dolphins, howler monkeys and manatees. Cozumel is our favorite port of all the ones you mentioned. Our kids have done the dolphin encounter there. We also love to go to Mr. Sancho's beach when in Cozumel. In May, we went horseback riding on the beach. Grand Cayman is great of course for swimming with the stingrays. Jamaica is my least favorite port, because I feel the least safe there when traveling with our children. We run all around Cozumel and Grand Cayman on our own, but when it comes to Jamaica we book an excursion through the ship. Our kids had a great time climbing the Falls and the Falls are beautiful. Even your 8 year old would be able to do it, as there are spots along the climb where you can exit if the climb gets to be too much. I think the Western Caribbean ports are all great for kids, so whatever you decide will be the right decision. Have a wonderful time.

[RedSoxWon]

I have been to all of these ports (granted, Jamaica and Grand Cayman was 10 years ago) and I would take Belize over any of them. Belize is by far the least developed and most scenic.

 

Jamaica was nice, although the apparent poverty and warnings to avoid certain places was a bit of a downer. We did the Dunn's River Falls tour, which was too crowded.

 

Grand Cayman was very expensive and there wasn't much to do. I think the beach (10 mile beach?) we went to has since been destroyed or damaged by hurricanes, although it may have been rebuilt.

 

I have been to Cozumel twice (most recently in November) and found it difficult to walk around, as roads and sidewalks were torn up by a hurricane and still being repaired.

 

Don't get me wrong, there were far more good points than bad points about all of these places, and a lot of it depends on which excursions you choose. I'm just giving you the highlights that form my opinion.

[ufmurphys]

We stopped in Belize, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya and Cozumel with our 10 and 8 year old. Belize was our least favorite. We did an Altun Ha excursion, by van, that we booked before the cruise (a guide recommended on theses boards). Very hot, little AC in cramped older van. We were glad to see the ruins (small site) but glad to get back on the ship too. Have heard rave reviews about cave tubing but our kids wanted nothing to do with being in a murky river in a dark cave. Grand Cayman was our favorite day with a snorkle trip and stop at sting ray city (Capt. Bryans). Could not have been a better day. Cozumel was great also. We booked a dune buggy tour through the ship (RCCL). Costa MAya was a fun day that we spent just enjoying their beautiful port.:)

[magicterp]

Our family of four cruised the Carnival Miracle to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Belize. We loved our day in Belize!! We took the Altun Ha/River Wallace tour -- saw manatees, dolphins, crocodiles, iguanas, and monkeys! The ruins were great too, but it sure was HOT!

[Scarlett131313]

Grand Caymans - snorkling is great there. We have rented a car both times and just snorkled along the beaches. At cemetary beach we were "swarmed" with colorful fish about 100 yards out. Unbelievable. My son (13 or at the time was overwhelmed).

 

Jamaica - we just went around on our own there - got a tazi and went to open markets and then to a public beach. The poverty is very sad. The people are fairly aggressive with trying to get you to "go to their shop" but we were never afraid and found the locals really nice.

 

Cozumel - Paradise Beach is great. The national park is great. Downtown is nice. We rented a car one time and went all around the island - just one road that goes to the other end. It was beautiful.

 

Belize - our shop changed its itinerary and we ended up not being able to do our Coral Breeze snorkling trip b/c we were not there on the right day. We got off the ship and was going to take the ferry out of downtown to Caye Caulker but when we got to the back gates there were lots of people outside yelling at us so we decided to go back to the pier and try to get an excursion. We ended up going with a couple of guys and about 6 other tourists to Golf Caye (spelling might be wrong on that) and we snorkled along the reef. It had been raining and the sea was rough. Very challenging experience. I thought I was going to drown. My husband got scratched up on the coral. This time we are booked again with Corral Breezes for a trip to Caye Caulker.

 

 

My son is 15 now and he has loved every cruise and every port. I do suggest that you try to book things on your own - ship excursions are costly, loud, and crowded. If you ship changes itineraries - you can call them free from the purser's desk to cancel.

[high desert drifter]

We just got back from the Norwegian Sea, great time. Here's what we did, althought not some of the ports you mentioned.

 

Cozumel - Dolphin Discovery, sea lion and royal dolphin swim (package#4). Awesome time, booked direct with Dolphin Discovery and worth every penny. Snorkeled at Chankanaab prior to our bookings and then left with a cab and told him we wanted authentic ceviche, he obliged, guided us to a great little hole in the wall , can't remember the name, have to wait until the pix get developed.

 

Roatan - didn't have specific plans, thanks to this Board, I just walked out onto the pier and we negotiated the use of a van with driver and then they also provided a english speakign guide. This was the best deal, $20/person for the full day. They toopk us all over the island, we stopped at the iguana farm, kind of surreal but interesting and then headed further up into the hills. We stopped at a roadside restaurant, had a beer and enjoyed the amazing view. Then onto Westbay. Stopped at Mayan Princess resort, new place, great food (lobster) and our new favorite cocktail, the Monkey La La. From

there we walked down to Fosters West Bay, snorkeled a little bit and enjoyed teh view. They then drove us back to the pier and we shopeed for 1 hour before we got back on baord. We got to see alot of Roatan on this trip, some gorgeous scenery and some not so scenic, it is a pretty poor island for the most part. Overall a great time.

 

Belize - Cave Tubing with X-Stream Cave Tubing (via belizecruiseexcursions.com) Great time. Picked us up at the pier and off we went. Manuel was our guide and provided us with a great time. Booking direct instead of via the cruise line meant we got to go thru an additional cave and it was worth it. 1hour 10 minute drive through some bumpy roads and we were there, we got outfitted and then after a 45 minute hike thru a rain forest, we jumped into the cool, refreshing stream. It was otherworldly!

Afterwards, there is a small establishment that sells food, beer and cocktails. We of course indulged in some of the local fare and were pleasantly surprised. Manuel also provided some fresh papaya and pineapple. And then off we went. He dropped us at the pier and we did some shopping and then caught the last tender back.

 

Cancun - Garafon Park/Isla Mujeres - did this thru NCL and was not disappointed, beautiful grounds, the water was amazing and it was just a nice relaxing experience. If you want to do this, go thru the line, they have a deal with the Park that allows for a direct tender from the Ship and you get 1 to 1 1/2 hours time at the park before it opens to the public.

 

We didn't have any kids but I think your kids could probably handle any of the excursions/activities that we did.