I'm about to book - nervous, excited, etc

[carmel]

We just returned from a Carnival cruise to the Eastern Carib. We've cruised a lot - mainly on RCCL and Carnival. We did NCL to Hawaii but that was NCLA - a different ballgame.

 

We had so much fun that we decided to come home last week and book another cruise. We've done the E Carib so much, we decided to go to W Carib. We've been there once before and it was just 'eh'. It was, however, in January on a VERY small and OLD ship on Carnival. Not to knock Carnival at all - we knew the ship we were on was tiny and this last cruise was wonderful.

 

This go around, we are booking the Sun going to Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel and Roatan. We've been to Cozumel but the other three are new ports.

 

We plan on beaches for Costa Maya and Roatan. Can't really figure out what to do on Belize - most of my party could not do the cave tubing or zip lining and from what I hear, the city isn't one that people feel great walking about in. Cozumel is still up the in air as well. Last time, we went to Paradise Beach. It was okay but we already have two beach days. Any input in these ports on 'must do' would be very welcome.

 

Anyway, I'm so excited. A bit nervous as we haven't paid off our onboard account from Carnival on our CC yet, LOL. I've budgeted however.

 

I've heard good things about the Sun - especially the service. We went on RCCL's Empress and I think the Sun reminds me a lot of her.

 

So, here's to being around these boards until next April. We love to cruise at Easter/spring break. We will have a 16yr old a 12 yr old and a 4 yr old! My 16 yr old asked for United Airlines gift cards for her birthday and Christmas. Cruising is her favorite thing to do. She routinely texts me itineraries. She sent me one of the S and E Carib for 24 days with a 'sigh - if only I didn't have school.' I told her that if she wants to do 24 days in the future, she had better take advantage of school and get a job that can support her obsession. :)

[LrgPizza]

I like the way your 16 year old thinks. Haha!

 

In addition to the research and participation you will be doing here on the NCL forum, be sure to check out the Ports of call forums for the Caribbean destinations you will be visiting. You will find loads of information about things to do and see. They can be really helpful.

[Clay Clayton]

I recommend the boat excursion to the Lamani ruins in Belize.

[FireEater]

We are trying the Sun too next April. Will be our 2nd on NCL. 1st is in 4 days!!!

 

Looks like you are going a week before mine. Keep it clean...LOL

Edited May 6, 2014 by FireEater

[keg01512]

We did that cruise 2 years ago and had a blast! Roatan was my favorite stop. We booked an excursion not through NCL but through https://www.roatanpiratescanopy.com/. They were absolutely amazing!! Met them right off of the port, got into a van and drove to where we ziplined. We chose the xtreme version and it was well worth it. The guides were awesome. We didn't book the beach trip but the rest of our group did so they asked us if we wanted to go back to the boat or go somewhere else. We told them to take us to a REAL restaurant (not the tourist spots). Went to the most amazing seafood place right on the water. Ate HUGEEEE crab legs for very cheap. They also took us to an iguana farm where you could pet and feed large iguanas. They did not charge us anything extra either, left them huge tip for being so nice to us.

Belize city was verryyyyy sketchy. We did not book an excursion of any kind there. We took the tender boat (which is very small and is not good for people who get sea sick) to the port and stayed in the port to shop. People were screaming at us from over the walls. It was pretty scary. Would not go there again, not worth it.

Cozumel is always awesome. We usually just do shopping there.

Costa Maya was very hot (we went in august). We took an excursion (not through NCL) to see the ruins. It was a very fun but tiring and hot day.

 

Hope this helps. :)

[carmel]

Thanks!

 

Zip-lining is on my bucket list. DH has an iffy back - has had surgery and he honestly needs to be careful so he doesn't tweak it the wrong way and start the inflammation which takes forever to go down. However, my 16 yr old is adventurous like I am. My parents will probably be going as well and they are not into that sort of thing. So......zip-lining is a future cruise for us.

 

Yeah - Belize is the biggest problem for us. A lot of people have said to stay on the ship but I think we will go ahead and tender over and just shop around at the port.

 

Have to figure out Cozumel - we may do the swim with stingrays there.

[keg01512]

Thanks!

 

Zip-lining is on my bucket list. DH has an iffy back - has had surgery and he honestly needs to be careful so he doesn't tweak it the wrong way and start the inflammation which takes forever to go down. However, my 16 yr old is adventurous like I am. My parents will probably be going as well and they are not into that sort of thing. So......zip-lining is a future cruise for us.

 

Yeah - Belize is the biggest problem for us. A lot of people have said to stay on the ship but I think we will go ahead and tender over and just shop around at the port.

 

Have to figure out Cozumel - we may do the swim with stingrays there.

 

 

The link i sent you is the best and highest zipline available and was a lot cheaper than through NCL. We picked the earliest time and got back in plenty of enough time to board the ship.

 

First time we went to Cozumel we did the catamaran excursion, which was NOT worth it at all. Second time we just shopped around town.

 

Belize, that is your best bet. We did buy quite a few things in the shops and it took up most of the day. Only down side is there is one 2 restaurants in the port. They are nothing special, I would save the money and eat on the boat.

[sixesandeights]

Roatan is BEAUTIFUL. The scuba diving is top notch, so I would imagine that snorkeling would also be very nice there.

 

When we go to Costa Maya or to Cozumel we alwyas go to all inclusive day places. They are VERY nice and relaxing, have great food and drinks all included.

 

In Costa Maya we LOVE Maya Chen. You will get a cabana, a DELICIOUS meal cooked by a real Mayan grandmother, all you can drink, glass bottom kayaks, snorkel gear, etc ALL INCLUDED. They also provide the transportation both directions. The cost is $59 a person and WELL worth it. It was our anniversary last time we visited, and they had champagne and a card signed by all the staff waiting for us, as well as custom making a happy anniversary sign for us. They are amazing. I would 100% recommend them to anyone that wants a hassle free all inclusive beach day.

 

In Cozumel we go to Mister Sanchos. It is also an all inclusive, but of a slightly different flavor. They have a very large pool with swim up bar that is very nice. They have a large menu that you can order off of freely. They include all the mixed drinks and beers. They have other services that are available for a fee such as a very fun inflatable water park, snorkeling, parasailing, etc. There is also a straw market here. While not the tranquil secluded beach day that Maya Chen offers it is still a very nice time, and more engaging for children. The cost here is also slightly cheaper at around $49 per person. You will need to get a taxi both directions.

 

Belize....what can I say about Belize.....we hated it. We only went once, and had such a bad time we have actively avoided itineraries that include it. I will say that this is not 100% "Belize's fault." We did an excursion throuhg Carnival that took us to the Mayan ruins and then on the River Wallace. The Bus trip to the ruins was very long, hot, and kinda scary. This ruins were VERY nice however. Had we turned back here I might have a different outlook. We then did the river portion of the tour.....we were crammed like sardines on a sketchy boat and then proceeded to make a slow trip down river. You could hardly move, and it was sweltering hot. It was so bad at one point the boat got so agitated that we all voted to skip the rest of the tour and to make it back to the ship ASAP. We attempted to walk around the area outside the ship, but it was not at all inviting. Add to that the need to tender in and it was without a doubt the worst stop on the trip. You can however, get prescription drugs here MUCH cheaper then in the states and without a prescription. I am not 100% sure who would do this, but it seems like a very popular activity for the tourists. (Sidenote: I am SURE there are better excursions that would have been much more pleasant. I would just recommend avoiding simply deciding to walk around as the area really looked pretty bad)

 

 

As far as the switch to NCL....I think you will like it a lot. The one complaint I hear from people is about the food/service in the MDR. It is a bit slower then other ships, but the food thing is way to subjective. What we have started doing is getting the UDP and simply eating at the specialties each night. It is WELL worth the cost and virtually guarantees a week of dining that will simply blow your mind. No need ot worry about entertainment as NCL had this aspect of cruising down pat.

 

Best of luck on your trip!!!!

 

6&8

[TifffanyD]

Belize....what can I say about Belize.....we hated it. We only went once, and had such a bad time we have actively avoided itineraries that include it. I will say that this is not 100% "Belize's fault." We did an excursion throuhg Carnival that took us to the Mayan ruins and then on the River Wallace. The Bus trip to the ruins was very long, hot, and kinda scary. This ruins were VERY nice however. Had we turned back here I might have a different outlook. We then did the river portion of the tour.....we were crammed like sardines on a sketchy boat and then proceeded to make a slow trip down river. You could hardly move, and it was sweltering hot. It was so bad at one point the boat got so agitated that we all voted to skip the rest of the tour and to make it back to the ship ASAP. We attempted to walk around the area outside the ship, but it was not at all inviting. Add to that the need to tender in and it was without a doubt the worst stop on the trip. You can however, get prescription drugs here MUCH cheaper then in the states and without a prescription. I am not 100% sure who would do this, but it seems like a very popular activity for the tourists. (Sidenote: I am SURE there are better excursions that would have been much more pleasant. I would just recommend avoiding simply deciding to walk around as the area really looked pretty bad)

 

We did this excursion as well and it was one of the best I have ever been on. Our bus was fine and wasn't scary - and our cruise down the river wasn't packed. The boat went very fast when we weren't stopped to look at wildlife or in no wake zones. We saw giant iguana, howler monkeys, manatee and more. And I loved when the boat pulled up to a local B&B and some guys gave us all fresh picked mangos... yum! We did it in June 2010. When was yours? Maybe they were different companies?

Edited May 6, 2014 by TifffanyD

[sixesandeights]

We did this excursion as well and it was one of the best I have ever been on. Our bus was fine and wasn't scary - and our cruise down the river wasn't packed. The boat went very fast when we weren't stopped to look at wildlife or in no wake zones. We saw giant iguana, howler monkeys, manatee and more. And I loved when the boat pulled up to a local B&B and some guys gave us all fresh picked mangos... yum! We did it in June 2010. When was yours? Maybe they were different companies?

 

That sounds very nice. Ours was in Sept 2012. If the boat had been moving and there had been a breeze I can see how it would have been a nice experience. We had to literally site sideways because there was not enough room to sit shoulder to shoulder. The boat moved very slowly the whole way down the river. We saw a TON of iguanas, and a manatee for a brief second. There were also a few bats under a bridge we passed under.

 

We stopped at a place for lunch, but it was VERY VERY expensive for what was offered (~$10 for a really bad hamburger). No fresh mango's for us....they sound delicious.

 

Like I said there are likely other excursions that were very nice, that one (and that particular sailing from the sounds of it) really colored Belize poorly for me. We do have another trip scheduled now that does visit Belize (different port however) planned for 2015 so hopefully we have a better experience.

 

Thanks for helping improve my outlook on Belize. :-)

 

6&8

Edited May 6, 2014 by sixesandeights

[Clay Clayton]

Thanks!

 

Have to figure out Cozumel - we may do the swim with stingrays there.

Are you sure that is a possiblity there? We did that in Grand Cayman once...maybe I am mistaken..wouldn't be the first time.

 

We did this excursion as well and it was one of the best I have ever been on. Our bus was fine and wasn't scary - and our cruise down the river wasn't packed. The boat went very fast when we weren't stopped to look at wildlife or in no wake zones. We saw giant iguana, howler monkeys, manatee and more. And I loved when the boat pulled up to a local B&B and some guys gave us all fresh picked mangos... yum! We did it in June 2010. When was yours? Maybe they were different companies?

Ours was like yours except we didn't get any mangos :mad: Our boats weren't at all crowded until about halfway back one of the boats had an engine issue so they moved a couple of folks from that boat into each of the others. Wasn't a big deal, they showed us the life jackets for everyone aboard and even at six foot seven and 300+ pounds, I wasn't too crowded.

[TifffanyD]

That sounds very nice. Ours was in Sept 2012. If the boat had been moving and there had been a breeze I can see how it would have been a nice experience. We had to literally site sideways because there was not enough room to sit shoulder to shoulder. The boat moved very slowly the whole way down the river. We saw a TON of iguanas, and a manatee for a brief second. There were also a few bats under a bridge we passed under.

 

We stopped at a place for lunch, but it was VERY VERY expensive for what was offered (~$10 for a really bad hamburger). No fresh mango's for us....they sound delicious.

 

Like I said there are likely other excursions that were very nice, that one (and that particular sailing from the sounds of it) really colored Belize poorly for me. We do have another trip scheduled now that does visit Belize (different port however) planned for 2015 so hopefully we have a better experience.

 

Thanks for helping improve my outlook on Belize. :-)

 

6&8

 

I seriously wonder if they switched vendors for that excursion - or if maybe you just got a bad bunch of guides.

 

My mom did the cave tubing with major tom in belize and LOVED it. I want to do that next time.

[Epic_Bear]

Another vote for Maya Chan in Costa Maya. Fantastic place an they have free wifi...perfect to email pretty beach pictures to your jealous friends back home.

 

Belize: We did a beach trip through NCL where they tendered you directly from the ship to an island.

 

Cozumel: My favorite activity is wandering the stores and drinking $1 beers as I do.

[meatball_nyc]

Another vote for Maya Chan in Costa Maya. Fantastic place an they have free wifi...perfect to email pretty beach pictures to your jealous friends back home.

 

 

 

Belize: We did a beach trip through NCL where they tendered you directly from the ship to an island.

 

 

 

Cozumel: My favorite activity is wandering the stores and drinking $1 beers as I do.

 

 

This sounds awesome :D

 

 

~Robin

Norwegian Breakaway July 2014

Carnival Miracle 2010

Carnival Legend 2006

[Susie51]

Thank you for the suggestions for shore ex.

[Vacation Master]

A third vote for Maya Chan. They will do everything in their power to make your beach day perfect!

 

Be sure to try the guacamole.....some of the best I've had.

 

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