First time cruise couple, 12 day western Caribbean

[stinax182]

Hey everyone! I'm Christina and my boyfriend and I are going on our first cruise March 2016 on Anthem of the Seas. We're 23 and have always wanted to travel but never had the money. My parents went on their first RCI cruise in 2012 and loved it and told us of the deals cruises offer. We have a year to pay it off so I want to do it right.

 

 

 

My number one priority is the shore excursions in the 6 ports: Labadee, Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico. We love animals, nature and adventure. I enjoy beaches and shopping but I'd like to use the 8 hours at each port as best as I can. I understand that it's safer to book excursions through the cruise line and would like to do so but I am open to other licensed excursions on the ports.

 

 

 

Any advise for first time cruisers, specific excursion experiences, or port knowledge is appreciated!

[kzam715]

This is just us, but we have never booked an excursion from the cruise line. We usually get off the ship, find a scooter or car rental (depends on the island) and explore on our own! We've done guided island tours before, but they're just not our thing. And we always found those off the ship as well. There will be lots of locals waiting for you when you get off!

We did Grand Cayman last year and rented scooters and drove to Rum Point. Rum Point, I highly recommend! Driving a scooter the whole way there, not so much! But, we just did a beach day there.

We also did Cozumel on the same cruise and booked an all inclusive beach club beforehand. It is called Nachi-Cocom. I believe it was $55 a person for use of all the facilities, (pool, chairs, water mats, restrooms etc) unlimited drinks and a 4 course lunch (which was AMAZING). Again, another beach day, but it was perfect!

I haven't been to any of the other places you're going, so I can't help you out there! But, one point of advice for on the ship, which took me 3 cruises to figure out (yes, I'm an idiot), there is already a 15% gratuity on your alcohol purchases! So, the servers on my first 3 cruises all got amazing tips! ;) Now I know!

[George C]

Wow 12 day cruise for 1st cruise, since you love animals think of Anthony Key in Roatan they have a fantastic dolphin encounter you get to spend a lot of time with the dolphins, we have done many different dolphin encounters and that was by far the best .

[stinax182]

This is just us, but we have never booked an excursion from the cruise line. We usually get off the ship, find a scooter or car rental (depends on the island) and explore on our own! We've done guided island tours before, but they're just not our thing. And we always found those off the ship as well. There will be lots of locals waiting for you when you get off!

 

 

We did Grand Cayman last year and rented scooters and drove to Rum Point. Rum Point, I highly recommend! Driving a scooter the whole way there, not so much! But, we just did a beach day there.

 

 

We also did Cozumel on the same cruise and booked an all inclusive beach club beforehand. It is called Nachi-Cocom. I believe it was $55 a person for use of all the facilities, (pool, chairs, water mats, restrooms etc) unlimited drinks and a 4 course lunch (which was AMAZING). Again, another beach day, but it was perfect!

 

 

I haven't been to any of the other places you're going, so I can't help you out there! But, one point of advice for on the ship, which took me 3 cruises to figure out (yes, I'm an idiot), there is already a 15% gratuity on your alcohol purchases! So, the servers on my first 3 cruises all got amazing tips! ;) Now I know!

 

 

 

Thank you for the advice! That is great to know about the alcohol purchases.... Does that include on and off the boat?

 

 

 

And in Cozumel I think we might do a beach day. I'm usually one for a private beach rather than the tourist traps.

[stinax182]

Wow 12 day cruise for 1st cruise, since you love animals think of Anthony Key in Roatan they have a fantastic dolphin encounter you get to spend a lot of time with the dolphins, we have done many different dolphin encounters and that was by far the best .

 

 

 

 

 

I know, that's what our travel agent said! We're so excited! A couple stops on our itinerary offer dolphin encounters which I'm very interested in! So than you for the review!

[Mr. Traveler]

Well, welcome to cruising, you will love it. I must say that you are going to spoil yourself jumping right into a 12 day! The first couple of times we cruised we were a little nervous of doing things by ourselves, so we did excursions through the boat. 15 cruises later, we do a mix of exploring on our own and ship excursions, it just depends. Usually it is cheaper to do it on your own, but sometimes the few extra bucks is well spent when you don't have to do so much leg work. For example from St. Thomas we wanted to go to St. John. We did it on our own. We had to catch a cab, then a ferry and then another cab in St. John. The ships excursion picked you up by boat right at the pier and costs about $40 more per person. I think next time we will opt for the ships excursion because it was a bit of a press getting back to the ship, and God forbid if anything went wrong on the way. If you want to do an island tour, hang outside the boat and you will find other couples trying to do the same thing and you can group up and hire a taxi to do a tour. As for specific things to do. Try Paradise Beach in Cozumel (probably best to do through the ship as a ferry will take you). Really pretty white sand, and nice water. Grand Cayman has a nice shipwreck that you can snorkel around, and this a ship excursion as well. Have fun and explore and have a great time.:D

[DaNana]

Good for you taking a 12 day cruise! Register for Crown and Anchor! Go find your Roll Call as that is a great place to find others who have been to these ports before.

Labadee has a zip line that is wonderful!

Check out your ports at:

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

Enjoy!;)

[Merion_Mom]

Hey everyone! I'm Christina and my boyfriend and I are going on our first cruise March 2016 on Anthem of the Seas. We're 23 and have always wanted to travel but never had the money. My parents went on their first RCI cruise in 2012 and loved it and told us of the deals cruises offer. We have a year to pay it off so I want to do it right.

 

 

 

My number one priority is the shore excursions in the 6 ports: Labadee, Haiti, Falmouth, Jamaica, Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Mexico, Roatan, Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico. We love animals, nature and adventure. I enjoy beaches and shopping but I'd like to use the 8 hours at each port as best as I can. I understand that it's safer to book excursions through the cruise line and would like to do so but I am open to other licensed excursions on the ports.

 

 

 

Any advise for first time cruisers, specific excursion experiences, or port knowledge is appreciated!

 

Good for you taking a 12 day cruise! Register for Crown and Anchor! Go find your Roll Call as that is a great place to find others who have been to these ports before.

Labadee has a zip line that is wonderful!

Check out your ports at:

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

Enjoy!;)

 

Besides researching activities on your ports of call at the link that DaNana provided, join your Roll Call!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2032641

[micmacmissy]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

My suggestions for port days:

Labadee: good beach day, get off ship early and head to Columbus Cove

 

Falmouth: ugh, I have no good suggestions...ship sponsored tour is a good idea here

 

Grand Cayman: use a private tour company (check trip advisor) and do a tour of Stingray City. 7 mile beach afterward is wonderful.

 

Cozumel: look into Nachi Cocum for a quiet, private beach day

 

Have fun planning!

[Jimmers]

The bad news is that with this being your first cruise, 12 days and six ports of call, you're going to spend alot more money than you think. The good news is that the memories it buys you will last a lifetime:).

[stinax182]

Thanks for the tips guys! I want to do something at every port but I understand that things get expensive, haha. I have a year to save up so I'm hoping I can plan everything accordingly. I've never left New England so this is my first vacation and with the money I'm spending, I probably won't go on another for awhile so I'm going all out. I'm really interested in the less touristy parts of the islands but also anything animal related.... I'm definitely going to stingray island and the sea turtle farm in the grand Cayman 🐢🐢

[clawmachine]

Stingray City in Grand Cayman and Chankanaab Ecological Park in Cozumel were both fantastic! I don't see this mentioned much here, but Chankanaab has this little "forest" just off the beach filled with smaller replicas of famous Mayan ruins. Really cool spot with gorgeous birds and reptiles wandering around you.. (My husband and son did the manatee encounter at Chankanaab but honestly I think the rest of the family had more fun just wandering the beautiful grounds!)

 

We have had WAY better luck and spent WAY less booking tours outside of the cruise lines. If you think about it, these independent companies have just as much to lose if not more to lose if they get bad reviews online, so they typically strive hard to please you!

Edited January 29, 2015 by clawmachine

[stinax182]

 

 

 

 

 

We have had WAY better luck and spent WAY less booking tours outside of the cruise lines. If you think about it, these independent companies have just as much to lose if not more to lose if they get bad reviews online, so they typically strive hard to please you!

 

 

 

HM, I never thought of it like that, thank you! My boyfriend is being a pessimist about excursions booked without the boat because he doesn't want to get left behind. But I want the most out of my vacation and I'm starting to realize that some excursions are better booked elsewhere, especially if I want to save money.

[clawmachine]

HM, I never thought of it like that, thank you! My boyfriend is being a pessimist about excursions booked without the boat because he doesn't want to get left behind. But I want the most out of my vacation and I'm starting to realize that some excursions are better booked elsewhere, especially if I want to save money.

 

 

not only that, but they often are more flexible with age ranges, equipment, and so forth. We would not have been allowed to take our then 3-year old daughter to Stingray City if we had gone through the cruiseline tours (DCL) but the independent company (just short walk from the dock - I'll think of the name in a bit!) was professional, very safe, and easily allowed her age to join. Much cheaper too. This year in St. Maarten, we will be using an independent group to do the "rhino riders" boat tour because they allow 3 people to a boat, and children as young as 5, whereas RC charges MUCH more and restricts to age 10 and up, no 3-person boats. So our family of 5 wouldn't even be able to go if we chose that one. Definitely google for tour company reviews online though! Many of them have online chats and 1-800 numbers for any questions you have. MOST ask that you pay them in cash or travelers checks when you arrive and MOSt have a policy where you will not be charged if for some reason your ship docks late or fails to dock on that day...

 

and tell him this too: you'll quickly notice that the guys who drive the RC sponsored tours are basically the same kind of guys/gals (and sometimes exact same type of vehicles) who drive all the other tours!

Edited January 29, 2015 by clawmachine

[clawmachine]

I just found it - Captain Marvin's Stingray City tours. We had a blast and they were very professional!

 

https://www.captainmarvins.com/

[Jimmers]

I just found it - Captain Marvin's Stingray City tours. We had a blast and they were very professional!

 

https://www.captainmarvins.com/

 

 

As I recall that's who we used for Stingray City. Great time. Pretty sure it was a ship excursion as that's generally what we go with. We've used independents on occasion also and have never had a problem.

 

Personally, I do feel a bit more comfortable knowing that RCCL is standing behind the excursion. If something goes wrong it would seem easier and more convenient dealing with the excursions or guest relations desk than with an independent operation back on the island.

 

In any case I wouldn't pick one of the other based on the cost which I doubt would be that much different anyway. The main reason that I would go with a reputable independent would be if RCCL didn't offer the type of excursion I was interested in or if I wanted to do something with a smaller group of people. Besides checking the reputation of the independents, one should always check the cancellation policies.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Jimmers

[tidygirl]

Labadee- You have to do either a ships excursion or just make it a day at the beach. Also walk around on some of the paths and you get different views of the island. Last time we were there we did the fishing village tour which was kind of neat actually saw a house there that accommodates 13 people (not sure how)

Be prepared in the flea market the sellers are very aggressive! Our first cruise was several years ago and Labadee was our first stop the set up of the island was different and we started to walk through the market just browsing to see what we may be interested in. It was so overwhelming the kids and I just hurried to get out of there! Hubby we thought we were going to have to go rescue! LOL

Grand Cayman - Check out Captain Crosby on Trip advisor we had an enjoyable trip with them several years ago

Roatan- We did our own thing here by getting a taxi we had originally wanted to go snorkeling on the 1 side of the islands but they had storms the day before and it wasn't any good. Since then I have heard things have become more unsafe so would likely do a ship excursion next time?

Costa Maya -we did a ship excursion to the ruins. We had talked to a Mexican guy on 1 of our cruises with family still in Mexico and he told us some horror stories of what is going on there so I felt safer going with a tour bus.

Cozumel- We did the Xtrail dune buggies to Jade caverns we had a blast our 3 young adult kids and new son-in-law (22-26) enjoyed the freedom of getting good old mom muddy without getting in trouble!

We have been on about 11 cruises and mostly book our own excursions or just do it ourselves. It is much cheaper and more flexible. I will do a ship excursion if I feel safety is a concern or they do a tour I may not be able to do on our own

Happy Planning!

[stinax182]

Thank you, very useful information.

[shippmates]

We do both ship excursions or private tours. There are some that I would not do anything but a ship excursion. The excursion that comes to mind is the Mayan Ruins in Cozumel. The ruins in Tulum is an 8 hr trip and includes a ferry ride and a bus ride. I would only do this with the ship as the return trip could be delayed due to traffic or having to wait on the ferry. At least if you are delayed the ship will wait for your tour to return. Falmouth I would do a ship excursion also due to safety.

 

Have a great time planning this trip.