Excursions vs Winging it

[Floridiana]

We have this same itinerary and have been debating about the ruins in Belize.

 

 

We went to the Lamanai Mayan ruins, great trip that I recommend. It takes all day.

 

In Belize, you start with a long tender ride from your ship outside the barrier reef. Our tender was a large and safe local boat.

 

The bus was ok and almost safe. The windshield wipers didn't work in a quick downpour. The road was fine, mostly straight ahead through brush land, no traffic. Our guide on the bus was good.

 

We stopped at a small restaurant on the river for a delicious buffet lunch, local fare. Then we boarded small river boats, excellent guide, stopped and slowed down for wildlife. The ruins are hidden in a small wooded area. When we walked from the dock to the first pyramid, howler monkeys high up in the trees were really upset about our invasion, what an eerie howling!

 

The entire area is wooded and therefore shaded. You can climb the highest pyramid. It's not as high as some others, but then we were only three busloads, not hundreds of tourists. They staggered the arrival times of the small river boats, so not everybody would step on each other's toes.

 

Return via river boat, bus and tender.

[cruiserking]

You can get lucky sometimes and have a great day without planning anything but, I think in the long run you're much better off if you do some research.

 

Even if all you want to do is go to the beach, it's good to who the reliable cabs are that can take you, do they have a specific tour guide license. What bus route gets you there, how long it takes.

 

If you don't plan you're at the mercy of a bunch of strangers who will take advantage of you. It's better to be equipped with some knowledge about where you're going and what you're doing when you get there.

 

It's also much more fun to have a plan. I really enjoy researching each new destination. You might discover something you had no idea about and it ends up being one of the highlights of your cruise.

 

Jonathan

[SPacificbound]

For Belize I would book a tour ahead. Have you checked out your Roll Call? It might give you some ideas on choices of things to do.

 

Here is a link to your Roll Call>

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2164288

 

Roatan and Cozumel would be fine for just winging it. :)

[clackey]

Cozumel is easy to DIY. Grab a cab and go.

 

Roatan is good for a cab to the beach but the locals outside of the port areas will pester you to death. Our last time there we walked out of the gate in Coxen Hole and was surrounded by hawkers. We went back to the ship. Our first two trips were good. We hired a taxi for the day and went to Tabyanna Beach one time but could have booked the beach break thru Carnival cheaper. First trip we hired a cab to West End Village. He dropped us off and was supposed to return at a specified time. It started raining and he returned early. Great service.

 

Belize has nothing in town for me except the tourist village.. We have booked thru independents for cavetubing, and snorkel trips to Bannister Island and Cay Caulker. All were very good. Either take a tour or stay on the ship.

[mzloolue]

We went to the Lamanai Mayan ruins, great trip that I recommend. It takes all day.

 

In Belize, you start with a long tender ride from your ship outside the barrier reef. Our tender was a large and safe local boat.

 

The bus was ok and almost safe. The windshield wipers didn't work in a quick downpour. The road was fine, mostly straight ahead through brush land, no traffic. Our guide on the bus was good.

 

We stopped at a small restaurant on the river for a delicious buffet lunch, local fare. Then we boarded small river boats, excellent guide, stopped and slowed down for wildlife. The ruins are hidden in a small wooded area. When we walked from the dock to the first pyramid, howler monkeys high up in the trees were really upset about our invasion, what an eerie howling!

 

The entire area is wooded and therefore shaded. You can climb the highest pyramid. It's not as high as some others, but then we were only three busloads, not hundreds of tourists. They staggered the arrival times of the small river boats, so not everybody would step on each other's toes.

 

Return via river boat, bus and tender.

 

This sounds like quite an adventure.

Did you book this through Carnival?

And did you need mosquito repellent?

Edited August 10, 2015 by mzloolue

[JimAOk1945]

The way I see it, I look at each cruise as if it's my first but ONLY time I will ever visit those ports. Then I ask myself, what would I most want to see, and I plan accordingly. Why miss an opportunity that I may never have again!

 

Happy cruising!

[tetleytea]

One thing I have found with excursions is, it's possible to experience the excursion but never experience the port. For example, let's say you book a White Pass train in Skagway. You may never get to experience Skagway--you only experience the train.

 

Ideally, I would say research all your ports and book them all beforehand, but life is seldom ideal. For example this last trip, we did 7 countries, 7 languages. It was just too much to research. You just have to visit your ports of call on CC and find out which ports you need to focus your research time on. For example, Alaska: you absolutely need to book an excursion for Icy Strait ahead of time, but Juneau and Victoria can wait. You could still do better if you researched those, too, but if you lack time & experience, you can wing those.