Maya Key or Private Tour with Baby

[happilyafterever]

Hi all!

 

My husband and I will be taking our first cruise since having our daughter, who will be 10.5 months old at the time, this October. We're on RCI's Allure OTS stopping in Nassau, Cozumel, Roatan, and finally Costa Maya.

 

I've done some research and I think I've narrowed it down to taking the ferry from Coxen Hole to Maya Key, or arranging a private van tour through Bodden or Rony's Tours to take us around to West End for some shopping/local restaurants/walking around, then maybe to West Bay Beach for a short while to check out the beach and give us a chance to take turns snorkeling while the other stays with baby on the beach. We'll have her car seat, as it clicks into the stroller, so taking a taxi or van is no issue.

 

If you've done either of these with a small child or baby, would you recommend it?

 

Are there any air-conditioned areas at any of these places that we can go in to cool baby off if she starts getting warm?

 

If we book one of the private tours, does the driver stay with us the whole day, or do we need a cell phone with international minutes to call them when we want to drive somewhere else or go back to the ship? Can we leave baby's stroller in the van while we're on the beach? (I'll ask the tour company directly these questions, but am posting them here as well in case anyone who may have done these tours before knows)

 

If there's a thunderstorm with lightning, will RCI cancel/refund the Maya Key excursion?

 

I know Maya Key has snorkeling right off their pier that's supposedly pretty good. Is the snorkeling in West Bay similar?

 

Any advice or experience is greatly appreciated!!!

[laurasue]

Only speaking from research since we are going to Roatan for the first time on Allure in October too (which sailing are you on?). October is ten start of the rainy season in Roatan. It could be a quick Caribbean rain or it could be hours or days of it. Because of that we decided to book a private tour so that we could take our sons car seat (he’s 4) and leave it in the car while we explore. Also a private tour gives us the flexibility to scrap our beach day if the weather isn’t accommodating. We really want to snorkel West Bay but recent rains could make it too cloudy to be worthwhile anyhow. Maya Jay does have snorkeling but it won’t compare to West bay is what I’ve read - also the currents are stronger and you may need a guide at Maya. Anyhow, for the flexibility to accommodate weather alone is why we chose a private tour. If it’s crummy for beach and/or snorkeling we can still see the monkeys/sloths and visit the chocolate factory.

 

Happy travels! Would love to hear what you end up deciding.

[happilyafterever]

We're on the Oct 7th-14th sailing with you! You'll probably see us sometime; we'll likely be the only couple on board with a 10 month old because most people aren't crazy enough to attempt it haha.

 

Yeah, since it'll be hurricane/rainy season in October maybe a private tour is the way to go. I'm just concerned whether any shops or restaurants in West End will have A/C in case we need to escape from the heat a bit. Also, I know the drive to West End is about 30 minutes from the port, and we happen to have the one baby on earth who hates being in the car (apparently I was the same - runs in the family I guess!!), so those are the only factors making me think Maya Key may be a better option for us, but if the weather's bad I'm not sure if there's much of anything to do at Maya Key.

[laurasue]

We do crazy stuff with our kids too. We took our first one camping in CO when she was 6 weeks old. Maybe we will bump into you. We are the ones with 4 and 8 yos who hate eating and have more energy than any humans ever have. Our oldest went on a cruise when she was 3 and it was awesome. We are hoping this one will be great as well. Allure is such a kid friendly ship I’m sure you guys will have a great time!

[happilyafterever]

Yeah a lot of planning went into choosing this line and this ship. Tons of stuff to do like you said: baby splash zone that allows little ones in swim diapers to splash around, tons of food options, carousel, Royal Babies and Tots nursery drop-off so she can play with the caregivers and other kids while hubby and I eat dinner together or go see a show, etc. I'm a stay at home Mom and work from home part time, so any vacation even if a little hectic is better than a normal week! I think I'm most excited to not have to shop for or make any food for an entire week!!!

[laurasue]

Yasss! Not cooking for a week = winning!!

[bindy1]

I have been to both West Bat and Maya Kay. So here are my thoughts....

 

If you are interested in snorkeling, Maya Kay would be my choice. You can snorkel right from the end of their dock on the beach side area. And they also have animal interactions, a pool, lunch, etc

 

When we went snorkeling at West Bay, it was done as a snorkel boat excursion in addition to our day day at one of the beach resorts. You can probably snorkel from shore but it is further out from the shoreline and there is a lot of boats, jet ski, etc.

 

Another consideration with Maya Key you are depending on their boat transportation that arrives and leaves with everyone in a group at the same time. So if you little one has had enough for the day you will have to wait to leave.

 

With a West Bay beach day you will have a driver for the day. I don’t recall the company we booked through but I remember our drivers name was Charlie and he drove us all over. We went zip lining as well. And he arranged the snorkeling for us and came back to pick us up at a prescheduled time. So that may be better with a little one for the flexibility.

 

 

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[lljun]

 

 

Another consideration with Maya Key you are depending on their boat transportation that arrives and leaves with everyone in a group at the same time. So if you little one has had enough for the day you will have to wait to leave.

 

 

 

 

In the past, there were boat taxis that ran from Maya Key back to port every half hour or so. Is this no longer the case? It really made it nice for those who were ready to head back a little early.

[ScubaGirl725]

Maya Key still has their tender going back on the hour and 1/2 to all the ships dock at the Port of Roatan in Coxen Hole. It makes it so easy for parents with small kids and older people that don't want to be out in the sun all day.

[!newbiecruiser66]

When we went snorkeling at West Bay, it was done as a snorkel boat excursion in addition to our day day at one of the beach resorts. You can probably snorkel from shore but it is further out from the shoreline and there is a lot of boats, jet ski, etc. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Actually, the snorkeling from shore in West Bay is very close to the beach and absolutely top notch. There is absolutely no need to get on a boat. You are correct that there is boat traffic but there are specific channels for the boats.

 

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/West+Bay,+Honduras/@16.2727217,-86.6010329,871m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8f69c28bc660f773:0x1caf61a67790bf24!8m2!3d16.2764779!4d-86.5968422

 

 

If you walk to the south end (shown in the map above), you can be swimming with the fish in about 30 feet.

 

I can't compare because I haven't snorkeled from Maya Key bur certainly from the aerials, there is way less coral.

 

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Maya+Cay/@16.3110439,-86.5388936,908m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x8f69e886d07b1137:0x6d31f3f5ebab35e1!8m2!3d16.3111444!4d-86.5372269

[happilyafterever]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! We ended up booking a private tour with Victor Bodden Tours for the three of us! I think the flexibility will be better for us, as well as the air conditioned vehicle to cool baby off between stops.

My rough plan is to go to West End and walk around the area for a bit, eat some local food there (have heard baleadas are a local favorite), check out Half moon Cay, maybe hit the chocolate and rum shops for samples and shopping if they’re not too far out of the way, and go to West Bay Beach if we’re not tired out by then! I would love to visit Monkey Business and hold a sloth, but with a baby in tow I’m too paranoid about bringing her near the animals before she’s had all her shots.

[bindy1]

In the past, there were boat taxis that ran from Maya Key back to port every half hour or so. Is this no longer the case? It really made it nice for those who were ready to head back a little early.

 

 

 

I don’t recall this being an option. We were on a carnival cruise and docked at mahogany bay. And we left with everyone else that had booked that excursion that day.

 

 

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[bindy1]

Maya Key still has their tender going back on the hour and 1/2 to all the ships dock at the Port of Roatan in Coxen Hole. It makes it so easy for parents with small kids and older people that don't want to be out in the sun all day.

 

 

 

Our excursion was booked directly with Carnival which docks at Mahogany Bay. There was only one tender for the group.

 

On this cruise though we were originally supposed to be on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary but changed to Western due to tropical storm. Maybe being an “unscheduled” stop and not at Coxen Hole changed our day?

 

 

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[lljun]

I don’t recall this being an option. We were on a carnival cruise and docked at mahogany bay. And we left with everyone else that had booked that excursion that day.

 

 

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We were on RC both previous visits to Maya Key (formerly Fins n Flippers, I believe). Once we booked on our own and once through the ship. Both times there was a tender that ran between the resort and the pier about every half hour. If I recall correctly, the resort provided the tender. It was really convenient because we had several in our party and we were able to return to the ship at our leisure.

[JT1962]

I don’t recall this being an option. We were on a carnival cruise and docked at mahogany bay. And we left with everyone else that had booked that excursion that day.

 

 

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Maya Key is just off the port at Coxen Hole, so they have boat shuttle service there all day. Carnival and other Carnival Corp ships dock at Mahogany Bay, which is further away. They usually only offer one or possibly two trips to / from Maya Key during the day. Since it seems you can only book Maya Key through the cruise lines now, I don’t believe you could catch a taxi from Mahogany Bay to Coxen Hole and go there on your own. At least not without giving erroneous information about how you are arriving in Roatan.

 

 

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