Shore excursions--Jamaica & Costa Maya

[croozymooner]

My husband and I are sailing on the Veendam in December (first time on Holland America, have done Carnival and Celebrity before) and would like some info on a couple of shore excursions to see if they're worth the cost! The first is in Jamaica--it's the Mountain to Sea by bicycle (2000 foot descent by bicylce that stops at a few different places over 4 hours). The second is in Costa Maya and is the Mayan Reality Tour (seeing and experiencing modern Mayan life and culture over 4 1/2 hours). We're in our twenties and like the more active/athletic activities and those with educational value although due to husband's lung condition cannot do water activities like Scuba/Snuba. Thanks for any advice!

[Southbound]

We visited Costa Maya while on the Volendam for the holidays last Dec. and it was the highlight of our cruise. Based on the many recommendations found on the CC ports of call forum, we booked a tour with Native Way (David & Ivan) to see the Mayan ruins and lunch with a Mayan family. The tour is done in a van with a/c with occupancy of 6-8 people, rather than a large group on a bus, and the cost was less than the ship's excursion (with no lunch). It was a very interesting, informative and comfortable four-hour tour, with plenty of time afterwards to shop, explore the village near the pier, and have a cool one under the shade of a palm tree on the beach.:)

[LolaWiz]

We did not do tours with the ship on Jamaica or in Costa Maya and i would not have done it any other way.

 

FIrst off, if you at all would enjoy horseback riding, i have a name and company that i used that i LOVED! It was cheaper than the ship and a lot smaller of a group. We will never forget the wonderful time we had in Jamaica with the wonderful folks there.

 

Also, for costa maya, we wanted to do the ruins too and i found a great tour group to do it with on here. When we got there, our group was small (only 15 people) and when we were walking around, we saw HORDS of people with HAL stickers on them... how could they enjoy the ruins when you could not ask questions, hear the tour guide... anything.

Again... it was much cheaper too.

 

Take a look at our cruise photos in my sig to see the exursions we took and feel free to ask about who we used.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Also, for costa maya, we wanted to do the ruins too and i found a great tour group to do it with on here. When we got there, our group was small (only 15 people) and when we were walking around, we saw HORDS of people with HAL stickers on them... how could they enjoy the ruins when you could not ask questions, hear the tour guide... anything.

Again... it was much cheaper too.

 

Take a look at our cruise photos in my sig to see the exursions we took and feel free to ask about who we used.

 

Yes, please, Lola, I would like to know who you used for your tour in Costa Maya. Thanks very much.

 

Karin

[OllieGator]

We did not do tours with the ship on Jamaica or in Costa Maya and i would not have done it any other way.

 

FIrst off, if you at all would enjoy horseback riding, i have a name and company that i used that i LOVED! It was cheaper than the ship and a lot smaller of a group. We will never forget the wonderful time we had in Jamaica with the wonderful folks there.

 

Also, for costa maya, we wanted to do the ruins too and i found a great tour group to do it with on here. When we got there, our group was small (only 15 people) and when we were walking around, we saw HORDS of people with HAL stickers on them... how could they enjoy the ruins when you could not ask questions, hear the tour guide... anything.

Again... it was much cheaper too.

 

Take a look at our cruise photos in my sig to see the exursions we took and feel free to ask about who we used.

 

Lola, can you please e-mail me at olliegator at gmail dot com with the name of the horseback riding tour group you used? Did you get to run the horse on the beasch?

 

TIA,

 

OllieGator