Ok we JUST booked to Belize City and to Cozumel in Dec 07. It is way too early to book excursions but I want to get an idea of the Don't misses and Don't bothers of these two ports. Any help would be great. We've cruised before but only to the Bahamas.
(Oh we are traveling with - two 40 year olds, two 17 year olds a 15 year old and a 7 year old)
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Carnival Fantasy 6/05
RCCL Sovereign of the Seas 4/07
RCCL Navigator 12/07
RCCL Navigator 11/08
RCCL Liberty 7/4/09
Hi Shelby. If water activites peek your family interest, I suggest Goff's Cay in Belize. It's an excursion that takes approx. 3 1/2 hrs. It still allows plenty of time to tender into Belize and see the flavor of their town.
At Goff's Cay you will be tendered to one of the most beautiful tiny islands I have ever seen. So small, in fact, that you can pretty much see clear over to the other side. There is food and beverage available. The snorkeling is perfect. The water, crystal clear. The reefs, incredible.
Personally, for me, Belize is on par with Cozumel. It is a poor port, but there are many advances being made to enrich their economy.
As for Cozumel, my absolute favorite port of all time. There have been many posts on this site regarding the conditions of Chankanaab Park, of late. Since Wilma came through with a vengance, the park is in serious disrepair, including the reefs. I know others have their favorites, including Paradise Beach. Our family likes Punta Sur Park. You can't go wrong in Cozumel. Locals are friendly and helpful. The water is bluer than blue. Locals try their best to keep Cozumel clean and orderly. Downtown is a great spot for souvenirs, trinkets, a $1 DosEquis or Corona beer, and interesting sights.
One word of caution in Cozumel... avoid water(unless bottled) and ice. Take it from someone who knows.
A'ndrea, is Goffs the island that does not have a bar? I was wondering as we took that excursion I think. It was unbelievable about the water! It was so awesome! Except for no bar
Hey, thanks for the info. I've always wanted to go to Cozumel but lost interest after the hurricanes. I'm hoping its come back some afterwards. I don't see much on the boards about Belize..yet the excursion list looks fabulous. is there a reason for the discrepency?
Our ideas so far are that I'd love to see ruins and the rain forest. We have a 7 year old daughter and the rest of our family can do any excursion..so we'll have to split up. Is either place "better" for one or the other? don't both have about the same? Also, the lady at RC said we may be better off waiting to book excusions on this cruise b/c of the ifffy weather. Any thoughts?
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Carnival Fantasy 6/05
RCCL Sovereign of the Seas 4/07
RCCL Navigator 12/07
RCCL Navigator 11/08
RCCL Liberty 7/4/09
Hi Shelby.
My experience has always been to book, book, book your excursion. They do sell out fast.
Although I have never done it, posters have raved about the Belize cave tubing. When our family returns, that will be on our excursion agenda.
I'm guessing that the reason why you haven't seen many postings regarding Belize is because it's not as well traveled as some other ports. Believe me, it's beautiful. When you look out from the deck or your balcony of the ship to Belize City in the morning, you are going to be amazed at the color of the water. Truly Magnificent.
Supposedly, the rain forest is a great excursion. Haven't been so I can't give you first hand advice. I don't know anything about the ruins in Belize. I've only been to Chichen Itza in Mexico.
I'm positive other posters will follow behind me with their perspective on other excursions.
When you are definite on what your family wants to do in Belize, book it. Don't plan for weather. Besides, it's the caribbean. Storm fronts are in and out in a short period of time. Don't base an excursion on what the weather "might" be like. Go for it.
You really can't go wrong in Cozumel. I hate it for people who never got to experience the pre-hurricane Carlos and Charlies. The more modern and commercial facility just doesn't have the same appeal. If you want to do something fun and unusal in Cozumel, I recommend the segway tour if it's offered. You get to see a lot of local scenery and crack up about how silly you look when you are riding one of these contraptions.
Shelby,I am traveling to Belize and Cozumel in July and if you want to stay in touch, I can tell you how it went. I am traveling with about the same age ranges as you so that will help. The only difference is that I am taking my dad who has alot of medical issues. As far as Belize, I have booked the cavetubing for my family, and my father and I are going snorkeling. You can book cave tubing for your 7 year old if you do it with Yhonny at cave-tubing.com. He just requires that the kids be 5 vs the one via the ship requires them to be 8, I think. My father and I are probably doing the snorkeling at Goff's Caye. I don't know how much snorkeling he will be able to do but I am sure it is beautiful anyway. We still haven't booked the Cozumel excursions yet. I will let you know what we end up doing. My kids are 18, 16, 13, and 6 so I know all about juggling the different ages. Stay in touch!
great idea. We did snorkeling on our own in Nassau the first cruise and went at Coco Cay last time and were scheduled to do it again at Nassau on a tour but got rained out. I don't know that we will snorkel this time.
We considered doing the carriage ride in Belize with my daughter but I want to look into it more. if its just a drive around a crowded city I'll pass. It seems from RC explanation it does alot but it is only a 2 hour excursion so it can't be THAT much.
Is that other tubing through caves? Would it be safe with a 7 year old?
We are taking my 17 year olds friend with us- the first time I've taken a non family member.
__________________
Carnival Fantasy 6/05
RCCL Sovereign of the Seas 4/07
RCCL Navigator 12/07
RCCL Navigator 11/08
RCCL Liberty 7/4/09
The other tubing(cave-tubing.com) is through caves and you go through 2 caves vs 1 cave if you book through the cruise. I picked the cave-tubing group because of the raves of other past people who took this excursion. They are supposed to have them wear a life jacket and the tubes are all tied together so it should be pretty safe because you could be right with your daughter. The reason I am not going is that it is a 45 minute hike through the rain forest and my dad couldn't make that. There also some other companies that do the ziplining with the cave tubing but I don't think that is available for kids that young. There is also another company that just does the cave tubing for kids. I am not sure if it is a different cave or how it is different from the general cave tubing experience. My thoughts are that if an adult can be with my daughter, she should be just fine. The water is supposed to be fairly shallow in most parts and not fast moving from what I understand. My husband is overlyprotective so I can let you know when we do the trip.
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