hHow safe are the Cozumel and Belize excursions

[shelby]

I hadn't really considered it before but after talking to someone about the trip I started thinking maybe I should rethink. We were planning on breaking into two groups. Hubby and the 3 boys(older teens) on a tubing type excursion and me and my 7 year old on a Ruin trip.... But then I started thinking.... this is an all day trip... across to the mainland on some of them.... is it safe or wise to go by myself with a young child? Or am I maybe tempting fate? I haven't decided which ruin to go to or at which port.

[shelby]

I hadn't really considered it before but after talking to someone about the trip I started thinking maybe I should rethink. We were planning on breaking into two groups. Hubby and the 3 boys(older teens) on a tubing type excursion and me and my 7 year old on a Ruin trip.... But then I started thinking.... this is an all day trip... across to the mainland on some of them.... is it safe or wise to go by myself with a young child? Or am I maybe tempting fate? I haven't decided which ruin to go to or at which port.

[Dave]

I am probably not a good one to answer this, since I really don't like the idea of families splitting up and going so far apart - some on Cozumel and the other on the mainland. If something happens to one of the groups - and it doesn't have to be a bad thing physically, but maybe just one of the groups being stranded - then it gets to be a major mess in a hurry. Ya know what I mean?

[Sonny V]

I would say it's safe, but anything could happen; especially on an all day tour.

Sonny

[shelby]

yes, that's kindof wht i mean...I don;t think we would be attacked,etc...but like you said lots of things could happen..and/or just I could be taken advantage of being alone.

When we went to Nassau last year we split up and I am just remembering... Hubby and daughter went to the dolphins and ours got cancelled. So we went into town for a few hours and I was very self conscious. Even though my boys are both bigger than me in size I still felt vunerable without an adult man with me.

[billybuzzy]

Shelby-The distance between Cozumel and the Yucatan Peninsula is substantial-not a good idea to split a family group up! Depending on time of year the water between the two can get rough and ferries do get cancelled! Belize is on the mainland and would lend itself to some nice ruin tours!

Bon Voyage,

BillyBuzzy

[Lil' Lori]

Twice we have done the same mayan ruin tour in Belize. It is about 8 hours long. It includes, about a 1 hour bus ride, a 45 min fast boat ride down a river, then exploring the ruins, then the river and bus ride back. Anyways, both times we booked with RCCL. On the second time we did this, one of the boats broke down. So, there we are, in the middle of the Belize jungle in a broken down boat. It took about 30 min for the them to get the boat working again. The scary thing is, if we would of booked the excursion with a private tour group, our ship would of had no idea of our delay. So, be careful booking a long, complicated tour with a private tour group. The ship has no idea what you are doing, or where you are. I just thought I would share my story. Lil' Lori

[Sandi10]

Funny you should ask, we cruised there last spring and my travelling companions were very leary of even getting off the ship in Belize and they all agreed it was one of the best port days. We did not book any excursions as we were 4 women who wanted to beach and shop. I always google where we are going and found an excellent place in Cozumel, a beautiful beach with a bar & restaurant, imaculate washrooms, outside shower, good food, reasonable drinks and attentive waiters and it was free for an umbrella, chair and use of the beach. For $7 you could use the water climbing wall in the ocean, use snorkel gear, etc. I believe there were water toys included (non motorized) for that price as well. It was a super day and we met a big group from Carnival there. We paid $20 to get there but he gave us a tour of the devestation from the Sunami, and $15 to get back there were lots of taxis available and safe. Please get off and do shop as well, we got some great deals and the people are so lovely, tourism is their mainstay and they have worked so hard to rebuild. We were so glad we did.
Shopping is great in Belize as well, take home some hot sauce. We ended up taking a tour of Belize that we picked up right when we got off the boat. It was so informative, interesting, a little warm as the AC in the van we were in was a bit stretched, but the driver was a 12 out of 10 with the tour he provided. I would not go off the cruise port unless I was in a structured tour, but we did go thru the downtown and it was very interesting and I saw nothing at all alarming. It would have been such a waste not to have discovered Belize.

Hope that is helpful.