dorymarb

Will be in ports of Cozumel, Georgetown and Belize City Jan. 3 - 10. Anyone know of best sights to see and how to make arrangements rather than through cruiseline?

Delandry

We stayed in Cozumel a few years ago. The island is filled with Scuba divers so if you are ceritified there are some great wall dives. There is a dive club at the Fiesta America resort. If you are not into scuba...the snorkeling is great as well. I would also recommend renting a car (they have the old VW's). We toured around the island and found a really small beach (a very secluded Playa) just past Fiesta American with a small bar/grill and laid at the beach for a while. Then we drove even further to the other side of the island (no resorts there). It was nice to see the difference in the waves and the island life...and all of the lizards. The town you arrive in is nice too, but it did get very busy with the cruise ships/tourists coming in for the day.

As far as Belize City, I was there in 2000. There are tours to the ruins (if you are into that), I am more of beach person, in that case, you should take a quick flight(10 minutes) to Ambergris Caye...the water is just fantastic. I think the reef there is 2nd to Austrailia. There is also excellent fishing and again if you are into scuba...check out the blue hole!

I hope this helps!!

Have fun!

Kristen

In Grand Cayman, Stingray City is a must do! Go with Captain Marvins.

Another option is to go to Rum Point...you can catch the ferry from the Hyatt.

RonUSVI

Cozumel is shopping and Carlos and Charlie's(party joint). They have nice beaches and some Mayan ruins. Rent a car and drive around, not many roads, so you can't get lost!
Belize is different. No shopping per se, and some beaches and ruins, I would look for a guide there. I found one on a cruise site that worked out well. His name is Winston and he is with cbelize.com.
Cayman has quite a few attractions. There is shopping as you get off your launch. They have 7 mile beach, as well as the Turtle Farm, Sting Ray City and a place called Hell!
They have some of the best diving in the Caribbean there.
In any port, I would get off the ship and try to 'pick up' a tour from one of the many taxis that will be trying to sell you one. They offer the same tour as the excursions on the ship, for much less money!
Go to cruisecritic.com, then go to Ports of Call, lots of good info there!
Good luck!
Ronnie
PS What ship are you on? We were on the Carnival Paradise.

dorymarb

To RonUSVI

Thanks for the info - you answered my question. We've always booked the excursions as offered by the cruise line, but have wondered if it was safe to wait till we got to port.

We are on Royal Carribbeans Nordic Empress.

curiousx

The half-day snorkelling trip I took while at anchor in Belize City was excellent. In the same excursion, we went to Swallow Cay to see lots of manatees and pincushion starfish, to Shark Alley to swim with the manta rays and sharks, and then a long snorkel through the coral reef (the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere. This was followed by a visit to Caulkers Cay for a a cold one.

I took the ship's excursion, because of concerns about time and distance...and a good thing too, because we were about an hour late returning.

If booking snorkelling or diving independently, however, Coral Breezes is highly recommended. Arrangements can be made over the internet. Check out the Ports of Call Bulletin Board at www.cruisecritic.com for more info.

On the same day, others went on an all-day ship excursion to Tikal, the Mayan ruins in Guatemala. This involved a lot of travelling (tender, bus, air, hiking) but they said it was worth it.