Traveling on Carnival Glory ship Jan 8-15th. We stop at Cozumel, Belize City, Isla Roatan & Grand Cayman. Three couples going & we are trying to decide on excursions. Are they worth the money, can we do stuff easier on our own? Which would have the best snorkeling, Cozumel or Cayman? Four of us are doing a Mayan ruins tour in Belize & 2 are going fishing, so snorkeling there is out. Favorite places to see, do, eat in these places or any other info about excursions would be helpful.

cruisecritic.com for recent reviews always save

hiring driver guide at the port...

www.xelha.com Tulum beach ruins Uxmal bigger pretty close

so some combo of that cave rubing if adventurous in Belize

http://www.belizecruiseexcursions.co...bingBelize.htm

X stream good there...

thank you qwoadis.
Noticed after I posted this, there is a very similar thread just before mine, so it had some good advice too. Appreciate your response.

I would avoid Xel-Ha and Tulum from a cruise stop in Cozumel. It's just way too far away. You'll spend more time traveling to and from than enjoying. Wait until you do a land vacation in Playa del Carmen. Cozumel is a very nice destination with great things to see and do. I would hate for anyone to skip over it for Playa.

In Cozumel, I would try one of the beach clubs or Chankanaab. Chankanaab had the best cerviche anywhere. Cozumel also has great snorkeling, but to me Grand Cayman is better. The snorkeling in Cozumel has been iffy there the last few years since the tons of hurricanes and tropical storms.

San Miguel has many great restuarants. One of my favorites is Panchos Backyard. We have spent time in Sr. Frogs, Carlos and Charlies and Margartiville also. Sorry, we just can't help ourselves.

In Grand Cayman, go to Sting Ray City with the 2 snorkel spots. There are several operators that go like Red Sail Sports, Sotos, Captain Marvins, etc. Just be sure to check to see if your ship is a tender in GC or not. We tendered in GC and it took a couple of hours to actually get on the Island and we had ship excursions and was one of the first off the ship. That will determine what time to set your excursion for.

If you've never done a stingray tour, definitely do one in Grand Cayman. We went with an operator who used catamarans, which I think are more fun (love laying in the netting at the front of the boat. I think it was called Captain Bryan's, but they may no longer be in business. We booked it directly--it was cheaper and (we heard) much less crowded than Captain Marvin's.

Chanknaab was an OK place to snorkel, though doesn't really compare to, say Aruba or St. Johns. It's an easy taxi ride from the ship. Carlos & Charlie's in Cozumel is a real blast--non-stop wild party. Would highly recommend it, but do a bit careful to keep an eye on your money--heard about one drunk customer who caught the waiter with his hand in his pocket.

Finally, if you're looking for more choices, check out this link: http://bit.ly/vyndkk

This service offers discounted exursions from a variety of operators specifically for your sailing. Includes "return to ship" guarantees, automatic refunds if you miss a port stop or the tour is cancelled due to weather, plus additional discounts if you buy multiple excursions.

Good luck!

Hi triathlete
I reviewed several review sites for all of our excursions. for roatan we found reviews from fellow cruisers on Victor Bodden tours not to mention it was at least half the price of the ships tours. We decided to go with the "best of roatan private tour for $25 per person/group of 4 or more". We asked for "Lany" the tour guide as he also came highly recommended. We were not disappointed. I was a bit worried about availability as we had left it to the week before travelling, however, Victor was very accommodating. Victor sent very clear and concise instructions on where to meet Lany as well as providing email and cell numbers in case we needed to contact them. Lany was very friendly and informative. We toured in a clean air-conditioned mini van. Our wish was Lany's command. We had decided we just wanted a tour of the island and to spend the afternoon at the beach. We had also read from other cruisers about the need of the local schools for supplies, so we included this on our tour as well. Lany took us to one of the poorer schools, where we were greeted by the children and a very appreciative teacher of the supplies we dropped off. He also took us to the other side of the island where he lived and showed us his neighborhood. When asked about a nice beach, he recommended the Mayan Princess resort for a very clean beach. There was a $10 resort fee per person, but this gave you access to the resort including beach loungers, access to the beautiful pool, showers and change rooms.
For cozumel, we got raving reviews of the cozumel bar hopping tour. About 45 a person if i remember correctly, you are met just off the ship by a great tour guide in an air conditioned bus which takes you to the other side of the island. You make stops at four great bars, get complimentary shooters and can enjoy great food. Drinks are huge and about $5 US. You get to spend approx 45-60 minutes at each bar and can eat, swim, shop or just relax at each place.
Belize, we did the cave tubing excursion. We did not book with the ship but rather privately. Got picked up at ship, taken thru a very informative walk thru the rain forest and went thru twice as many caves as the ship tours. Afterwards the owner/guide took us back to his home/business and his family prepared us an authentic and delicious meal covered in the cost. It was about $20 US cheaper than the cruise tours.
We had been skirting a tropical storm so did not get into Grand Cayman.

tudor16...do you have a website for the tour company in Roatan? we're cruising next week & haven't made any plans yet for Roatan. And what kind of school supplies did you bring??

Tudor: Sorry you missed Grand Cayman, but otherwise sounds like you made some outstanding choices. (Actually, if you had to miss one stop, CG isn't a bad one to miss. Ships usually aren't in port very long).

Glad you had such a great trip!