Carnival Glory 8/23/08 - Non-excursions??

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Gina Gee

Guest
Hi Everyone!

I'm fairly new to the forum and have never posted anything. I have gotten tons of answers from just reading the various posts and am so grateful to have found this website!!

I am taking my second cruise in about 3 weeks. From my first cruise, I am truly hooked. I am planning my next one before I even had the second one.

I went on the Carnival Imagination last August with my two daughters, my sister and my niece. It was a girls only cruise! LOL. I had a good time, but, I think I could've made it so much better if I had known some of the things I know now. This year, I'm going on the Carnival Glory on 8/23 - 8/30. I'm taking my whole family which includes my husband, my two daughters, stepdaughter and two stepsons.

As you can imagine, I am trying to save some money and we've decided that we are going to drive to FL rather than fly. There are just too many things that could go wrong, from paying extra for luggage, lost luggage, delayed flights, etc. We are coming from NYC, so there is about a 17+ hour ride. We are stopping in Baltimore on 8/21 & Orlando on 8/22.

Well, (what a long intro) I wanted to know if we are able to just lounge at the beach at the ports. I mean, I do want to do at least one excursion with the family, finances permitting. But, I want to know, if I am not able to due to financial constraints, can I just go to the nearest beach and relax on the sand?

I would like to see the various different sights (we are going to Cozumel, Belize, Roatan & Bahamas), but, I don't think that I will have the money to tour, etc.

Is it possible to just not do any excursions and go to the beach?

Thank you for your responses! ( I know it sounds stupid)=huh

Gina :)
 
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Mbandy

Guest
Hi Gina. If you've been lurking around here then you know there's no such thing as a stupid question.

Some places you can just beach it.

In Cozumel we went to Playa Corona one time. It is a little, out of the way beach bar with some pretty good snorkeling right off the beach and coming from me that's a good complement since I prefer snorkeling off a dive boat. About $5 in a Taxi each way and you pay $5 for a table and use of the showers, etc. You can rent snorkel equipment there for pretty cheap too and there is a restaurant if you want a snack. We enjoyed it mostly because it was out of the way and not crowded like most beaches and, again, the snorkeling off the beach is not bad at all. We saw schools of fish and lots of coral. Not much of a sandy beach at Playa Corona but the swimming and snorkeling was jsut fine. We stayed several hours in the morning and went back to the ship for lunch and then did some shopping in the afternoon. The link below will show you a number of Cozumel beaches and you'll have to scroll all the way down to see Playa Corona. Mr Sancho's is also a popular spot but when I went there the beach snorkeling wasn't that hot.

http://www.caribbeanportreviews.com/CozumelWestBeaches.htm

In the Bahamas I suggest Cable Beach. It is about $10 in a taxi each way. Cable Beach is on the Ocean and is probably the best beach to go to. Most taxis want to take you to Paradise Island. There are some beaches there but they are on the harbor and not the ocean.

Roatan has some nice beaches but I am not to familiar with them as the one time we were there we had a snorkel trip scheduled. The best beaches on Roatan are on the leeward side of the island which is the other side freom where the cruise ship docks. Not sure about the transportation cost there because it was included in our snorkel package.

Belize City itsself did not impress me one bit. Beach property in Belize is somewhat scarce because the barrier reef off the country's coast blocks many of the mineral deposits needed to form sandy beaches. This means that Belize is not the ideal spot if you plan to lounge on expansive white-sand beaches. For Belize, if you don't take a tour out to one of the Cayes and do some snorkeling out on the reef you'll really be missing out on the best that Belize has to offer. Save your pennies if you can and do an excursion in Belize. My credo on a vacation is no "Woulda Coulda Shouldas". Here are two really great excursions in Belize.

This one was our favorite...
http://www.coralbreezetours.com/Bel...y.15/Product.150/tours_add.html?t_product=150

We loved this one too.
http://www.shoretrips.com/common/search4.asp?rcode=CAR&lcode=BZE&tcode=029491

Hopefully one paid excursion on a four port cruise will be doable for you. IMHO it would be a shame to stay on the mainland in Belize.

=funsign or your cruise =sailor
 
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Gina Gee

Guest
Thank you so much for the info! I am definitely looking into the excursions at Belize. I can't thank you enough. I am calculating the costs and seeing what would be my best option. I would actually love to do the cave tubing, but, I'm afraid of the time constraint. I will see what happens.

I can't wait to plan my next one!!

Gina :D
 
M

Mbandy

Guest
No problem Gina. I have never done the cave tubing but lots of people say it is a good time. I have never had the desire to be in a dark cave when I can be soaking up the Caribbean sunshine but that's just my preference.

What ever you decide I know you'll enjoy.
 
R

rbrb

Guest
Gina when my husband and I were in Belize we chose not to do anything except ride into port.The ships could not dock there in fact if I remember 6 miles out is as close as they could get because of the coral reefs so we enjoyed the boat ride in looked around at the shops and enjoyed the ride back. First we waited til almost all that were getting off were off so the boats only had a few on it and it was comfortable riding.We actually have to pick and choose a lot because we financially can't afford to do a lot. Cozumel is always fun because we usually just go downtown and shop and pick a restaurant to enjoy (an authentic Mexican drink is a must)One Mexican marguarita is enough!!Last time we were in Cozumel we went to a resort it was fairly reasonable in price and we had it all,pool,beach lunch buffet and even the towels were furnished but when we got back to the ship we realized the food on the ship was better the Grand would have had just as much fun in the pool on ship we would have enjoyed the same sunshine so even the small cost we paid was a waste.Have fun and enjoy the ship the Glory is wonderful!!
 
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