|
 |
Grand Cayman - wagzz21's Rating: 5.0
Grand Cayman - LOVED IT! LOVED IT! LOVED IT! We just got off the boat there & found someone who was holding a sign for Stingray City (which is what we wanted to do). We paid $40 each & waited about 20 minutes. Took a bus about 20 minutes & boarded a boat with about 20 other people. Went out with our guides who were extremely nice & accommodating for about 20 minutes to the sandbar in the middle of the ocean. AMAZING EXPERIENCE! It was kind of creepy, a little scarry, and YES they have their barbs, but this was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! Truly worth it, even if you are afraid. The creatures were just awe-inspiring. Very VERY cool. We then went another 5-10 minutes down & stopped at a reef to snorkle. They provided the equipment (questionable as to the cleanliness of it, but I figured, what the heck....). I could only do a little bit of snorkling because I forgot a specialized plug I needed for my ear (there's a tube in it), but what I did do was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Clearest water ever. Spent about 20 minutes there. Then went to another location where there were giant starfish (I mean GIANT). That was awesome. Then back to the boat. Very nice day. LOVED the trip, but unfortunately can't remember who it was through. "Sasha" was the woman we bought it from, if you can find her! :-) Oh, and they did take pics of us kissing the stingrays & putting them on our backs... pricey to buy, but we did. It was 2 for $30 or all of them (about 6 or 7) for $40 - on a cd they burn there. We bought all of them.
|
 More Grand Cayman Reviews
|
|
Grand Cayman Port Profile
|
Grand Cayman Forum
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Cozumel - wagzz21's Rating: 2.0
Cozumel, Mexico - ugh. We did the Tulum / Ultramar Mayan Ruins excursion through Carnival. I wouldn't recommend it. The only reason we went through Carnival was because of the length of the tour - if you take their tour, they promise not to leave you if you're late getting back - and I would agree with doing this tour in that regard. We had a matter of minutes to get back on board when we got back (and we were the first to leave in the morning!)... HOWEVER, this tour was very touristy & it was irritating to the point that I'm STILL irritated about it. They stopped at a "mayan workshop" to see all the "authentic" goods. Whatever. Seemed like a typical souvenir shop to me - and was overpriced & boring. VERY VERY set up to make it impossible for you to have additional time to go shop at the bargain places in Cozumel. Our tour guide was informative and told us all about the history on the way to Tulum, BUT the only thing they had on board to drink was beer (for $2) - the tour said they would have light snack & drink (this came AFTER Tulum & was a water that did not taste well & a baggie of chips). When we finally got to Tulum (after a 40 minute ferry ride & 1 1/2+ hr bus ride), they kept us on board to tell us the 'meet up' time, etc. It was apparent why as soon as we stepped out. The bus was surrounded by guys trying to put hats on our heads & have us buy them, or to sell us maps or tour books of Tulum. This didn't stop the entire time we were there. We were heckled constantly. Even down to a guy holding an iguana who asked us if we wanted to hold it. My husband did & I took his picture & the guy held out his hand & demanded $5. They followed us around everywhere & threw merchandise in our faces to sell it. We ate at their little restaurant - 2 plates of basic tacos & 1 beer - they came up after we ate & said $17 (YES, U.S. Dollars). If you have ever been to Mexico before, you know this is ridiculous! You can eat for less than $1 in most places there! So, we told him we would pay $14 & walked off. They took it. One other set that was there got a quesadilla and 2 margaritas & it cost them over $32. The food was decent but I would save your $$ & get the Mexican on board the ship - just as good, I would imagine, and free! The ruins, themselves, however, were neat. Not a whole ton of information from the guide on the individual ruins, however. We had 1 1/2 hours to explore on our own. It was EXTREMELY - and I mean EXTREMELY hot out there. To the point that you wanted to fall over. Bring LOTS of water! There is a staircase to a beach below the ruins that you can swim at. We stood on the bluff above it & it was nice & windy & helped to cool us down. It was absolutely breathtaking! We did not swim there, however, because my knee was bothering me & I did not want to do the stairs that day (there were about 100 in total & somewhat steep).. I will say that this was the ONLY day I was waiting to get back to the ship! In fairness to the Cozumel stop, however, I will say that everyone we talked to who went to the beaches, shopping, etc. OUTSIDE of Carnival's tours had a wonderful time!
|
|
More Cozumel Reviews
|
|
Cozumel Port Profile
|
Cozumel Forum
|
|
|
|
|
|
Belize City - wagzz21's Rating: 5+
Belize - I think this was my FAVORITE port of all. It was so authentic. We went through Major Tom (google him). $202 for 2 of us bought us transportation, a very thorough tour guide, a ride through the city & little villages which made us very thankful for all that we have, a hike in the rainforest, ziplining above the jungle, and cave tubing, and a traditional Belizian meal (seasoned chicken, rice/beans, slaw, and "juice"). All around, this was a great day. A work out, but a great day. The hike up to the ziplining was a little rough at times (again... knee problem... there were several sets of very steep stairs), but once there, it was a great time! I am deathly afraid of heights & honestly this was not that bad - the underbrush/trees were very thick & most of the time you could not see the ground. The scarriest part, I think, was actually the "rappel" down at the end (you aren't actually rappelling, you are just being lowered - FAST - 40 feet on a rappel rig - it was scarry). But, every single one of them was professional & nice. It was a pleasant time. The cave tubing was great too. A bit of a hike there, but not a bad hike at all. We were in a small group of 4 of us plus our guide, Javier. He was somewhat quiet, but very informative when we asked questions. It was really a good time. We saw a bat in the walk-through cave, and the floating caves were just neat. A little scarry at times in the faster water (we got caught up as a group on one rock & had to separate & get back together down river). Overall, one of the best times I've had. These people know what they are doing & they don't heckle you & are nothing but nice the whole time. GREAT TIME!
|
|
More Belize City Reviews
|
|
Belize City Port Profile
|
Belize City Forum
|
|
|
|
|
|
Roatan - wagzz21's Rating: 5.0
Isla Roatan, Honduras - we went to Fins & Flippers (private place - not through Carnival). I think it is being renamed Maya Key? It is a private beach/island. They pick you up & ferry you over there - maybe 5 minutes from the port. Once there, you can rent snorkle equipment ($8, $5 extra if you want a lifejacket), and pay your entry fee (ours was only $20+tax each since we made an early reservation - the rates are going up to $50 per person though, so be aware). Then, we watched them feed sea lions & took their pictures standing a matter of 4 inches away. Amazing. We then walked around & saw their birds (macaw parrots, etc.), monkeys, wild cats, and small (4 foot?) nurse sharks, etc. (it is an animal sanctuary). They apparently had stingrays too but I could not see them from where we were on the dock. The most amazing thing happened with the oscalot (large cat) and one of the larger monkeys. They have them in cages, but the sides of the cages are chain link fencing, essentially. The oscalot stuck her foot out and played with our snorkle equipment, claws in. Very cool. The monkey actually stuck his hand our and held my hand and made kissing noises toward me. I wanted to bring him home! :-) (Obviously I am an animal lover, so this place was awesome to me!). We also saw a few wild lizards, birds, etc. Very cool place. The snorkling was not as impressive as Grand Cayman, but it was still very cool. Not a whole lot of fish varieties that I saw, but the coral/reef was neat. Beware: don't touch it! I ran into it accidentally & I paid. I paid dearly. It will rip your skin right off in less than a second & leave 1000's of tiny but deep slices in your skin. Very painful. Fortunately, I had silver sulfadine cream (prescription burn cream that I use in place of neosporin because it works miracles on EVERYTHING) with me. I put that on the spots & covered with a plastic baggy held on by bandaids for the night. Though there in the morning, it looked much much better. Still there but it doesn't hurt anymore & looks much better. But, my warning continues here: AVOID THE CORAL AT ALL EXPENSES or you will be very sorry. This was my ONLY criticism about this place: they gave NO warnings about this, or that there are portions of the reef where if you are not careful, you will get stuck on top of a bunch of coral that you'll have to carefully maneuver over to avoid. The beach was nice, but we honestly didn't spend a lot of time there after my encounter with the coral. They provided me with some antiseptic cream to use immediately and it helped - a lot. We sat by the pool in the shade for awhile & just enjoined the peace. And some food. It was pretty decent, but a bit pricey. I might suggest that they offer a small snack or drinks or something to be included if they're going to charge $50 for this place. That's a little high in my opinion, just given the amount of time you are able to spend there because you have to get back to the boat so early on Honduras day... In any event, with those small criticisms being all, I enjoyed this day immensely & would go back any day. Very nice people. Absolutely NO heckling there! We did take the ferry back about 30 minutes early to "shop" the street on the way back to the ship. That was a LOT of fun. TERRIFIC deals here! They will really bargain with you on the price. Offer them something other than what they are asking (you'll get it cheaper every time). This was the ONLY "authentic" type shopping we encountered anywhere (everywhere else it was more shop-like and professional with cash registers, etc. This place was literally street vendors with authentic goods. AWESOME! BEware, however: you WILL be heckled immensely by the kids in the streets (they ALL run up to you and ask, "Lady, give me a dollar?" and will follow you around asking you questions & begging for money. It would be fine to give one a dollar, but there are hundreds of them. So beware. I'd also beware of pickpockets - there are a LOT of people in the streets...) I would have felt safe on this street by myself. I would not, however, have gone into any of the "upstairs" or "alleyway" places by myself. A little shady there, if you ask me. But, this was a great experience & I really liked the place a lot. Best bang for the buck was here, for sure.
|
|
More Roatan Reviews
|
|
Roatan Port Profile
|
Roatan Forum
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
