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Honduras/Cozumel/Belize


cruise-y

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Hi and thanks for this message board.  It's a great help!

 

We've been everywhere in the Caribbean many, many times and we especially love Caribbean music, culture and food.  We chose the Cozumel/Honduras/Belize route because these are 3 places we haven't ever been to.  We are especially looking forward to the Mayan ruins.

 

I've read some blogs where it seems to imply that this route has lots of country western music and a Texas theme, assuming that is what everyone wants since the ship leaves out of Galveston.  Nooooo!  I need steel drums and a Mai Tai for a vacation.   I can do Texas stuff at home.

 

I hope somebody here who has taken this route will be kind enough to post and give me some hope.

 

Thanks a bunch!

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Likely you read my blog post that spoke of that.

 

The good news is there is plenty of mai-tais and steel drum music to be found but you will notice a distinct country/Western motif onboard.  Don't take this to believe you are going on a cruise where it's nothing but line dancing, banjos and people saying "yee-haw".  

 

We also cruised during February, which is certainly off-season and an older clientele that cruised.  And I'd sign back up in a heartbeat because like you, I liked the route for the different ports.

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My family and I are doing this same cruise in January 2016 and are looking forward to it.  We've been to Belize once before and are looking forward to the cave tubing adventures to be had there.  The downside is that it is a tender port and quite a long tender ride.  Still deciding what to do in Cozumel (likely a beach day) and Honduras (maybe zip lining).  We picked this itinerary to experience a new port of departure, to visit the space center precruise, and to experience a Freedom class ship.  Should be fun!

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DocLC - As someone from Texas (who wants to get far AWAY from Texas shtick for a week), I do hope you enjoy the Space Center. What a great slice of history.   If you have time to eat in Houston, the original Ninfa's on Navigation is super, especially the patio dining.  When in Galveston, be sure and have some fried shrimp from the gulf.  It's the best.

 

I'd love to hear from others who have taken this itinerary.  Especially the steel drum part!

 

Liz

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We've been to Belize once before and are looking forward to the cave tubing adventures to be had there.  The downside is that it is a tender port and quite a long tender ride. 

The key is to get in line early, before the ship is ready to tender.

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Liz, I hate to be the only with an alternative view but since you asked, I will give you my opinion about this itinerary.

 

I have been to Belize, Roatan and of course, Cozumel many times. I never tire of Cozumel. I love going there. As for the other 2 stops, let me caution you.

 

I find Belize to be a mixed bag...the cave tubing is fun but it's a LOT of work getting up that hill with those tubes (for an old, fat woman like me, especially !!!) and the water is COLD coming out of the mountains. The cave experience itself is totally awesome. There is an excursion that takes you on a river cruise and has a stop at one of the ruins that is completely and totally awesome ! I happened to be as sick as a dog the last time we went on that river excursion and I had to stay on the bus while the others explored the ruins but even as sick as I was, I totally enjoyed that excursion. Any trip to the ruins is worth it. They are all beautiful. Belize, on an excursion is really wonderful. I do NOT recommend, however, that you decide to just "go downtown and look around". Belize City is a dirty, busy town with little to offer, IMO. There are a couple of churches that are ok to visit but for the most part, you are just stuck in a really ratty place. I will say, however, that some people love the "authentic" atmosphere in Belize City. I guess I'm really just a true American tourist at heart and I was not amused as my husband and my friends drug me, endlessly, through those dirty streets.

 

Roatan is a completely different matter. Those people live in abject poverty and I think it is an absolute disgrace how the government treats them. I swore that I would never, ever go back and I will not. I have now been there 4 times and with each visit, the conditions have gotten worse and worse for the locals. You quite literally cannot drive more than 10 feet and NOT hit a pothole. The roads are treacherous and those poor people get absolutely no help from the government to fix them. They have local volunteers that try to fill the potholes but with only shovels and sand you're not going to get that far. To make the situation even more obvious (corruption), the ONLY streets in the entire place that are driveable are those that lead to the absolutely gorgeous resorts side of the island used by us (tourists in general) ! Amazing how THOSE roads are in perfect condition. On my last trip to the resort side of the island, on the drive coming back from the resort (I can't remember the name of the resort - there are many) there were people along the side of the road making "obscene gestures" (that's all I'll say about that !) to us in the bus and quite frankly, I cannot blame them for resenting the tourists. I have no reason to believe that it is unsafe....but I think it is immoral and I will not be a party to it again. Of course, the reply that I often to get this position is that if you do not go and support the economy then the peoples' plight will just go from bad to worse...but honestly, with the very few exceptions of those people who work at the resorts, I do not think that they realize any of the monetary benefit that the tourists bring. I absolutely believe that the corrupt government pays them pathetic wages and keeps all of the real money for themselves. It certainly has that appearance to me.

 

I hope I have not spoiled your vacation. That was not my intent. I guess if I can make any recommendations it would be that you definitely stick with the ship's excursions, visit the resorts side of the island and stay away from the "local" excursions. The last [local] one I took was supposed to be to a day at the beach but the roads were so bad (we got stuck in the mud at least 3 times on the way there) I was afraid to get out of the van for fear that they would not be able to come and pick me up and take me back to the ship. My husband and I just stayed in the van and went back to the ship as quickly as we could.

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I love visiting all of the Caribbean stops for very different reasons. We did this itinerary for a new years cruise 2014, albeit on Princess. The new port area on Roatan is beautiful, that being said once you get out the main port area, you definitely want to be with a organized group. In terms of the "Caribbean feel" the west end has a less swanky resort town feel with local shops and bars that really is island living. A lot of US transplants running the excursion companies, bars and dive shops. You also have the high end resorts to spend the day at on the north coast. I am in the habit of running 8 miles at every port possible, I find it interesting and gratitude inducing to see the socioeconomic disparity on all the islands, but as stated above, the poverty is in your face between the resort areas and at 4 miles into the run I stopped at a what looked to be an American style gas station guarded by men with shoulder slung semi automatic rifles. I won't run there again. Later in the day I did the underwater scooter/helmet dive which was really fun.

 

In Belize, we also did the cave tubing tour and Zipline combination. Was about a 40 minute drive the cave was beautiful, water was cool, and the zip lining was a lot of fun, they get you through really fast but you are REALLY in the thick jungle. Beautiful and amazing flying through the canopy. They also served a great local lunch. Again, as stated above, Belize city doesn't have you typical port of call feeling. Semi industrial capital city of the country. Not a lot to see (that I am aware of).

 

Cozumel is great, I don't know how you have not been there yet. It seems like every western itinerary we do Cozumel is the one constant.

 

I am truly blessed to have to have seen a lot of places on this Earth, And we really enjoyed this itinerary! It's just not your st. Maarten / Barbados type of feeling.

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Thanks very much to everyone for their posts.  I really enjoy your inputs and they are very helpful.  We don't like to shop and rarely hang around in the port towns.  We generally stick with ship-sponsored, all-day excursions with hiking to historical or geographical sites.  We will be doing the River/Mayan tour in Belize and the Secret River in Cozumel.

 

Honestly, I was mainly worried that I would have to listen to country western music on the sea days, around the pool, and in the shipboard bars at night.  Hopefully that is not the case.  I'm on an island cruise and want it to be island-y.   

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LOL. I was on the Navigator out of Galveston in May 2014 and I don't really recall THAT much C&W music onboard...but it was definitely there to some extent. To be honest, I don't really recall much Caribbean music playing onboard except for the live bands around the pool or occasionally on the Promenade. You're going to really enjoy the river/ruins excursion in Belize. It is really excellent. Never heard of the secret river. That could be interesting !

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I really enjoyed all 3 ports.  Cozumel is a port I've been to so many times and I still love it.  I really enjoy its "modern culture", which means shopping and eating.  For a small island, there's a lot to do.

 

When I went to Belize, we did a private island beach excursion which was fun, but next time I'd like to do something else.  Probably some excursion more inland.  Not sure what exactly, but it sounded like others had a lot of fun doing various activities there.

 

Roatan was beautiful.  We did a resort day pass excursion and it was fabulous.  I had received a number of warnings about safety, so that tempered my desire to explore more than we did but hiring a private driver and going to the resort worked well for us.

 

For Americans, both Belize and Roatan are relatively inexpensive ports (like Cozumel).  Your money goes further here than in Grand Cayman or even Falmouth.

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Cruise-y,

 

If you haven't seen the post by Steve regarding Galveston, it's worth a read.  Search the forums at the top right of the page and search for Galveston and his post will come up.  I believe the title is "All Things Galveston."

 

We actually just booked our return air today for our 1/03/16 cruise on the Liberty as booking opened today for Southwest.  We opted to fly into Hobby as we can fly nonstop from San Diego there, although we'll need to connect coming back.  The included luggage is a plus also.

 

For transportation, I actually found a good deal on a rental, which we're going to need for our two days precruise anyways, and it turned out for us that it's a wash even when paying for parking.  We'll be out the cost of a tank of gas, but the flexibility of having our own transportation is worth it.  And while I've read a lot of complaints about the distance of the cruise port from the major airports, it's nothing compared to cruises out of England.  It's going to take us nearly two and half hours to get to and from the ship in London. :(

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My wife and I enjoyed the time we sailed out of Galveston on Navigator. I completely agree that since there are many Texans aboard they have a way of taking over the ship and there is a lot of Texas focus such as the Trivia contests and one of the bands will be an old school country band. This band played at the Top Tier event. You'll see hats on formal night.

 

We enjoyed the Belize cave tubing. I would not call it a river, a creek is a much better term. I posted a very detailed review of that excursion  on the RCL site. Check it out, if it's not there I'd be happy to share our experience.

 

Cozumel is wonderful and is really the "IT" destination for Caribbean sailings because there are so many offerings and it is so tourist friendly. If it is Mayan ruins you are looking for, Cozumel is the place. I have been on RCL excursions to all the major sites and find them fascinating. If you'd like details...just ask me. I'll start by telling you to watch a couple interesting Netflix videos to wet your appetite.

 

Steel drums and creole food? Well......No. You are going to the wrong part of the Caribbean. There will be a band onboard that plays Caribbean flavored music poolside (most likely Jamaican). But if it's Soca music, tin pans, and smoked catch of the day in a banana leaf you are intent on; St. Lucia, Grenada,  and Barbados are the heartbeat of that culture.

 

 

 

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DocLC - Thanks very much for the tip on the post by Steve.  It is super with a lot of good info.  I'm familiar with the city of Galveston of course but this is our first cruise out of that port.  Was a bit worried about finding parking but don't mind walking. My all-time favorite port to leave from was Granada - but that was a (now defunct) Barefoot Cruise and was a very small ship.

 

We actually stayed at Chichen Itza for several days - 30 years ago, long before Cancun became so touristy.  Lamanai in Belize may not be quite that impressive but we're really looking forward to it.

 

Bobroo - Thanks to you as well for the excellent description of the cruise music.  Yes, I know the western caribbean is not Soca based like the eastern caribbean, and that was my concern.  But you made my day.  If there is a reggae band by the pool I will be supremely happy.

 

Liz

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Cruise-y,

 

If you haven't seen the post by Steve regarding Galveston, it's worth a read.

Thanks for the shout-out DocLC. It looks like cruise-y found my post but here's the link in case anyone else is looking for it:

http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php/topic/568-all-things-galveston-answers-to-your-questions/

 

I sailed on Navigator last July out of Galveston and my take on the Texas theme is this: there's only enough country to please those who want to look for it. There was a very good country band that played some of the venues, but I really don't remember any other country themed music. There was a 70's theme night on the Promenade, an Elton John impersonator, the excellent Navigator of the Seas orchestra that could play everything from jazz to rock to classics, and a couple of caribbean-theme groups that played the different venues. I recall a wide variety of music that allowed everyone to find something they like.

 

I'm really excited about Liberty of the Seas arriving in November and think this will be a great addition to the Port of Galveston.

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Yea, the Cruise Compass will list all activities including entertainment. If you go to the main page, you'll see a link for past compasses. Take a look at the ones from the Navigator and it'll give you a good feel as to what to expect as the offerings are very similar from week to week.

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