Posted: 1/28/2017 8:06:13 PM EDT
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My wife and I are planning a cruise for our anniversary this September, and I'm needing some help. We went Carnival on our first cruise and had no issues, so we plan to do so again.
Basically I'm trying to figure out the destinations, the previous one had stops in Grand Turk, Half moon Cay, and Nassau. While we wouldn't mind returning to one or more of these, we would prefer to try new destinations. We are shooting for 7 days this time. She isn't all that picky as far as the destinations go, so it's been left up to me, I'm strongly considering this one: Start: Miami > Grand Cayman > Mahogany Bay > Belize > Cozumel > End: Miami What say you? |
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I've been to Bahamas, key west, Jamaica, Cozumel, Honduras, progreso, Puerto Rico and some others I can't remember. By far, grand Cayman was the best, followed by Cozumel. Jamaica is a toilet unless you are at a resort.
If you go to,grand caymen, you absolutely must go to stingray beach. In Jamaica, fuck all of their excursions and get a reservation for a day pass at Half Moon Bay resort before you leave home. You will feel like a king. In Cozumel, and Routan, the diving is excellent. Key west is for hard partying. The rest are just touristy stops. Pro tip: one stop on must of the cruises now is a port created by the cruise line for their cruisers only. They build a pier in a remote location. Add a shopping mall and some "excursions" and they have an exotic ( and expensive) destination. Google your destination and make reservations on the web before you leave. |
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To be fair, not all of Belize is a shit hole. But there are bad parts. Same with Jamaica. Roatan, Honduras is suppose to be very nice. Lots of cruises are going there now as well. I was thinking that the port couldn't be that bad. She already said no Haiti though. 
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That's what I was hoping, The ruins in Cozumel are really pulling me in also. Quoted:
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Grand Cayman and Mahogany Bay are very nice ports of call. That's what I was hoping, The ruins in Cozumel are really pulling me in also. The Mayan ruins in Cozumel are VERY MINOR ruins. The ruins in Tulum are much more interesting but you need to ferry to Playa del Carmen and then a long bus ride to Tulum. If the cruise line offers that tour I recommend it. Do not book it ashore from an independent tour operator if it's not offered by the line. |
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We booked one for Sept with Carnival as well.
Used to live in the virgin islands.....will def agree on avoiding Jamaica. Honduras has had some bad stories coming out of there too so we decide to stay western carib & avoid all the central & S america stops. Probably be fine but why risk it. Leaving out of Florida gives you much better options. Due to time constraints we're leaving out of Galveston. Severely limits western destinations to choose from. Lots of great choices in western cruises. St Thomas sucks but can get some great deals on high end watch shopping (& things with import duties). |
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Hit those on my last cruise.
Grand Cayman - Shopping, took bus to 7 Mile beach Mahogany Bay - Drank beer and sat on the beach. Belize - Cave Tubing was a blast! Great bus ride and hike in the rain forest. We booked outside of cruise line without any problems. We had a longer river ride, ate lunch and passed the Carnival bus on the way back! Cozumel - Wife and kid swam with the Dolphins while I went snorkeling at the National Park We all had a great time. |
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My brother and I went for a walk in Belize, alright Belize City the ship said do not leave the gated compound, we did, two armed Cop's tailed us the whole way.
Lot's of offers from the locals to buy cocaine. yea pass dude but they were persistent. it was kinda fun in retrospect |
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We booked one for Sept with Carnival as well. Used to live in the virgin islands.....will def agree on avoiding Jamaica. Honduras has had some bad stories coming out of there too so we decide to stay western carib & avoid all the central & S america stops. Probably be fine but why risk it. Leaving out of Florida gives you much better options. Due to time constraints we're leaving out of Galveston. Severely limits western destinations to choose from. Lots of great choices in western cruises. St Thomas sucks but can get some great deals on high end watch shopping (& things with import duties). Mahogany Bay in Roatan Honduras is as safe as the room I'm sitting in right now; it's a terrific port. Lots of absolutely safe activities including, shopping, the beach, the jungle canopy zip line are within walking distance of the pier and within sight of the ship. |
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Hit those on my last cruise. Grand Cayman - Shopping, took bus to 7 Mile beach Mahogany Bay - Drank beer and sat on the beach. Belize - Cave Tubing was a blast! Great bus ride and hike in the rain forest. We booked outside of cruise line without any problems. We had a longer river ride, ate lunch and passed the Carnival bus on the way back! Cozumel - Wife and kid swam with the Dolphins while I went snorkeling at the National Park We all had a great time. They are all very good ports with lots to do. I've been on over a hundred Caribbean cruises, those are among the better ports of call. |
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What does a cruise run these days per day per person? I'm always curious why people don't do a yacht charter, but of course I'm biased. It depends on a lot of things, but it can be relatively affordable. ETA: Cheapest I could find through Carnival is $179 for four days, the most expensive is $1729 for fifteen days. |
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Although Norwegian is by far my favorite cruise line, my bride and I took a trip on the Carnival Vista, in early December. Highly recommend it.
We left from the Port of Miami, went to Grand Turk, the Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Aruba. It was an 8 day, 7 night cruise. One heck of a time and the islands were great. Take a look at it. |
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While I would never get on a boat with several thousand strangers I was told that cruising the coast of Alaska is really nice. What sucks about the Alaskan cruises is that they aren't round trip, you either start in Canada or end there. I don't want to deal with one way plane tickets. ETA: Some are round trip, I just looked, but not in the fall. |
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What sucks about the Alaskan cruises is that they aren't round trip, you either start in Canada or end there. I don't want to deal with one way plane tickets. ETA: Some are round trip, I just looked, but not in the fall. If, big if, we aver do another cruise that's what it will be. Now as far as the Caribbean are goes, if you can afford it and don't mind a something a little more rustic and exotic, do the Wind Jammer Cruises on their big sailing ships. See the lesser Antilles Islands. That is also on our Bucket List. |
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It depends on a lot of things, but it can be relatively affordable. ETA: Cheapest I could find through Carnival is $179 for four days, the most expensive is $1729 for fifteen days. Quoted:
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What does a cruise run these days per day per person? I'm always curious why people don't do a yacht charter, but of course I'm biased. It depends on a lot of things, but it can be relatively affordable. ETA: Cheapest I could find through Carnival is $179 for four days, the most expensive is $1729 for fifteen days. Ah, that's why. That's cheap. I can't imagine the crowd that attracts 
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My wife and I are planning a cruise for our anniversary this September, and I'm needing some help. We went Carnival on our first cruise and had no issues, so we plan to do so again. Basically I'm trying to figure out the destinations, the previous one had stops in Grand Turk, Half moon Cay, and Nassau. While we wouldn't mind returning to one or more of these, we would prefer to try new destinations. We are shooting for 7 days this time. She isn't all that picky as far as the destinations go, so it's been left up to me, I'm strongly considering this one: Start: Miami > Grand Cayman > Mahogany Bay > Belize > Cozumel > End: Miami What say you? I have done that itinerary on a Carnival ship (Splendour) in November. It was a nice cruise. I always go during the off times and the people were great and service was excellent. The ship was fugly lol but it grew on ya after a few days Grand Cayman? Either book a trip with Captain Marvins for Stingray City, or pay a cab to take you to the beach and chill. Mahogany Bay? Buy the beach package. It includes the lift to the beach, a covered pair of chairs and floats for the water. Bring a mask and snorkel, walk to the left end of the beach along the little pir and snorkel the left side. Belize? I strongly suggest you book through the ship here. The city is a crime ridden. Take the tour to Altun Ha ruins and climb the temple of the Blood God. Cozumel? Hire a private driver for the day. Its like $45 per person. 4-5 hours and see what you want and when. |
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All depends on what you like to do. Some of my favorite Mayan ruins are in Belize (xunantunich is spectacular). I'd recommend taking ship tours for the Mexico and Belize tours as they involve quite a bit of travel. Cozumel requires a ferry to Playa del Carmen on the mainland and an hour or two bus ride each way to most of the ruins. I've done a pair of Carnival cruises and 10 Princess cruises so far and been to 30+ different countries and islands. My favorite cruises were Alaska, a Transatlantic from FL to Europe, and Ft Lauderdale to Los Angeles via the Panama canal.
I enjoy cruising for the ease of travel and the opportunity to see a wide range of places in a short period of time for a reasonable cost. If you need more info or have more questions let me know. FYI, I don't like loud kids, drunks and crowds. There are cruise techniques on avoiding them as much as possible. 
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Which is why I never cruise on Carnival. Vince Never had that issue on Carnival. Then again I don't cruise when school is out though. My last 7 day Carnival was mostly old people. I sail Carnival, Princess and NCL mainly and all have been great. I don't do RCCL or Celebrity anymore due to the fact that my last two I bumped into families and students from the school I work at. Friggin buzzkill city. |