We are trying to decide between a Western Caribbean cruise (Roatan, Belize City and Cozumel) and an Eastern Caribbean cruise (St. Maarten, St. Thomas andGrand Turk Island). We'll be going in mid-Marc
0
Cat:Tips Tools and DealsForum:0EE709C0
Cat:Tips Tools and DealsForum:0EE709C0Discussion:1850c226-2ad5-44db-a573-bd313ce8d9c2
We are trying to decide between a Western Caribbean cruise (Roatan, Belize City and Cozumel) and an Eastern Caribbean cruise (St. Maarten, St. Thomas andGrand Turk Island). We'll be going in mid-March. Any thoughts or help are appreciated.
We have cruised for many years and are patial to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean. If the ports you mentioned are the only stops you are making, it is a toss up. Cozumel is great especially if you like to dive. We are not familiar with the other two. If the Western cruise includes Grand Cayman, then I would definitely rule it out. Our last visit there had six large ships in port at the same time. You could not walk in the town, get a taxi or bus or find a spot on the beach.
As for your eastern choices, St. Martin is fun and gives you both Dutch and French influences. Beaches are nice. Well worth exploring. St. Thomas is commercial but if you are a beach person, Megan's Bay is not to be missed. Grand Turk is a disappointment except for the excellent cruise ship beach they have built there. The island is little more than a sand bar with some houses on it. People on our cruise that took the shore excursion were greatly disappointed.
I would not recommend the Western Caribbean that sails to Houduras and Belize, etc. We just made the trip in May and were disappointed with the port stops. Roatan is just getting set up as a tourist destination and there are not many things to do there. Belize is good for shopping if you are interested in "knockoffs" leather purses. There is a chain link fence separating the dock area from the town which warns you of venturing out on your own. Also the excursions are pretty limited.
Definitely the Eastern. St. Thomas is wonderful, good shopping, etc. St. Maarten is also great. If you like to gamle, they have some nice casinos. Also good shoppig nand beaches. I prefer the Eastern to the Western.
We just did the Western on NCL Pearl in Nov. & visited the mentioned ports. Belize City & Roatan are very primitive with poor roads & depressing third world living standards. Cozumel is very modern & has become the most visited port in the world, so it has lots of new infrastructure & plenty of shopping. If you are a history buff, Belize has more Mayan temples & historic sites than Mexico. In Roatan you will see a few shops offering breathtaking Honduran Mahagony wood carvings-including full sized doors & panels that can be shipped home- but you will leave both countries feeling sad & depressed about the endemic local living conditions. We have been to the Eastern & Southern islands many times, and, hands down, under present conditions, St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Grand Turk Island, with their 100 years of tourism infrastructure, are far superior for vacationing. You will leave these destinations with a smile of satisfaction on your face, not with a feeling of guilty self indulgence.
It depends on what you like. We prefer the Western.
St Maarten and St Thomas offer beach, snorkeling/diving and shopping (jewelry) while the Cozumel, Belize and Roatan offer everything from the Mayan ruins, cave tubing, zip lining as well as snorkeling/diving and beaches. Of course they have shopping too, offering handicrafts as well as jewelry.
Note: There are no beaches near Belize City. For a beach you need to go to one of the Cays.
We have done both, and our favorite was the Western. We did Labadee, Jamaica, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman. Grand Cayman was our favorite port--we swam with the stingrays. . . an unforgettable experience. The water in Grand Cayman is so clean and warm and clear (I wish I was there right now!).
Whichever you pick, there is nothing like a cruise.
I have been to Belize City and Honduras twice on cruises now and loved it both times. They are not good stops for shopping, they are beautiful places that are not commercialized yet and offer great hiking, kayaking, snorkeling experiences. Lots to do if you are adventurous! I recommend the western cruise if you are looking for nature type excursions and the eastern if you are looking to shop or the beach.
I chose a western cruise route in 2006 because visiting Mayan ruins (which we did while in Mexico) was important to me. I LOVED our stops in Roatan & Belize. They were both absolutely gorgeous and there were more things there to do than I had time for. We snorkeled and went to Caye Caulker in Belize and went to Gumbalimba Park in Roatan.
Some of our table mates at dinner didn't care for these but it's because they wanted to just step off the boat and wander around shopping. Both of these places, you really have to have some sort of plan in place or pay for an excursion. But they are BEAUTIFUL and well worth visiting.
My husband and I visited Western over the summer and loved it! In Cozumel we rented a Jeep through Herz and drove ourselves to the Mayan ruins and down the western side of the island which is not crowded.
In Roatan we did an excursion to a snorkeling place (I forget the name of it) that we DO NOT RECOMMEND. The people who went to Half Moon Cay had a much better experience.
Belize City is very poor and like someone else said there are no beaches. The cruise ship will try to scare you out of going on an excursion that isn't with them, but Reggie's Cave Tubing was awesome...half the price of the ship's tubing excursion and it was just my husband and I with the guide. We ended up at the EXACT SAME park with the caves that the cruise ship went on and they had about 50 people in their group. They also saw one less cave than us.
If Freeport is on your itinerary I will say that we were very disappointed. There is absolutely nothing to do at the port...you are forced to pay $5 per person for a taxi van to take you to Lucaya. The shopping sucks and the people at the market will even try to sell you drugs. The beach is pretty nice, but we were already sunburned and went back to the ship early (for another $5 per person). A couple we met went on an ATV excursion...I would do that next time.
Anyways, good luck...no matter what you choose you're going to have a great time!
We have done both. I would recommend East over West. haven't been to Belize City but did go to Roatan and Cozumel. The snorkeling was great at Roatan but the island is not that great. Been to Coz. twice and both times we shopped. I wouldn't go back but others in our group really liked some park there. On the East. cruise we stopped at St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Could have spend more time at St. Maarten.
If you go to Roatan, check out Victor Bodden tours. there is a website if you google it. My group had a great shore excursion with them.
