Oh, the Places You'll Go!

 

Dr. Seuss was certainly onto something!  Now that I've been on a few cruises and visited several of the Caribbean destinations I only dreamed of, I can better appreciate the value of experiences places and cultures I'd only seen on television.  I also recognize the experiences for what they are . . . snapshots of local culture and the people who live in these fascinating places.

Just as I'd said previously about Alaska, I still strongly believe to fully understand and appreciate these wonderful locations, you must have a more immersive and complete experience with the locals and their communities.  But for a sampling of what a place has to offer, excursions are a nice way to affordably get out and mingle.  Historical and culinary experiences are the two I really gravitate towards; with wildlife and scenery always on my radar.

The first off-ship experience Pam & I had that wasn't organized by Royal Caribbean was in Roatan, Honduras.  While there are pros and cons to using the ship's planned tours, sometimes doing something on a smaller and more personal scale is more to my liking. With much research, we discovered Sandri's Tours, a small family owned company.  Luis (right in this photo) and his team of guides were so easy to work with.  The 6-hour experience we had in Roatan was exceptional and significantly less expensive than the large motor coach tours offered by R/C.  Our guide Kris was exceptional . . . with a great personality and willingness to make sure we had the best time possible.  We enjoyed our time with them in February 2024, that we're booked another great adventure with them when we're back in Roatan this coming December.

A word of caution about one of the biggest cons (or risks) if you choose to go off script and book your tour or excursion on your own.  The ships, all cruise lines, discourage such because of course they won't be making money off the up-charge they collect for organizing and booking the tours.  They tactic they use is simple . . . we will make sure you get back to the ship on schedule or hold the departure for your return . . . IF and ONLY IF you are on our sponsored tours.  Go off on your own, and you miss the "all aboard" whistle . . . you'll be left behind to figure out how to get to the next port.

You can cruise YouTube to watch videos of people running down the pier as the ship pulls away.  I'm sure it is a lousy feeling.  But to be fair, most of them are people who either lost track of time in port or were on "ship time" when they had to return.  It is a very rare occurrence that a reputable tour operator with cruise guests, misses the ship's departure schedule.  Yes, it does happen and no doubt it sucks.  But at the end of the day, I'd like to think I won't go through life afraid to live and do the things I want to do on my own terms.  I hope I won't be blogging in the future, eating my words!

Nassau (The Bahamas)

On the other hand, there is something to be said for taking advantage of the cruiseline's buying and negotiation power, especially in countries where it may be difficult to find a reputable tour operator.  Pam and I are both pretty savvy travelers and sometimes we have found the best "packaged experience" is one that has been put together by R/C.  I think it largely comes down to playing an active role in planning your experience.

 

Wonderful Experiences in Mexico

There are some ports/countries where I wouldn't be comfortable going out on my own.  Haiti is one such place, especially with the current unrest there.  In Mexico, however, I'm comfortable doing our own thing.  In fact in Cozumel, we have done beach days off the ship at Mr. Sancho's . . . a well known beach club about 15-20 minutes by cab from the port.  At just $65/person for the full day all-inclusive experience, there's no reason to pay 50% more to do a beach day organized by R/C.

On some cruises we haven't done much in the way of organized tours.  When we did the October 2024 New England & Canada cruise, we had both been to some of the featured ports. In particular Portland (Maine) and Halifax (Nova Scotia) were ports where we planned nothing.  In fact in Portland, we didn't even leave the ship, instead opting to enjoy quiet time having the ship largely to ourselves.  In Halifax, we did get off the ship and wandered around the port area.  We found a nice little pizza shop a couple of blocks away before heading back to the ship.

We did enjoy the city tour of St. John, New Brunswick offered by R/C.  It was a narrated trolley bus trip, which was informative and interesting.  In Sydney, Nova Scotia Pam scheduled for the full day charter bus tour to the Cape Breton Highlands, while I had initially planned a day trip exploring by rental car.  Unfortunately the weather was crappy so I canceled my rental and booked the afternoon historical tour of the city.  We both had a great time doing our own thing that day.

When we cruised on Enchantment in February 2024, in addition to Roatan, we also visited Belize City (Belize) and did a R/C excursion there.  There are a lot of mixed reviews about this particular port and the perceived safety for tourists who opt to venture out on their own.  I really wanted to visit the famous Mayan ruins at Altun Ha. Located about an hour from port, the R/C tour was our best option. Adding to the adventure . . . we had to tender from the ship over to the shore on a smaller boat due to the shallow waters.  But no worries at all, we were back in plenty of time to get changed for our early dinner seating in the Main Dining Room.

Whether you choose to go exploring while in port . . . or simply get off the ship to go shopping or perhaps enjoy a more local experience at one of the touristy bars or cantinas . . . the opportunity is there to make it your own.  Sometimes just enjoying the warm cool breeze with a fruity frozen beverage is all I need in the middle of February!