First Cruise

Belize is cool. Great dive sites there, many to choose from. Cozumel ...good diving there too, just keep ahold of your wallet! Roatan is by far my favorite vacation place. It's very 3rd world in places but you'll only see a little of that since you have a day there. Go to the west bay area. Have a drink at the bar on the beach at Banana Ramas. While you're there, look left on the beach at the small boat pier ...rent snorkel gear and swim straight out from the pier. The best snorkeling I've seen in this part of the world.

 

lol, yeah i always travel with tums, Imodium, day-quill and sudafed. Ive been on 8 cruises though and had no issues with illness, though i have been sick 4 times since the beginning of July from working with kids

 

cool review sharkbait, ill have to ask you about some of the places I'm going in November for my honeymoon

 

Good point ....food poisoning in Cozumel ....ugh!

 

Thanks ingtar... Among my many travels, Roatan remains in my top 2 places! Ask away...

 

I wouldn't say getting sick is common at all. That is like saying plane crashes are common. If you look at the stats of all the thousands of cruises and people on them it is really very rare. My wife and I have cruised 7 times (unless I missed one) and have never gotten sick. It does happen but it is rare.

 

Thanks for all the great advice everyone I will update you when I return on how the trip went ...

 

Now i heard it is crazy hard to sneak the booze onboard...who did you manage to pull it off?

 

If you get a chance the Blue Hole is the dive of a life time. Saltwater croccodiles live under mangrove trees. And better to pay the for the booze than deal with customs.

 

Since it seems like you're directing this toward my post (I was the one who said getting sick can be common), I'll respond and explain why I said that...

I have been on several cruises... I've gotten sick once, my wife has gotten sick once, and family that I was with got sick once, all on separate cruises. NONE of us have been in a plane crash so far. We are all fairly healthy and have very good immune systems... Call it bad luck, or call it what you will, but that is enough for me to say it is common. Not to mention that every cruise I have been on has had hand sanitizer at every place you walk in and out of, and they strongly recommend that you use it.

Viruses can travel fast and easy in close quarters where you have a warm humid environment with many people in an enclosed area... not to mention buffets where food borne illness is king... and almost every meal is offered as a buffet almost 24/7 on some cruises.

Apart from that, I would say that sea-sickness is VERY common, and some people are more affected by it than others... I have sea-legs, and am not bothered by it, but I have been on a cruise before when it was rocking so much that I could not sleep and I got a little queasy.

So, sorry to steer the conversation off course, but my story about being in quarantine IS REAL, and if you want to avoid quarantine, DON'T ask for immodium on a cruise ship!! ;D They have every right to quarantine you if they want to!

Cruising is what you make it... I've done more cruises than I probably ever wanted to, but the price was so cheap in some cases, it didn't make sense not to.

It's fun, and there will be a lot to do, or nothing to do depending on how relaxed or adventurous you want to be. The excursions are sometimes fun, but be sure to read the reviews and don't get ripped off.

Most of the time, it's way cheaper to find a place to snorkel on your own than it is to pay for an excursion, but getting on a small boat that takes you to some prime spots can't be beat! Excursions are expensive, but they are convenient. you can book them on board and not have to worry about your schedule, as they are scheduled around the ship. Some of the favorite things I've ever done were on cruise ship excursions in Hawaii. There's no way I could have seen as much of Hawaii as I did in such little time had I not traveled by cruise ship. It's the best way to see much of Hawaii, in my opinion, but it also makes me want to go back and stay longer at some of the places we visited.