western carribbean

[loopy lass]

am going on a carribbean cruise to the following countries - mexico - coxumel and progresso, jamaica - ocho rios, montego bay, honduras - roatan, costa rica - limon. belize - belize city, panama - colon and panama city, columbia - cartagena, grand cayman , can anyone help with suggestions for best places to visit, safety, activities etc. we've had hep A and B combined + typhoid, is it best to have yellow fever? what are the best malaria tablets to take and what are the side effects? thanks for any help in advance.

[jno]

sounds like you're on the same ship as me, Ocean Village? It depends on your interests; the only one I've definitely booked on is Chichen Itza, recently named one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. Cartagena you can walk round yourself, I'm told, and is very attractive. Not a lot to do in Roatan. Personally, I'd stick witth the crowd in Jamaica, the locals have big attitude problems.

[jno]

PS I'm not having inoculations - unlikely to be eating much ashore, or entertaining mad dogs - but hadn't thought about malaria, so thanks for jogging my memory.

[nononsense]

Progresso isn't too clever, lovely free ride along the pier!
Cozumel is like Spain 20 /30 years ago! Everyone comes back on board very drunk!!!
Now Grand Cayman is the place. Fantastic, they drive on the left, ( which confuses our colonial friends,) go to Hell and send a postcard (its a place) and Kayak seven mile beach!!!! Snorkelling's goodd also!

Hope that helps!

[jno]

I think Progreso's only on the itinerary because Cancun got hit by a hurricane, but it is nearer Chichen Itza and Uxmal, and Merida is pretty.

[sddsddean]

You will find loads of info on the various boards at
http://www.cruisecritic.com/
When we did our Panama cruise, we didn't need Malaria tablets as it is a low risk area on the coasts.

[dot.hawkes]

jno I have been to chichen itza travelling from cancun, it was 2.5 hours on a coach and it is a very monotonous journey. But it was stunning looking across the miles and miles of low forrest from the top of the pyramid! wear very flat comfy shoes as the steps up to it are really narrow, those mayans had tiny feet!!

[loopy lass]

thank you to everyone for your advice and suggestions. we have been told that malaria is a must because most of the places we visit have some form of risk. jno you also need to check up on your tetanus. yes we are on ocean village - what date are you going?