Carnival

We just booked a four day cruise on Carnival Fascination for our
family in June. We will be going to Key West and Calica, Mexico. Has
anyone been to these areas, and if so, what would be good excursions?
We have teenagers, 18 and 15. Thanks.

"Bobbi" wrote in message
ps.com...
We just booked a four day cruise on Carnival Fascination for our
family in June. We will be going to Key West and Calica, Mexico. Has
anyone been to these areas, and if so, what would be good excursions?
We have teenagers, 18 and 15. Thanks.


I would take the Trolley Tour in KW, about 90 minutes. Just book it in KW
rather than the Carnival excursion, much cheaper. About $22/pp. Dress cool,
it's going to be hot.

We made the same trip last year on Imagination. It was our first cruise
ever.

In Key West, they pick you up on a tram (FREE OF CHARGE) and take you to the
middle of town. You don't have to pay to return back to the ship either.
Once in the middle of Key West - you can rent a small 4 seater or mopeds to
drive yourself around or you can just walk (as we did) and explore the
shops. We wanted to go down to the Southern Most Point of the USA (good
Photo-Op), so instead of walking, we took a cab for a few bucks. Then we
walked back a bit but then called another cab to take us back downtown.

In Calica - we organized our own ATV and cenote adventure excursion in
advance on the internet, it only cost us less than $35 per person. We are a
family of 5, me, my wife, 16 year old daughter, 15 year old son and 6 year
old son. There are many cabs available when you get off the ship. There's
not much at the port itself, except for a small one strip flea market. The
taxis are supposed to charge only $10 for a return trip. We really enjoyed
our ATV adventure, but we got so dirty from the dust it looked like I had
been electrocuted!.........only one bad experience and that was with the
taxi driver.........he double charged me, I should have refused, but I
didn't - my wife got mad at me for giving in. We went back to the ship and
had all had a quick shower and changed our clothes, then we got another
taxis to take us to the beach. The beach had many shops and even a
McDonald's, but my daughter wanted to get her hair braided. We haggled with
several people, then eventually settled for $30 US. It took forever! We
wasted our entire time waiting for my daughter to get her hair done and then
had to run back to meet our taxi driver and get back to the ship on time!
Thank God he was there and waited for us. While on the beach, waiting for
my daughter, my 2 sons got India ink tattoos and I had a couple of beers
talking to a couple of locals. The people are friendly, but they also know
how to take advantage of you if you aren't careful. They know their prices.
As one local told me - he said that many Americans come down there and think
the Mexicans are stupid people - they find it really insulting.. All they
want is to be treated fairly and with some respect - which is totally
understandable.

Although we didn't get to enjoy it much, due to my daughter getting braids,
the beach looked very inviting and it felt very safe. The ATV adventure was
bumpy and dirty at times, but the cenote was totally amazing!

I hope you enjoy your trip.........we did.

My experience on Carnival was so-so, but when it all comes down to it, we
did get good value for the money we spent - there's no denying it.

We enjoyed Carnival and have now booked and 8 day cruise of March to Panama,
Costa Rica and Belize......we know what to expect now.

Eddie



"Bobbi" wrote in message
ps.com...
We just booked a four day cruise on Carnival Fascination for our
family in June. We will be going to Key West and Calica, Mexico. Has
anyone been to these areas, and if so, what would be good excursions?
We have teenagers, 18 and 15. Thanks.