Hello. We are headed to Calica and Grand Cayman in August. Where can we eat? Is it safe to eat at Xcaret? Should we only eat "packaged" stuff off the ship?? Are the unbrella drinks safe???
A lot of people eat and drink at every port they stop in with no problem, I'm one of the few that would never eat anything off the ship unless it's from a sealed container/package or bottle, i.e., snacks, bottled beer or soda.
the biggest concern would be with fresh fruits, vegetables and water- especially in Mexico.
Only drink soda out of a bottle or can(wipe the mouth first) only drink bottled water. The alcohol kills most of the bacteria in the drinks. Most good quality restaurants and bars have a water purification system of some kind.
* Water - bring your bottled water off the ship.
* SALADS - they use their own water to rinse off the leaves & therefore, you'll get sick.
* The bit about the alcohol could be correct - again, this won't work for everyone b/c everyone doesn't have the same immune system. I've read about this before.
* As posted above - fruits, vegetables, etc are a no-no. Anything you could think of involving their water stay away from.
If you stick with higher end places and not just stop at the corner for something you should be fine. If you are worried, take sandwiches from room service with you ashore and take your own bottled water, but they do sell those bottled water in port and much cheaper than the $3.50 a bottle the ship sells.
we ate at a place called breezes on grand cayman. it was an actual restaurant and pretty popular. you can tell which one it is - they give out mardi gras beads when you go in. very colorful and great food, although sandwiches, fries and sodas for 2 was close to $30. the sodas had ice in them and we had no problems at all. i think if you find a reputable looking place and see a lot of people going in and out, chances are it's a safe place.
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If you are someplace where you shouldn't drink the water, don't get ice either! I felt like an idiot the first time a fellow passenger pointed this out to me!
Marty
the biggest concern would be with fresh fruits, vegetables and water- especially in Mexico.
Only drink soda out of a bottle or can(wipe the mouth first) only drink bottled water.
The biggest problem is that restaurants wash their dishes and glassware in the local water. If the water is contaminated, it contaminates the dishes and glassware, which in turn contaminate the food and beverages served in them.
That said, the drinking water is fine throughout the Caribbean islands. Mexico requires more caution, though the water in most tourist areas is now okay.
Do not worry. I think it is a cruise thing to make people afraid of local water, drinks and food, they may want to sell you their water on the ship. In all tourist places in the Riviera Maya, you have bottled drinking water used for ice, etc. Where one may has to watch out a bit is salads. However if you are in a popular place as Xcaret, there is absolutely no worries, neither for food. And this is from experience, lots of also in Xcaret. The Mexican people neither drink water from the tab or use this for ice...of course, and tourism is very important so they try to comply with all international standards in this subject. Hope it helped...no worries.
We've eaten at Pancho's Backyard in Cozumel and had no problem at all. The food was delicious. We did order bottled water or beer, though.
We've also eaten at Carlos and Charley's at Cozumel and Playa del Carmen and had no problem there, either.
Libragirl
Pancho's is a must for anyone stopping in Cozumel. We too ate everything, drank what we wanted including water and have never had a bad experience. I guess we have been there about 4 or 5 times now. go, at least have a Margarita and don't worry. NMNita
Its funny. In St. Lucia we went on an island tour with a private taxi (not booked though the ship). Our driver stopped at several places, including some private homes, and bought us home baked bread, cookies and local fruit. We also stopped by the botanical gardens where he treated us to fried fish with banana ketchup and Johnnie cakes. He provided bottled water, Piton Beer and home made rum punch for drinks. Everything was wonderful and I never stopped to think about health issues. I guess we were either lucky or the food standards in St. Lucia are better than in Mexico, but in either case I’d probably eat it all again. All of it was wonderful.
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April 1, 2006 - Serenade of the Seas - 7 days to the Southern Caribbean
October 8, 1984 - NCL Sunward II - 3 day cruise to the Bahamas
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can we eat????
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