MSC in Roatán: you dock at Coxen Hole

MSC ships tie up at Coxen Hole, next to Roatán's main town. It is the island's original cruise terminal and the one most lines use. Isla Tropicale, about fifteen minutes east, belongs to Carnival Corporation and its brands.

You will not need Spanish, but it helps to have it

MSC sails a more international passenger list than most lines on this route, and a good share of the people walking down your gangway will be more comfortable in Spanish than in English.

Roatán's own first language is neither: the Bay Islands speak English, and the mainland speaks Spanish, so you will hear both all day. Our guides work in both, and this site reads in both. If you book with a local operator, ask which language your guide works in before you pay, because a guide you cannot follow turns a good tour into a long van ride.

No beach inside the gate

There is no swimming beach you can walk to from this terminal. The water in front of it is a working harbour. West Bay, the beach in the photographs, is a drive away at the western end of the south coast, and the wildlife parks are inland.

Coxen Hole is the closer of the two terminals to most of the island's attractions, which is the practical advantage of docking here.

Getting out

For something quick and specific, a pharmacy, an ATM, a supermarket, a restaurant, a taxi from the terminal is 10 US dollars per passenger one way and 20 round trip, cash to the driver, booked an hour ahead.

For the reef, the sloths and monkeys or a beach day, book a tour. Our Roatán shore excursions include terminal pickup and are timed against your ship's departure.

Give the ship name, not the port

Ships get moved between the two terminals. The ship name is what survives a schedule change, so book with that.