Costa Rica was our favorite place. We decided to not do an excursion with the boat but go out on our own for Costa Rica. When you get off the boat, walk past all the people trying to offer you excursions and walk past the tents selling merchandise and go into the air conditioned building there. We hooked up with a travel agent there and he took us on a ride through the city, then he took us to us on a boat through the jungle. We saw all sorts of birds, crocs and  sloths and he told us all about them.  After an hour or so we returned back in the van and he dropped us off at a local beach 10 minutes away from the boats.  What a great beach!  The locals were nice, had some $2 local beers and the water was so warm. We dried off and he was right there waiting for us. This whole day trip took about 3 1/2- 4hours. We only paid $20 pp for this when Carnival wanted $70 just for the boat ride. After this great day, we figured out how to work the system.