Anyone here about Little French key being raided (MERGED THREADS)

Well said Guest!

We can't live in fear, or we never get to experience the great things this world has to offer. The cab driver I spoke of in my comment has become a good friend. The day he took us back to the airport, he asked us if he could take us to meet a man that had been like a father to him, and was an elder at the church he attended. He said he was a master wood carver, and he wanted us to see his work. We agreed that would be okay. He took us to this man's humble home - to US citizens it would be a very poor existence, but we could see he was so proud of it. He had built it himself. He had put a front door on that house that he had carved that was unbelievably beautiful!! Inside, he was carving a dining room table and chairs. They were absolutely gorgeous. We were honored that our friend, George, the cab driver, had shared this man and his talents with us.

If we lived in fear - we would never have met this artist, whose talents will probably never be known to anyone outside the island. He and his large family lived in what we would consider no more than a shack, but he had decorated it with handmade carvings that should be in a palace. It was a humbling experience. He welcomed us into his home as a friend.

There are GOOD people on that beautiful island!

I say well said as well.

We are going to visit Roatan in Feb. We were there a few years ago and chose to book a Victor Bodden private tour with another couple we 'met' on cruise critic. Our driver was Wilton. What a wonderful person! He had such great knowledge of his homeland and went out of his way to make sure we saw everything we hoped to see. We had researched a place for lunch and luckily he happened to drive by it almost right after we started our tour. It turned out it had closed up. Wilton took us into town, stopped in front of a small restaurant, a lady came out, asked us to tell her what we would like for lunch and they would prepare it for whatever time we wanted it. We asked about lobster...no problem and promised the price would be reasonable. We found out later that the woman was Wilton's wife who worked at that restaurant. When we arrived back for lunch they had plates of lobster, shrimp, oxtail, fish, plantains, rice, fruit, etc. ready for us and with 2 beers for my husband and a coke for me the total for the two of us was $35 with tip! It was an amazing lunch. Yes, the restaurant was a place I would never, ever have thought to stop at and yes, the food was local, fresh and delicious and yes, the people serving us were friendly and happy.

Do go and explore Roatan.

Well said Paddy41, 20kies and Guest2000! Go and support these locals that depend on your business to survive.

Don't get caught up in this he said she said bull between two businesses. The island and it's people are peaceful and are very welcoming.

I think we all need to read between the lines, there is more to this so called "Raid" than what meets the eye.

Does anyone know the details of what animals were taken from there ?? I have been counting down the days to swim with simba and I am heart broken that this has happened to little French key.... Were all animals taken and are we still allowed to go there for an excursion? I am booked on the glory for October 24th.

please let me know if the animals are there when you go. my cruise is set to sail October 24th and i booked this specifically to swim with simba...i am absolutely devastated

Does anyone know the details of what animals were taken from there ?? I have been counting down the days to swim with simba and I am heart broken that this has happened to little French key.... Were all animals taken and are we still allowed to go there for an excursion? I am booked on the glory for October 24th.

Unfortunately Simba was one of the animals taken from LFK. :( They took 6 Capuchino monkeys, 6 spider monkeys, 1 Pizote (white-nosed coati), 1 kinkajou, 4 tucans, 11 parrots, 19 birds. They also took sweet little Lisa the monkey.

They have several animals still there for some reason and I'm unsure why they decided to pick and chose which to take. Lawrence the Lion is still there I know for sure.

Yes, they are still open for business. :)

Does anyone know of it will be possible for little French key to get their animals back by mid October?

Does anyone know of it will be possible for little French key to get their animals back by mid October?

I have read from the owners that it is going to be a long process. They have their lawyers working on it but it's highly doubtful they'll be back by then from what I have read.

My family/group of 5 visited LFK for the 3rd time Sept. 3 off Carnival Magic. We started our cruise Sunday Aug 30 & I had not yet heard of the 'raid'.

When we began our tour of LFK, we were informed then of the raid of the animals...it was very sad, but there was still an array of animals there, including Lawrence the lion as previously posted, a marmoset, (which we could hold & pet) & several monkeys as well as birds. Also, the horses were still there...(as well as the usual sweet Rottweilers, including the most adorable puppy!)

Our day was filled with sun, fun, food, drinks, kayaking, paddle boarding, jumping off the platform, as well as snorkeling. We never one felt unsafe. If we hadn't been informed of the raid on the animals, I don't honestly think we really would have noticed. The adorable monkeys still there were obviously loved & well taken care of - we interacted with them, took the cutest pics of them holding our fingers while they ate their fruit.

I never felt unsafe & if future cruises allow us to go back to Roatan, I will definitely consider returning to LFK...

My family/group of 5 visited LFK for the 3rd time Sept. 3 off Carnival Magic. We started our cruise Sunday Aug 30 & I had not yet heard of the 'raid'.

 

When we began our tour of LFK, we were informed then of the raid of the animals...it was very sad, but there was still an array of animals there, including Lawrence the lion as previously posted, a marmoset, (which we could hold & pet) & several monkeys as well as birds. Also, the horses were still there...(as well as the usual sweet Rottweilers, including the most adorable puppy!)

 

Our day was filled with sun, fun, food, drinks, kayaking, paddle boarding, jumping off the platform, as well as snorkeling. We never one felt unsafe. If we hadn't been informed of the raid on the animals, I don't honestly think we really would have noticed. The adorable monkeys still there were obviously loved & well taken care of - we interacted with them, took the cutest pics of them holding our fingers while they ate their fruit.

 

I never felt unsafe & if future cruises allow us to go back to Roatan, I will definitely consider returning to LFK...

Hey did you see any jellyfish while you were there? If so, did anyone get stung? If so, was the staff able to help? I just reserved a spot at LFK and read a review about jellyfish and now I'm like [emoji15] lol.

We did not see any jellyfish...we snorkeled, paddle boarded, kayaked in the cove/lagoon area as well as the other side of the island...hope that helps!

We did not see any jellyfish...we snorkeled, paddle boarded, kayaked in the cove/lagoon area as well as the other side of the island...hope that helps!

Yea. What month did you go? Maybe it depends on the time of the year. Thank you

Yea. What month did you go? Maybe it depends on the time of the year. Thank you

You are so right! We were there Sept. 3rd...of course jellyfish could have been there before we were there, during, as well as after. I just noted that we did not see any that day, but really, we were only there for a part of a day...

(The same applies to sea weed, no sea weed, water temp, wave height, docking vs no docking...each day is different, each cruise is different...YMMV!) ;)

We were on the Sept. 20th sailing of the Magic. We usually do Tabyana Beach but decided to give LFK a try this time. Boy, I'm glad we did!! The island is beautiful and so well kept. There are still animals there. The snorkeling tours are incredible!! We saw a few jellyfish out on the reef, but it was easy to see and avoid them. I intend to return to LFK as often as possible. Roatan is our favorite Caribbean port and LFK is a must do there.

You are so right! We were there Sept. 3rd...of course jellyfish could have been there before we were there, during, as well as after. I just noted that we did not see any that day, but really, we were only there for a part of a day...

 

(The same applies to sea weed, no sea weed, water temp, wave height, docking vs no docking...each day is different, each cruise is different...YMMV!) ;)

Oh okay. Thank you. My friends and I are going in February and I didn't know if there are set months or something that they are frequent and should avoid. I love looking at jellyfish, just don't want to get stung. Lol thanks again [emoji16][emoji106]

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to know if there are any updates this year from anyone who recently visited LFK. I admit I wanted to go to take pictures with Simba;) but there still seems to be quite alot to do there.

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to know if there are any updates this year from anyone who recently visited LFK. I admit I wanted to go to take pictures with Simba;) but there still seems to be quite alot to do there.

Simba is not back yet per LFK's last report a week or so ago when someone asked. But they do still have the lion and other animals there.

I was at LFK last week. Animals were back (lion, monkey, birds, goat, maybe others) but not Simba. Horses were available for riding in the water.

I was at LFK last week. Animals were back (lion, monkey, birds, goat, maybe others) but not Simba. Horses were available for riding in the water.

I'm trying to decide on LFK or West Bay Beach. Would you recommend LFK?

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I was at LFK last week. Animals were back (lion, monkey, birds, goat, maybe others) but not Simba. Horses were available for riding in the water.

The animals are not "back". The animals that you seen while there were never taken. :( The animals that were taken, including Simba, have not been returned yet and the owners are still fighting for them back.