Lamania..Book through cruisline or private?

I have checked online for the lamanai river tour. i found it thriough belizecruiseexcursions.com im just nervous about the time and getting back on the tender in time. any input from anyone would be great

We did this tour thru Island Marketing about a year ago & it was great & we got back with about 45 minutes to spare. The boat ride each was was close to one hour so if you do not like a rapid boat ride forget this tour.

look into Island Marketing as a possibility for this tour.

Enjoy Belize.

Bill in FL

I have checked online for the lamanai river tour. i found it thriough belizecruiseexcursions.com im just nervous about the time and getting back on the tender in time. any input from anyone would be great

Last year we did the Lamanai and River excursion on our Christmas cruise on Mariner of the Seas. We booked directly through the RC cruiseline. With the travel time and excursion time combined it was a long day but well worth it.

It was a good thing I booked it through the cruise line. Our bus got stuck in traffic on the way back and we were about 45 minutes late getting back to the ship.

Very glad we hadn't booked with a private company. I'm not sure the ship would have waited for us.

If you're interested in seeing pictures, my wife posted a few on her website. The slideshow includes the river cruise first, then pics of the ruins.

Here is the link http://nancysoasis.com/belize/belize.html

Happy Sailing :D

Hi Sheila

We did this tour a few years ago, booking through the cruiseline (NCL) and I'm glad we did. On the way up the New River one of the motors went out on the boat, slowing us way down. We were very late getting back to the ship, because we had booked through the cruiseline the ship waited for us. If we had gone with a private company, the ship would NOT have waited for us. We would have saved money up front with the private company, but we would have spent it getting to the next port of call to meet the ship.

Our rule is that if we're close to the port, go with a good private company...if we're going quite a distance from the port, go with the cruiseline.

The tour was great and I would do it again...through the cruiseline. Have a great time.

Mary

We booked this through the ship and were late getting back so the ship waited for us. I've heard too many times this same story and would not take the chance since this excursion is an all day event. The ruins and boat ride are wonderful.

I would play it safe a book with the cruise line .

We loved Lemanai , the Howler monkey , the birds , Fantastic :)

I don't have any experience using an independent company. We also booked through RCI. It probably would be just fine going independent, but it does scare me with the distance from port. It is not as if you can find alternate transportation quickly if something goes wrong.

On our tour, we were among the first tenders and we got back and made the last tender. That is too close for comfort if I were independent. We generally always book outside of the cruise ship, but I was very happy I booked this one through them.

As for the "cattle" herding, I was afraid there would be too many people. I was pleasantly surprised that the groups were divided up into smaller tours so it wasn't so bad in that way.

You can't go wrong with Belizecruiseexcursions.com, we did lamanai with them and it was incredible!!

The cruise based excursions have more dead time because they have to wait until everyone has eaten, everyone has used the rest room, everyone has finished the tour....

A private tour operates at your pace. You've seen a lot of comments about how the boat waited for a cruise line tour to get back. But, you've not seen one comment by someone who took a private tour and missed the ship.

I suggest you contact David Chan with Dave's Eco Tours and talk to him about your plans. It's kind of like having a personal chauffeur that is extremely knowledgeable in the country and culture.

We were on the Carnival Legend last week, booked the tour independent as Carnival does not offer anymore. Huge mistake! In spite of best efforts on the part of the tour staff, we still were late getting back to the pier, 15 minutes after the "last tender" time. My wife, kids and the other 12 guests were an emotional wreck all the way back to the pier as we knew we would arrive late. Fortunately, another carnival sponsored excursion was also late so they held the tender. It would have been a great experience if we were not so rushed (we only spent 15 minutes at the ruins and then inhaled the delicious lunch) but Carnival just doesn't leave enough time in port for this lengthy tour, especially with the 25 minute tender ride each way. That is probably why Carnival no longer offers this tour. We always book independent, but in the future will only book through the ship for longer tours, especially if a long land transfer is involved. Btw, assurances of "we've never had a guest miss the ship" mean little when you know you're going to miss the last tender time and you're thinking about being left behind in a third world country.

We were on the Carnival Legend last week, booked the tour independent as Carnival does not offer anymore. Huge mistake! In spite of best efforts on the part of the tour staff, we still were late getting back to the pier, 15 minutes after the "last tender" time. My wife, kids and the other 12 guests were an emotional wreck all the way back to the pier as we knew we would arrive late. Fortunately, another carnival sponsored excursion was also late so they held the tender. It would have been a great experience if we were not so rushed (we only spent 15 minutes at the ruins and then inhaled the delicious lunch) but Carnival just doesn't leave enough time in port for this lengthy tour, especially with the 25 minute tender ride each way. That is probably why Carnival no longer offers this tour. We always book independent, but in the future will only book through the ship for longer tours, especially if a long land transfer is involved. Btw, assurances of "we've never had a guest miss the ship" mean little when you know you're going to miss the last tender time and you're thinking about being left behind in a third world country.

What tour company did you use? We will be on the Legend in a few weeks and have this tour booked with Island Marketing.

We booked through Island Marketing as well. Again, I would stress that the actual tour staff worked very hard to get us back in time, we just look back now and realize that with the tender both ways, Carnival just doesn't leave enough time to enjoy this long of a tour and would not recommend it due to the fact that our time was cut short and we really didn't make it back to the pier in time. Just our opinion. Good Luck!

We booked through Island Marketing as well. Again, I would stress that the actual tour staff worked very hard to get us back in time, we just look back now and realize that with the tender both ways, Carnival just doesn't leave enough time to enjoy this long of a tour and would not recommend it due to the fact that our time was cut short and we really didn't make it back to the pier in time. Just our opinion. Good Luck!

Was you able to get on the first tender out? I know they tell you the last tender is about an hr. before the ship is scheduled to depart, was you on the actual last tender? I am asking because we are booked with Major Tom in Jan. and will be able to get on the first tender. Thanks for all your help.

Sandra

We were on the first tender off the ship in the morning. At the end of the day, there was a tender back to the ship that followed ours, but that is only because there were so many people waiting at the dock to return. I don't think I would gamble planning on getting back to the dock after the official "last tender" time but to each his own. Our ship left Cozumel the day before and passengers were left behind because they didn't get back to the ship on time. On the bright side for them, I would rather get left behind in Cozumel than Belize, IMHO.

We did this tour thru Island Marketing about a year ago & it was great & we got back with about 45 minutes to spare. The boat ride each was was close to one hour so if you do not like a rapid boat ride forget this tour.

look into Island Marketing as a possibility for this tour.

Enjoy Belize.

Bill in FL

Bill, what time did your ship dock. I will be on the Legend and we don't dock till 9 and last tender at 4. Thank You.

Sandra

We were on the first tender off the ship in the morning. At the end of the day, there was a tender back to the ship that followed ours, but that is only because there were so many people waiting at the dock to return. I don't think I would gamble planning on getting back to the dock after the official "last tender" time but to each his own. Our ship left Cozumel the day before and passengers were left behind because they didn't get back to the ship on time. On the bright side for them, I would rather get left behind in Cozumel than Belize, IMHO.

Thank you for the reply. I may have to re-think the ruins. What time did you leave the port to go to the ruins. Major Tom said we would leave as soon as we got there since we are going as a group and should all get on the 1st tender. I had booked with Belizecruiseexcursion to start with, but they said we wouldn't leave till 10:30. Hopefully we will be at the dock by or before 10. Any help will be appreciated. I'm starting to sweat. HA HA

Carnival starting letting tenders with independant tours leave the ship at 930 and we were on the first tender. That put us in the port at just before 10. I think the tour loaded up to leave the port area at 10:20 to 10:30. There were a few tenders that left the ship a little earlier but you couldn't get on those tenders unless you held a reservation with a carnival excursion. They give you different stickers to get on a tender if you hold a cruise sponsored excursion.

Carnival starting letting tenders with independant tours leave the ship at 930 and we were on the first tender. That put us in the port at just before 10. I think the tour loaded up to leave the port area at 10:20 to 10:30. There were a few tenders that left the ship a little earlier but you couldn't get on those tenders unless you held a reservation with a carnival excursion. They give you different stickers to get on a tender if you hold a cruise sponsored excursion.

Thank you for all the information. I have talked with our group and explained that we may not get back in time, but they are saying lets just go for it. So we will be sure to take our passports just in case we have to get a plane to Roatan. Wish us luck. We have been warned. We will post a review when we return on the ruins.

Sandra

We went over thanksgiving. The last tender was "scheduled" at 4:15 and the bus dropped us off at 4:05.

We then waited for almost an hour in a massive line to get on the tenders.

Thanks Tree Hugger. That's what I am hoping for this time anyway. I have stood in those long lines before and didn't like it much, but this time it may turn out to be a blessing.

Best of luck! Except for the time issues, it really is a great excursion. The area around the ruins is beautiful and the boat ride is a real highlight with a lot of wildlife to enjoy.

Thank you . we booked with the cruise line . we decided that it was not a savings if we missed the tender and had to fly to the next port

As much as I prefer independent tours, I think that is the best choice for this specific tour. FWIW, we had a full bus and boat, but I did not think the # of passengers was a cattle call. I very much enjoyed the excursion!

I don't know why Carnival doesn't offer this tour, but it doesn't. That leaves me with no choice but to book with an independent tour operator and hope for the best. There are 10 of us booked and will be going in our own van and boat and not having to wait on anybody. We are told we will leave as soon as we get to the dock. We should all be able to get on the first tender over to the docks. I surley don't want to be the first one to report that we missed the ship. Wish us luck. I will report when we get back.

Sandra

I don't know why Carnival doesn't offer this tour, but it doesn't. That leaves me with no choice but to book with an independent tour operator and hope for the best. There are 10 of us booked and will be going in our own van and boat and not having to wait on anybody. We are told we will leave as soon as we get to the dock. We should all be able to get on the first tender over to the docks. I surley don't want to be the first one to report that we missed the ship. Wish us luck. I will report when we get back.

 

Sandra

Hi Sandra,

I am going to Belize in May and wanted to go to Lamania also. Was wondering how it went on your excursion. If you don't mind posting a review about your experience I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!