Bad reviews of Coral Breeze latley, what's up?

I used to see tons of good reviews on them, now it seems there are lots of negitives. Wonder what the deal is. I know people usually only post reviews if they love it or hate it, but I am still concerned. Maybe they are getting too much business and aren't ready for it? I am still considering them, but now I am having doubts.

I swear, if I can't figure out what to do here soon, I am just going to stay on the ship, lol!!:D :D

I used to see tons of good reviews on them, now it seems there are lots of negitives. Wonder what the deal is. I know people usually only post reviews if they love it or hate it, but I am still concerned. Maybe they are getting too much business and aren't ready for it? I am still considering them, but now I am having doubts.

 

 

I swear, if I can't figure out what to do here soon, I am just going to stay on the ship, lol!!:D :D

I think a couple of the bads are duplicates and mine was from a trip a few months back. I personally think the majority of people have wonderful experiences but there is a clunker every once in while.

At the same time I posted, I did sent an email to Paul and today received acknowlegement from him that he received it. He indicated that he was just back from Belize, so hopefully he has already addressed the issues seen recently. I expect him to be replying to this thread in the next day or two.

With an average load of 25, I don't think that they are getting too much business. I'm waiting to see Paul's response and also looking forward to reviews over the next few weeks, since several people have indicated they were booked. I haven't written them off - just trying to light a fire under them.

we are booked 2 weeks from today and will let everyone know the details.. good and bad...we booked based on great reviews a few months ago, so the recent posts have concerned me.. but every time I've emailed Paul the response has been great...so i'm going with fingers crossed and high hopes...

We booked for March. Sharl Ray Alley. I will be anxious to hear about your trip. I wish you a wonderful cruise!

Carbon

At the same time I posted, I did sent an email to Paul and today received acknowlegement from him that he received it. He indicated that he was just back from Belize, so hopefully he has already addressed the issues seen recently. I expect him to be replying to this thread in the next day or two.

So, let me get this straight. Paul works for Coral Breeze, but it not actually located in Belize where the problems have occured? Do I have that right?

I used to see tons of good reviews on them, now it seems there are lots of negitives. Wonder what the deal is. I know people usually only post reviews if they love it or hate it, but I am still concerned. Maybe they are getting too much business and aren't ready for it? I am still considering them, but now I am having doubts.

 

 

I swear, if I can't figure out what to do here soon, I am just going to stay on the ship, lol!!:D :D

We were on the Shark Ray Alley/ Caye Caulker tour this past Thursday (12/9/04). The tour had good points and bad.

THE GOOD: the crew was very nice, the lunch (a buffet of rice & beans, chicken, fish, coleslaw and orange punch) was good, and the snorkeling at the reef was amazing.

THE BAD: (Unfortunately there was alot)

The boat was too small for the 45 people booked on the trip. We were in a small enclosed speedboat. The crew was up top and the 45 of us were crammed in below. Only the back of the boat had an opening for air to get in.

The equipment showed no signs of being sterilized recently. On past snorkeling trips the equipment included a bladder vest. On this tour we had to tie a standard orange life vest around our waists. This made it very difficult to swim. The was no room to put on the equipment and trying to manuever your way to the back of the boat with your flippers was impossible. The snorkling at the reef was a little difficult for the 9 & 10 year olds we had with us (not a complaint, but a warning for those taking young children,older people and first time snorkelers). The crew was not very helpful to the first time snorkelers. I didn't feel they had adequate instruction. The plan for snorkeling at the reef was for 45 people to swim in a single file line through the reef. This was was difficult for the first timers which could not keep up and were eventually left behind. There were about 10 people who choose to observe from the boat. I would not suggested this for elderly or very small children since there is no air circulating in the cabin of the boat. It was very very hot.

The was no bait available to attract the sharks and rays in Shark Ray Alley. This was very disappointing. A few sharks and rays swam by and quickly left when there was not food to be found.

While lunch was good, it was not as described on the website. It was buffet under a tent in a courtyard. There was no menu to choose from or restaurant. We were surrounded by the locals laundry hanging out to dry. The beach near where we ate was for hotel guests only. And I wouldn't exactly call it a beach anyway. It was actually a marina with some lounge chairs on the shore. The website mentions the beach at the Split for swimming. Unfortuately there was not time to go there. Some of the people on our tour need to return early since thier ships left port early.

I booked the tour for our family (21 of us). I described this tour to my family as it was described on the Coral Breeze website-

"Our excursion includes two snorkel locations instead of one. Our lunch includes a menu with large portion meals at a restaurant. Our boat is bigger, more comfortable, less crowded, and fully covered"

Not looking good for Coral Breeze. :(

Hi Snorklingbum! I think we may have sat next to you and your family--we had the 9 yr. old son and little 16 mo. old daughter.

We agree with Snorklingbum. We were also very disappointed. One reason I choose this tour is because we were able to bring our little one on board also versus what the cruise line allows.

It was very crowded. I think some of the problem was most everyone had a lot of carry-ons (beach bags, gym bags, etc--including us!).

My hubby and son went out to the reef. It was very difficult to stay together. My hubby thought a lot of the coral looked dead, but they did see a puffer fish.

We only had about 15 minutes at the sting ray/nurse shark area because we spent so long at the reef. I saw one shark and one ray. No bait--what's up with that???

The food was good at the caye. My son is a choosy eater, and he was given one chicken drumstock and rice and beans. He really liked the chicken and went back up for another, and they said they had to save the rest for others???---everyone was aleady through the line once. I then went up and we were able to get more rice and beans.

After we ate, we walked along the beach--we had about 30 mins.. We did stop at a hotel-owned pier that had hammocks. We found some really neat conch shells that had several hermit crabs in them.

We got back to the tender pier about 45 mins. late and needed to head back to the ship. We were hoping to spend a little time in the city shopping.

Unfortunately, it wasn't what we hoped for either.

I received a request from Coral Breeze for feedback on my excursion with them. I sent the email to CB over a week ago and expressed my disatisfaction. I also posted a reply on this board. As of yet I still have not heard a word from them. I have read on this board from many people about the quick response from Paul when they were less than happy with their excursion. I take the lack of responce to my concerns as a confirmation of the unprofessionalism of Coral Breeze. I would think twice before booking with them. Many people have great experiences with CB, and it is beginning to look like just as many have had not so great experiences. I would say you've got a 50/50 chance of getting what you pay for with them. That is not a chance I would be willing to take again.:mad:

We just got off of the Coral Princess this past Monday. We were suppose to be on a tour of Shark Alley and Caulker Caye this past Saturday but when we got to the Wet Lizard where we were told to meet the woman outside said they didn't have enough people so we would have to wait. We said we didn't want to wait since we had limited time and the woman from Coral Breeze walked us over the water taxi terminal and three couples who didn't know one another got on the taxi to Caulker Caye. Had a lovely few hours there and then scurred back to the ship making the last tender. We had very bad luck with non-ship tours of which I booked three. I would not recommend Coral Breezes as it seems like they have a manana attitude. Take yourself to the taxi terminal and take the water taxi 1 hour off shore to Caulker Caye and enjoy yourself.

they also owe us our deposit back and hoping we don't have a hassle with it.

What did it cost for the water taxi? How often do the tenders run?

The round trip cost for the water taxi is $18 round trip per person. make sure you have the correct amount or you will get change in Belizian money which you won't be able to spend outside Belize. I'm not sure how often the water taxi runs but there is one at least every hour.

I was thinking of booking CB for our March cruise now I'm having second thoughts. What other tour companies are there to use?

Thanks

Just returned from Coral Princess cruise 12/10- 12/20. Had pre booked with them. We were the only ship in port that day and when we showed up at the pier Monique their rep said "sorry there are not enough people to make the trip". I guess it takes $400. in gas for the day and it would not be worth it for them to go out with 6 people. She was very nice and walked us to the water taxi where we took the 10am boat on a beautiful ride to Caye Caulker(although delayed 40 minutes). Once there we met up with Lulu who took us in his golf cart to the "Split" at the north end after first walking to the bar 1 block from the dock and having a few Belikin beers:p and listening to the locals play guitar and posing for photos with Luciano a Reggae star who was there for a concert. FUN! Beautiful laid back island. Swam awhile and Lulu was right on time to pick us up, gave us a little island tour and caught the taxi back to Belize City in plenty of time. If the taxi is full they have another for backup. Went to the Pharmacy and picked up a few items. They have anything you would need and very reasonable.

Totally agree with KatKruiser. We were three couples and two of us stayed on the Island while another left to go back. Beautiful water, great beer. Try to make sure you have the correct change since you don't want to have extra Belize money you can't spend. Had a terrific time and it was great meeting Lucien who was performing in Belize. Hi kathy and Guy from Jill and Cory. Hope you had a cool Yule too and wishing you a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year. Wish we were all back on the Coral :cool: