Belize Private Island Beach Break

[hcat]

Can you get there or to another Beach on your own once you get to the port area? Was the sand in the water very "shelly" also?

 

Last time in Belize we saw the Mayan ruins & city tour--would not need to see any of that again! Bought more wooden bowls than we'll ever need as well! Prices at the ruins were much better than at the port...

[TeresaJ]

We did this excursion January 2009 and they took us straight from the Carnival Glory to the island. We are doing this again on January 26, 2012 and they are taking us from the Carnival Legend at 8:45 and returning us at 12:45pm. Since Belize City has no beaches, this is the only option for us since we have two children. The other option was to stay on the ship that day. The price for 2 adults and 2 children is $133.80 so it is not cheap, but Belize City does not offer anything that interests us.

 

 

I have this excursion booked on Carnival Dream and it is the same departure time (8:45am - 12:45pm). I was just looking at excursions on Carnival's website for the other ports and I looked at my account and it says 10am-2pm now for the Bannister Island Beach Break.

[Aviendah]

Can you get there or to another Beach on your own once you get to the port area? Was the sand in the water very "shelly" also?

 

Last time in Belize we saw the Mayan ruins & city tour--would not need to see any of that again! Bought more wooden bowls than we'll ever need as well! Prices at the ruins were much better than at the port...

 

We didn't go into the port so I can't answer that one. And yes, the sand in the water was shelly as well. Water shoes might be a good idea here.

[girlscruise2011]

This is exactly the reason we chose to go to Bannister and we enjoyed our visit.

 

Try Maya Key at Roatan if you like a beautiful tropical setting. We LOVED this excursion!! I have photos in my signature link for the Valor cruise. We debated on Tabyana as well but wanted a more peaceful relaxed location. Maya Key was perfect for us.

 

I just looked at your review and all I can say is WOW :eek:. What great pics. Maya Key was beautiful. I'm on the Liberty in November and was thinking of what to do in Roatan so I'll definately have to look more into this.

[1948buddy]

I just did the Bannister Island "Private Island " excursion. I did it with Royal and was very very disappointed.

 

The Carnival Excursion left from their ship and went directly to the Island. The Royal people had to tender to the port, board the ship and then go past our ship to the Island. So it took over an hour to just get there.

 

When we arrived the "Manager" came on the boat and said the good news was we arrived and the bad news was they were over sold and that until Carnival left - we had no chairs or floats available to us. He then told us to be back at the boat dock at 1:30pm we didn't arrive until 11:30. We argued and then he said 3:30 and people said it was too late because the last tender was 4:00. So we compromised at 2:30.

 

Carnival did not leave until 1:30. After walking around for 45 minutes looking for a place to sit I went to find the manager and ask for some help. I had a recent knee replacement and could not sit on the ground, I'd really have a difficult time getting up again.

 

He totally blew me off and said to sit on the sand, even seeing me with my cane. I finally went back to the tender boats and sat there until the Carnival people needed their boat to leave.

 

The manager later came back and apologized for his bad attitude, but it was too little too late.

They also had jelly fish in the water, which wasn't their fault but contributed to the over crowding problem.

 

The beaches in Roatan were much nicer and cleaner. I would not reccommend this excursion, especially if there are 2 or more ships in port.

We are on the Mariner in March, and I booked this tour. RCCL said they pick you up directly from the ship, so now I am a litle worried. We wanted to go to Caulkner with Coral Breezes, but they are doing Carnival that day. My wife and I just like to relax and have a drink or two, do not hardly ever go into the water, so do you think I should cancel, or would it possibly serve our purpose? I found a bunch of reviews where people said they loved it..Thanks

[carolv712]

They did not pick us up from the ship. If you are ok with not going in the water and sitting possibly in the sand instead of a chair then enjoy. Like I said previously the first time I went it was nice. The 2nd time not so much. Check how many boats are in port and make a decision based on that.

[MsHoo]

We cruised on the Carnival Legend 12/2/2012 and booked snorkeling/Bannister Beach break with Coral Breeze Tours.

 

They boast that they don't cancel even when the cruise ship excursion does. THAT is not a good thing. The weather was bad and they shouldn't have taken us out. Bannister Beach might be okay if the weather was good but when it was overcast and raining it looked like a rundown mess. A lot of the loungers were dirty/broken. The beach food was barely okay and it was a little pricey. They have kayaks which we might have used if the weather was better. Maybe this place looks better in the sunshine but it wasn't impressive in the rain.

 

By the way I do not recommend Coral Breeze Tours either. Like I said the guide shouldn't have taken us out, the ocean was too rough to snorkel and very cloudy. Do not do the Manatee Watch! All you might see is blow hole spout water. Again, the water was too cloudy to see anything and they kept us way too long trying to find something to see. While we were at Bannister it was obviously we were ready to go back because of the weather. We stood around the guide while he lounged against a building and he didn't get the hint. On another note, we brought our own snorkel gear and I'm glad we did. Theirs looked pretty beat up and there was no way of knowing whether it was sanitized between tours. They just dumped the equipment on the dock and you picked it up.

 

This was a case of you get what you pay for.

Edited January 25, 2012 by MsHoo

[andrewabby]

Is the snorkeling any good on Bannister Island?

[Aviendah]

Is the snorkeling any good on Bannister Island?

 

Not in the swimming area it isn't. You will find a few starfish, a few fish and lots of grass. I didn't take the snorkel excursion however so I can't speak to that.

[rjm11]

Aveindah- thanks for all the great photos.. we are going to Bannister Island and Maya Key on our upcoming cruise in April, and I really enjoyed getting such a great look at both. I will be taking my kids (ages 4 and 6)... any insight on those locations for the younger crowd?

[Aviendah]

Aveindah- thanks for all the great photos.. we are going to Bannister Island and Maya Key on our upcoming cruise in April, and I really enjoyed getting such a great look at both. I will be taking my kids (ages 4 and 6)... any insight on those locations for the younger crowd?

 

For Bannister, they will love playing in the water and running around. Just make sure they have fin socks or water shoes. The fin socks worked great for us. There are shells and they are sharp! We just wanted to play it safe in Belize with our children and that's why we chose Bannister. It's not a hopping den of activity but it has some pretty scenery and it's peaceful and safe. This was our only beach option and we took it!

 

Maya Key is fantastic! The kids can play in the sandy beach and look for fish in the clear water. You will love the sound of the parrots in the background. Think jungle meets beach! There are animals for them to see and a long pier for them to run around on. They also have a pool but I think you'll miss out on a lot if you don't spend some time on the beach. Lunch was really good and my boys even liked the sea bass which I wasn't sure if they would. You can watch them feed the nurse sharks, sting ray and sea lions. My boys felt like this was a special place because there were very few people in the water and they had the run of the beach. They loved it! :)

[schtroumphette]

I just got back from a cruise on the Liberty of the seas with my boyfriend and our two girls 4 and 7 years old. We went to Bannister Island and took our excursion from the ship. They pick us up from the ship at 9:00 am. Bannister Island was very disapointing for the price that we paid. We had no drinks, no food include. The beach was ok, but a lot of sea shells to get into the water...by chance we had water shoes. The price of the drinks was 17$ for 5 beers, 2$ for soda or water. I dont know the price of the food. If you go with children, dont forget a bucket and a shovel to play in the sand, because they sell some for 6$ at the gift shop, wich is expensive for what you have. I dont recommand this excursion. The day after, we went to Cozumel Paradise beach by taxi and it was 100 times better for half the price.

[gigspj]

I assume the private island mentioned here is Bannister Island? NCL offers a Beach Break excursion and when I inquired, NCL said it is Bannister Island. I usually do excursions on my own, but was thinking about doing this one through the ship because you go straight from the ship to the Island and back, rather than tender from the ship to the port, then take an excursion with a tour company to the island, then back to the port, then tender back to the ship. NCL's cost is $44 pp (food on your own). I guess one negative of doing it through the ship would be that you don't get to tour any part of the port (for shopping, etc.). But I believe the island has a gift shop (might be pricey though?).

 

Any thoughts on that from anyone??? :confused:

We are on the Star 3/25, does the ship tour to Bannister Island go direct from the ship? I have seen a lot of conflicting posts on this subject. Thanks

[marshhawk]

never book a beach with your ship, we never had a pleasant experience really...

 

You keep posting this about not booking with the ship, but in Belize on a Carnival ship you are taken directly to the island. I fyou don't book with them, you tender to Belize city and then get on another boat and go out to an island. In Belize of all countries it is the only way to get your money's worth. That said, Carnival has already cancelled Bannister once several years ago, not until they got new management on the island did Carnival reinstate this as an excursion. If your ship goes to more than this port, I would book a beach day in another port.

[mitsugirly]

This is exactly the reason we chose to go to Bannister and we enjoyed our visit.

 

Try Maya Key at Roatan if you like a beautiful tropical setting. We LOVED this excursion!! I have photos in my signature link for the Valor cruise. We debated on Tabyana as well but wanted a more peaceful relaxed location. Maya Key was perfect for us.

 

I had to go read your review. It was awesome and the pictures really gave a great feel for the place.

 

I think you might have me sold on Maya Key. It looks beautiful and there seems to be a lot to do there. It looks like the snorkeling is amazing there too with the reefs. I have to ask though, is there a zoo or something there? It also looks like a HUGE place. Is this so? How long would it take to visit the entire place? I'm going to have to do more research on this place. It looks awesome. :)

[TeresaJ]

I had to go read your review. It was awesome and the pictures really gave a great feel for the place.

 

I think you might have me sold on Maya Key. It looks beautiful and there seems to be a lot to do there. It looks like the snorkeling is amazing there too with the reefs. I have to ask though, is there a zoo or something there? It also looks like a HUGE place. Is this so? How long would it take to visit the entire place? I'm going to have to do more research on this place. It looks awesome. :)

 

 

We really enjoyed our day at Maya Key (Carnival Dream excursion). It was 5 hours so I felt like we definitely had a lot of time there. It included lunch and there are animals on the island (monkeys, birds, big cats, etc). There are also dolphins and sharks you can pay extra to swim with. You can snorkel there - beatiful reef, for an extra cost $10, I think. They have a pool there as well as the beach area. Very neat island. I would recommend it.

[TXSAIL]

We were there in March , and really enjoyed it. The water was beautiful, but there are shells. We would go again.:)

 

 

[mitsugirly]

We really enjoyed our day at Maya Key (Carnival Dream excursion). It was 5 hours so I felt like we definitely had a lot of time there. It included lunch and there are animals on the island (monkeys, birds, big cats, etc). There are also dolphins and sharks you can pay extra to swim with. You can snorkel there - beatiful reef, for an extra cost $10, I think. They have a pool there as well as the beach area. Very neat island. I would recommend it.

 

Just wondering, when you say it was $10 to snorkel...they charge you to go in to the water to snorkel right from that pier? Or is that for snorkeling equipment? We have our own equipment that we take with us each cruise and wouldn't need to use theirs, other than a snorkel vest. Do they rent just those? Do you know the cost?

[Feelin' Nauti']

Not sure if this is the same excursion as what Carnival offers (Island Beach Break for$49.99 p/p)

I have read the reviews most if not all say the sand is rocky and the water is murky.

 

Looking for an excursion for a "nice" beach, sand, shade, snorkeling...

Can anyone recommend?