Problems in Belize??

[Orgirl69]

Going to be in Belize on 5/5 with the Elation and have been keeping an eye on the situation and this thread. Lots of info here! One of the things that I decided to do was register my trip with the US Consular Agency. Just a precaution since I'm traveling by myself with my minor child, age 17. You can do this at: [url="https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/home.asp"]https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/home.asp[/url]The phone number for the US Consulate in Belize is (011) (501) 227-7161. Just my 2 cents.

~ Steph

[blyle]

Great idea! That's a good thing to do!

[sndgirl22]

We were in Belize in February and didn't have any problems. Just keep your eyes open and beware of your surroundings. Don't worry Belize is beautiful and you'll have a great time.:)

[tanner2]

I'm not to sure I want to go their anymore! :confused:

[kodiac]

I'm leaving today to go to our Hotel in Miami. I will keep everyone posted upon return from Belize and the Valor next week.

[halos]

[quote name='sndgirl22']We were in Belize in February and didn't have any problems. Just keep your eyes open and beware of your surroundings. Don't worry Belize is beautiful and you'll have a great time.:)[/QUOTE]

I agree with this....if you ever travel anyplace foreign (meaning..a place you have never been...not necessarily off the continent of N. America) you should be cautious. I think being in any large city in [I]this[/I] country you should be cautious as well.
Obviously, if you are a little nervous when in places like Belize, booking tours/excursions through the cruise line is probably a safer bet and just being aware of your surroundings at all times is ALWAYS...no matter where you are, a must.

[corina27]

In feb.there wasnt the unrest thats going on currently.You just have to be carefull.and try to stick with the crowds.

[jemingway]

We were in Belize in late March and there were no problems. Our cab driver was very political and said there were planning to overthrough the government. He was born in Belize and went to college at UCLA before returning to Belize.

[IndianaGal]

[quote name='cruisingrobert']We were there a month ago and everything was great!! We had a great time with the Wet-n-Wild Cave Tubing tour - hope to return there in the future. We were told Carnival was in the process of building a dock and it should be operational in 18 months - that would be a lot better than tendering in from 9 miles out.[/QUOTE]

[font=Comic Sans MS]Hello! I just returned from the Miracle yesterday. Belize turned out better than I thought. It took a while to get off the ship since Carnival had a special process to get off of the ship. Touch of Class took us to Cucumber Beach for $20 per person for the round trip ride and $5 to gain entrance and use of the beach. Victor was the driver, a very professional looking person. He could tell we were a little bit uncomfortable being there. He told us he would only take the money for the one way fare and we could pay for the return ride back to port when he picked us up. He even left us his cell phone number in case we needed to return early. Told us he left his number as well with the people working at the beach and that they would be happy to call Victor, if we needed him. He even came back to check on us to make sure we were happy with the beach. On the way to and from the beach he provided us with history of his city and willing to answer our questions. Look into using Touch of Class, I felt very comfortable with this driver.[/font]
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[font=Comic Sans MS]Enjoy your cruise![/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS]IndianaGal[/font]

[KentuckyTam]

I ,too, just returned from the Miracle and was in Belize on Friday. We used X-Stream for cave tubing(which I highly recommend!!) and it was one of the highlights of our trip. While our guide informed us of some of the political problems going on, we never felt unsafe. Any place you go to, you can always find crime. While in Cancun 2 years ago, the main road to our hotel was shut down so we had to take back roads to get there. Talk about SCARY! But that's not what most people see when they go there. My point being...stick with a tour operator that knows where they are and what to avoid and you will be fine. I hate to think that so many people will miss this beautiful port that has a lot to offer.

[cruzn buckeye]

Cucumber Beach?.....where is that? I have been reading that there are no beaches in Belize.

[danfiveoh]

There are beaches in Belize. You simply have to go to one of the cayes (small islands) We've been there twice, did reggies cave tubing once (awesome!) and took a water taxi last fall to Caye Caulker for beach and snorkeling with the sharks and rays.
Oh and as far as safety goes, I've been a cop for 20 years and I agree with the posters that say most major metro areas in the states are just as dangerous. Be smart, don't look or act like a victim, leave your jewelry and purse on board and don't pull out a wallet to buy things, just have few dollars in a pocket. Predators seek out the unaware and avoid people that make eye contact and seem self assured.

[lil nemo]

[quote name='blyle']I understand that they are building a new embassy somewhere else. I also read where the hotels are really suffering and need business. Shutting off the water, cutting fiber optics for communications and taking over us telecom businesses are not visitor friendly things to enourage tourism. There are too many friendly islands like Aruba to have to waste time staying in Belize and other unfriendly unstable places.
I also read online that last week the night before we ported their were violent protests. The only reason the tourist area was untouched is the police blocked the bridge and stopped them from entering. If they had not they said the area would have been looted and vandalized. What business would stay if it was that dangerous?[/QUOTE]

why would carnival puts its passengers in that kind of risk situation. did they tell you this info and state leave the boAT AT YPUR OWN RISK???

[cruzn buckeye]

I wanted to add this about Carnival going to unsafe ports. Usually, if they become unsafe, they will remove it from their itin. However, I have read that Carnival is building a dock there for their ships. This leads me to believe that they will continue to go to Belize.
We were on a Carnival ship years ago and one of the ports was Santa Domingo.
We were told by the cruise director to not go out on your own...to take a tour.
Why they would port somewhere like this where their feelings about it was not so good....I'll never know. Anyway, we booked a tour but due to the sunburn we had gotten the day before we canceled it. Well....we decided that we could not just sit on the ship. So, we got off the ship and was greeted by a very friendly man...dressed nicely and spoke English. He said he would take us to the place of Columbus' burial. We said o.k.....then he waved for a guy in a car. We decided to go ahead and go. Big Mistake! The man spoke no English. He had to stop and ask someone who understood English where we wanted to go. We drove through the town. Very narrow streets and police holding automatic shotguns all over the place. It was very scary as people approached the car and the driver kept waving them away. On the way back to the ship, the driver turned onto a very deserted street and the car went put...put...put...and died. The driver got out and raised the hood.Yes...we thought we were going to be robbed and killed. Luckily he got the car started. And we decided to never go out on our own if we were told not to by the cruise director. They have removed this port from their itineraries! I wish they would not even go to these places!

[IndianaGal]

[quote name='cruzn buckeye']Cucumber Beach?.....where is that? I have been reading that there are no beaches in Belize.[/QUOTE]

This beach was about 15 minutes away from town, really man made. The beach was with a small boat club of some sort. The ocean behind you and in front they had secured a clean swimming area. There were beach chairs, tables, fresh water shower, changing area. The bathrooms were clean. Victor, the driver, told us that if we didn't like the beach that he would take us back to town at no charge. Very business like since gas is going for $4.38 US per gallon. I felt very comfortable there. Also served food and drinks as well at Cucumber Beach.

IndianaGal

[cruzn buckeye]

Thanks for the info on Cucumber beach. Do you know if there are any pictures posted of this? Also, was the drive there safe?

[lahoban]

We went in March and took the Carnival excursion to the ruins. Everything seemed fine then. On the bus ride home a police woman boarded our bus and rode with us through the city. We felt better about that. I would not want to venture out on my own.

[arby70]

I had planned on a ship sponsored excursion for Belize. I have heard that once you get away from the city, it's a beautiful country. We plan the Lumanai/New River tour and I think the ship tour (although more costly) will be the way to go.