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? re: rendezvous key catamaran excursion

Zeno

By Zeno,
in Belize

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Zeno

Zeno

Posted
Posted

Has anyone taken the "Rendevous key" catamaran snorkeling excursion?

If so I have a couple of questions.

How long was the catamaran ride to the key?

Do they pick you up right at the ship?

How smooth was the ride ? (We have a friend who does not handle rough seas on small boats well)

Was the snorkeling suitable for a beginner?

Did they supply belts or snorkeling vests ?

Thanks for any info.

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jerick

jerick

Posted
Posted

I did the Rendesvous Caye snorkling last week. I was cruising on the Carnival Valor, and we booked the excursion through Carnival.

The catamaran ride was about 15-20 minutes each way.

They picked us up right from the ship.

The boat is fairly large, with 2 decks. The ride was smooth enough for several of us to dance in the bow area on the way back (thanks to the liberally available rum punch).

 

I think it is suitable for a beginner, though the water was just a little choppy. They did supply us with snorkling vests and gave very good instructions on how to use all the equipment effectively.

 

My son-in-law had never snorkled before and the choppy water made it a little more difficult for him. They did ask for beginner snorklers to identify themselves and gather together before going into the water. I think they did a very good job of keeping track of everyone. They also gave very good instructions including how to indicate that you needed assistance. There were several guides in the water with us, which might annoy some more experienced snorklers, because they do herd you around a bit, but I didn't think it was any big deal. There was an area nearby where the coral was right at the surface and they were careful to keep us from wandering over there.

 

Overall, I was very happy with the excursion. After about 45 minutes in the water (by which time I was ready for a break) they had us go to the beach where there were soft drinks, rum punch and water - all you wanted and all included. They had kayaks and foam water mattresses for those who wanted them. We spent about another hour, enjoying the beach, the water, the rum punch and getting sunburned :p before heading back. Beverages were also available on the trip back to the boat.

 

Everyone in my family group had a great time.

 

Jeff

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jerick

jerick

Posted
Posted
Jerick-- Sounds like you had a great time. One question, approx. how many people were there on your excursion? I checked and there will only be two ships in port that day so I am curious......... Thanks Lisa

 

Hi Lisa,

There were about 30-35 people on our excursion. It seemed like a good number. The caye (island) is pretty tiny so I don't think a log more people could be accommodated at the same time. There was a morning excursion and an identical afternoon excursion. We were on the morning one.

 

By the way, the sun was very intense. We all (in my family) had SPF 30 suntan lotion on and we all got somewhat sunburned. I'd recommend a higher SPF rating and take it with you so you can reapply it after snorkling.

 

Jeff

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jerick

jerick

Posted
Posted
Hi,

Can you just go to the beach if you don't want to snorkel? I have a daughter who won't get in the water from the boat. can she just go to the beach and float on the floats?

thanks,

Carla

 

Hi Carla,

I'm sure you can go to the beach without snorkling, but the boat is about 100' offshore in about 5 feet of water, so you may have to get in the water to get to shore. They did have some kayaks there for us to use, so they might let you go to shore and bring a kayak back to the boat to pick up your daughter. I can't promise that, though.

 

By the way, use good sunscreen - see my previous post.

 

Jeff

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OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted

Jeff .... Thanks so much for your information and helpful replies!

 

Question Please: When we swim to the island after snorkeling, how do we get our beach bags with towels and sunlotion? On excursions we've taken elsewhere they load the beach bags, etc. up in a dingy and take them to the beach. Is that how they do it on this one?

 

Help! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

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jerick

jerick

Posted
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Jeff .... Thanks so much for your information and helpful replies!

 

Question Please: When we swim to the island after snorkeling, how do we get our beach bags with towels and sunlotion? On excursions we've taken elsewhere they load the beach bags, etc. up in a dingy and take them to the beach. Is that how they do it on this one?

 

Help! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

 

Those are good questions - because I'm not sure :rolleyes: . Actually, we just left our beach bags on the boat. The air is so warm that we never needed a towel to dry off. There are plenty of foam mattresses on the beach to sit on that you shouldn't need a towel to sit on. If you want to reapply lotion, I'd just go to the boat and get what you need, or reapply it on the boat. There are kayaks that you can probably use to transport your stuff, if necessary. We had several guides with us, so it was easy to get help if it was needed.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Jeff

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OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
Posted

Jeff .... Thanks so much for your time and honest reply!

 

The main thing I NEED are my prescription sunglasses :cool: so I can see! :D

 

Guess that can be worked out because we really want to do this excursion!

 

Help Again PLEASE: When the snorkeling part is over, do they move the boat to a location closer (than 100 yards) to the beach? Were there REALLY enough Foam Mattresses for EVERYONE who wanted to use one?

 

Help with these questions would be greatly appreciated! :confused:

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

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jerick

jerick

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Jeff .... Thanks so much for your time and honest reply!

 

The main thing I NEED are my prescription sunglasses :cool: so I can see! :D

 

Guess that can be worked out because we really want to do this excursion!

 

Help Again PLEASE: When the snorkeling part is over, do they move the boat to a location closer (than 100 yards) to the beach? Were there REALLY enough Foam Mattresses for EVERYONE who wanted to use one?

 

Help with these questions would be greatly appreciated! :confused:

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

 

Glad to help! Actually the boat is only about 100 feet from the beach, and they do not move it after you arrive, until you depart for the ship. I think the water is only about 5 feet deep (could be 6, I'm not absolutely certain) though, and gets shallower quickly. If anyone in your group is uncomfortable with that I'd just ask one of the guides to help get them to the beach in one of the several kayaks that are there. There were also snorkling vests for everyone, which you can inflate to help with bouyancy. The guides were VERY helpful and cheerful. As far as I could tell there were more than enough foam mattresses.

 

Jeff

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jerick

jerick

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Jeff .... You've been totally wonderful! Thanks!

 

Here's a picture of Rendezvous Caye posted by Chips on an earlier thread:

 

RENDEZVOUS CAYE

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

 

That's interesting! I wonder if they call more than one island "Rendezvous Caye"? The island we were on did not have that much vegetation on it. Other than that, I'd say it is fairly representative, and the difference probably doesn't matter.

 

Jeff

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KMSCRUISER

KMSCRUISER

Posted
Posted

Jeff.....

 

Thanks for all the information. We have been trying to figure out what we were going to do in Belize.

 

I was considering the Cave Tubing excursion, but by DH wanted to do the Power Snorkle. I think the Power Snorkel has won.....to much walking on the Cave tubing.

 

Before we make our final decission....Is there anything else that is GREAT to do in Belize?:confused:

 

Going on Valor 10/16/05

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OCruisers

OCruisers

Posted
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KMSCRUISER.... You might be glad you picked "Power Snorkeling" at Rendezvous Key! ;)

 

Take a couple of minutes and read this review by "Midgetized" on the Carnival Board: (She almost DROWN on the Reggie's Cave Tubing Excursion! :eek: )

 

(or click here) Glory Western Review

 

Note: While tubing can be tons of fun on a good day, it can be awful when the weather is even a little bad.....

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

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