belize?

[minnesotamamafish]

I was just searching for Bannister Island and some recent reviews state that it is now called Starfish Island and it is owned by Carnival.

 

Does anyone know which island the NCL excursion goes to? This date of our cruise is my DH 40th birthday. I don't want the excursion to be a total flop so I just want to make sure we aren't going to be trapped in a fume-filled boat or on an over-crowded slum of a beach somewhere. :confused:

 

I googled NCL Island Beach Break and was able to find more information. It appears to be located on Water Caye. That is where we went last January through Carnival. It was well run and I would recommend it with the only negative being a bit of a walk to the bathrooms.

 

I read that after our trip, the owners of Bannister Island set up an exclusive contract for Carnival excursions and renamed it. A poster on another thread said RCCL is using it as well.

 

It sounds like the new owners are taking care of the island better than the previous, so whether you end up at Starfish/Bannister or Water Caye you should have a good time. Having a positive experience on any excursion is what you make of it so laugh off any hiccups and enjoy!

 

PS. The ferry picked us up and dropped us off on the ship. It was crowded but not uncomfortably so.

[Laszlo]

I googled NCL Island Beach Break and was able to find more information. It appears to be located on Water Caye. That is where we went last January through Carnival. It was well run and I would recommend it with the only negative being a bit of a walk to the bathrooms.

 

I read that after our trip, the owners of Bannister Island set up an exclusive contract for Carnival excursions and renamed it. A poster on another thread said RCCL is using it as well.

 

It sounds like the new owners are taking care of the island better than the previous, so whether you end up at Starfish/Bannister or Water Caye you should have a good time. Having a positive experience on any excursion is what you make of it so laugh off any hiccups and enjoy!

 

PS. The ferry picked us up and dropped us off on the ship. It was crowded but not uncomfortably so.

 

Just keep in mind with the "Island Beach Break" You can NOT snorkel.

[minnesotamamafish]

Just keep in mind with the "Island Beach Break" You can NOT snorkel.

 

That may be true now, but when we were there in January, we were on the beach to the left facing the pier and I saw many people snorkeling near shore. I'm not sure why that would have changed but it could have. It may be because they do provide snorkeling by boat from there and they want to entice people to pay for it. I don't know.

[GoofyCrew]

I googled NCL Island Beach Break and was able to find more information. It appears to be located on Water Caye. That is where we went last January through Carnival. It was well run and I would recommend it with the only negative being a bit of a walk to the bathrooms.

 

I read that after our trip, the owners of Bannister Island set up an exclusive contract for Carnival excursions and renamed it. A poster on another thread said RCCL is using it as well.

 

It sounds like the new owners are taking care of the island better than the previous, so whether you end up at Starfish/Bannister or Water Caye you should have a good time. Having a positive experience on any excursion is what you make of it so laugh off any hiccups and enjoy!

 

PS. The ferry picked us up and dropped us off on the ship. It was crowded but not uncomfortably so.

 

Thank you for the information!

 

We don't really plan on any hard-core snorkeling so that isn't a big deal for us. Just out of curiosity though, can you not snorkel because they don't rent equipment or will they not allow snorkeling even if you have your own equipment? My 11 DD thought about bringing her mask but, if she won't even be able to use it, I'd rather leave it home.

 

A bit worried about the tender boat to the island because I've heard that the fumes can be quite bad. Hoping it is a short ride??? I've read conflicting reports of 10 minutes and 30 minutes. I suppose it will all depend which of those islands we end up at.

 

And you are right - it will be what we make of it! Considering my DH birthday last year was a blizzard and we couldn't even leave the house, I'm sure even if things aren't perfect, it will be a remarkable improvement over that!

[Laszlo]

That may be true now, but when we were there in January, we were on the beach to the left facing the pier and I saw many people snorkeling near shore. I'm not sure why that would have changed but it could have. It may be because they do provide snorkeling by boat from there and they want to entice people to pay for it. I don't know.

 

Yea, I don't get it either. We are doing the "Snorkeling Beach" thing for 3.5 hours.

I'm just not real happy being picked up at the ship at 12:30pm. May take a boat into Belize City for some shopping in the AM and then head back to the ship to be picked up again

[griz400]

We were there in November and this excursion from NCL was great

Barrier Reef & Snorkel Island Beach Break , they pick you up at the ship, 40 minute ride to reef, snorkel for around an hour, 15 minute ride to (starfish island)

used to be called bannister island or bannister key, it is real nice there now....

island style lunch is 10.00 ... they have a nice gift shop, frozen drinks are 10.00 though, beers are a better value ...then they take you back to ship, then you can tender back to belize, we did, was nice in port, we didnt buy lunch on the island, we bought beers and lobsters at port .. lobster grilled -- 10.00 ...

alot of shopping at port there, we even went outside of port to the (flea market) .. they pester you some to look at what they are selling, but, thats why you went outside port anyways ... we bought 3 handmade wooden bowls ... it is the old bannister island .. with a makeover looks like .. and carnival doesnt own it, its privately owned .. i found 2 big starfish, they are not very hard to find ...:)

[Laszlo]

We were there in November and this excursion from NCL was great

Barrier Reef & Snorkel Island Beach Break , they pick you up at the ship, 40 minute ride to reef, snorkel for around an hour, 15 minute ride to (starfish island)

used to be called bannister island or bannister key, it is real nice there now....

island style lunch is 10.00 ... they have a nice gift shop, frozen drinks are 10.00 though, beers are a better value ...then they take you back to ship, then you can tender back to belize, we did, was nice in port, we didnt buy lunch on the island, we bought beers and lobsters at port .. lobster grilled -- 10.00 ...

alot of shopping at port there, we even went outside of port to the (flea market) .. they pester you some to look at what they are selling, but, thats why you went outside port anyways ... we bought 3 handmade wooden bowls ... it is the old bannister island .. with a makeover looks like .. and carnival doesnt own it, its privately owned .. i found 2 big starfish, they are not very hard to find ...:)

 

What time did you leave? We are being picked up at 12:30pm

[HokiePoq]

We love Belize. Our NCL ship's tour to Lamanai was fantastic. DH climbed to the top of the largest pyramid and was thrilled....great boat trip getting there. We've done a great tour there with HAL which was a 4x4 ride in the jungle and I still want to return to do cave tubing. On both trips the locals were wonderful.

When we went there in 2007, we were told not to leave the tender area for safety reasons. This has not changed and the drug/gang violence has even worsened. This is not a port to do your own thing.

Choose a ship's tour that leaves Belize City. The NCL city tour excursion was canceled when we were there in 2013 due to violence.

There are many great things to see in Belize. Just do it safely and not on your own.

Edited December 26, 2014 by HokiePoq

[griz400]

What time did you leave? We are being picked up at 12:30pm

 

ours was like 8 or 9 am, we never book any late excursions, SHE (lol) wouldn't have time to shop ....:)