Goff's Cay v. Rendezvous Cay

[CruisingCC]

Has anyone done either or both of these Princess-offered excursions in Belize? The descriptions of the excursions themselves seem very similar except one includes rum punch after snorkeling. I'm wondering if either or both pick you up directly from the ship? Which has the best sand (not rocky)? Shade? Availability of loungers? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

[photocruiser]

Has anyone done either or both of these Princess-offered excursions in Belize? The descriptions of the excursions themselves seem very similar except one includes rum punch after snorkeling. I'm wondering if either or both pick you up directly from the ship? Which has the best sand (not rocky)? Shade? Availability of loungers? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

We did Goff's Cay from Carnival and there are no lounge chairs and the shore is rocky. It was great though. Bring ship's towels and water shoes.

 

Here is a link to some photos I took from my cruise:

 

Put your mouse over the thumbnail photos and wait for a brief description of photos before you click to see larger photos.

 

http://home.earthlink.net/~mlangsam/index.html

 

Photocruiser

[2CarolinaCruisers]

We did Rendezvous Cay in April. Loved it! Picked us up at the ship (RCC Splendour of the Seas), stayed with us as we snorkeled around (they had to retrieve my wife's snorkle off the bottom about 20+ feet deep), free kayak's and floats, would/will do it again. Enjoy.

 

DaveNSandy:D :p

[snowcat]

We did Goff's Caye offered by Carnvial Elation last year. They picked us up right at the ship. You could choose to snorkel off the boat or go directly to the caye and snorkel off shore. They were very very helpful to my mother-in-law who is a completely novice snorkeler who decided to try snorkeling from shore. The beach was rocky in spots at the waters edge, but also had nice stretches of sand off a point. There were some pelicans there! It was a small island, very cool to see. No chairs or mats that I saw, but we were on the boat snorkeling most of the time and were only on the island about 45 minutes.

[TravelWorks]

I have been to Belize 3 times in the past 5 years. I am also going to be stopping there again this year on the Valor on Dec 11 -18th, 2005 sailing (come to the Roll Call for those dates and say hi-if you are coming along with us). If you have any questions feel free to ask!

 

For snorkeling from a beach I would recommend Goff's Caye...

WARNING: The tour boats will often try to get you to snorkel from off the boat about a 1/4 mile from the island~ to its left~ for around 2 hours and then let you sit on the beach for 20-30 minutes(Do not do this unless you are a good swimmer & are in good health! When the waves get rough on the reef to the left of the island ~it can happen fast! I saw an older woman nearly drown here!)

RECOMMEND: Just get off your boat on the dock at Goff's Caye and snorkel from the beach~swim out 30 yards on the deep right side of the island...it is calmer...you can see it when you go there yourself. There is some sea grass close to shore but head out further and you will see great coral and fish-your tour guides will show you where if you ask them. When you get tired you can swim back and relax under some palms. They sell BBQ Chicken and beans on the island for around $5. Bring your towels here to lay on~ there is no chairs.

 

If you want to snorkel from a boat...Rendevous Caye is better. Less crowded but smaller island(no dock)...not easily accessed from the boat... you have to swim in. Palm trees were messed up here from 2004 storm last time I was here. But the coral formations are great!

 

I am going to go out on a limb here and give you my secret weapon...Tom *****... who also owns ***** just bought a new boat in Oct of 2005 and is now going to offer snorkeling tours for larger private groups to where ever they want to go...I arranged an Exclusive day there in Dec for my group giving us 5-6 hours on the Goff's Caye island for less than what the ship charges for 3- plus he gives me the boat for just me and my friends...

IF YOU USE HIM>>>TELL HIM

AMY LOVELESS SENT YOU! His email is info@*****

 

Bannister Island is not great snorkeling! It is mainly a nicely groomed beach and you can rent kayaks there. It is pretty though-Just not very adventurous! I think it is nice enough for some down time and to some people it is exactly what they are looking for. It just isn't what I would choose to do on the world's second largest barrier reef.

 

I haven't been to the Cucumber Beach or the new "Belize Museum" yet so I hope to get a peak at it when I go there in December...I'll let you know.

Amy

[photocruiser]

For snorkeling from a beach I would recommend Goff's Caye...

WARNING: The tour boats will often try to get you to snorkel from off the boat about a 1/4 mile from the island~ to its left~ for around 2 hours and then let you sit on the beach for 20-30 minutes(Do not do this unless you are a good swimmer & are in good health! When the waves get rough on the reef to the left of the island ~it can happen fast! I saw an older woman nearly drown here!)

RECOMMEND: Just get off your boat on the dock at Goff's Caye and snorkel from the beach~swim out 30 yards on the deep right side of the island...it is calmer...you can see it when you go there yourself. There is some sea grass close to shore but head out further and you will see great coral and fish-your tour guides will show you where if you ask them. When you get tired you can swim back and relax under some palms. They sell BBQ Chicken and beans on the island for around $5. Bring your towels here to lay on~ there is no chairs.

Amy

Snorkeling off the boat is great, but I agree, the current can get a bit rough.The BBQ chicken on the little Island was wonderful. Here is a link to my photosite which contains photos I took from a recent Carnival Valor cruise. Enjoy!http://www.home.earthlink.net/~mlangsam/index.html

 

Photocruiser

[photocruiser]

Computer Hiccup.

 

Sorry,

Photocruiser

[TravelWorks]

Here is a picture of Goff's Caye....The trees and BBQ chicken hut are to the right just out of the picture! Have Fun!

[TravelWorks]

This is a private home on a private island that we passed on our way to Goff's caye!

[TravelWorks]

I have it on good authority from the local divers and snorkel tour operators that Rendevous caye is in great shape and fully recovered and now it is Sargeant's caye that has no palms and has been bruised a bit in this last years storms...for those who are researching for their upcoming trips.

[cruisinkeri]

That is awesome news!! We are scheduled on the RCCL catamaran to Rendezvous Caye with snorkeling and rum punch!! Can't wait. Thanks for info!!

[ddkmjb]

We spent our Belize excursion during RCCL's Liberty of the Seas cruise 3/30-4/4/2013 with

SUN KISSED BELIZE GOFF'S CAYE BEACH & SNORKELING tour.

We were thoroughly dissapointed.

• The shade on the island was all occupied by the time our boat arrived. We fried in the sun all day. Our only option for shade was to huddle under the hut shown in the picture which is not very big.
  
• The rum punch was not unlimited as promised, it was limited to 3 per person. Since it was warm, I didn't care so much.
  
• The unlimited water was served in bags not bottles.
  
• The BBQ'd food for sale was not what we expected at all.
  

However, the people who took us snorkeling were very nice.

I do not recommend this excursion.

[mitsugirly]

We spent our Belize excursion during RCCL's Liberty of the Seas cruise 3/30-4/4/2013 with

SUN KISSED BELIZE GOFF'S CAYE BEACH & SNORKELING tour.

 

We were thoroughly dissapointed.

• The shade on the island was all occupied by the time our boat arrived. We fried in the sun all day. Our only option for shade was to huddle under the hut shown in the picture which is not very big.
  
• The rum punch was not unlimited as promised, it was limited to 3 per person. Since it was warm, I didn't care so much.
  
• The unlimited water was served in bags not bottles.
  
• The BBQ'd food for sale was not what we expected at all.
  

However, the people who took us snorkeling were very nice.

 

I do not recommend this excursion.

 

 

We are looking for some place new to go and can't find very many options for Belize. We have already done the cavetubing and went to Bannister Island. We were considering Goff, but I'm just not sure about it.

 

On another note, do you realize you just brought up a thread from 8 years ago? :D

[elpasomom]

We took this tour last month while on the Crown Princess. It was very nice and the company's attention to safety was unlike anything I have ever seen on a ship excursion.

We were picked up from our ship and returned to the ship. No tender required!

The ride to Goff's Caye is about 30 minutes. It is a very small island with a few Adirondack chairs to rent. Otherwise, you can sit on the sand or the picnic tables. There is a limited selection of food for purchase, no showers and two toilets. The island is very primitive. We did not snorkel off the shore.

We took an hour snorkel tour just a bit away fom the island. We had a tour guide to follow. What impressed me was that there were at least 6 staff in the water with us, two in kayaks and another in the snorkel boat. Very safe and very attentive! You will have about 45 minutes after snorkeling to enjoy your rum punch and the beach.

[bdgf]

Just back from our Princess cruise. I booked the Goff's Cay tour independent from cruise line using Island Marketing LTD on-line. Tendering is a bit of pain and you have to be one of the first one's off the boat to make your scheduled meeting time on shore. Then they transfer you to another boat and you basically go back the way you just came from (takes about 30 min from Belize city). The island is about 1 acre and sand is a bit rocky (bring your surf shoes). They bring about 3 boat loads of folks over at 1 hour intervals so if your not the first group to get there, you'll be sitting in the sand (too many people for such a small place). There is very limited shade. We didn't snorkel due to the water being a little rough that day. It is a very pretty island and if don't mind low level amenities, then it can be a very relaxing way to spend a few hours. However, I don't think I would go back due to the time involved with tenders and transfers to the island.

Have fun.

[BecciBoo]

Belize: AT LAST, after missing Goff's Caye due to rain last time, we finally made it...and it was the highlight of our cruise. Goff's Caye is incredible, although primitive...battery operated pump for the toilets which were bearable!

 

Approaching Goff's Caye, a protected atoll right on the reef.

 

 

Brittle Star

 

We used Ecco Tours Belize through Island Marketing. After a late start, (a little annoying) we were off on an enclosed boat to Goff's Caye. A 30 minute ride past where Mariner was anchored and beyond, about 12 miles from the port. Found out from Second Officer Mariner anchors 5 miles out so the tender is a quick 10 or 12 minutes...not too bad. They have some newer regular tenders and still use the rag tag bunch of boats we had 2 yrs ago as well, so the tender process is pretty smooth. Janine and Bruce and crew were very good snorkel leaders and the water there was exceptional...visibility was 100 ft at least for you divers...here is a video of a spotted eagle ray:

View My Video

 

Another of this beautiful little atoll:

View My Video

 

We were the only ones there, about 45 of us. Mariner was the only ship this day. Not a lot of shade so bring plenty of sunscreen. Sun was intense! Food for lunch was tasty native style chicken w/beans and rice and tortillas, but you could have sausage or lobster (in season) $8-$10. Would do this independent excursion again in a heartbeat. For experienced snorkelers you might think about the Observer plan which was cheaper and you snorkel on your own and don't do the guided tour. Since the water was pretty rough that day I'm glad we had the boat to take us out to deeper water, but you can snorkel from shore easily. Wonderful place!

[mitsugirly]

 

 

Brittle Star

 

 

For experienced snorkelers you might think about the Observer plan which was cheaper and you snorkel on your own and don't do the guided tour. Since the water was pretty rough that day I'm glad we had the boat to take us out to deeper water, but you can snorkel from shore easily. Wonderful place!

 

Thanks for coming back with your beautiful pictures and review.

 

Do they normally have the brittle star fish there? I have seen several pictures online of them there at Goffs and was wondering if that is normal for there?

 

As for the Observer fee instead, do they allow you to snorkel from the shore on your own? I thought I had read that they would not allow you to do that and would yell at you if you tried. They wanted everyone to do the "tour" with them and follow them (either by starting out in the water or starting at the shore). :confused: