Coral Breeze question about timing

[JP-Cruise]

Hi, based on all the great reviews I read, seems like I will be choosing this vendor for the Caye Caulker/shark ray alley snorkelling tour.

 

im leaving port from Miami on the carnival Conquest. My ship time in Belize is 8am - 5pm. So by choosing an 8am tour start time, I should be okay for getting back to the ship on time?

[DownToTheSea]

Those were the same hours we were in port. You should have no problems.

[JP-Cruise]

2 minutes ago, DownToTheSea said:

Those were the same hours we were in port. You should have no problems.

Thanks. Did you do this same tour with coral Breeze?

[DownToTheSea]

We did. The snorkeling and hanging out for a bit on Caye Caulker was the highlight of our entire cruise. We’re already planning to spend several days on the island this fall. The reef is awesome; we covered a lot of territory around the reef - I personally might have liked being able to drift and just observe a bit more.  Good coral, lots of fish including a couple of moray eels, and saw a huge ray on the way back to the boat. The sharks and rays were fun for a bit, but it felt just a little bit contrived with using chum to attract the rays and sharks.

 

Our crew was outstanding! My 75-year-old MIL rode along but did not want to snorkel. The crew kept her entertained and the captain even accompanied her off the boat for a bit and helped her overcome her fear of getting in the water.

 

Lunch was at Island Magic. The boat stopped on their dock after coming over from Belize City for restroom breaks. You could order lunch there to be ready soon after we got back from snorkeling. It was quite good and went down nicely with a Belikin beer. We had time to run to a nearby grocery and stock up on liquid souvenirs (more Belikin and some One Barrel rum) to take home.

Edited April 2, 2019 by DownToTheSea

[Backyardbum]

How much time did you spend on the Island?  What is there to do in the area that you docked? How were the prices for lunch?  I'm trying to figure out how to plan our time on the island if I choose this excursion.  Thanks!

[DownToTheSea]

We had about 1-1/2 hours to eat and hang out. We walked over a block to Quan's - a small general store with everything from food to pool supplies to liquor. It was the closest place to grab the local beer and rum souvenirs we wanted. We might have lingered a little longer eating than we really needed; regardless I would have liked to explore the island more. Hanging out at the bar would have been a good option as well. It's a "go slow" place so rushing to do everything sort of defeats the vibe.

 

Lunch prices were reasonable - between $10 and $15 US for most meals, and there were several options if you wanted to go higher or lower. Everything we had was very good. 

 

For what it's worth, we would definitely book this one again and are planning to return to just Caye Caulker for a few days this fall.

Edited April 5, 2019 by DownToTheSea

[Backyardbum]

This sounds good. I'm hesitant to book because two of us will be snorkeling and my wife and 9 yr old are only wanting to observe. I'm afraid they will be bored watching us snorkel. Will they be able to see the sharks from the boat? Is it even an option for them to stay on the island while my older son and I go out. Then we meet up for lunch after snorkeling.  Thanks for the help!

[DownToTheSea]

They will definitely be able to see the sharks and Ray's from the boat, but that was the shorter of the two times we were in the water. We had one person from our group stay on the boat and the crew kept her entertained and made sure she was comfortable. Staying on the island is also an option - they might enjoy walking or taking a golf cart taxi to the Split to swim.

[JP-Cruise]

9 hours ago, DownToTheSea said:

They will definitely be able to see the sharks and Ray's from the boat, but that was the shorter of the two times we were in the water. We had one person from our group stay on the boat and the crew kept her entertained and made sure she was comfortable. Staying on the island is also an option - they might enjoy walking or taking a golf cart taxi to the Split to swim.

How many people were on your tour in total?

[DownToTheSea]

14 minutes ago, JP-Cruise said:

How many people were on your tour in total?

There were about 20, including one group that had four kids under 12. I believe one of the kids and two adults stayed on the boat. We were not aware of anyone staying ashore from our boat.

 

There were probably six to eight boats from various tours at both stops.

[JP-Cruise]

4 minutes ago, DownToTheSea said:

There were about 20, including one group that had four kids under 12. I believe one of the kids and two adults stayed on the boat. We were not aware of anyone staying ashore from our boat.

 

There were probably six to eight boats from various tours at both stops.

 

Thanks. It wasn’t too crowded? No issues with being kicked in the face by other snorkelers like in the cruise ship snorkelling excursions? 

[DownToTheSea]

1 minute ago, JP-Cruise said:

 

Thanks. It wasn’t too crowded? No issues with being kicked in the face by other snorkelers like in the cruise ship snorkelling excursions? 

We were in smaller groups (3 of us and one other couple in our group) on the reef so it wasn't bad. Only time I got kicked in the face was by my girlfriend, so I can't complain. LOL

 

It was a bit more congested at the shark ray alley, but that is in shallow water so it was more manageable.

 

[JP-Cruise]

2 minutes ago, DownToTheSea said:

We were in smaller groups (3 of us and one other couple in our group) on the reef so it wasn't bad. Only time I got kicked in the face was by my girlfriend, so I can't complain. LOL

 

It was a bit more congested at the shark ray alley, but that is in shallow water so it was more manageable.

 

 

Oh ok haha. I was wondering also during shark ray alley. Did any of the guides let the people hold a nurse shark? 

[DownToTheSea]

47 minutes ago, JP-Cruise said:

 

Oh ok haha. I was wondering also during shark ray alley. Did any of the guides let the people hold a nurse shark? 

Thankfully, no.

 

The sharks moved in and out fairly quickly as soon as the chumming stopped.

 

Truthfully, I found that part less enjoyable than the reef. Just my personal preference but I was a bit uncomfortable with attracting the sharks and rays like they do. Trying to hold them would have been too much. I did see one of the guides try to grab one of the rays and thought that was unnecessary.

 

Next time we hope to find a guide where we can skip that part and spend more time on a reef.

[JP-Cruise]

36 minutes ago, DownToTheSea said:

Thankfully, no.

 

The sharks moved in and out fairly quickly as soon as the chumming stopped.

 

Truthfully, I found that part less enjoyable than the reef. Just my personal preference but I was a bit uncomfortable with attracting the sharks and rays like they do. Trying to hold them would have been too much. I did see one of the guides try to grab one of the rays and thought that was unnecessary.

 

Next time we hope to find a guide where we can skip that part and spend more time on a reef.

Got it. Thanks for sharing these details and your experience 

[DownToTheSea]

13 hours ago, JP-Cruise said:

Got it. Thanks for sharing these details and your experience 

Hope you have a great time in Caye Caulker whatever you decide to do - and an awesome cruise as well!