What are you doing in Belize?

[cruisinqt]

We just booked the Grand Princess and are trying to decide on what to do while in Belize and need some advice. I know, I know, go to the Belize boards. Well, the Belize boards are very slow and don't get much action. I see lots of quick responses and advice here, so I thought I'd post my question here.;)

 

We will have our two kids with us and were looking for something more family oriented. Coral Sands Beach Resort is only 20 minutes by water taxi and has some good excursion prices. I know this place is relatively new, but has anyone been there recently? Can my kids play in the sand even tho' it's crushed coral? What about restaurants, shopping, etc?:confused:

 

Also, are there any cayes that are close to Belize? We wanted to go to Ambergis Caye, but the ride is 1 and a half hours long one way. Is there any other keys that are a little closer that are nice?

 

If you had a great time in Belize, please tell me what you did and with whom. Any great stories or experiences would be greatly appreciated.:)

[Pam in CA]

We went to Belize last year on the Nordic Empress and the excursion we booked was the "Thriller Boat Ride." I know that Princess also offers this although I don't know if they offer it for every stop at Belize. We loved this tour -- it's a 1,000-hp boat that rides at about 65mph across the water to an island about 50 miles offshore. The island was wonderful. There were no paved roads, no cars, no fancy hotels, etc. You can rent a golf cart for about $6/2 hours to drive around and sightsee on the island, which is what we did. There was snorkling, swimming and other water activities if you wanted to do them. The restaurant at the dock was fabulous -- best shrimp I've ever had. We found the people very friendly, unaffected by tourism, and not pushy. There's a shopping area right where you're tendered to and if you asked in a store if they had something and they didn't, they'd take you over to another store that did.

 

This was a delightful port. We'd go back anytime.

[39august]

The closest caye is Caye Caulker, but I wouldn't risk the water taxi ride to and from with the short time Grand is in Belize. Besides, the beach there is not so hot compared with the beachs at the other stops on your itinerary. (I spent a few days there a couple of years ago, so I speak from experience.) We greatly enjoyed a ship's tour to the Belize zoo a year ago. This zoo is dedicated to the animal's habitat (they take in injured or abandoned animals), and you may not see some of the animals if they are asleep in their dens, up high in dense trees, or just "hiding". Then again, some of the animals come up very close to the wire. We were treated to great views of both the spotted and the black jaguar. He sat 5 feet from the fence and "posed" for us! We saw plenty of animals, just be aware that they are not all up close for you to see. Our gude was very knowledgable. If your family does this excursion, be sure to take water and insect repellant. This zoo is in the jungle about a 40 minutes bus ride from the pier. You will learn a lot about Belize if you have a good guide, and you will see some of the city and countryside as well. English is the official language of Belize, tho' you will hear a patois as well. Oh, about the insect spray, you may not need it. We didn't. But I would be prepared.

[globe_trkkr]

We were on the Carnival Spirit last year and on our stop in Belize, we took the tour involving the ruins and the river trip. It was great. There is a short overview of this tour on our home page at http:home.earthlink.net/~hgibney

 

To start, its a 45 min. bus ride but it's all the way back to the tender port by boat. Much wildlife and a real experience. I would recommend this for kids and adults. Much education.

[cruisinqt]

The zoo closes at 4:00pm, and we don't get to Belize until 12:00pm. So time wise, the zoo is probably out.:( Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

The "Thriller boat ride" is something I'll have to check and see if the Grand Princess offers. It sounds like a good excursion.

 

Thanks for the info. on Caye Caulker, I've heard it wasn't all that impressive.:rolleyes:

 

I've been looking at the ruins tours, but does anyone know which one has the shortest ride there? With 2 young children, I don't want to be stuck in a vehicle for a long time.

[CaptainR]

Pam in MA - Thanks for the posting on the Thriller Boat Ride. Will be visiting Belize on the Grand in January and have reserved this excursion. Had not seen another postings on this excursion but your experience is exactly how I envisioned this excursion. Not sure how I managed to talk my wife into going on it - completely out of character for her. I just won't mention to her that it goes 65 mph. Again, many thanks.

 

cruisinqt - Obviously Princess does offer this excursion on the Grand. However, on the excursion listings at http://www.carnival.com is a good picture of the speed boat (one is not found on the Princess website) and more detail. The Carnival website was of great assistance in selecting this excursion and other ones of interest to me.

 

CaptainR

[rav4lady]

I just returned from a cruise that included Belize City. I loved the place! I took a snorkeling trip to Shark Ray alley and then we went to Caye Caulker. As someone else noted, its not commercialized but very neat anyways. Actually that was the best part about it. You can walk all over the place and swim or snorkel right there if you like. The food was great there and the beer very cheap(guess that won't matter for the children.) Also some friends took their 3yr old on a Cave Tubing Tour which they all loved. Don't skip Belize, theres great shopping in the port too. Enjoy.

[Blackrobe]

Our November 20 cruise stopped in Belize. We opted to take an independent tour to the Belize zoo. 39august provided an excellent description of the zoo. It actually closes at 5:00 not 4:00. We arrived at 4:00 and quick footed it through the zoo by 5:00. We got to see everything albeit a little more quickly than we would have with more time. Make sure you bring insect repellant because the mosquitoes and black flies can become thick especially at dusk.

 

Let me tell you a bit about how the tours work at the port. There are a lot of people hawking tours portside. Those inside are controlled by the Belize Taxi Association. There is a standard fee that is controlled by the Association which, in part, is elevated because of a percentage that is paid to the Association. Be aware that in addition to paying higher fees, the Association members will attempt to cram as many tourists into a single cab as they possibly can. We had prearranged a tour months before the cruise. We were met when we disembark the tender and then we were asked to wait while additional passengers arrived. Our group of four was joined by another group of three. The seven tourists and driver got into a mini-van which had three bench seats and two front seats (comfortable seating for 8, tight seating for 11). As we were leaving the port area, the Association directed our driver to the front of the dock area and wanted to add four more adult males to our cab. I strongly protested, others in the cab protested, and the honcho out front said there was room for the four and attempted to load them into the mini-van. At that point I had had enough and said that I was not going to to subject myself to such treatment. The four of us left the mini-van and quit the tour.

 

We were immediately set upon by a half dozen other tour operators. Within minutes I had arranged another tour that was identical in itinerary to the previous tour at half the price. Questioning the tour operator I learned about the requirements to get "inside" the gate. Those operators "outside" the gate are licensed by the government; they must have insurance on their vehicles; they are free to price their tours independently (read at substantial savings over those "inside" the gate); but they cannot hawk their tours inside the port area.

 

If you are looking for a tour, go through the immediate port area to just outside and negotiate a tour. Before closing the deal make sure you look at the vehicle to know what you will be riding in. Also make sure the air conditioning works before closing the deal with the tour guide.

[cruisinqt]

Wow, what great info! You people are great! :D

 

Blackrobe, I'm so glad that you took the time to tell me about how the tour operators work in Belize. I find their mode of operating very interesting.:rolleyes:

 

By the way, a friend of mine was a missionary in Belize for over 10 years. A very devout christian friend of his runs a tour agency in Belize and is very honest and fair. His website is at www.regtour.com. He's e-mailed a few suggestions to me and has been quite helpful. We still aren't quite sure what to do since we will be there at such weird hours and with two young children along. He's just e-mailed me an offer for $45 called the Belize city, zoo, and wildlife tour. We would tour the city of Belize and then go to the zoo and animal sanctuary. It would be 3 1/2 hours long in an air conditioned van. Is that a good price? Do you think the kids would like it? I know the city tour in a van might be boring for the kids, but my husband and I would like it. And the kids would get to see the zoo and animal sanctuary.

 

I'm torn between that and going to the manatee reserve and then snorkeling. That tour is around the same price and even tho' I'm not a snorkeler, seeing the manatees would be pretty neat. My husband could snorkel and we could just watch.:)

 

I wanted to find a nice beach at a close by caye, but it doesn't sound like such a thing exists.:(

 

Anyone else with some good suggestions or experiences they would like to share?

[crusdiva]

cruisinqt,

 

DH and I just returned from the Coral 10/31 sailing. We took the ship's excursion to Rendezvous Caye. He's what we posted on the Belize POC board upon our return:

 

"Just returned from the Coral Princess 10/31-11/10 Round Trip Panama Canal from Ft. Lauderdale. One of the main reasons for booking this itinerary was for Belize. I heard that there was wonderful snorkeling there. I was NOT disappointed. It was fabulous. We booked through the ship, $69/person. Worth every penny IMHO. We sailed with Captain Charles and crew aboard the Belize Glory. The Cat was clean, spacious and well equipped with 2 restrooms.

As for the snorkeling my guide, Joslyn was excellent. He took the time to point out the various fish and coral formations in the warm crystal clear waters. My wife who is not so much a snorkler spent her time on the white sandy beaches of the Caye and was well taken care of with complimentary beverages including Rum Punch."

Hope this helps.;)

Sharon

[jajohnson]

We just came back from the Grand visit to Belize the week of November 13-20. We took the airboat ride and were very satisfied. Others in our group took the ATV ride and came back muddy but with huge grins. The airboat ride included a 45 minute ride each way on an old school bus. The tour guide was excellent and gave us a lot of background on the country and its people. The ride gave us an opportunity to see how the people lived and how poor the majority of the people are. The shopping area was segregated from the rest of the city and had a wide variety of shops. The area is still being developed and probably will look a lot different in 5 years. We were advised on the ship not to venture outside of the designated shopping area for safety resons, especially after dark. Belize was interesting to see but I wouldn't go back for a while. Perhaps those with an interest in scuba or snorkeling might feel differently.

 

As a note, the stop in Belize is very short and we got there late. Darkness also comes early. As a result many that had later/longer tours ended up taking at least part of their tour in the dark. In my opinion Princess needs to get their act together and establish an earlier port arrival time that can be consistently achieved. That, I am sure, will come in time.

[argosy]

Just returned from the Coral Princess 0/31-11/10 Round Trip Panama Canal from Ft. Lauderdale. One of the main reasons for booking this itinerary was for Belize. I heard that there was wonderful snorkeling there. I was NOT disappointed. It was fabulous. We booked through the ship, $69/person. Worth every penny IMHO. We sailed with Captain Charles and crew aboard the Belize Glory. The Cat was clean, spacious and well equipped with 2 restrooms.[/color][/b]

 

Would the name of this excursion be officially titled "NW/CATAMARAN SNORKEL:RENDEZVOUS CAY"? That's the only one I see listed for that price, and you've described exactly what we're looking for.

[Blackrobe]

cruisinqt, you have such different options it really comes down to personal preference. I know the animal sanctuary is different than the zoo. However, there is only so much time if your itinerary is the same as ours (arriving in Belize City at 2:00 p.m. and then tendering in). The zoo is 30 miles outside of the city and it closes at 5:00 p.m. My point is that the suggested itinerary for your tour sounds very ambitious.

 

The price is about $10.00 higher than what is charge by the Belize Taxi Association. They were going to charge us $35.00 a head (although that price varies from $35.00 to $45.00 pp). Outside the gates the total charge for four of us was $70.00. I guess my decision would be based on how active/quiet the children will be. Walking around the zoo and perhaps the animal sanctuary gets them a little more active and burns up a small amount of their energy. Sitting on a boat looking for manatees is very passive. I wonder how restless they will become unless some swimming is involved.

 

Sorry I don't know that I have been much help.

[Pam in CA]

CaptainR... you're going to love the Thriller Boat Ride. It leaves from the same dock as where you tender to. The boat is a large "cigarette" type boat with very comfortable, padded bench seating. Make sure you dress comfortably and not wear anything "good" because you will get wet. It's wetter towards the back and to the sides but everyone pretty much got soaked on our way back to the ship. I wore a bathing suit with a T-shirt type cover-up. The age range on our tour was from quite young (4 or 5) to people older than me (and I'm in my 60s). The kids loved it. It's fast, fun and not scarey at all.

 

The island is small and very flat. If you want to walk around, you can do the entire island in 30 minutes. We enjoyed bouncing around on the golf cart, which is big enough for four people. The women braid hair there and my daughter got hers done. It was half the cost and twice as good as what she's gotten at Cozumel or other places. Plus, the women doing it were laughing, singing and having fun. (Soooo different from other places where hair braiding is like a business.)

[crusdiva]

argosy,

 

Yes, that's it exactly. It was a great excursion. The Caye was about 15 miles from where the Coral was anchored so we had about a half hour cruise there.

The crew was terrific - if you're on the Belize Glory, look for Joslyn - he's a wonderful kid and a great guide while in the reef. The tiny caye is amazing when you first see it just sitting there in the open water. On the way back the music plays and the rum punch flows...try the local beer, Beliken it's quite good.;)

 

There are pictures of the excursion in our Coral album. Click on my signature and follow the link. We're thinking about doing this excursion again in February.

 

Enjoy!

Sharon

[Backfence]

CruiseT: We enjoyed cave tubing w/Reggie & his wife Chelly (sp.), and possibly your missionary friend (Fred?) 2 years ago. He gave us a tour of the city & drove us by the KH. We were going to email him also about some sort of tour that might fit in our tight time frame. We just recently booked on the Grand Princess also - It will be my husband and I and our 2 sons, ages 18 & 23. We go on the 29th of January thru Feb. 4. Is that your cruise also?

Carol

[cruisinqt]

Blackrobe, we arrive at 1:00 pm and leave at 7:00 pm. The prices the Belize taxi association has seems to be very good. I wish there were a way I could contact one of them now and book the tour ahead of time. I'm a planner and hate to leave things to chance.:rolleyes: What type of tour did you do? Was it just the zoo, or was there more to it? The $70 for all four of you sounds like a fantastic deal!;)

 

The "Thriller" boat ride sounds great, but is it only available through the ship? How much does it cost?

 

There are so many things that people have enjoyed in Belize that I am sure we will be able to find something fun to do. After all of the negative stuff I've read it's reassuring to hear all of these glowing reports of Belize. Most of the people that talked negatively of Belize just hung around the city to do some shopping and eating. It sounds like the city and port area doesn't have much to offer. The people who've really enjoyed themselves went on tours instead of hanging around town. So I've at least learned to not hang out around town but instead go on some type of tour.:)

[surfnsun]

Wow! Just reading all of this, ya'll really are encouraging me to go back to Belize. :) JMO, yes, I think an excursion is a must in Belize. Port doesn't really offer much for most and I could see how some would be disappointed if they just walked around and shopped. I've visited Belize once on my first cruise ever with my mother of 68 years old (in a walking cast at the time), with no planned excursions. Upon tendering, I visited the Tourism Center and asked about an "island" in one of their brochures. We ended up taking a water taxi to this island. I guess I'm one of those who really enjoyed Caye Caulker, a matter of personal preference. It was perfect for my mother, as the golf carts did come in very handy in her physical state. Small, sedate, and beautiful island and I personally enjoyed the beach at The Split, as well as the Lazy Lizard where we enjoyed the "spirits" and local company. But, if you don't have much time (we had from 0900-1800) I would not recommend it. Thanks for the other ideas on this thread...I'm trying to decide on our next cruise and the ports are a big factor in that decision.

[Pam in CA]

The "Thriller" boat ride sounds great, but is it only available through the ship? How much does it cost?

The "Thriller" is $82/pp but I think it's worth every penny. I'm sure it's available other than through the ship but I know that on our tour, everyone on the boat (and there was one boat) was through the ship's tour. I just Googled and found that if you book independently, it's $69/pp.

[surfnsun]

Yes, I've found many tours are cheaper when booking directly with the tour operator. But, I'm not sure it's worth the risk when one has choices...assuming Princess will foot the bill in the case of a missed port?? (not sure that's an accurate statement). I guess I'm a little bit of a risk taker on that one and don't worry too much about it, although others may.

[Pam in CA]

You're right. I've seen Princess tours return a couple of hours late due to traffic and the ship held off sailing until the tours returned. And, I've seen people who went off on their own and missed the ship. One time was in Isla Margarita which is possibly one of the more difficult places to get to/from. If you go on your own, you pick up the tab for any expense to get back to the ship. Even though Princess tours are more expensive, I think of the extra cost as insurance. Particularly if it's a port or country that you're not familiar with or is off the beaten path.

[KaC-Cruiser]

Blackrobe, we arrive at 1:00 pm and leave at 7:00 pm.

Cruisinqt .... we were on the Grand with Blackrobe (Hi Bill!!) .... our cruise (11/20) arrived late to Belize, so take the 1:00 arrival with a grain of salt. It was right about 2:00 when we were finally at anchor & cleared. I believe the group before us (11/13) arrived late as well. Excursions booked thru Princess have 1st priority for tendering (so we booked our dive with Princess to be safe) do I don't know when they finally started tendering the non-excursion passengers. On top of that the sunsets shortly after 5:00 ..... despite the timing drawbacks, we had a great time on our dive, and like Blackrobe, I did hear that many enjoyed their land excursions ..... I just wish they could have rearranged the ports to allow more time at our stop in Belize!!

[mariapd719]

I want to go to Belize just to do this excursion soooooooooooooo bad

 

 

 

http://www.hicacotour.com/holchan.htm

 

go down and click on view shark rays and Romans Shark-ray :) Its very cheap too...they have one for manatees too

[Psee]

The "Thriller" is $82/pp but I think it's worth every penny. I'm sure it's available other than through the ship but I know that on our tour, everyone on the boat (and there was one boat) was through the ship's tour. I just Googled and found that if you book independently, it's $69/pp.

Pam, I just did a google and yahoo search but couldn't find any online Thriller rates... :( Any suggestions? :confused:

[sns]

Has anyone gone on the Princess excursion to the Baboon Sanctuary? I went on the Belize board and someone wrote that there are no baboons there. This excursion also didn't get great reviews. We've booked this excursion but now I'm wondering if I should cancel and book something else.