CabinForFour Posted April 9, 2004 #1 Share Posted April 9, 2004 We visited Belize aboard the (Carnival) Paradise on March 23. Here's the Belize portion of my cruise review, in case anyone wants the info. There are also several photos here... The ship anchored six miles (yes, six MILES—whew!) offshore, and we then tendered onto the shore in smaller boats. DH and I took the ship-sponsored excursion to the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich, which are located at the western border of Belize only two miles from the neighboring country of Guatemala. Since our excursion involved significant travel time, we were some of the first people off the ship. The tender ride seemed very rough and long, but our 90-minute ride across Belize was aboard a nice Greyhound-type bus. Our tour guide gave an amusing and informative introduction to the country, its history, and its culture. The 90-minute bus ride went very quickly, and we arrived at Xunantunich just as it started raining. Argh! The rain fell harder and harder. By the time we walked up the hill to the ruins, it was pouring. There go my fantasies of photographing the site against a beautiful blue sky and being able to see into Guatemala from the top of El Castillo. The site was amazing nonetheless. We climbed to the top of the castle in the pouring rain and then explored the smaller buildings nearby. The buildings are constructed of white limestone and must have been so beautiful when they were new. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to explore the outlying areas of the site because of the weather. We explored the site for a while and then ferried back across the river to our bus for a late lunch at nearby Windy Hill Resort. Keep in mind, of course, that the term “resort†in Belize is used very loosely. Think one-step-above-cheap-hotel-in-Myrtle-Beach resort, not Atlantis Resort. That being said, our lunch of stewed chicken, beans and rice, cole slaw, fried plantain and fruit punch was excellent! We ate quickly and headed back to the ship even more quickly. Because of tendering delays for all of the tours that morning, we sailed from Belize two hours late. In Belize, one couple of our traveling companions had planned to go cave tubing for the day, but the excursion was canceled because of unusually heavy rains the night before. They were very disappointed. They ended up at the Belize Zoo, which they enjoyed. The other couple did the ship-sponsored tour to the Mayan Ruins and Altun Ha and River Wallace. They reported that they saw a lot of native animals in the wild during their river ride. Click here if you're interested in reading the full review of our Paradise sailing. Happy cruising, everyone! Two Little Sailors: Victoria's First and Benjamin's Fourth cruise -- Carnival Victory, October 2003 Benjamin Sails to Bermuda-- Carnival Triumph, May 2002 Benjamin's Birthday Cruise -- Carnival Destiny, Jan. 2002 Benjamin's First Cruise -- Carnival Victory 2000 Paradise 3/04 - Exotic W. Caribbean Carnival Victory 10/03 - Bahamas Carnival Triumph 5/02 - Bermuda Carnival Destiny 1/02 - S. Caribbean Carnival Victory 10/00 - Nassau Inspiration 7/99 - S. Caribbean Tropicale 1/99 - W. Caribbean Carnival Destiny 7/97 - W. Caribbean Fantasy 4/96 - Bahamas Fantasy 7/94 - Bahamas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroliemarie Posted April 18, 2004 #2 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Thank you for the review. My mom and I are going to Belize (via the Carnvial Miracle) in January. We need help deciding between Xunantunich Ruins and the Altun Ha ruins. Any advice? Do you have pictures from Xunantunich? Thanks for your help. Carolie Marie (caroliemarie@rushmore.com) Miracle January 2005 Carnival Victory Dec 2003 Carnival Sensation Jan 2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabinForFour Posted April 18, 2004 Author #3 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Hi, Carolie Marie. We haven't been to Altun Ha, but several sets of friends have gone. They enjoyed the River Wallace tour associated with that excursion. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Xunantunich. Although it's about an hour longer than Altun Ha, the tour really seemed to pass quickly. Here are several photos of our visit there - http://community.webshots.com/album/129951844ljfDJg Hope you have a great cruise! 10th Anniversary Cruise -- Paradise, March 2004 Two Little Sailors: Victoria's First and Benjamin's Fourth cruise -- Carnival Victory, October 2003 Benjamin Sails to Bermuda-- Carnival Triumph, May 2002 Benjamin's Birthday Cruise -- Carnival Destiny, Jan. 2002 Benjamin's First Cruise -- Carnival Victory 2000 Paradise 3/04 - Exotic W. Caribbean Carnival Victory 10/03 - Bahamas Carnival Triumph 5/02 - Bermuda Carnival Destiny 1/02 - S. Caribbean Carnival Victory 10/00 - Nassau Inspiration 7/99 - S. Caribbean Tropicale 1/99 - W. Caribbean Carnival Destiny 7/97 - W. Caribbean Fantasy 4/96 - Bahamas Fantasy 7/94 - Bahamas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroliemarie Posted April 19, 2004 #4 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Thank You for the quick reply and the pictures look awesome! Miracle January 2005 Carnival Victory Dec 2003 Carnival Sensation Jan 2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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