Charmar78

You will be fine. On our cruise there was approx 5% of divers and the rest of people snorkeled or not. When there is snorkeling, they would give options to either do it from the beach or from a location at sea depending on your swimming abilities or not do it at all. They would also give out floats to people who did not feel comfortable at sea. There is plenty of activities and excursions that did not involve swimming. Only the Blue Hole snorkel optional tour ($500/pp) is not recommended for people who do not swim well.

I did the Belize expedition in November 23 and it was anything but touristy. In most of the places we visited we were the first tourists from a cruiseline to set foot, very remote and authentic experience. Off the beaten paths places that you would have a hard time to reach otherwise (i.e. cuero y salado in Honduras, Halfmoon Caye Belize etc...). All the excursions were done via zodiac/no docking. It was a wonderful trip I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a unique travel experience. Food was absolutely amazing and another highlight of the trip, I cannot imagine what they could do more on a gastronomy cruise (aside from bringin a famous chef onboard?). The hotel they used on the Cancun pre-trip was the brand new Hilton I believe (it was optional last year and we did not do it). Ponant does a pretty bad job at explaining excursions and overall itinerary, I am not surprised you are a bit confused 🙂 i would assume the Carribean cruise would be less remote/off the beaten path but I am sure the excursions they offer are interesting as they do a realy good job in sourcing special local experiences and tours.

Hi @Becky2010, curious to know what you thought about your Belize cruise and how it compares versus your previous experience with Silversea (although in a different destination)? We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and thought the country/culture/nature was amazing but not sure cruising holidays are for me. I think I would prefer to stick land trips (while I am young and still can) 🙂

Our cruise is coming to a close and I wanted to share some impressions (this was my 1rst Ponant cruise). For those of you departing on the same cruise in the coming weeks: lucky you!! I won't spoil it with pictures and too much details to keep the surprise, this itinerary is very unique and will please any traveller loving wildife, culture and gastronomy. Truly a once in a lifetime experience that I highly recommend. The boat is amazing, no surprise as we had seen pictures but what truly was unexpected was the level of service and passion showed by all the crew. I am looking forward to the next one already... it will be hard to get any better, my expectations are ridiculously high now 🙂

I don't see the same things on the FR App 🙂 There is a glitch with the excursions displayed on both App and website. For example for Nov 22nd, Punta Sal. I see this:

Blue Hole outsourced excursion makes sense as I believe only authorized companies are allowed in the area. Ponant told me that there would always be a snorkeling option of some sort included for the non-divers but the additionnal charge for the blue hole snorkel is disappointing.

Hello, no we have booked directly with our hotel. Wondering whether anyone on here is on the 14th of November departure? If not, we will be the first one to report back 🙂

You should get the documents soon via email and I also received paper copies and a nice Ponant pouch with luggage tag via mail.

This itinerary sounds really interesting, looking forward to hear about your experience!

Hi @Explore01, I was not planning on having any vaccination based on Ponant´s requirements for the destinations we are visiting but let me know what your travel clinic says about our itinerary. Thanks!

Belize looks amazing, can´t wait to be there! Good luck on your hotel search in Belize City, aside from Best Western, not sure there are any nice options...

No problem! It will be my first Ponant cruise (and 2nd cruise so not an expert!). Yes, I highly recommend arriving to Belize City at least 24hrs ahead of departure just in case there are issues with the flights as Belize does not have many other options if a route is cancelled. I am flying to the US from Europe 48hrs before the departure of the cruise. I have read that there is not much to see in Belize City, and it is a bit sketchy so upon arrival, we will go directly to San Ignacio (2.3 hrs. from Belize City). There we will visit the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich, there are quite a few nice hotels options - see. Depending on your budget and time, there are many options: 1. Ponant offers 2-night pre-cruise program from Cancun to discover Yucatan and the Mayan ruins, It has the advantage to take you directly across the border to Belize cruise port but might involve long hours on a bus and is quite pricey in my opinion. 2. Stay at San Ignacio or around to experience the Belize wildlife - there are many nice hotels. Belize Luxury Resort | Belize Best Jungle Lodge - Chaa Creek Belize Luxury Hotels, Resort Belize - Blancaneaux Lodge at Coppola Hideaways (thefamilycoppolahideaways.com) San Ignacio Resort Hotel: Belize Luxury Resort | Best Belize Jungle Hotel (sanignaciobelize.com) Gaïa Riverlodge | Belize's Rainforest and Waterfall Resort (gaiariverlodge.com) 3. If you arrive 2-3 days early, fly to the Cayes and stay in San Pedro Matachica Resort Belize | Belize's Best Adult-Only Resort & Spa Mahogany Bay Resort & Beach Club, Curio Collection by Hilton Hope this helps! 🙂

I think 6.30am is the earliest you can disembark but you can also leave after breakfast. At least that´s what the travel documentation they sent us for our Nov 21rst departure says. It will still be early to catch a flight in the afternoon though. If you have a late flight, you can also take an excursion to Lamanai ruins or the Belize Zoo but not sure what you would do with your luggage in that case.

Hi, we are booked on the 21rst of November departure, can't wait! Is it your 1rst cruise with Ponant?

Thanks, I have just blocked an option on cabin 412! Do you recommend taking the multirisk insurance that Ponant offers (6.5% of the cruise cost) or do you use CC coverage like AMEX or any other insurance? What about travel/health insurance, any company that you recommend?