Poppet1964

We're leaving next Sunday and have a private excursion booked to both the Zoo and the Howler Monkey Sanctuary. It includes transportation, admission to both and lunch for $85/person.

I thought I understood admission to the zoo to be $15.

I am just curious what kinds of things do folks purchase?

I'm planning to visit a pharmacy in Belize on our trip, but I'd like to purchase Retin A, some antibiotics to have on hand and possibly some migraine meds.

I saw the soda package is $7.50 a day ($6.50 + 15% grat) -- is this worth it?

 

How much do you get charged for a soda outside of the package, and what do they bring you? If you get a 'restaurant sized' fountain soda for an average restaurant price, it seems like it would be cheaper to just get the drinks separately; but if it's a $3 can, then the package quickly becomes a better value. Are there any free drinks on the ship other than water? Some people mentioned flavored waters and iced tea - are those free everywhere or just in the MDRs?

 

Also, does the package cover if you order room service and have a drink? (I know it doesn't include the minibar, but I'll be in a studio which doesn't have a minibar, so...) Does it include juices? I saw some newsletters posted that implied it doesn't (by posting a $2/day upcharge for juice) but the description on the website doesn't mention that being an option at all; it just says pepsi products and tonic and club soda).

 

I'm sure similar questions have been asked before but couldn't find anything addressing this stuff recently. Thanks in advance.

I'd be interested in the soda package, but unlike the other cruise line I've been on, it doesn't seem to include bottled water, which is a show stopper for me. Don't really understand that.

We leave the 23rd of Feb and from what I've read the weather has been pretty dismal lately. I hope the tide turns soon! I'd really like to have a nice beach day or two!

And finding things to do on a ship when the weather is bad is difficult in my opinion!

Glad you had a good time despite some setbacks.

How exactly are you trying to make reservations? I was able to make reservations directly with Almaplena and pay my deposit through Paypal. The deposit was $48.00 for 2 of us.

The website I used to contact/make reservations was http://www.almaplenabeachresort.com/ I believe.

Something sounds fishy to me.

Hope this helps.

I'd like to take advantage of the lower prices and no need for prescriptions in Belize. I'm also going to Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel, what other stops have the same advantages?

I'm not looking to get into trouble, and understand there's some risk in terms of quality, so I don't really need any lectures please.

What I'm looking for are things like Retin-A and antibiotics to have on hand.

Does anyone have examples of what's available in a pharmacy in Belize for purchase without a prescription? I've seen some photos on threads, but they're very hard to read.

thanks for any info, I've never been to the Western Caribbean!

Just a brief update:

I ended up reserving both Nachi and the Bar Hop! If it's just a gorgeous day, we might still do Nachi, but based on all the glowing reviews and info I got on this thread, I think we'll do the Bar Hop.

The other advantage is that neither one takes up the whole day. We'll still have some time to wander around a bit.

Thanks so much for all the input!

We have an excursion planned with Nacho and Cynthia to the Belize Zoo and Howler Monkey Sanctuary. I think I've asked this before, but wanted to check if there's any recent experience with them?

Their Trip Advisor reviews remain positive. Just thought I'd check for any updates. Particularly interested in the condition of their vehicles.

Thanks!

I'd like to know too! Especially if the West End (is that the right name?) is worth visiting?

If you want to disclose what week you're traveling, we can help you find your roll call. There you might find others that want to share private excursions. It's fun to meet new people and share the experience.

I'm a big fan of private excursions. I'll be on my third cruise in February on the Dawn as well and I've only done 1 ship excursion, all the rest were private or do-it-on-my-own.

I've found the port of call boards to be helpful in finding reputable, reliable tour operators.

We're also doing Victor Boden in Roatan, we're doing a trip to the Zoo with Nacho and Cynthia in Belize, the Bar Hop in Cozumel and Almaplena Beach Resort in Costa Maya. If you're interested in more details on any of these, I'd be happy to help. You can contact me here.

Whatever you do, relax and have a good time!

I'm traveling in a few weeks and one of my travel mates is a diabetic. She can't take the risk of not having food on her during an excursion, particularly when she's not in control of when/where stops will occur.

It's good to know pre-packaged foods such as protein bars/etc are the preference, but in this case, it would be nice to have an option of acceptable provisions from the ship.

Personally, I am happy to experience the local food, it's part of the adventure.

My husband and I are planning on trying Moderno on our trip on the Dawn in a few weeks... my concern is that we're traveling with another couple and the wife is a diabetic vegetarian! So... low carbs, no meat.. I've been reading this thread hoping to determine if there's enough on the salad bar to let her dine happily!

Personally, I'm sure I"ll be happy with both the meat and the salad bar!

Tendering in Belize... how long did it take you to get off the ship? We have a 'Double Excursion' and need to get to our meeting point asap.

Going to the zoo and the baboon sanctuary.

I used to work onboard NCL in the finance department and what we did was as follows (same for both debit card and credit cards as the system doesn't distinguish between the two). Once the ship sets sail from the embark port we would run a program that would ask for $300 authorization for all credit cards that were ententered into the system while boarding. Then as you spend onboard the system would ask for additional authorization to cover all charges. For example if your account has a $500 balance the system would ask for the $200 additional authorization. We would run the system about 3 times a day to ensure we had enough authorization at all times.

Awesome! Makes sense and sounds like a well-sourced answer! Thank you!

I was on the Epic a few months ago and they placed a hold for $300 initially on my debit card. I had some OBC and they didn't add any additional holds when I had spent all of my OBC. I didn't spend more than the $300 and the remaining amount fell off within a day of disembarkation.

OH, and thank you for your response as well, this is very helpful!

Word of advice. Do not use terms like credit card and debit card as if they are the same.

 

Debit cards will cause holds, sometimes not be released when you think it should.

 

Credit cards usually are not charged, other than a small amount until the end of the cruise.

 

These two things might look the same, but are handled much differently.

Thank you for the advice. In this instance, I am speaking specifically of a DEBIT card. I didn't realize they had different policies depending on the type of card.

I've seen this question on other Cruise Line's message boards, but haven't seen it on NCL...

Does anyone know how much is 'reserved' on your credit card per day for incidentals, etc, when you check in?

I use a Debit Card for travel and want to make sure I have it and other misc costs covered.

Thanks!

I get motion sick extremely easily, and don't like to risk being sick on my cruise, so I wear the patch and love it!

If you only ocassionally experience motion sickness, meclazine, (which is what is in 24 hour dramamine or bonine) should work fine. I was on the Epic and didn't experience much movement at all, but that said, we were in the med and the water was like glass.

I can only tell you how we've arranged a visit to the zoo for our upcoming cruise in February. I've made arrangements with Nacho and Cynthia for a private excursion to the Zoo and the Baboon Sanctuary.

It's $90/person for 4 people with the price dropping if you can add more. I believe he said he could accommodate up to 8 people.

Just google 'Nacho Cynthia Belize" to find their website. They've gotten pretty good reviews here on CC.

I am a germiphobe and put the remote in a ziploc.

 

 

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Awesome idea! I take along chlorox wipes to wipe down the remote.

I couldn't help but post my unnecessary 2 cents... I'll be on the Dawn at the end of February. I've cruised twice now and reviews like this no longer make me nervous, they're too extreme to be realistic. I put much more credence into objective reviews that list the good AND the bad.

While I hope for the best, I expect there will be some annoyances over the course of 7 days! (Heaven knows WHAT I'll do if I can't find a whole slice of bacon!!). I'm a bit nervous about the embarkation/disembarkation issues in Tampa, but at least I'll be mentally prepared and I'm able to stay updated on the situation through these boards.

Bottom line, I wouldn't let any of the items listed in the OP's review ruin my week! :D

Well, given all this great info, I've decided on the Bar Hop!

It sounds like we might have time for the 9:00 am tour at the Chocolate Factory as well if we play our cards right!

Thank you all for the feedback! I'll post a review when we get back, but it's stil quite a way away.... darn!

We've done both!

 

Nachi - Enjoyed with our group of 6. Nice day for a beach day in the sun, plenty of drinks, food was great. We do all-inlcusives on the mainland a couple times a year, so it was more or less for the other 4 that have never experienced that kind of thing.

 

Bar Hop: Awesome. Just my hubby and I on this trip so we joined in with about 8 others and had a ball. GREAT to see the other side of the island, eat some really fresh delicious food (which you have to pay for) and meet some great people. We would definitley do this again, doubt we would do Nachi again just because it's a been there-done that too many times.

 

Last week I was in Coz and did the Personal Mini-subs through Oceanus. AWESOME!!! Driving a scooter around under water was on my bucketlist. Short tour so gave us some time to wander around town as well.

Gosh! Every time I come back to this thread I change my mind! I had settled on Nachi, but I really think my husband would enjoy the Bar Hop more. He loves the sun, but doesn't enjoy the beach as much as I do. And, it's an opportunity to see more of the island, which I would enjoy. And... we're already doing an AI beach in Costa Maya. I also enjoy meeting new people, so the Bar Hop might be fun for that too!

Keep the posts coming!

Thank you all!

I used a discount TA (I guess that's what you'd call it) and planned all my own excursions, airfare, hotels, etc for my first (and so far only) trip to Europe. It was fun and we did fine.

I also used Cruise Critic extensively for references.

We used Your Tour in Italy for most of our excursions and they were awesome!

These are awesome responses! They really give me more information to help make my decision! I'm definitely going to look into 'Plan C' as I continue to weigh Nachi and the Bar Hop. Good thing I have some time!

thank you!