sparklingsoul

I was not judging at all. I am aware that I have more opportunities to travel than others. I live 30 minutes from one port and 1 hour form another. I have the benefit of not needing flights for most cruises. I never told anyone how to spend their money.

 

I specifically asked, in the middle of my post, to think about why you might be going. Ship or ports? I guess I should have also put in a disclaimer that the answer to that question should be a deciding factor on what to do.

 

My December cruise already passed final payment. So that was the mindset I was going with. I can cancel and lose my deposits, which for four people add up to a lot. But I'd rather not lose that money and make the best of the situation.

 

 

 

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Thanks for clarifying. That makes sense.

I also have a Dec 2-9 Harmony cruise planned that was originally scheduled to go to St Maarten and San Juan. In March I am supposed to go to the same two ports on the Seaside. Since both may be off the table, I am going in to the trips with no expectations on ports. Im sailing for the ships. If the ships stop somewhere I like, we'll get off. if the ships run humanitarian stops I will bring items to help those locations. If the shops stop at places I have no desire to go to, I'll stay onboard and enjoy the ship. it is what it is.

 

Ask yourself. Am I going for the ports or am I going for the ship/ change from the everyday?

 

Ports are getting knocked our right and left this season with not much left to choose from. I think we all need to take a step back and look at the big picture. All of us are privileged to be going on cruises. Even if we took years to save up for them. the people on these islands dont have that luxury.

It's obvious from the number of cruises that you've taken that you have infinitely more money and time than I do. So, perhaps you should take a step back and not judge people who want their hard-earned money and time to be spent a certain way on vacation?

I don't care what ports we wind up going to, but I do care that I get a somewhat carefree beach vacation for my once-a-year break from working 60 hours a week. I'm not taking a cruise for "the ship and change of scenery,"--I'm taking a cruise because I want to enjoy a bunch of islands.

This doesn't mean that I don't care about the Caribbean people--in fact, I've made a donation to PR, and I plan to spend my vacation dollars in the Caribbean in the future.

From forbes.com

 

"Caribe Hilton- received extensive flooding and exterior damage"

Thank you so much, Lost Child.

According to our insurance, we are stuck with this reservation until either the ship, airlines, or hotel cancels our reservation.

My heart goes out to the people of Puerto Rico.

I'm supposed to have three nights in the Caribe Hilton, then take the Jewel of the Seas through Southern Caribbean at the end of December. Just called Hilton, and they refuse to say the status of the Caribe Hilton until after my final cruise payment is due the first week of October. Should I just cancel the whole thing and go to Hawaii?

If there had been a single positive observation in your original post I probably would not have returned at all. But you had a bad experience, you were angry; we can see the contrast between when you are happy and when you are sad from your review of Roatan, which is a creature of the Twenty-first Century entirely, created essentially to market a "port" for a new cruise destination to people who like yourself, seem to go anywhere anytime, do anything, want happy days and resent unhappy ones.

 

Belize is not a marketer's dream. It is a Central American country that has suffered a great deal from the time it was British Honduras to the present day, even in the corruption of its own goverments. The people of Belize who cater to the cruise industry--and it is a significant number of Belizeans, contributing a substantial amount to the economy, which sorely needs it--are extremely hard-working and anxious to please. The nation has extremely rich assets in the form of Maya antiquities, but Maya antiquities cannot be eaten: they must be shared in order to enable the survival of the living population. Unfortunately most tourists--and especially cruise tourists--arrive with absolutely no preconceptions of anything--mosquitoes, Maya, history, geography, art--and seeking only amusement. On our last visit, the pilot of our plane did not realize he was flying to a Central American country, and continually referred the the "beautiful Caribbean island of Belize" during the flight. So I confess not much is expected of you intellectually, either coming or going.

 

What I know is that the Lamanai voyage is a trip at the outer limits of any cruiseline's capability to serve, just as it is at the country's outer limits to provide. It is more of a teaser than an experience, and the only thing one is likely to learn on the excursion is how much more there is to learn than one had ever previously imagined. I had absolutely no appreciation of the Maya civilization myself until a cruiseline took the risk of offering a shore excursion to Cobá in Mexico. When I arrived I was immediately able to understand how ignorant I was, and I have been attempting to amend that ignorance ever since--in myself and in others. Sometimes one just has to admit he is a fool in order to begin to learn anything.

 

I don't start peddling advice until I feel I have become informed enough to give useful advice. I would never, for example, recommend a trip anywhere unless I was very familiar with my subject and had visited myself. I have been to Tikal on one occasion in 2008, and I think you are biting off a lot more than you have considered in recommending anyone cross the border into Guatemala. If you would like to see the photographs I took, they are available at http://www.panoramio.com/user/707065/tags/TIKAL%20MAYA%20SITE

but I would not recommend anyone visit Guatemala without a huge reservoir of knowledge of what might happen while one is visiting. I'm not sure anyone could feel adequately informed, and the United States Department of State would I think back me up on that.

 

There is certainly no harm in sharing personal experiences; that is mostly what the Cruise Critic Boards are for, I think; but there is no reason to profess any expertise beyond your own experience if you have not done your homework. I am really too old now to be debating with so vigorous a youth as you seem to be: you are bound to be right: I suggest you vent yourself against your real enemies, which I have tried to identify for you; and that perhaps you read some of my posts over the years, and decide for yourself whether perhaps I might be and might have been more concerned for others than you have been, at least in your present mood.

 

Merry Christmas!:D

I feel sad for you that you need to attack other people and try to invalidate their experiences. You know nothing about me, yet you have decided that I am too young, to stupid, too uneducated, and too inexperienced in the ways of the world. It seems very important to you to feel superior to other people.

If I've helped one person decide that the Lamanai excursion is not appropriate for them, I have done my duty to fellow cruisers. People who do not mind the unpleasant conditions and have the physcial abilities to enjoy it will ignore my post and go on the excursion anyway, as it should be.

P.S. Most non-Christians do not celebrate Christmas (I'm surprised that such an educated person such as you doesn't know that), so don't bother pinning the Grinch message on me, as it is not my holiday.

I used the buffet because for some reason, I was unable to get waiter service. I don't know if it's because I was by myself Or if it was because I did not have a table. I just had my beach chair, but for some reason they wouldn't bring food there. So it seems to me that you would need to have a table for them to bring you service, or not be single:-)

I recommend emailing them to find out if you can get table service. People who had tables did get table service.

I regret--as I am sure everyone in Belize is--that you did not have a good experience on your trip to Lamanai. There is no question that one is really stretching the limits even under ideal circumstances in visiting Lamanai from any cruiseship, as the distances to be traveled are great, the physical exertion necessary for moving through the ruins is substantial, and the food served--although plentiful and wholesome--may not be to everyone's taste. Mosquitoes may or may not be present onsite; probably a burning sun will be present for the duration of the tour EXCEPT in the air-conditioned tourbus, which is why I have ALWAYS recommended a thorough slathering of sunblock, and renewals as often as possible; it is possible to slip on concrete at the Born to Shine docks and break a limb if you do not watch what you are doing. There will ALWAYS be very oppressive time constraints, mainly because your cruiseship wants to reenter the Bay of Honduras whether going north or south and race to the next destination.

 

But the opportunity to visit Lamanai for those who have a desire to do so is an opportunity that should not be missed, and if you did not see enough on your visit to convince you of the truth of that statement I do apologize to you and certainly wish you had stayed in your stateroom, which I hope proved sufficiently comfortable throughout your voyage. The cruiseline is what you should be complaining about, NOT the attempted visit to LAMANAI, which has been waiting for you thousands of years for you to arrive at your own comfort level. Give us a break.:p;)

I am doing cruisers a service by telling them what I experienced on my excursion. If you had a great time there, why don't you write a post about it instead of criticizing me and making assumptions about me?

I am a young, healthy, active person who does strentuous activities like skiing. I was perfectly qualified to go on this tour, unlike many people on my excursion who did NOT know that you should be in good health to go on this tour because Royal Caribbean did NOT provide this information, which they should have.

I booked the tour on the ship based on the description provided by RC. I did not have time to research tours before the trip, because I booked the cruise at the last mintue, like many people on my excursion.

That is why I am providing this information to people considering going on the tour--so they will know that they get only ONE hour at the ruins, and that they may be soaking wet for an entire day. They may have to sit with a plastic bag over their face and eyes for the entire speed-boat ride, like we all did, to protect us from the sandblasting rain.

It is then up to them to decide if they want to go. I am sure that many people will thank me for giving them this necessary information.

Like I said, why don't you put up a post about what a wonderful time you had on your Lamanai excursion, instead of feeling the need to criticize me for giving people necessary information?

I have heard that on some days they have a buffet and some days not. Can you still

sit at a table and order off a menu on the all-inclusive side? We will be there in April and there

will be 3 ships in port. We are trying Mr. Sancho's for the first time, after going to Nachi Cocum for many times. Just wanted to try something new. Thanks for any help. :)

I used the buffet because for some reason, I was unable to get waiter service. I don't know if it's because I was by myself Or if it was because I did not have a table. I just had my beach chair, but for some reason they wouldn't bring food there. So it seems to me that you would need to have a table for them to bring you service, or not be single:-)

Thanks for information! Is there entrance fee? Is there some limit how many person they let in?

There is no entrance fee, but you can always make a reservation (on their website) if you are bringing a large party. I didn't have a reservation, but I was by myself.

New River/Lamanai is a relatively strenuous excursion which covers a LOT of ground--and water--and requires a fairly substantial amount of preplanning by the tour operators. IMHO it is a good idea to book ahead of time. IMHO if you are not prepared to endure showers in the tropics--and Belize can have some fairly torrential ones--then you would be happier not taking excursions at all, because no one is going to be able to give you guarantees, and no one is going to be able to afford to make the preparations they have to make AND THEN GIVE YOU A RAIN CHECK.

 

But if you want to see things that probably no one else in your town has seen, at a major and fantastic Maya site, and have a very educational experience both in biology and archaeology (and possibly--like sparklingsoul--in applied meteorology), you might choose to dress in something that dries quickly, use Deep Woods Off! as I have often recommended, and stop worrying. You should have the time of your life.

 

Or follow sparklingsoul's advice, go to Roatan and spend the wonderful day on the tourist beach doing nothing, seeing nothing and learning nothing. IMHO.;-)

 

For those of you who wish to discuss anything at greater length, my new email address is realdriftwood@verizon.net, and you are always welcome to see my photographs posted on Panoramio. LAMANAI photographs may be seen at http://www.panoramio.com/user/707065/tags/LAMANAI%20MAYA%20SITE

This is a very judgemental post. How do you know that I learned nothing at Little French Key? I actually learned how to kayak there. Of course this is not an intellectual pursuit, so I'm sure you will dismiss it.

I also talked to people who work on the island about what life is like in Roatan and what the culture is like, but I'm sure that you wouldn't consider that "learning" either.

If I wanted to REALLY learn something about the Mayans, I would have taken a three-day tour to Tikkal and immersed myself in Mayan culture.

A one-hour speed-dating tour of Lamanai is great if you want a superficial look at the ruins. Our guide gave us very little useful information about Lamanai, as he was constantly rushing us from one point to another.

And yes, I used Deep Woods Off, and I still got bitten up.

If Royal Caribbean had been totally honest in their marketing of this excursion (i.e. telling people to bring sturdy ponchos and bug spray), rather than letting you think we were going to get a comfy, dry boat ride, that would have allowed people to make adequate preparations and decide whether or not this was an appropriate trip for them.

In addition, a number of people wore quick-dry clothing and ponchos, and they were still soaking wet and miserable.

And giving us nothing to eat until 2:30pm? Outrageous! This was simply a poorly planned tour. Save your time and money and go to Tikkal instead.

WOW! Thanks! Certainly something we'll seriously consider the next time there.

 

Were there places to sit in the shade?

 

LuLu

~~~~

There are tons of places to sit in the shade throughout the island. You don't need to worry about shade:-)

I spent a day at Sea Grape Beach in January, 2013, and absolutely loved it. For a small charge, I rented a front-row beach chair and umbrella on this gorgeous beach. I spent the whole day swimming. I had a delicious milkshake and fries for lunch (they had a huge menu, but I ordered my favorites:-)

I recommend brining water shoes, because they are some rocky areas to step around in the water, but I didn't have shoes, and I had an amazing day.

After spending the day at Sea Grape, I did a little shopping in town and enjoyed the beautiful stores. I had a $7 icecream in port, but it was delicious and worth it.

Grand Cayman is one of my all-time favorite ports. If you love spending the day on the beach, and you go to Sea Grape, you will have a fantastic time!

I took the Royal Caribbean Lamanai excursion last week, and it was a disaster. It was raining off and on that day.

We made it to the ruins without getting wet (it took almost three hours to get there), but they rushed us through the ruins, and I was really annoyed. I complained to one of the guides, and he offered to take me back to one of the ruins after we completed the guided tour, but it started pouring, so we never went back.

They only gave people 10 minutes to climb the ruins, which I felt was a safetly hazard, considering how steep the climb is and the fact that the steps were wet and slippery.

FYI...I used tons of bug spray, but I still got bitten up by mosquitos.

Toward the end of the ruins tour, it started pouring. We got soaking wet walking back to the boat (and it was a very slippery walk). Then we spent an hour on the speed boat in the pouring rain, which blasted us in the face and soaked us to the bone. The boat was not fully covered, nor did they offer us good rain ponchos (when I was in Costa Rica, the speed boats provided rain ponchos). So, I spent the entire hour on the speed boat covering my head and face with a cheap rain poncho that the tour guide sold me for $5 (the poncho ripped immediately, so all I could do was cover my face from the rain that was blasting it).

We finally got lunch at 2:30pm--I was absolutely starving, and I was soaked to the bone (as if I had jumped into a pool with my clothes on).

Then we got in a cold air-conditioned bus and went back to the port. Then I had to sit in my wet clothes another 30 minutes until I tendered back to the ship.

DO NOT book this excursion ahead of time! Only book it if there is a guarantee of no rain. They are not prepared for rain on this excursion.

I took the Royal Caribbean Lamanai excursion last week, and it was a disaster. It was raining off and on that day.

We made it to the ruins without getting wet (it took almost three hours to get there), but they rushed us through the ruins, and I was really annoyed. I complained to one of the guides, and he offered to take me back to one of the ruins after we completed the guided tour, but it started pouring, so we never went back.

They only gave people 10 minutes to climb the ruins, which I felt was a safetly hazard, considering how steep the climb is and the fact that the steps were wet and slippery.

FYI...I used tons of bug spray, but I still got bitten up by mosquitos.

Toward the end of the ruins tour, it started pouring. We got soaking wet walking back to the boat (and it was a very slippery walk). Then we spent an hour on the speed boat in the pouring rain, which blasted us in the face and soaked us to the bone. The boat was not fully covered, nor did they offer us good rain ponchos (when I was in Costa Rica, the speed boats provided rain ponchos). So, I spent the entire hour on the speed boat covering my head and face with a cheap rain poncho that the tour guide sold me for $5 (the poncho ripped immediately, so all I could do was cover my face from the rain that was blasting it).

We finally got lunch at 2:30pm--I was absolutely starving, and I was soaked to the bone (as if I had jumped into a pool with my clothes on).

Then we got in a cold air-conditioned bus and went back to the port. Then I had to sit in my wet clothes another 30 minutes until I tendered back to the ship.

DO NOT book this excursion ahead of time! Only book it if there is a guarantee of no rain. They are not prepared for rain on this excursion.

I was at Mr. Sancho's last week and highly recommend it. I took a cab from the International Port ($16 for one person), and I was at Mr. Sancho's within 15 minutes. You can buy as you go, but I chose to pay the $50 for unlimited food and drinks (the package also includes kayak use). If you plan to have a meal, snacks, and two or more drinks, I definitely recommend the $50 package. There is no cover charge to use the facilities.

The beach is beautiful, and there are tons of beach chairs. You need to get there early to get a beach chair with shade. The water was so clear that when I stood still, I could see schools of angel fish and yellow-striped fish swimming around me.

The food was pretty good (not great), but the margaritas were excellent. I spent the entire day swimming in the very warm water. Food service is not great, because they are understaffed, but the buffet was fast and easy.

For a $10 refundable deposit, you can use their lockers. Bring some cash for the refundable deposits for kayaks and jet skis.

Bathrooms and changing rooms were clean.

If you love to swim (and snorkel) or just relax, Mr. Sancho's is a great place to spend the day in Cozumel!

I was in Little French Key last week, and it was the highlight of all my caribbean cruise experiences. I paid $88 for a package that included transportation to and from the ship, two drinks, lunch, kayaks, beach chairs, a little zoo, and clean restrooms.

This island is stunningly beautiful, and there were a maximum of 100 guests on it that day. I spent the day swimming in the inlet and kayaking. In between swimming and kayaking, I enjoyed delicious margaritas and declicious chicken curry.

Everyone who works at Little French Key was extremely nice and friendly. They seem to really enjoy their job.

I got to hold an adorable baby monkey from the zoo.

There are tons of beach chairs and lots of shade under the trees. You can hang out in a quiet, secluded part of the island, or near the bar, where you can listen to fun music.

Larry (one of the drivers) was waiting for passengers to get off the ship at 8:00, and they got everyone back to their ship on time.

I had the best experience in Roatan of anyone else I talked to on my ship. Little French Key should absolutely be your destination of choice in Roatan!

Go to Lamanai in Belize. Did this tour via the ship in Oct. It was my first trip to a Mayan ruin and it was fun. We had a 60 minute bus ride and then a thrilling and fast 40 minute boat ride. The ruin site is like going back in time as there are a few families of howler monkeys in the trees. The monkeys make loud howls, it like being in Jurassic Park. You can also climb up the high temple which was harder than I thought.

 

Take a look at this wonderful aerial view of this big temple.

 

 

Tony

Thanks for the awesome video! I signed up for the Lamanai excursion on the Dec. 15 Royal Caribbean Navigator. Can't wait!

Which are the best ruins to go to from the Belize City port? Thanks!:)

Awesome, thanks! I'm going to try Mr. Sancho's...it looks great.

I appreciate the feedback.

All I like to do is swim and hang in the water all day (I don't snorkel). What's the best swimming beach near Belize City? Thanks!

Awesome, thanks!

My favorite thing to do is spend the day in the water swimming and lounging in the water (I don't snorkel). Which Cozumel beaches have the best swimming beaches? Money Bar looks cool, but I can't tell if it has a swimming beach.

:)Thanks!

I've decided to go to French Bay Key. I'll definitely post a review for everyone afterwards.

Hi, if I want to take my own transportation to Bannister Island, can I do that? The RC excursion is shorter than I would like. Thanks!