Bacab Eco Park vs Rendezvous Caye vs Starfish Island

We are a family of 4 that will be visiting Belize on Carnival this July. We have been a few times before and done the ruins and zoo. While we usually do our own excursions, in Belize we like to book thru the ship. On this trip we have it narrowed down to thee excursions. 3 of us would snorkel, but don't have to. We'd all like to hang out and relax by clear water - either pool or shallow clear ocean water.

 

I would greatly appreciate any input anyone has on these 3 locations, particularly if anyone has done more than one and can compare them to each other.

 

Rendezvous Caye is called "Snorkeling Wonders of the Barrier Reef" on Carnival's excursion list if that helps anyone.

 

Thanks in advance

We've eliminated Bacab Eco Park from the list, so we'd love to hear input on Rendezvous Caye and Starfish Island.

I've not been to either, but a frequent poster on this site has done extensive reviews on both with lots of pics. Based on her reviews I want to do Rendevous Caye.

 

Starfish Island: (at the time of her review it was called Bannister Island) https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=36498626#post36498626

 

 

Rendevous Caye: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=54663451#post54663451

Hi, I hope you won't mind a question. We'll be in Belize in March 2019 and we usually book our own excursions as well. We have never been to Belize but my intuition suggests we might be better off with a cruise ship tour. Since you've been there and usually book your own, can you tell me what makes you use the cruises tours in this location? Thank you, Laurie

@grantbob - Thanks, I'll review those today

 

@ljandiernp - It's a couple reasons really and I'm sure people will disagree with me so let me say these are just my opinions. That being said, the tender is about 20 minutes long, so you have to remember to adjust your timing not for being back on board 30 minutes before the ship sails, but really an hour before you need to be at the pier so you can make the tender. In itself not a reason not to book 3rd party, just something you have to be aware of. 2nd I just don't feel as safe here as other places. It might be all in my head, but this is the only port I've been to that I would not walk outside the pier and just explore on my own. It's the only port where I've noticed a heavy presence of law enforcement with (semi)automatic weapons standing outside the gate recommending that people not explore on their own. It's also the only port I've been to where I was standing inside the fence looking down the street and was offered drugs. While it didn't happen to me, a co-worker told me that standing at the fence they were offered under aged girls. On my first excursion in Belize, we went to the zoo and about 1/2 way there there was a military road block where they stopped the bus, came on board and questioned several passengers.

 

Maybe these were all isolated incidents, but all together they make me very cautious. None of those things would have changed had I been on a private tour except maybe being warned not to walk around downtown. Again I just feel safer on a ship tour, and even if it's 100% in my head it's worth the extra cost for the piece of mind.

 

On a little bit of a side note, when we were there last month, we booked the Lamanai Mayan Ruins and River Boat Safari with Carnival, but then had them price match a 3rd party tour which then did without question. So I got the price I wanted and the piece of mind I was after.

On a little bit of a side note, when we were there last month, we booked the Lamanai Mayan Ruins and River Boat Safari with Carnival, but then had them price match a 3rd party tour which then did without question. So I got the price I wanted and the piece of mind I was after.

 

First, thanks for your thoughtful reply. Second, I'm impressed with the price and security management that you pulled off, nice job. Laurie

Hello,

 

We went to Rendezvous Caye on the Carnival Snorkeling Wonders of the Barrier Reef excursion last week. It was wonderful! The water was clear and there was a shallow pool on the left end of the island that my 5 year old daughter played in. They divide the snorkelers into three groups (beginning, intermediate, and advanced). My husband is advanced but took our two boys (10 and 11) in the beginners group and they went slowly and made sure everyone was safe. I stayed on the beach with my 5 year old daughter. We saw plenty of birds and fish while we just hung out in the water and they saw lobsters, sea cucumber, and all kinds of fish in the guided snorkeling portion. The guides were all friendly and knowledgeable. My only complaint was that it is a 40 min ride there and 40 min back, and you really only get 2.5 hours at the island. We could have spent all day there! The beginner snorkeling portion was about 45 minutes and then people just relaxed and swam. I also liked how easy this excursion was- no worrying about tendering or anything. We met up in one of the dining rooms, then got on the tender boat and went straight to the island, easy peasy. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

Hello,

 

We went to Rendezvous Caye on the Carnival Snorkeling Wonders of the Barrier Reef excursion last week. It was wonderful! The water was clear and there was a shallow pool on the left end of the island that my 5 year old daughter played in. They divide the snorkelers into three groups (beginning, intermediate, and advanced). My husband is advanced but took our two boys (10 and 11) in the beginners group and they went slowly and made sure everyone was safe. I stayed on the beach with my 5 year old daughter. We saw plenty of birds and fish while we just hung out in the water and they saw lobsters, sea cucumber, and all kinds of fish in the guided snorkeling portion. The guides were all friendly and knowledgeable. My only complaint was that it is a 40 min ride there and 40 min back, and you really only get 2.5 hours at the island. We could have spent all day there! The beginner snorkeling portion was about 45 minutes and then people just relaxed and swam. I also liked how easy this excursion was- no worrying about tendering or anything. We met up in one of the dining rooms, then got on the tender boat and went straight to the island, easy peasy. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

 

Are there shower facilities to wash off?:D

We've eliminated Bacab Eco Park from the list, so we'd love to hear input on Rendezvous Caye and Starfish Island.

We did too, we won't go outside the port in Belize, too poor, and tourists are an easy target if you aren't watching 100% of the time, and who wants to be like that on a vacation!

Are there shower facilities to wash off?

I didn't notice any, but we also didn't explore much and spent 90% of our time in the water. As we walked the pier to board the tender, one of the guides was hosing off snorkel gear and hosed the sand off feet and legs for people as they went by :p

Hello,

 

We went to Rendezvous Caye on the Carnival Snorkeling Wonders of the Barrier Reef excursion last week. It was wonderful! The water was clear and there was a shallow pool on the left end of the island that my 5 year old daughter played in. They divide the snorkelers into three groups (beginning, intermediate, and advanced). My husband is advanced but took our two boys (10 and 11) in the beginners group and they went slowly and made sure everyone was safe. I stayed on the beach with my 5 year old daughter. We saw plenty of birds and fish while we just hung out in the water and they saw lobsters, sea cucumber, and all kinds of fish in the guided snorkeling portion. The guides were all friendly and knowledgeable. My only complaint was that it is a 40 min ride there and 40 min back, and you really only get 2.5 hours at the island. We could have spent all day there! The beginner snorkeling portion was about 45 minutes and then people just relaxed and swam. I also liked how easy this excursion was- no worrying about tendering or anything. We met up in one of the dining rooms, then got on the tender boat and went straight to the island, easy peasy. Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for the info. Was there any option to be dropped off at the pier instead of the ship after the tour? What time did you end up back at the ship? I'm wondering if there would be time to jump on a tender to the pier for maybe 30-60 minutes after the tour.

Thanks for the info. Was there any option to be dropped off at the pier instead of the ship after the tour? What time did you end up back at the ship? I'm wondering if there would be time to jump on a tender to the pier for maybe 30-60 minutes after the tour.

 

We went on the tour that started at 11:15. On the way back, you go straight to the ship, and we arrived as the last few tenders were dropping people off. Maybe you could go over on one of the first tenders over in the morning and go to the port area for a short time and tender back in time for the excursion? This was my first time in Belize, so I don't really know the logistics and if that would be feasible.