Has anyone ever done the shoretrips fly and dive to ambergris caye?

[CaribQween]

we stayed a week on san pedro and loved it, the plane ride, awesome view, the whole island, very laidback and friendly. we did quite a bit of snorkeling at the ho chan reserve, beautiful. held nurse sharks. went out to some of the smaller islands and out to the blue hole:eek: wow! we snorkeled around the edge as the divers went down. for this dive though i noticed they required a certain # of dives under your belt beforehand. on the way back we saw perhaps 50+ dolphins jumping, so the boat stopped and we quietly got in the water. must have been 300+ under the water, simply amazing!!!love this area.

 

Wow!! Reading your post just gets me even more excited and I wasn't sure that was even possible. I could only dream of seeing the dolphins that way and having all of them swimming around you. When we were in Tortola in February, we did a dolphin swim at Dolphin Discovery. It was absolutely one of the best experiences of my life. However, seeing them in their natural environment swimming around you would definitely be much better. I mean, on the one hand, being able to hold on to a dolphin and have it pull you around is awesome, but it's not the same as being in their natural environment just observing them. I remember we did a whale watching tour in Samana and when I saw the whales, I just choked up and started crying. The guides were so touched that they were really trying their hardest to spot whales and point them out to me because I was just standing there with tears pouring down my face, but laughing due to the sheer joy and because I was just so awe-struck. I can tell you that the chance of being able to swim along-side these creatures is the very reason I wanted to take up diving in the first place. When you're down there, it's like you're in a completely different world or it's like you're in a dream. It seems like it is way beyond what could be reality. Thank you for your post. It was really great!!

[catergirl]

you will SO love the manatee swim, its great!! we did that 2 years ago on valentines day. the day was so cold there was ice on the wooden walkway to the boat, glad the boat was heated and we had full wetsuits. one guy from the army was on our boat and asked if i would take a picture of him proposing! well it was valentines day;) those manatees are like big puppy dogs and follow you. when my DH stopped one put his head on my DH foot!

as far as ambergise caye, guess we liked it well enough, since we have been to lots of timeshare talks and this was the only one we bought:o

also if you ever get the chance, do the french polynesian islands. we did this on a princess cruise, now that was really awesome. the coral gardens of taihai near raiataia(sp) and the clear waters of bora bora and the great time with marks motu picnic and the clown fish at huahani and there was one more where there were lots of green morey eels:eek:

we just snorkel though. only did one resort dive in barbados. a 50 ft dive down to a wreck, just my DH and i with a divemaster, awesome!!

well whatever you do and whereever you go enjoy!

[MPM]

I am confused. If the Legend does not get in to port until 8:00, how do people set up for the 7:45 tour? I am tempted to try to make this trip as well.

 

-Mike

[mdrobtx]

I am confused. If the Legend does not get in to port until 8:00, how do people set up for the 7:45 tour? I am tempted to try to make this trip as well.

 

-Mike

Hey Mike, Belize city will be one hour behind ship time. 8am ship time will be 7am Belize time, unless it's during daylight savings and then the time difference would be 2 hours difference. Easily doable.

[MPM]

mdrobtx, are you sure? My wife called Carnival when I was setting up my dive on Cozumel, and she was told that the ship time and island time would be the same for the Carnival Legend. Then again, my wife said the lady at Carnival didn't sound all that convincing. I would sure like to be able to pin this one down!

 

~Mike

[familyplanner]

CaribQween,

Hello, my wife and I have got this tour booked with www.ecotoursbelize.com We will be on the Legend Jan 10-17. We've decided just to snorkel on Ambergris and dive at the Roatan stop. We wanted more time on Ambergris to rent a golf cart and tootle around.

Thanks so much for all the info provided in this thread. I'd already booked the trip before reading all of this but this helps confirm what I researched on my own. We decided to go through ecotours because of the price and they hand walk you from the pier to the cab, flight over and all the way back.

Looks like we're on the Legend a few weeks before you. We fly over on Mayan Air and I think shoretrips uses Tropic Air. Anyways when we get back I'll post our experience on the trip and flight over.

Michael.........

It is the same tour company, shoretrips uses ecotoursbelize. You will have a fabulous trip. :p

[familyplanner]

mdrobtx, are you sure? My wife called Carnival when I was setting up my dive on Cozumel, and she was told that the ship time and island time would be the same for the Carnival Legend. Then again, my wife said the lady at Carnival didn't sound all that convincing. I would sure like to be able to pin this one down!

 

~Mike

 

When we were there on the Norwegian Jewel Carnival was already tendering in and we dropped anchor at 8:00 which was belize time. On our first dive someone off of the Carnival Legend was doing their second dive. He said he didn't have a problem getting off the ship and making the 7:45 tour. However, with that being said I would check the carnival boards to see if anyone who has cruised the Legend in the past few weeks will answer your question. Whatever you do have a great time!:D

[catergirl]

whenever you are in port, the ship is usually on that ports time. they usually give you timechange info in your cabins to keep you posted. if this is a private tour double check with them that they will wait if needed. most private tours are well aware that you get there when you get there!! they definately want to keep you happy since $$ is involved!! if its a ships tour, no worries:)

[mdrobtx]

mdrobtx, are you sure? My wife called Carnival when I was setting up my dive on Cozumel, and she was told that the ship time and island time would be the same for the Carnival Legend. Then again, my wife said the lady at Carnival didn't sound all that convincing. I would sure like to be able to pin this one down!

 

~Mike

Yes, Carnival ships leaving from Florida stay on Eastern time usually. The Legend definetly does.

[mdrobtx]

It is the same tour company, shoretrips uses ecotoursbelize. You will have a fabulous trip. :p

Cool, I didn't realize this. I thought that when doing the research the prices were definitely different.

[mdrobtx]

whenever you are in port, the ship is usually on that ports time.

 

After numerous cruises on different lines and booking mostly indy shore excursions, I can positively tell you this is false. Sometimes they are, sometimes they're not.

[Friscorays]

From the EcotoursBelize FAQ:

 

"Not all cruise ships change their clocks when at sea. Some keep the time zone from which they left, and others change to match the time zone they are in. Please know we are well aware of the ship's arrival and departure times. Our tours start at a time that allows you to tender and finish well before the ship is ready to depart. The point of confusion for Belize time is the fact that Belize does not change their clock for Daylight Savings Time. Therefore, half the year Belize is on Central Time (one hour behind Eastern Time), and the other half they are on Mountain Time (two hours behind Eastern Time). The important thing is to know what time your ship is following when you get on board. If you are on Eastern Time, you will be one hour ahead of Belize from November to March, and two hours ahead from April to October. If you are on Central Time, you will be on the same time as Belize from November to March, and one hour ahead from April to October."

[MPM]

This was very helpful, thank you Friscorays!

 

~Mike

[mdrobtx]

From the EcotoursBelize FAQ:

 

"Not all cruise ships change their clocks when at sea. Some keep the time zone from which they left, and others change to match the time zone they are in. Please know we are well aware of the ship's arrival and departure times. Our tours start at a time that allows you to tender and finish well before the ship is ready to depart. The point of confusion for Belize time is the fact that Belize does not change their clock for Daylight Savings Time. Therefore, half the year Belize is on Central Time (one hour behind Eastern Time), and the other half they are on Mountain Time (two hours behind Eastern Time). The important thing is to know what time your ship is following when you get on board. If you are on Eastern Time, you will be one hour ahead of Belize from November to March, and two hours ahead from April to October. If you are on Central Time, you will be on the same time as Belize from November to March, and one hour ahead from April to October."

 

Exactly, thanks for the reconfirmation.

 

Now if we can get Carnival to allow passengers with indy tours to disembark at the same time as passengers who have booked tours with Carnival. That is my only concern with booking my tour with ecotoursbelize. From past Carnival Legend reviews passengers with indy tours weren't being allowed off till as late as 9:30 or 10a.m. ship time which is 8:30 or 9a.m. currently in Belize. My email correspondence with ecotoursbelize states I have an 8:30a.m. Beize time flight to Ambergris. I guess we'll see what happens??

[CaribQween]

you will SO love the manatee swim, its great!! we did that 2 years ago on valentines day. the day was so cold there was ice on the wooden walkway to the boat, glad the boat was heated and we had full wetsuits. one guy from the army was on our boat and asked if i would take a picture of him proposing! well it was valentines day;) those manatees are like big puppy dogs and follow you. when my DH stopped one put his head on my DH foot!

as far as ambergise caye, guess we liked it well enough, since we have been to lots of timeshare talks and this was the only one we bought:o

also if you ever get the chance, do the french polynesian islands. we did this on a princess cruise, now that was really awesome. the coral gardens of taihai near raiataia(sp) and the clear waters of bora bora and the great time with marks motu picnic and the clown fish at huahani and there was one more where there were lots of green morey eels:eek:

we just snorkel though. only did one resort dive in barbados. a 50 ft dive down to a wreck, just my DH and i with a divemaster, awesome!!

well whatever you do and whereever you go enjoy!

 

Oh Yes, you're right, I will so love the Manatee Snorkel. I'm looking forward to that more than anything. And now, you've got me more excited than ever. A guy that works at the dive shop we use says it's just surreal. I think their size will be a little intimidating, but I guarantee you, I'll be in tears the whole time. Being able to be with these creatures in their own natural environment just gives you the feeling of pure natural joy. Later, you remember back on it and are amazed that you really experienced that. We're going to be leaving on our cruise on Valentines Day, so we'll be down in Crystal River around the 11th of February. So, we may experience the same kind of temperatures you did. I'm really glad you told me how cold it was because I've sort of been debating weather I want to take my 3mm wetsuit or get a shorty. But now, I'm going to definitely take my 3 mm and probably my skin also.

 

As for the french polynesian islands, it sounds really awesome. I always welcome anyone to tell me about great places they've been whether it be for snorkeling, diving or just sightseeing. I have a long list of places I want to check out just from recommendations people have given us. That's why we try to do all of the things we want to do most in every place we go because we never know if and when we might get back. There are just so many places to go and experience, that it's hard to think of repeating the same places when there are so many places we haven't been yet. It's really one of the great things about cruising. You get to visit several different places all within the same trip. This will only be our second cruise, but I'll tell you, we were hooked after our first one. And we've already pretty much decided on Alaska for our next one (with an added land tour on top of the cruise). So, if you have anymore places you'd recommend, feel free to share. And thanks for all of the info.

[CaribQween]

mdrobtx, are you sure? My wife called Carnival when I was setting up my dive on Cozumel, and she was told that the ship time and island time would be the same for the Carnival Legend. Then again, my wife said the lady at Carnival didn't sound all that convincing. I would sure like to be able to pin this one down!

 

~Mike

 

I definitely understand the confusion. I called Carnival twice and got two different answers on it myself. But, then I read something on their website that said their ships stay with the home port time (so Tampa's time for the Legend). Therefore, as Michael (mdrobtx) wrote, when we take our cruise in February, the Legend will be arriving at 8:00 ship time, but it will be 7:00 Belize time. However, as Laura (familyplanner) wrote, when she was there on the NCL Jewel a few weeks ago, ship time and port time were the same. That is because NCL changes times in each port to match the ship's time to the port's time. So when they show the times they will be in each port, it always matches to the port times. I found that all out on my last cruise which was on the NCL Dawn. So, every cruiseline could do it differently and it's something that everyone needs to keep in mind.

 

It's all just very frustrating when you call the cruiseline you're booked on to get info regarding your cruise and they give you bad information. But, I've sort of found that with a lot of businesses. It's sort of why I've become skeptical of info I get and I usually try to verify it some other way or by calling back and talking to someone different. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's us that have to suffer the consequences if we rely on the bad info, not the person that gave it to us. I really try to do enough research to avoid that if at all possible. People that know me well tend to make fun of me for how much time I put into researching everything :o, but it usually pays off for us later on and it makes it well worth it :D. And that is one thing that is so great about Cruise Critic. You can really take advantage of all of the research that everyone else has done and everything they have experienced. It's really a great research tool for anything having to do with travel, not just cruising. And really so much more.

 

So, when will you be sailing on the Legend? I really hope you take the chance on the Fly N Dive to Ambergris Caye. It sounds like just an awesome, awesome excursion. As Laura wrote, most of the tour operators do know fully well when each ship will be in port and they make sure to find out if there are any time changes or even pier changes for the ship. The independent operator we're using in Grand Cayman (Neptune's Divers) told us to make sure we go to the shore excursion desk on the ship and let them know we have to be on the first tender of the day and not to take "no" for an answer. Most of the time, the passengers taking the cruiseline's excursions will get the first tender, but if you go to the shore excursion desk ahead of time and tell them you have an excursion that starts very, very early, and you need to be on the first tender, they should accomodate you. If they say no, ask to speak with their superior. Remember, we're paying good money for our cruise and they usually want to do anything possible to accomodate us whenever it is possible. They want to earn our repeat business. So, Good Luck if you decide to go for it.

[mdrobtx]

Thanks Michele for the additional info.

A rep from ecotoursbelize confirmed that Legend has always been on Tampa time.

[MPM]

Michelle, you crack me up:D Thanks for such a detailed response, and for cracking the mystery! People also rib me about planning everything. But nobody ever seems to complain about reaping the benefits. We have friends that love to cruise with us, because they never have to plan anything, and always have a great time, not to mention I usually save them a lot of money!

 

More than likely we are going to take the ship excursion, not so much because of the time constraints, but as best I can tell, it may be the best diving, although the jury is still out.

 

One great resource, besides the boards, is an on line magazine http://www.undercurrent.com. A subscription isn't cheap, but it is dedicated to divers, and has a LOT of reviews.

 

-Mike

[mdrobtx]

People also rib me about planning everything. But nobody ever seems to complain about reaping the benefits.

-Mike

 

Same here Mike. I'm a planning freak. My wife loves it.

Just got back from a 10 day trip to St Martin and surrounding islands. It was over a years research from everything to food costs, internet access sites, to where medical assistance is located.

I enjoy it so no worries.;)

[CaribQween]

Michelle, you crack me up:D Thanks for such a detailed response, and for cracking the mystery! People also rib me about planning everything. But nobody ever seems to complain about reaping the benefits. We have friends that love to cruise with us, because they never have to plan anything, and always have a great time, not to mention I usually save them a lot of money!

 

More than likely we are going to take the ship excursion, not so much because of the time constraints, but as best I can tell, it may be the best diving, although the jury is still out.

 

One great resource, besides the boards, is an on line magazine www.undercurrent.com. A subscription isn't cheap, but it is dedicated to divers, and has a LOT of reviews.

 

-Mike

 

Finally, someone that understands me :). Sounds like Michael is right there with us too. I'm definitely a planning, researching freak and really big on details. People say it's because I'm an auditor, but I've always been like this. And, as you've seen, I don't mind sharing the knowledge (maybe a little too much) because I want others to benefit.

 

I hear ya on trying to decide which of the diving is supposed to be better. Some say Turneffe Atoll and some say Ambergris Caye. We ended up making our decision on other aspects of the excursions. It seemed as if with the Turneffe Atoll dives through Carnival that you spent a lot of time on the boat including the SI, and personally, I wasn't sure if I could have handled that. I was afraid of feeling a little sea sick after all of that time. Plus, I wanted to do some shopping :D so San Pedro seemed like the best answer for us. And of course, the flight just seemed like a bonus.

[txsmiles]

well - after lengthy debate and considerable asking around, we've decided on the flight to Ambergris and dive there. I never could get a solid feeling about which dive location is better, and decided the fun of the flight over & back was more interesting than almost 2 hours on a boat plus the risk of a "cattle boat" diving experience. We will be in Belize in 10 days - I'll let you know what we think of our choice after we get back!

[CaribQween]

well - after lengthy debate and considerable asking around, we've decided on the flight to Ambergris and dive there. I never could get a solid feeling about which dive location is better, and decided the fun of the flight over & back was more interesting than almost 2 hours on a boat plus the risk of a "cattle boat" diving experience. We will be in Belize in 10 days - I'll let you know what we think of our choice after we get back!

 

That was how we made our decision. We had read a lot of different opinions about the diving. Nothing really indicated that the Turneffe Atoll diving would be better and we just didn't want to spend all of that time on a boat. We're diving 3 out of the 4 ports, so we wanted to be able to fit in some shopping and sightseeing too, where ever possible. The other parts of the Ambergris Caye tour made it win out, especially the flight. We'll be anxiously awaiting your opinion of the excursion. Have a great trip and Safe Diving!!

[MPM]

Txsmiles - We are counting on you! Please, please post a review when you get back! At the moment I have chosen the boat, but it probably won't be too late to change my mind. We sail on the Carnival Legend on 1/17/09. I have really been riding the fence on this one, but have chosen the boat in part to avoid the stress of hoping everything comes together in the first part of the morning. Does Shoretrips refund your money if the ship is unable to tender due to weather? Keep us posted!

 

~Mike

[mdrobtx]

TXsmiles, please do let us know. We're all anxiously awaiting your review.

HAVE A FANTASTIC CRUISE!

[familyplanner]

Txsmiles - We are counting on you! Please, please post a review when you get back! At the moment I have chosen the boat, but it probably won't be too late to change my mind. We sail on the Carnival Legend on 1/17/09. I have really been riding the fence on this one, but have chosen the boat in part to avoid the stress of hoping everything comes together in the first part of the morning. Does Shoretrips refund your money if the ship is unable to tender due to weather? Keep us posted!

 

~Mike

 

We used shoretrips and I am almost positive that I read that if you do not tender then they will refund your money, but you only have a couple of days after you get home. They book their tours through ecological tours, who offers the tour directly for slightly less.