Belize

[tayupe]

I am taking the western Caribbean Cruise next April. One of the ports is Belize. I am traveling with a somehow picky family ( wife and 7 year old son). Paying 40 PP to the beach break is some how too much money if the do not offer any lunch.

There is anything else beside walking around the Village ? are the street of belize ok to walk?

[Torgen]

I was in Belize recently on a Carnival cruise and we did cave tubing through http://cavetubing.bz/. I recommend them highly.

[emilygrace]

We did an airboat tour when we were in Belize. The bus took us out to where the airboats were and it was a great experience.

[CruisinManiac]

I am taking the western Caribbean Cruise next April. One of the ports is Belize. I am traveling with a somehow picky family ( wife and 7 year old son). Paying 40 PP to the beach break is some how too much money if the do not offer any lunch.

There is anything else beside walking around the Village ? are the street of belize ok to walk?

 

No, you will not want to walk around in Belize. Trust me, take the beach break if it goes to Bannister Island. Take the earliest excursion and get off the boat/ferry ASAP to grab a place on the beach. really pretty! We got free rum punch on our excursion. :D

[KentuckyTam]

I agree that Belize is not a city to just "wonder out" in. We did cave-tubing and had a blast. The country is beautiful.....just stick with a tour:)

[Badlands99]

are the street of belize ok to walk?

 

Iron Man wouldn't walk the streets of Belize City.

[Redheada]

going to the Altun Ha ruins is cool. As is anything in the water. The reef near Ambergris Caye is amazing.... :)

[B&J1]

I second the cave tubing!

[TEXASMUNK]

You will tender into the port. The country is wisely protecting the coral reef. The locals provide the tender on high speed boats. Belize City is very, very poor and thus it is NOT recommended that you go into town.

 

The infratstructure is very limited and would urge you to stick with a ship's tour so that you do not encounter difficulties getting back to the ship.

 

There are plenty of options. Beach, snorkel, dive, ruins, eco-tours, cave tubing, etc.

[alicam]

When we were in Belize, we toured out to the Altun Ha ruins, which we found very interesting...however, the tour bus (this was a Princess excursion in Dec/05) dropped us off on the back streets....definitely not a place to wander around...I still can't figure out why they dropped a whole busload of people off the main drag and expected them to stumble back to where they were picked up originally for the tour

[crewsweeper]

I am taking the western Caribbean Cruise next April. One of the ports is Belize. I am traveling with a somehow picky family ( wife and 7 year old son). Paying 40 PP to the beach break is some how too much money if the do not offer any lunch.

There is anything else beside walking around the Village ? are the street of belize ok to walk?

Well any excursion you book for cave tubing, Mayan Ruins, etc. is going to run you more than $40pp, lunch or not. For a 7 year old cae tubing might be the most fun. While I disagree with those opining not to walk around in Belize City (because I've done so and it's not any more dangerous than walking in Manhattan or Chicago or Philadelphia, or Los Angeles), there really isn't a lot nearby to walk to, especially with a 7 year old in tow. Taking a water taxi to Ambergris Caye (San Pedro) or even Caye Caulker could be cheaper, but entails you leaving the tourist village area to catch a water taxi and paying close attention to the water taxi schedule so you get back in time to get the tender to your ship. If excursions are too expensive for your budget, you can make this a nice quiet ship day. Or even just grab a tender and stroll around the Tourist Village and maybe grab lunch at on of the stands there or stop in at the Wet Lizard and have some conch fritters and meat pies along with a Belikin beer or two.

[Fourseventeen]

If 40.00 pp is expensive for an excursion then cruising may not be for you. I have never been able to do anything for less then 50.00 per person in a port of call and most excursions I have done run about 100.00-150.00 PP on average by the time we do the excursion and lunch. Belize is a beautiful place and I wouldnt go there and miss cave tubing. Its amazing! My wife and I were there in October 2009 and we are booked again for Oct 2010 and this time I paid for my mother and sister to have a balcony room so they could join us in cave tubing in Belize.

[PnkyandtheBrain]

I also can recommend Vitalino Reyes and his cavetubing.bz for excursions in Belize. While he specializes in cavetubing, he can also provide ruins tours, zoo visits and other local attactions at very good prices.

 

If you are interested in cavetubing, his normal rate is $45 pp which includes a stop for lunch (I believe lunch is free if the group is 6 or more, otherwise $5). Even if you just wanted a city tour, I'm sure they could provide or recommend a vendor who would take good care of your group.

 

I can't say enough good things about Vitalino and his family. They take such care of their customers and honestly want to make sure you have the best experience possible.

 

Brad

[STARFISH*4]

I also can recommend Vitalino Reyes and his cavetubing.bz for excursions in Belize.

 

can you tell me what type of tubes you used....the big yellow ones or the skinny black ones? thanks:)

[lady_cruiser]

To the OP:

If you feel that your budget does not allow you to pay X-amount of dollars for a tour than don't worry about it. In my opinion people who have to brag about how much they spend on "their excursions" are lacking in self-worth. I think it is still wonderful that you are able to bring your family, especially your child on a cruise.

 

Take that time to explore the ship that day. It will be empty and you will have the ship almost to yourselves. Make a day of it. Maybe you can have a scavenger hunt with your seven year old. Make plans ahead of time with some of the pool, bar, cabin, and other staff members to help you out. They will be more than happy to get in on the fun. You can hide items in places that won't be too occupied by the people who do stay on board. You can hide items in your cabin, the library, on the outside promenade deck under a seat cushion, etc. Once your imagination starts working the more ideas you will come up with.

 

Have fun and don't worry about staying on the ship. More people do it than you think.

[greenstar]

I have to agree with Rosie. In our early days of cruising, funds were limited and we did very little excursions. If you have to stay on the ship that day and wonder around or like Rosie said, do a savenger hunt with your child, know you'll have a blast. We done cruises, even recently, where we went to the same port and decided to stay on the ship and we loved being one of the only ones. Enjoy!!

 

Nina

[forwardcabin]

...There is anything else beside walking around the Village ? are the street of belize ok to walk?

 

We hired a horse carriage to take us around the city. For $30, our driver carted us all around Belize City, explaining the city, country, and culter. He pointed out alot of things and we asked alot of questions. He stopped at a neighborhood store where we bought cokes and beer. He took our picture for us along the way. After his tour, we walked back into downtown across the bridge for some shopping. Found a mall with an Internet Cafe with fast access desktops--$1.25 per half hour. The kids got on facebook (which we will not let them use on the ship). There was also a bakery with lots of really good pastries for $.50 each. Of course, the cokes with real sugar were especially good. DH found a James Patterson book she had been looking for--$2.00 from a street vendor. We found Belize City to be easy to walk around in and the people were really friendly--they spoke to us as we walked by. We walked back to the tourist area with plenty of time left to shop there and get back to the ship. With all the negatives we had read about Belize City before we cruised, we found very few of them to be credible.

 

 

Here's hoping you have a great cruise. Bon voyage!

[rstout]

I will also throw my vote in for http://www.cavetubing.bz. We just went on a cave tubing excursion with them last week. The cost was $45 pp for adults and $25 pp for the kids, including lunch. The drive is long and the roads bumpy to get out there, but we found the price to be very reasonable. Our 5 year old sat on my husband's lap and our 6 year old had his own tube (they use the black tubes, but they have smaller tubes and life vests for the kids). Everyone had their own head lamp. The guides are GREAT with the kids and they carried the tubes for anyone that needed help. Also, the weather was REALLY bad that morning - torrential downpours, and it is the rainy season now. If that happens, don't let that deter you from going. It cleared up, and it was definitely worth the trip.

[STARFISH*4]

going to the Altun Ha ruins is cool. :)

 

that is what we did last time...this time TUBIN for hubby and something else for me...but i wouldnt WANDER the streets of BELIZE.

[WAMarathoner]

We enjoyed a Horse and Carriage tour of the city. $59 each through the ship -- BUT, once you get out of the cruise terminal, you can negotiate. We paid $50 total for four of us, plus a generous tip. Book at full price and you're making the tour operator happy; book cheaply and tip well and you make a difference in the life of the layman.

 

Look for Brenda (tall, black, 30, attractive, thin) with Dion as the guide (horse's name is Flash? or something like that). He speaks three language, is highly intelligent, and loves his country with all its flaws. Afterward, we walked around town (stay on the terminal side of the bridge and on the main streets). Very interesting place -- sort of comparable to East L.A.

 

We'll likely stay on the ship our next time in Belize. Cozumel and Grand Cayman offer SO much more, for about the same price.

[AlanAllyn]

There are a number of reliable tour companies in Belize. Go to the Ports of Call board. I have heard good things about the Belize zoo for kids.

[BabySis]

Cost is always an issue... for some, $20 per person is an issue.... for others, $500 per person is an issue... as my Daddy always said, "we all put our pants on the same way, one leg at a time".... You will LOVE your Caribbean cruise no matter how little or how much you want to spend.

 

Every cruise has been our favorite!!! Every island has been our favorite!!

 

Dinah

[dreamcruiser525]

There are a number of reliable tour companies in Belize. Go to the Ports of Call board. I have heard good things about the Belize zoo for kids.

 

I was not impressed with the zoo at all. Very small, many animals couldn't be seen. you could easily do it in an hour and its a ride there.

 

I would recommend a Carnival Tour. Usually it cost more but I have rarely been disappointed with a Carnival Sponsored excursion.