Manatee Watch/Reef Snorkeling & Bannister Beach Break

[CPAYNE1997]

Has anyone done the Coral Breeze Tour Manatee Watch/Reef Snorkeling and Bannister Beach Break? We are going on the Legend in June and are trying to decide on an excursion. My husband wants to do a little snorkeling while me and the kids hang out at the beach. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[CPAYNE1997]

Also looking at Eco Tours they offer a Reef snorkeling and beach thing too!

[MamaParrotHead]

DH and I are such snorkeling enthusiasts. And we had introduced our kids to snorkeling specifically for the cruise. I had heard such great things about Coral Breeze and the awesome reef in Belize.

 

Then we get there and the reality of the situation hit. The water was really choppy, so by the time we got to Bannister to let the non-snorkelers off at the beach, half of our "snorkeling crew" had all ready had enough. Then we get out there and they didn't have an appropriate life vest for my son (they wrapped an adult one around my 6 YO's waist and tied a few dozen knots). Then the water was so rough, that I couldn't see a THING. Not ONE SINGLE fish. To the point where I had cuts on my feet so I know the reef was THERE, but the water was so cloudy that I couldn't see LITERALLY more than 4-5" in front of my face. Then it took us SERIOUSLY twice as long to fight the waves/current to get back to the boat than we were even snorkeling. Then the boat wouldn't start. It was like a funny "Murphy's Law" movie. After all this, we go back to Bannister and have like 30 minutes there, max (which Bannister was really nice). Then on to the manatee hunt, which was extremely hot at this point and we didn't see a thing.

 

In a nutshell, it was a TOTAL bummer and I wouldn't recommend it, LOL.

[CPAYNE1997]

Oh WOW! That sounds awful! Thank you for your feedback. We decided to book with Eco Tours. My husband is going to do the snorkeling while me and the kids hang out at Bannister Island and then he will join us when the snorkeling portion is through. I thought that this would be the best option since me and the kids will not be snorkeling and I did not want him to the miss the snorkeling in Belize. Hopefully it will all go as planned!