Bodden tours

[sarar]

Yes please DarB58

[October82]

Well, we are in the minority here, we were very unhappy!

I, was so excited about this port and this tour!

It was horrible! Maybe it was just the guide, maybe we got the only bad one!

We told victor of our problem, he told my husband he would take care of it, what did that mean?

No offer to refund, no offer to come back later for free, he was making money hand over fist and did not care about us.

The things most important to me I didn't get to do!

My husband told him, the driver , how important the cameo factory was to me, had to be back at boat for last tender at 4:30, he got us to cameo factory at 4:10!

I was so excited, first cruise, read all the great reviews,

What a disappintment!

[lovevacadays]

Well, we are in the minority here, we were very unhappy!

I, was so excited about this port and this tour!

It was horrible! Maybe it was just the guide, maybe we got the only bad one!

We told victor of our problem, he told my husband he would take care of it, what did that mean?

No offer to refund, no offer to come back later for free, he was making money hand over fist and did not care about us.

The things most important to me I didn't get to do!

My husband told him, the driver , how important the cameo factory was to me, had to be back at boat for last tender at 4:30, he got us to cameo factory at 4:10!

I was so excited, first cruise, read all the great reviews,

What a disappintment!

 

So sorry to hear this. As with any business there are always some that don't have a good experience. It could have been your tour guide. When Victor told you he would take care of it, did you ask him what that meant and if you would be getting any type of refund? How was the rest of your day at Roatan? We actually didn't really think the Cameo Factory was anything special at all. It only took us 15 minutes to go through it so we would have been ok with your scenario but it must have been disappointing for you.

 

I hope if you visit Roatan again you have a better experience. Roatan has been my favorite Caribbean island thus far.

[October82]

I think it would have been better with a different guide, he didn't listen to us. He took us to the things we told him we didn't want.

The situation with the cameo place was a sentimental thing.

Long story short, my dad died when I was very young, my grandmother had a lot of influence in my life.she recently died, had several cameos, her daughters received them. My aunt gave me money before I left to buy a cameo of my own. My plan was to buy two to later give to my daughter and daughter inlaw.

My husband even told our driver the story. I only had tome to select one.

I was just so disappointed, wanted to go to a market like victors notes suggested and we were taken to a tourist trap!

They were marked up so high, then they give you 30 percent off, saw some of the same things for alot less money at victors place!

I'm so happy that we are in the minority!

It is a beautiful place.

Johnna

[jms2362]

I think it would have been better with a different guide, he didn't listen to us. He took us to the things we told him we didn't want.

The situation with the cameo place was a sentimental thing.

Long story short, my dad died when I was very young, my grandmother had a lot of influence in my life.she recently died, had several cameos, her daughters received them. My aunt gave me money before I left to buy a cameo of my own. My plan was to buy two to later give to my daughter and daughter inlaw.

My husband even told our driver the story. I only had tome to select one.

I was just so disappointed, wanted to go to a market like victors notes suggested and we were taken to a tourist trap!

They were marked up so high, then they give you 30 percent off, saw some of the same things for alot less money at victors place!

I'm so happy that we are in the minority!

It is a beautiful place.

Johnna

 

Were you on the Oct. 15th sailing. The reason I ask is my daughter was on it and said that due to the severe storm upon arriving in Roatan they were not allowed to leave the ship for two hours. Carnival cancelled all excursions for the day at Roatan. Roads were washed out and it was a mess. They used Victor Bodden tour and had a great time. They did not go to the beach as they wanted to go ziplining. Not enough time to do what was planned. Said driving was really bad in areas due to the damage to roads from the storm. Sorry to hear of what happened to you. It seems like the past three weeks there have been complaints. I had never seen any negative in the past two years til now.

[October82]

Yes, we left on the 16th. They had a rough morning there, schools were closed, so we did understand that the beach and other things were out for us.

I was disappointed ,but ,I understood.

But, that being said, I do really believe it was our guide, not victor bodden.

I do really believe we are in the minority. Out or hundreds of people only a few negative reports, I think that is pretty good. I also think my expectations were high.

We did receive a request for a survey from victor, which I will send in.

When victor sent his tip sheet, those were the things I was interested in, the market that they shop at personally for coffee and vanilla, we told him that and we didn't go there, we went to a over priced tourist trap.

I hope everyone enjoys their trips.

Johnna

[Life without whine]

We are taking some school supplies and personal grooming items (toothbrushes/paste donated from our family dentist) and hair supplies..... but I'm concerned about disembarking with 2 backpacks that full. Originally I planned on taking at least a suitcase full of things but was told that might not be such a good idea, which is sad seeing as the children need so much! Thanks for your help!

 

We always take the kids & shop Goodwill (huge store nearby) for gently used (& often new) kids clothes which I then wash & pack in plastic bags to carry off. Makes room for the stuff I want to bring home & everyone (including my local goodwill recipients) can benefit. Bananarama is also distributing dry infant formula so we are bringing that to Roatan also. We are all so blessed to be able to share a little as we travel thru their beautiful countries....

[October82]

We always take the kids & shop Goodwill (huge store nearby) for gently used (& often new) kids clothes which I then wash & pack in plastic bags to carry off. Makes room for the stuff I want to bring home & everyone (including my local goodwill recipients) can benefit. Bananarama is also distributing dry infant formula so we are bringing that to Roatan also. We are all so blessed to be able to share a little as we travel thru their beautiful countries....

 

You are so right, it didn't take much room at all to slip items into a backpack.

The grooming items we brought weighed about 8lbs , so we knew we had that room left!

A suggestion for those of you who travel a lot, my husband is in a hotel Monday night til Friday morning. He started saving the soap, ect left for him in the hotel, we then donated the items to missionary groups going abroad. When we heard that this seemed like a million dollars to people in third world countries, we made sure we always did that.

We left the bags, and 2 large bags of fun size snickers to be taken to the orphanage or schools.

We are so blessed!

Our idea of poverty and their idea of poverty is so different.

Johnna

[jms2362]

You are so right, it didn't take much room at all to slip items into a backpack.

The grooming items we brought weighed about 8lbs , so we knew we had that room left!

A suggestion for those of you who travel a lot, my husband is in a hotel Monday night til Friday morning. He started saving the soap, ect left for him in the hotel, we then donated the items to missionary groups going abroad. When we heard that this seemed like a million dollars to people in third world countries, we made sure we always did that.

We left the bags, and 2 large bags of fun size snickers to be taken to the orphanage or schools.

We are so blessed!

Our idea of poverty and their idea of poverty is so different.

Johnna

WOW what a great idea! We are going to the Galapagos Island Dec 1st and will be in Quito Ecuador. They are a poor country and maybe we could do something like that also.

[thdave]

We're traveling to Mahogany Bay on Nov 17th, as we disembark that day from the Carnival Glory ship. Can't wait for this!

 

I've been checking our excursions and I'm not sure what to do. We don't want to do the zip lines, all we want to do it snorkel and perhaps see the island. So, we want to go to West Bay beach.

 

Carnival has a shore excursion there for $35 each. The Bodden tours cost about the same for two of us. Is this an unusual case when the cruise line is a good deal, or do you get more with the Bodden tour?

[cruiser-sha]

We were on Roatan with the Carnival Valor on October, 19. That day there was a big storm that prevented our ship from docking in the harbor at the expected time. The port was closed by the local authorities, and the captain was not sure whether we would be allowed to enter the port at all. We were very upset about the fact that we might miss our Victor Bodden tour, but when we did dock in Roatan 3 hours later, our guide Tex was still there waiting for us.

He was absolutely fantastic in trying to let us experience the best of the island even though the weather did not particularly cooperate.He drove us around providing a lot of information about Roatan. We did see Victor's monkeys, and it was a lot of fun. Tex also took us to West Bay-a street lined with gift shops where we got to meet some of the craftsmen and actually saw them weave their beautiful colorful cloth. While we were looking around he brought us local lunch and cracked a few coconuts open.On the way to the port he bought us a bag of lychee fruit from a street vendor. So many new experiences and memories! We absolutely loved our day on Roatan with Tex.

[Guest 2000]

From Cruiser`sha ~ Tex also took us to West Bay-a street lined with gift shops where we got to meet some of the craftsmen and actually saw them weave their beautiful colorful cloth."

 

That was West End....not West Bay... no street lined with shops in West Bay..it is all about the beach and the sea. Very easy to get confused! :)

 

thdave ~ I believe if you wish to see some of the island, interact with the island people and go to the beach.. you are far better off with a local tour guide. If you only wish to snorkel the ships Tabyana beach excursion is the way to go. Tabyana has the best walk in reef snorkeling the island has to offer. By the by Tabyana is on West Bay Beach. :)

[lovevacadays]

We were on Roatan with the Carnival Valor on October, 19. That day there was a big storm that prevented our ship from docking in the harbor at the expected time. The port was closed by the local authorities, and the captain was not sure whether we would be allowed to enter the port at all. We were very upset about the fact that we might miss our Victor Bodden tour, but when we did dock in Roatan 3 hours later, our guide Tex was still there waiting for us.

He was absolutely fantastic in trying to let us experience the best of the island even though the weather did not particularly cooperate.He drove us around providing a lot of information about Roatan. We did see Victor's monkeys, and it was a lot of fun. Tex also took us to West Bay-a street lined with gift shops where we got to meet some of the craftsmen and actually saw them weave their beautiful colorful cloth. While we were looking around he brought us local lunch and cracked a few coconuts open.On the way to the port he bought us a bag of lychee fruit from a street vendor. So many new experiences and memories! We absolutely loved our day on Roatan with Tex.

 

So fabulous to hear. Tex is the best guide we've ever toured with. We got some of that lychee fruit too! It was good!

[October82]

Well I now know if I ever return, I need Tex , maybe he could help make my trip a happy memory

[lovevacadays]

Well I now know if I ever return, I need Tex , maybe he could help make my trip a happy memory

 

If you do go back to Roatan do try and book Tex or he also said that Ali is requested as often as he is. I'm sure there are other good guides as well but without that many reviews on them it would be hard to say. I would imagine as time goes and people continue to read reviews Tex and Ali will be booked up way in advance.

[October82]

If you do go back to Roatan do try and book Tex or he also said that Ali is requested as often as he is. I'm sure there are other good guides as well but without that many reviews on them it would be hard to say. I would imagine as time goes and people continue to read reviews Tex and Ali will be booked up way in advance.

 

I guess that is why I was so disappointed, I did book way in advance, I now know I should really request someone.

[Lobster Mama]

my husband & I are going in March to Roatan Island and are also interested in Bodden tours. My question is: what if we only want to do the zip lining? Is it $40 to get there & $45 more for the zip lining?? I really want to go with Bodden tours because of all the fab reviews, but I don't know if we really want to shell out $85 a piece. My hubby doesn't want to do an all day thing, so the zip n dip is out. Any suggestions??:confused:

[October82]

Lobster moma,

I would suggest not to do the zip lining at bodden, it is a glorified clothesline, for the same price you can do a very nice zip line in Belize .

Go with bodden, do the island tour, they will bring you back when you want to go. For a total of 80 (40 each), you can have a private driver and do what you want.

This is just my advice, my husband was glad we didn't have time to zip line there, the glorified clothes line was his comment. If it was 20 - 25 maybe, but you can get a much nicer, safer experience at the next port

[Beach710]

We have a private Bodden Tour reserved. We want to see the island and spend some time at the beach probably snorkeling. We will want to go to West Bay beach and from what I read it seems there are many places that rent chairs etc. but some (all?) charge $40 per person. Are there some areas that are close to good snorkeling that we can rent chairs (and bathroom privileges) for less?

 

If so, can I ask our guide to take us to this area?

 

 

Thank you.

[lovevacadays]

We have a private Bodden Tour reserved. We want to see the island and spend some time at the beach probably snorkeling. We will want to go to West Bay beach and from what I read it seems there are many places that rent chairs etc. but some (all?) charge $40 per person. Are there some areas that are close to good snorkeling that we can rent chairs (and bathroom privileges) for less?

 

If so, can I ask our guide to take us to this area?

 

 

Thank you.

 

You can ask your guide to take you anywhere. I would suggest you email Victor and ask him your question regarding places to go where you can rent chairs for less than $40. I would imagine there are a few places. I found Victor very helpful both prior to our cruise and I actually emailed him so questions after our cruise.

[dom3070]

Our party of 10 just returned from our Carnival Legend cruise. We stopped in Roatan. What a day we had. We were escorted wherever we wanted to go. Our guide Leona was with us every step of the way. At one of our stops,a grocery store, the security team would not let us use the rest room. Leona jumped right in to help. We did Zipline,Swimming, some shopping, Iguana Farm and of course lunch. We can't wait to return to use Bodden Tours again

[luvmyjewels]

We have a private Bodden Tour reserved. We want to see the island and spend some time at the beach probably snorkeling. We will want to go to West Bay beach and from what I read it seems there are many places that rent chairs etc. but some (all?) charge $40 per person. Are there some areas that are close to good snorkeling that we can rent chairs (and bathroom privileges) for less?

 

If so, can I ask our guide to take us to this area?

 

 

Thank you.

 

We were on a Bodden tour last Friday and wanted to go to West Bay Beach. Our guide suggested Mayan Princess which was either $10 or $20 a person (my brain is foggy) and included a chair. Since we only had about an hour and a half, I asked if there was anyplace cheaper and we ended up at Foster's which was $5 a person and an additional $10 for a chair. I was really hoping to go to a free beach and rent a chair, but our guide didn't acknowledge there was one. (When I got back and re-read our e-mail from Victor I noticed he mentioned something being able to go to a free beach, so I assume there is one or two out there).

 

Make sure that when you go, you wear your "no soliciting" signs :p. We were hassled by people every 30 seconds wanting to sell us something or give us a massage. It was very annoying and took away from our enjoyment of the beach.

[OC SeaPA]

We are booked for Dec. Tex is booked, and Ali is no longer there. Any help on guides would be appreciated. Who to request, or who to not request. Please give me the names of the guides that you were not happy with. thanks.

[October82]

We had zethro, I would not use him. He was a nice man, but a terrible guide

[sarar]

Has anyone had the tour guide Channin, from Bodden Tours?