Anyone been to Bannister Island Recently?

[LuvCruiSun]

I emailed them yesterday and they said the Barrier Reef Snorkel & Beach Break excursion does go to Bannister.

[luvcruzing]

I think my tender was one of the first to get to Bannister Island, and I had no trouble finding a lounger in the shade (I got burned on Costa Maya, so had to stay in the shade the rest of the trip). Soon another couple placed two loungers not far from me, and that's how it stayed. The water's edge was crowded all along the beach, but there is plenty of space if you don't need to be right at the water's edge. Another tender from another cruiseline showed up later, and there seemed to be a lot of people getting chairs and loungers and placing them in their favorite spot. There is music and a bar/restaurant. Behind the bar, there's a lady cooking on an outdoor grill. Come to think of it now, I didn't have the nachos (had those on Costa Maya and at Nachi Cocom on Cozumel), I had a hot dog, and it was delicious (I was worried that the hot dog would not be what I was used to). I ordered it from a waitress that would come by occasionally, but you can walk up to the bar and order if you'd like. That's about all I can tell you. Except for going into the water once and a bathroom break, I really didn't move off of my chair.

[Islandbuoy]

I emailed them yesterday and they said the Barrier Reef Snorkel & Beach Break excursion does go to Bannister.

 

who is "them" whose tour is going to bannister?

[Cruzinbabe06]

The "them" is Carnival. We all wanted to know what beach they take you to for their "Barrier Reef and Beach Break" excursion.

 

Glad to hear it's Bannister.

 

But, my next question for the OP is; Carnival charges I believe $60 to $80 for this excursion. Is Bannister Island worth that much money or should we just stick with Goffs Caye?

 

We want a beach with some music, a bar and lounge chairs and just a day to relax.

 

That would be around $160.00 for me and my husband. That's a lot of money for a beach day.

 

Any thoughts anyone?

[luvcruzing]

I paid $39 through NCL's Beach Break at Bannister Island excursion. Is it worth $160? Not to me, unless that's an all inclusive price. If it's not, then you're paying that much for a tender ride and a lounge chair and free floaties. Like I mentioned, the water's edge is full of shells, and once you get beyond the shells, the bottom is very squishy, like wet clay.

[cruisy-suzy]

Goff's Caye CCL excursion is $65, Barrier Reef & Beach Break is $80. Both are 3.5 hours. I know for Goff's you go straight from the ship to the Caye. Can anyone advise if it is the same for the Barrier Reef excursion to Bannister?

 

Thanks,

[Kjudge]

Goff's Caye CCL excursion is $65, Barrier Reef & Beach Break is $80. Both are 3.5 hours. I know for Goff's you go straight from the ship to the Caye. Can anyone advise if it is the same for the Barrier Reef excursion to Bannister?

 

Thanks,

 

I would like to know too :-) Catamaran sounds good too as opposed to a regular snorkle boat. If it picks you up at the ship that is great. If not I would book with coral breeze.

[Kjudge]

the barrier reed snorkle and beach break I see is 59.95 good price if they pick you up at the boat. It is only 3 1/2 hours.

[jrannis]

Bannister Island was a lot of fun. We did "Manatee Watch, Reef Snorkeling, and Beach Break" though Coral Breeze Tours. http://www.coralbreezetours.com/

 

Coral Breeze makes the arrangements and Hammerhead Water Sports runs the actual tour. Both companies were excellent. Bannister Caye is pretty, and I found everything to be clean and in working order.

 

The reef snorkeling was a bit of a let down, I thought the reef would be more interesting. There were plenty of fish (and we did see a yellow sting ray), but the coral was dull. The coral was much more vibrant in Roatan. It was a guided snorkel tour and our guide was excellent in both leading the group and pointing out interesting features of the reef.

 

The food at Bannister was your common burger/hot dog for the most part, but my wife did get the Ceviche which she thought was very good. I thought the prices for food and drink were very reasonable given the captive audience. A belkin was $3 and water was $1. Food off the menu ranged from $4 to $10. ( of course this is bound to change).

 

The Manatee watch portion of our tour is something I could have lived without, but I knew that would be the case before I booked it. I have spent time swimming with and boating with Manatee. I would have preferred spending extra time on the beach instead.

 

If you are doing this tour primarily for the snorkeling I would think you could do better. If you are looking for a beach break in Belize, I think you should seriously consider this tour. In our case we had 6 people two of whom did not snorkel, so this tour was a very good compromise for us. The boat makes a quick stop to let off non snorkelers before heading out to the reef.

 

I also wanted to point out that Coral Breeze gave us a 10% discount for being a group of 6 or more, and they charged us a different price for those who went snorkeling and those who did not. All and all I am happy that we did this tour.

[Boatingmom]

We were supposed to go to Goff Cay straight from the ship. It was a little rough so we went to another patch of sand instead. Snorkeling was great but the island was about 100x 200. Saw a lot of fish of all sizes and coral too. Even say a ray. 3 1/2 hours were long enough though. The current was strong and eventually we all got tired.

[mitchpam]

OK, here is the summary I have come up with, PLEASE give your input as to the correctness of it. I still have more questions than answers... Carnival Dream trip 2011 options

 

1.Barrier Reef Snorkel with Beach Break $69.95 pp 3.5 hours picks you up from the ship... *8:30am... no need to tender. High speed catamaran, but kinda crowded (even though it says limited availability). Not sure which beach it goes to, but sounds like there are facilities. Extra $$to be spent there... though they offer rum punch, sodas and water as part of the tour (prob. on the boat only, not once you hit the beach.). I assume snorkel first, then drop off at beach. Sounds to me like the snorkeling "could be better" or perhaps I mis-interpreted "seen better" incorrectly. I have not seen any recent posts to be able to figure this tour out, but it sounded like there were some issues for a while with the beach it went to...

 

 

2. Goff's Caye Snorkeling $59.99 pp 3.5 hours picks up from the ship... * 8:15am...no need to tender... bench seats on the boat, no back rest. Not sure about # of people on this tour... varies. Quiet, but small spit of land, no real facilities. Can rent a chair. Snorkeling around the island sounds like fun, but currents can be strong, and I have not read too many GREAT things about what people have *actually* seen. None, to limited food availability (depending on ??what I am not sure) After snorkeling off the boat you have approx 90 minutes to sit, swim, or snorkel more at the beach.

 

3. http://www.coralbreezetours.com... lots of options, but have to tender in and tender back out to islands and snorkeling. Sounds like the tours could be just as crowded as the Carnival sponsored tours, and the price is really not that much different.

 

So.... PLEASE give any feedback you can as to the "truth" of what I have laid out. i would love to hear if I am wrong. We are looking for a good snorkel, laid back beach, no hassle kidna vacation... THANKS!

[anh_81]

After reading all of this I'm thinking the cave tubing is sounding most appealing for Belize....

[jrannis]

OK, here is the summary I have come up with, PLEASE give your input as to the correctness of it. I still have more questions than answers... Carnival Dream trip 2011 options

 

1.Barrier Reef Snorkel with Beach Break $69.95 pp 3.5 hours picks you up from the ship... *8:30am... no need to tender. High speed catamaran, but kinda crowded (even though it says limited availability). Not sure which beach it goes to, but sounds like there are facilities. Extra $$to be spent there... though they offer rum punch, sodas and water as part of the tour (prob. on the boat only, not once you hit the beach.). I assume snorkel first, then drop off at beach. Sounds to me like the snorkeling "could be better" or perhaps I mis-interpreted "seen better" incorrectly. I have not seen any recent posts to be able to figure this tour out, but it sounded like there were some issues for a while with the beach it went to...

 

 

2. Goff's Caye Snorkeling $59.99 pp 3.5 hours picks up from the ship... * 8:15am...no need to tender... bench seats on the boat, no back rest. Not sure about # of people on this tour... varies. Quiet, but small spit of land, no real facilities. Can rent a chair. Snorkeling around the island sounds like fun, but currents can be strong, and I have not read too many GREAT things about what people have *actually* seen. None, to limited food availability (depending on ??what I am not sure) After snorkeling off the boat you have approx 90 minutes to sit, swim, or snorkel more at the beach.

 

3. http://www.coralbreezetours.com... lots of options, but have to tender in and tender back out to islands and snorkeling. Sounds like the tours could be just as crowded as the Carnival sponsored tours, and the price is really not that much different.

 

So.... PLEASE give any feedback you can as to the "truth" of what I have laid out. i would love to hear if I am wrong. We are looking for a good snorkel, laid back beach, no hassle kidna vacation... THANKS!

 

 

I did Coral Breeze in April. The boat they use is smaller than the ones the cruise ships come in and out on. Bannister Island did not feel crowded even when the larger boats were there. I felt the guides from Hammer Head (Coral Breezes operator) were excellent. The food on the island was decent and not that expensive. It is a pain to have to tender in and then tender back out, but in my case Carnival was not going to Bannister, only Goffes Cay. My understanding is the beach and facilities are much nicer at Bannister than Goffes. We were also a group of 6, so we received an additional discount from Coral Breeze. I figured we saved at least $15 a person compared to Goffes Cay straight from the ship. That was a $90 savings for our group. For us that is enough to justify the tender in and out. Just more info for those people considering what to do.

[mitchpam]

I did Coral Breeze in April. The boat they use is smaller than the ones the cruise ships come in and out on. Bannister Island did not feel crowded even when the larger boats were there. I felt the guides from Hammer Head (Coral Breezes operator) were excellent. The food on the island was decent and not that expensive. It is a pain to have to tender in and then tender back out, but in my case Carnival was not going to Bannister, only Goffes Cay. My understanding is the beach and facilities are much nicer at Bannister than Goffes. We were also a group of 6, so we received an additional discount from Coral Breeze. I figured we saved at least $15 a person compared to Goffes Cay straight from the ship. That was a $90 savings for our group. For us that is enough to justify the tender in and out. Just more info for those people considering what to do.

 

Thank you for your answer... this Belize board has been so slow, not that I don't have time on my side, but I have really been struggling with this decision... I think that the Carnival tour (Barrier Reef & Snorkel) now DOES go to Bannister, but I have not confirmed that yet...

[riedela]

Someone said it is Carnival in a previous post. Have fun whatever you do

[mitchpam]

Someone said it is Carnival in a previous post. Have fun whatever you do[/quote

 

Do you mean that someone said that Carnival definately goes to Bannister Island for the Barrier Reef and Snorkel tour?

[mitchpam]

Someone said it is Carnival in a previous post. Have fun whatever you do[/quote

 

Do you mean that someone said that Carnival definately goes to Bannister Island for the Barrier Reef and Snorkel tour?

 

Sorry... nevermind.... the reviews are up on the Carnival site so I can now read about it there.... thanks for your help though...