Need some Advice (ie Spirit Western Caribbean)

[SuperTrooper00]

Let me give a little background that may help give some advice:

My wife and I are in our 30's. A perfect day for us is on a beach (don't care about amenities) with beautiful sand/water and reading a book. We also love Sea Days so we can sleep in, sit out on our balcony and read.

 

We are doing the Spirit Western Caribbean route and have most of our plans for the trip. In order, our itinerary and plans look like this:

- Sea Day

- Costa Maya = Beach (already paid for)

- Belize = ?

- Roatan = Beach (will do on our own)

- Cozumel = Beach (already paid for)

 

So, here is my question. What should we do in Belize? We have checked out the Belize board and even asked questions there, but are still unsure.

Because we love beaches and enjoy snorkeling, we are interested in doing one of the Caye excursions there (Goff's, Caye Caulker, etc.). But, because we are doing beaches at 3 other ports (the nicer beaches) we are slightly interested in doing one of the Mayan ruin tours (not interested in Cave Tubing or Zip Lining). Because we only have 2 Sea Days (which we love), we have considered staying on the boat that day and making it a Sea Day instead.

I know a lot of people enjoy being busy every day, but we generally do not. We go to relax, and don't want to come home feeling like we need a vacation from our vacation. We prefer 3 Sea Days on our cruise, and are a little concerned that if we have a busy day in Belize, we might be tempted to skip Roatan (which has the nicest beach of all).

Anyways, all of that to ask, "What say you?". We would really appreciate your input.

[biker@sea]

The Lamanai ruins were great.

 

Loved the fast boat ride up the river and the Howler monkeys.:)

 

A real good local food lunch was included.

[SuperTrooper00]

This might sound like a silly question, but was the tour exhausting? We are both in excellent shape, so not concerned in that way, just curious if you were wiped out that night and tired the next day?

[biker@sea]

No I,m pushing 60 and climbed the ruins that was higher than the jungle canopy ,great view .;)

[PQ]

I've done this Spirit cruise and I must admit I really love to take a port day and stay on ship. I love to have the ship to (almost) myself!

[akupupule]

I hear you because that is always our exact dilema. I love doing stuff at every port, and DW loves sea days and days relaxing on the beach. We've done the ruins in Belize and now call Belize another sea day. The ruins at Xunantunich are awesome, and Lamanai is neat too. But if you like a quiet day at the beach, Costa Maya is hard to beat (IMHO the best beach day of the whole trip). $20 beach massage. Check out 100% Agave for lunch. Roatan... The beach at West End and West Bay is nice. Catch the bus ...cheap. Take Deep Woods Off! No-seeums. Will bit-ems. If you take a taxi, agree on the price first. Or call Victor Bodden for an all-day car with driver..around $25 pp. Most tours want to take you sightseeing, which cuts into your beach time. Just tell 'em you want to go straight to West End or West Bay. Cozumel has the best shopping, if you want to leave some time for that. This is a great itinerary, and hope you enjoy it !

[MNallan]

I was actually thinking the same thing. We are not beach people but love the carribean... go figure. In costa maya we are going to a private beach, with palapas, (we can't hang in the sun. hence we are not beach people) belize and honduras are up in the air. I would be just as happy hanging on the ship but DH likes us to take off on our own. I know one of the ports, I think belize, they say don't go off on your own so I figured we would probably just get off the ship and check out the port at our leisure. Then spend the rest of the day on the ship. As NCL says.. Whatever lol :D

[SuperTrooper00]

This is a great itinerary, and hope you enjoy it !

 

I honestly booked this sailing for price alone, but the more I have researched, the more I am excited about the ports. Some seem to love Belize and rave about the excursions, and some think you should stay on the ship. Makes it difficult to decide.

[j-9]

We did the western itinerary on the Spirit last December. In Belize we did a snorkel tour that went to a couple of reefs, the stingray sand bar and to Cay Caulker for lunch and a stroll.

We really enjoyed it because the reef were quite far away, and we were in a smaller boat, near the mangroves etc for a long time. The snorkelling in the coral gardens was quite good. The rays were cool, if you haven't done that before, as was the (nurse?) shark that was there. It was a long day, but quite relaxing and we got to see a lot of the area.

[christiecruise]

Hey SuperTrooper,

 

We are in our mid 40's and taking our kids -20 and 17 on the Spirit in Dec. I researched the heck out of all excursions and decided to book a private tour in order to do exactly what we wanted for 5 interesting but relaxing :ohours in Belize. The newer (but great reviews on TripAdvisor), family owned snorkeling/diving operation out of Ambergris Caye has made all arrangements for us - with no prepayment.

 

Due to their knowledge of tendering issues (and from my concern after reading these boards) we will take a 10 min. taxi ride from the Belize port to the Muni. airport, then a 9:30 am flight (safe, I checked) to Ambergris Caye. They will meet us at the airstrip and take us 5 min. away to their boat. We will be out on the water for 3 1/2 hours - snorkeling at Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley, lunch is fresh local food on board (we wanted to maximize our water time). Then back to the airport for a 2:30 flight (20 min.) and quick taxi back to port. Just the 4 of us, local guide, we only need to catch the taxis all else is done for us.

 

Let me know if you are interested in the details - and I think I would then be allowed to post the name of the guide!

 

Hope this is helpful!

[Still Dreaming]

We did the western on the sun back in 02 o r 03 and we stayed on the ship with our children (17 and 18). We played cards relaxed in the sun and had a great day. We had the ship all to our selves.

Scarry part was we had a fly over with a military helicopter with men and machine guns. Just gave us more memories!!!

[nathand95]

When I went to Belize, we did the Altun Ha ruins. It was about an hour drive from the port and we had a very informative driver. We waited to book until we actually got to the port. We went on a small van with 5 other people (9 total) and had a city tour then we went to the ruins. On the way back from the ruins we stopped on the side of the road by this old shack. Living there was this famed reptile man. We had about 45 minutes to play with some snakes and talk to this guy. He was very poor, but he loved caring for sick reptiles. It was one of the greatest experiences of the entire trip.

 

Here is a link with some pictures of his home and him with some snakes.

http://blog.joshuaberman.net/09-04/my-final-day-in-belize.html

 

It is on the side of the road leading Altun Ha. If you mention him then the tour guide will most likely know who you're talking about. I strongly encourage you to visit him if you aren't scared by reptiles.

[newcruiser123456789]

We've heard so much bout the snorkeling in Belize that that's what we're doing. We are doing ruins in Costa Maya, snorkeling in Belize, Maya Key in Roatan and doing our own thing in Cozumel (probably bar hopping the overpriced tourist bars and/or just staying on the boat).

 

Several people told us the snorkeling in Belize is not to be missed so I am going by that. But I have also heard the Lamani ruins are great. We just didn't want to do any excursions over 4 hours since we're very much into having a lazy, relaxing cruise.

[swedish weave]

Google Major Tom Belize -- His website has all sorts of activities. We met him on a tour to Altun Ha and he captivated us with his personality and knowledge of the Mayan history. Website has a slide show of the ruins and cave tubing. He is a slender gentleman with a big smile !!

[newmexicoNita]

Let me give a little background that may help give some advice:

My wife and I are in our 30's. A perfect day for us is on a beach (don't care about amenities) with beautiful sand/water and reading a book. We also love Sea Days so we can sleep in, sit out on our balcony and read.

 

We are doing the Spirit Western Caribbean route and have most of our plans for the trip. In order, our itinerary and plans look like this:

- Sea Day

- Costa Maya = Beach (already paid for)

- Belize = ?

- Roatan = Beach (will do on our own)

- Cozumel = Beach (already paid for)

 

So, here is my question. What should we do in Belize? We have checked out the Belize board and even asked questions there, but are still unsure.

Because we love beaches and enjoy snorkeling, we are interested in doing one of the Caye excursions there (Goff's, Caye Caulker, etc.). But, because we are doing beaches at 3 other ports (the nicer beaches) we are slightly interested in doing one of the Mayan ruin tours (not interested in Cave Tubing or Zip Lining). Because we only have 2 Sea Days (which we love), we have considered staying on the boat that day and making it a Sea Day instead.

I know a lot of people enjoy being busy every day, but we generally do not. We go to relax, and don't want to come home feeling like we need a vacation from our vacation. We prefer 3 Sea Days on our cruise, and are a little concerned that if we have a busy day in Belize, we might be tempted to skip Roatan (which has the nicest beach of all).

Anyways, all of that to ask, "What say you?". We would really appreciate your input.

 

Unless you really want to do a snorkeling trip I would recommend just staying on the ship and enjoying the peace and quiet. That is what we do in Belize.

 

Nita

[SuperTrooper00]

SO much good feedback...I really appreciate it and keep it coming!

 

J-9 = That definitely sounds like a great day. Now that "The Bachelor" has been filmed on Caye Caulker, I think my wife is even more interested in going there.

 

Christiecruise = Please feel free to share the company. Not sure we would want to pony up the money for all of that, but sounds great.

 

Nathand95 = That blog with pics was fascinating. I don't love snakes, but would love to meet that guy and see them.

 

Newcruiser = At first, snorkeling is exactly what I thought we would do. But, I have also read that the snorkeling in Roatan is as good. Thus, the Mayan idea.

 

Swedish Weave = Thank you. I had seen that name pop up a few times.

 

Still Dreaming and NewmexicoNita= Thank you, you both are speaking my language for sure. Obviously, that is what we are tempted to do. When it comes to Belize, I am almost trying to be talked into doing something that people say is "can't miss", because my natural inclination is just to stay on the ship.

[farmersescape]

We missed our planned trip to the reef because the tendering process is very slow, so be prepared for that. All was well though as there were many options as soon as we got to shore. We went in a speed boat to the reef and then a beach break. It was my second favourite day of any cruise (the first being stingray city in the caymans)

[Raleigh Traveler]

We took the Western cruise on the Spirit last May and had a great time. In Belize we started out planning to stay on ship but that morning went down to the excursion reps in the theater and tried to book a cave and tubing excursion at the last minute. We had purchased some really nice Chacos sandals before the cruise but were told we needed "closed toe" shoes (fyi). We ended up taking a short tour of Belize City which wasn't all that great, not much to see and ended up spending most of the day back on the ship anyway.

[chill6x6]

Had the same dilemma when we did this cruise last month. It was as if it was cave tubing/Mayan Runs or bust! Ended up doing the Lamanai Ruins and river safari. The trip starts off with about a 45 min to an hour bus ride to where you get on the boat and the New River. I have to say this was an interesting trip I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you are a history buff. Our guide IMO, was a little long winded and this did't really go along too well with a microphone/PA system on the bus that went in and out about a third of the time. IF you are a history/Mayan buff you would probably love this excursion. Saying that...this tour WAS interesting to me. You get to see the Belizean countryside and includes a long trip on the New River. But I have to believe there was something I would have enjoyed better...

[SuperTrooper00]

But I have to believe there was something I would have enjoyed better...

 

Hmmmm...Not a huge vote of confidence. I have read others say this was the best cruise excursion they have ever taken. I am guessing you did not feel this way?

[cruisincarly]

Had the same dilemma when we did this cruise last month. It was as if it was cave tubing/Mayan Runs or bust! Ended up doing the Lamanai Ruins and river safari. The trip starts off with about a 45 min to an hour bus ride to where you get on the boat and the New River. I have to say this was an interesting trip I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you are a history buff. Our guide IMO, was a little long winded and this did't really go along too well with a microphone/PA system on the bus that went in and out about a third of the time. IF you are a history/Mayan buff you would probably love this excursion. Saying that...this tour WAS interesting to me. You get to see the Belizean countryside and includes a long trip on the New River. But I have to believe there was something I would have enjoyed better...

 

So, the bus is 45 minutes...how is the rest of the 7.5 hours divided up? We have a 3 year old, and would like to do a Mayan ruins tour either in Belize or Costa Maya, but the 45 min on the bus sounds like it might not work (though maybe he could watch cartoons on his portable dvd player). He'd love the boat trip, though.

[SuperTrooper00]

So, the bus is 45 minutes...how is the rest of the 7.5 hours divided up? We have a 3 year old, and would like to do a Mayan ruins tour either in Belize or Costa Maya, but the 45 min on the bus sounds like it might not work (though maybe he could watch cartoons on his portable dvd player). He'd love the boat trip, though.

 

From what I understand, the time is broken up "something" like this:

- 45-1 hour bus ride

- 30 min bathroom/refreshment break

- 45-1 hour boat ride

- 2-2.5 hours at Ruins

- 45-1 hour boat ride

- 45-1 hour lunch

- 45-1 hour bus ride

 

I could be wrong, but I also believe they count the tender time as part of the overall time which would be another 1 hour RT. Of course, I only know this from researching these boards so could be off.