Undecided about what to do in Belize???

[stephanie1]

Out first port on the 11/26/11 sailing of the Liberty is in Belize. Not sure what to do. I have a back disc issue and I do not want to take a tour that

is going to make me walk and walk and walk.

 

Any suggestions on what I can do where I will not have to walk a lot???

I want to do something fun and go somewhere (not a beach break) and

see some sites.

[wwcruisers]

Two of the most popular Belize tours are cave tubing and Mayan Ruins tours, but I don't know whether either would work for someone with a bad back. We took the New River Lamanai excursion, but the ruins part does require a good bit of walking -- over some uneven terrain. And, I definitely would not recommend setting out on your own in Belize City -- it's scary (think Jamaica scary). :eek:

[emilygrace]

We did an airboat tour when we were there. The bus takes you on a little city tour and then out to where the marshes and wetlands are. The airboat just skims the surface of the water, so it is not disturbing any of the wildlife. Our tour guide pointed out all the different plants there and gave us bird/wildlife guides to use as she pointed them out (you have earphones on to muffle the sound of the airboat fan). I found it very interesting and we got to see a bit of Belize City without venturing outside of the gated area on our own.

[blueblock]

Out first port on the 11/26/11 sailing of the Liberty is in Belize. Not sure what to do. I have a back disc issue and I do not want to take a tour that

is going to make me walk and walk and walk.

 

Any suggestions on what I can do where I will not have to walk a lot???

I want to do something fun and go somewhere (not a beach break) and

see some sites.

 

I would recommend getting out of Belize City. Belize is a beautiful, lush green country, but Belize City is (in my opinion) the least attractive part of the country. I would normally suggest a tour of the Mayan Ruins, but that might be hard for you with your disc issue, so my other suggestion would be a river boat tour. I think Royal Caribbean might even offer an excursion that combines the two. (There also might be glass bottom / submersible tours out to the coral reef, if you like looking at fish!)

[MikeNJ1109]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember at one time RCL offered a day trip to the Tikal Maya ruins in Guatemala ... if so, we'd HIGHLY recommend doing so. The ruins are amongst the most preserved and most intracate of that amazing civilization.

 

Michael and Silke

[cb at sea]

Read up on Belize....and find out what might interest you....then, go to the Port of Call boards, and see how others have done the things you might want to do! Research is key to getting the most from your short time ashore!

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

We've done both Mayan ruins, and the cave tubing... the cave tubing was a little bit of walking but not too bad.

 

Also, there is a river only tour without the mayan ruins and walking... the river/wildlife is must see!

 

I've been there 3 times! (Belize)

[sprout76]

For the cave tubing...are they big caves or are there times when you're in an enclosed space? My mom is doing this cruise in February and I'm trying to find a good excursion for her, but she is extremely claustrophobic.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

For the cave tubing...are they big caves or are there times when you're in an enclosed space? My mom is doing this cruise in February and I'm trying to find a good excursion for her, but she is extremely claustrophobic.

 

they are caves so yes they are enclosed at some points, but I don't remember it being a small space... your with a group of about 30 or so, and the whole group can fit.

[PH8]

Been to Belize 5 times(snorkeled,went to the ruins,Ambergris Caye,city tours)...a fun thing to do without walking much is the Belikin Brewery tour...............OMG.....it was great.....the brewery is so clean.....you get 45 mins in the bar there to drink as much beer as you like.......talk about cold and fresh!!(and I am not normally a beer drinker) It is preceded by a city tour.....then the brewery,then more of a city tour..............followed by lunch right at the pier........

 

http://www.coralbreezetours.com/current_category.15/Product.151/tours_add.html?t_product=151

 

 

 

 

[shaggyofwv]

Out first port on the 11/26/11 sailing of the Liberty is in Belize. Not sure what to do. I have a back disc issue and I do not want to take a tour that

is going to make me walk and walk and walk.

 

Any suggestions on what I can do where I will not have to walk a lot???

I want to do something fun and go somewhere (not a beach break) and

see some sites.

 

Lamanai was a lot of fun and very educational, but you do have to walk quite a bit. The boat ride up and back is also a lot of fun.

[Darkwolfe]

Cave tubing tends to have about a 45minute walk so that might not be the best thing if you have back troubles

 

The caves themselves are not tight spaces so claustrophobia shouldn't be an issue. I'd say discuss it with Major Tom and he can likely help you out. Look up Major Tom in Belize. He's got a great crew and they do go out of their way to take care of people. Sense of humor is required!

[Epi2013]

It's been awhile since I went there with Royal Caribbean, but I remember there being a combination river tour/city tour/zoo that was great and came with lunch. The only walking would be around the zoo so maybe you should look into that.

[texasnana]

We did an airboat tour when we were there. The bus takes you on a little city tour and then out to where the marshes and wetlands are. The airboat just skims the surface of the water, so it is not disturbing any of the wildlife. Our tour guide pointed out all the different plants there and gave us bird/wildlife guides to use as she pointed them out (you have earphones on to muffle the sound of the airboat fan). I found it very interesting and we got to see a bit of Belize City without venturing outside of the gated area on our own.

 

We are thinking of the airboat tour. How much is it? How long was it?

[BillOh]

Reportedly Belize has some great snorkeling. I say REPORTEDLY as we took our own snorkle gear there and the tour operators boat broke down. All I got was a 20 minute tender ride each way.

[Isailaway]

More often than not, we book our excursions independent of the cruise line, always based on cruise critic reviews. That being said, Belize was the one port where that was not such a good idea. I regret that we did not book an excursion through our ship. I was not at all comfortable in Belize and we ended up missing what could have been a great opportunity to snorkel and enjoy the beauty of Belize. My advise to you would be to see what excursions are offered through your cruise line and book through them....don't make the mistake I made by trying to do it independently.

[Pumbaamd]

We took the New River Lamanai excursion, but the ruins part does require a good bit of walking -- over some uneven terrain. And, I definitely would not recommend setting out on your own in Belize City -- it's scary (think Jamaica scary). :eek:

We did the New River tour. The boat ride is outstanding! The ruins are very interesting, but, you don't have to walk the entire site. You can view from a distance, at your will. And still go home with many memories and pics. Check out that excursion.

Rick and Deirdra

[shelby101]

Last year we did the reef snorkel and it was the best. Not a rough boat ride our to the reef. The coral and fish were great. We followed a morey eel all over the place. First time I had seen one in the wild.

[canuckcruiselover]

Has anyone done the "Under Water Windows to the Wonders of the Barrier Reef"? We can't snorkel as my friend is heavier than the required limit. Having never snorkelled, I don't know why there is a weight limit. Anyway, I thought maybe seeing the reef from a glass bottom boat would be the next best thing. Thoughts, anyone?

[torpeedo]

We are thinking of the airboat tour. How much is it? How long was it?

 

We have also done the Airboat tour and booked through the ship. I can't recall the price but it was not very expensive. You can look on the RCI website and it will tell you the price and you can even pre book it if you want to. The entire tour was probably 2 - 3 hours. We loved the airboat ride. It was great and the guides were wonderful. If we go back to Belize we would do it again.

[BillOh]

More often than not, we book our excursions independent of the cruise line, always based on cruise critic reviews. That being said, Belize was the one port where that was not such a good idea. I regret that we did not book an excursion through our ship. I was not at all comfortable in Belize and we ended up missing what could have been a great opportunity to snorkel and enjoy the beauty of Belize. My advise to you would be to see what excursions are offered through your cruise line and book through them....don't make the mistake I made by trying to do it independently.

 

I've had good luck with both private and RCI excursions at other ports, but I'm 0 for 1 with an RC excursion at Belieze. Can you say what excursion didn't go well for you here?

[mamapan]

Years ago we did the cave tubing excursion and it was nothing short of fantastic. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with any mobility issues/back issues or claustrophobia though. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, despite falling out of my tube & almost drowning (long story) twice! The caves were breathtaking. Hiking through the jungle area on the way to the river was beautiful and so much better than all of the nature shows I had ever seen. Seeing leafcutter ants in action was really great, and watching the monkeys jump above our heads was just amazing to me. This suburban dwelling girl was totally blown away.

 

Going through Belize City, however, was a more frightsome adventure. Before we got off board, there were several announcements made about what specific areas to stay OUT of once we got off the ship due to problems with people getting pickpocketed and so on. We heeded the advice and were fine...some folks traveling with us did not heed the advice - and were mugged and slightly physically harmed.

 

Lesson learned.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

I've had good luck with both private and RCI excursions at other ports, but I'm 0 for 1 with an RC excursion at Belieze. Can you say what excursion didn't go well for you here?

 

I think they are referring more to the time constraint. We have always booked though line for Belize as we are only there about 7 hrs and most tours are about that length plus you got to count tender time...

 

one time we went it took about 45 min one way because of rough waters... we just don't want to risk being left behind... but to each his own. Now, if I was only going shopping right there by the pier... I would do on my own...

 

but river tours, mayan ruins..anything that requires bus rides of over an hour one way plus whatever makes me nervous due to time.

[Isailaway]

I've had good luck with both private and RCI excursions at other ports, but I'm 0 for 1 with an RC excursion at Belieze. Can you say what excursion didn't go well for you here?

 

My plan was to go outside the port area in search of the the water taxi terminal and take a water taxi to Caye Caulker. We were unable to locate the water taxi terminal.

We then found a company inside the port area and after we gave them our money to take us to Caye Caulker they kept stalling.....hoping, I think, for more people to take over and make it worth their while. Finally, after numerous promises of "we wait just a little while longer" we gave up and got our money back and returned to the ship. It was just a disappointing experience for us.