A Belize question for the "mature" cruisers

[beachbum53]

We've looked at the excursions for Belize, and may make this stop a "stay on the ship" day. We're 60ish, not over the hill, but just a little past our prime. Due to certain physical limitations, although the zip-lining and/or cave-tubing sound like fun excursions, these activities would be a challenge for us. We're not really interested in exploring the ruins, and there don't appear to be any worthwhile beaches for a "beach day". So, other than maybe taking the tender over to explore the Tourist Village for a little bit, what other excursions might be worth considering? From what I've read, Belize doesn't exactly sound like a tropical paradise.

[Will in sunny FL]

We've looked at the excursions for Belize, and may make this stop a "stay on the ship" day. We're 60ish, not over the hill, but just a little past our prime. Due to certain physical limitations, although the zip-lining and/or cave-tubing sound like fun excursions, these activities would be a challenge for us. We're not really interested in exploring the ruins, and there don't appear to be any worthwhile beaches for a "beach day". So, other than maybe taking the tender over to explore the Tourist Village for a little bit, what other excursions might be worth considering? From what I've read, Belize doesn't exactly sound like a tropical paradise.

 

Read your post & suggest that you look into a nice quite snorkel trip with Coral Breeze Tours where you will snorkel thru Coral Gardens, then another stop where you will swim with the nurse sharks & rays, then off to Caye Caulker for a local lunch of chicken, red beans & rice & cole slaw & a drink of your choice with time left for exploring. Then the boat ride back to the Tourist Village for your tender back to your ship.

We both are past our sixties & do this tour probably two times a year with Coral Breeze & it is a really fun trip. Or do the boat ride & watch the others snorkel while you enjoy the chips & salsa.

Look up their site for this info.

Really - enjoy Belize !

[Dayenu]

Due to health issues, we didn't go on any tours in Belize. We got on the tender, took that long ride to the city, walked out of the port area - a girl with "horse ride" sign was there, and then it was cheap, like $10 or $15 per person one hour ride.

 

The ride was narrated, we enjoyed it and tipped the guy! He brought us back to the pier, but some passengers got off early, they went to a church - don't know, if for service or just to see it.

 

We walked around a bit - and hey, you can have your hair braided. One guy on the ship even got his beard braided, this was hilarious! It was interesting to catch a glimpse of Belize, don't just stay on the ship!

[Carmelita]

We went on the Coral Breeze snorkel tour the Will in Sunny FL raves about and had a very different opinion of the whole operation. Basically a waste of time and money.

 

Caye Caulker is great, however, Corral Breeze is definitely NOT. Get off on first tender, arrive at their booth before 8:00am, hang around until 10:15 waiting to leave. Take the boat out 5 minutes, turn off the engines & sit for 10 minutes while they tell you "the plan". Continue on to Caye Caulker, pull into dock and listen for another 15 minutes while they explain snorkelling 101 to you and the other 48 passengers on board. Find out it is election day and their are no restaurants open on Caye Caulker so no lunch afterall - but you will get refund of the $6 paid. Boat out to the snorkel site (one "pro" of the trip, coral gardens is great), put on "mandatory" lifejacket (couple of smaller boats had people in the water without life jackets so not sure the meaning of "mandatory") wait for 45 people to offload into the water before you start to snorkel, listen to guides yell at you for 30 minutes, try to avoid the 88 other fins in your face while trying to take in as much of the underwater world as you can. Wait for 45 people to upload onto the boat and motor over to shark ray alley. Repeat process but as it is just standing around in shallow water the crowd isn't quite as bad. Lots of sharks and rays. Back to Caye Caulker, wander around find a grocery store open for chips & soda ($8 US for 2 - do you think they had a captive audience?). Advised boat trip back to Belize city would be 30-35 minutes, arrive 57 minutes later and wait for panicked HAL passengers to disembark as their last tender was scheduled to depart 5 minutes before our arrival. Other than the underwater life in the area, this tour totally sucked. It wasn't inexpensive and we would have been better off taking the ship tour or just taking the water taxi to Caye Caulker and finding a boat to take us to the reef for $20 each. At least with the ship tour, the organization would have been significantly better and it probably would not have been any more crowded.

[Will in sunny FL]

We went on the Coral Breeze snorkel tour the Will in Sunny FL raves about and had a very different opinion of the whole operation. Basically a waste of time and money.

 

Caye Caulker is great, however, Corral Breeze is definitely NOT. Get off on first tender, arrive at their booth before 8:00am, hang around until 10:15 waiting to leave. Take the boat out 5 minutes, turn off the engines & sit for 10 minutes while they tell you "the plan". Continue on to Caye Caulker, pull into dock and listen for another 15 minutes while they explain snorkelling 101 to you and the other 48 passengers on board. Find out it is election day and their are no restaurants open on Caye Caulker so no lunch afterall - but you will get refund of the $6 paid. Boat out to the snorkel site (one "pro" of the trip, coral gardens is great), put on "mandatory" lifejacket (couple of smaller boats had people in the water without life jackets so not sure the meaning of "mandatory") wait for 45 people to offload into the water before you start to snorkel, listen to guides yell at you for 30 minutes, try to avoid the 88 other fins in your face while trying to take in as much of the underwater world as you can. Wait for 45 people to upload onto the boat and motor over to shark ray alley. Repeat process but as it is just standing around in shallow water the crowd isn't quite as bad. Lots of sharks and rays. Back to Caye Caulker, wander around find a grocery store open for chips & soda ($8 US for 2 - do you think they had a captive audience?). Advised boat trip back to Belize city would be 30-35 minutes, arrive 57 minutes later and wait for panicked HAL passengers to disembark as their last tender was scheduled to depart 5 minutes before our arrival. Other than the underwater life in the area, this tour totally sucked. It wasn't inexpensive and we would have been better off taking the ship tour or just taking the water taxi to Caye Caulker and finding a boat to take us to the reef for $20 each. At least with the ship tour, the organization would have been significantly better and it probably would not have been any more crowded.

 

We rave about them because we have always had nothing but very positive snorkel trips with them for at least the last ten years, going with them two times most years.

One has to remember that in any third world country, out of the norm things may happen at any time & your outlook on life might have too high an expectation for 100% of the time.

Bill in FL

[idlenote]

Our trip with them was somewhere in the middle. There where only about 12 of us, so instead of the bigger boat they show in the pictures they put us in a small open boat. Talk about sunburn city in spite the sunblock. We started not to go, and in spite of the sunburn at the end of the day we both ended up being glad that we did . The reef was wonderful, some of the best snorkeling I've ever done. We spent about an hour and a half on the island and it was enjoyable. We'll be back there in September and will most likely do it again.

[Loucat]

We went on the Coral Breeze snorkel tour the Will in Sunny FL raves about and had a very different opinion of the whole operation. Basically a waste of time and money.

 

Caye Caulker is great, however, Corral Breeze is definitely NOT. Get off on first tender, arrive at their booth before 8:00am, hang around until 10:15 waiting to leave. Take the boat out 5 minutes, turn off the engines & sit for 10 minutes while they tell you "the plan". Continue on to Caye Caulker, pull into dock and listen for another 15 minutes while they explain snorkelling 101 to you and the other 48 passengers on board. Find out it is election day and their are no restaurants open on Caye Caulker so no lunch afterall - but you will get refund of the $6 paid. Boat out to the snorkel site (one "pro" of the trip, coral gardens is great), put on "mandatory" lifejacket (couple of smaller boats had people in the water without life jackets so not sure the meaning of "mandatory") wait for 45 people to offload into the water before you start to snorkel, listen to guides yell at you for 30 minutes, try to avoid the 88 other fins in your face while trying to take in as much of the underwater world as you can. Wait for 45 people to upload onto the boat and motor over to shark ray alley. Repeat process but as it is just standing around in shallow water the crowd isn't quite as bad. Lots of sharks and rays. Back to Caye Caulker, wander around find a grocery store open for chips & soda ($8 US for 2 - do you think they had a captive audience?). Advised boat trip back to Belize city would be 30-35 minutes, arrive 57 minutes later and wait for panicked HAL passengers to disembark as their last tender was scheduled to depart 5 minutes before our arrival. Other than the underwater life in the area, this tour totally sucked. It wasn't inexpensive and we would have been better off taking the ship tour or just taking the water taxi to Caye Caulker and finding a boat to take us to the reef for $20 each. At least with the ship tour, the organization would have been significantly better and it probably would not have been any more crowded.

 

Been there and done this twice and I agree with you!

Our first trip to Caye Caulker was fine; that was before they went big time into the dive and snorkel business.

Second trip was scary. Small and over crowded boat. Engine cut out mid way (I would not want to rely on their dried up life savers). Finally reached the island; had a nice lunch and it was time for the divers and snorkel passengers to arrive. I almost lost it when we were at the back of the boat; overwash all over me every wave and I have a bad back. Others have great trips.

I would not go with them again if they offered a private yacht!

[Loucat]

We've looked at the excursions for Belize, and may make this stop a "stay on the ship" day. We're 60ish, not over the hill, but just a little past our prime. Due to certain physical limitations, although the zip-lining and/or cave-tubing sound like fun excursions, these activities would be a challenge for us. We're not really interested in exploring the ruins, and there don't appear to be any worthwhile beaches for a "beach day". So, other than maybe taking the tender over to explore the Tourist Village for a little bit, what other excursions might be worth considering? From what I've read, Belize doesn't exactly sound like a tropical paradise.

Let me say we are in about the same situation! I did post on our excursion to Caye Caulker, so will not repeat it. One of the nice things we do in the Village is to have a nice lunch at the Wet Lizard; poke around in the shops and get back on the ship. I do not zip line or cave tube for sure. We did do the train through the town. Very depressing and I hope their cruise income improves the standard of living for many.

Others may have other ideas but I have not found much that appeals to us.

[askimdog]

Some fun shops, the city museum, old architecture, zoo, Belikin Brewery tour etc. It is a depressed area, but so different than all the other ports. A nice change from trpoical paradises. Local folks are very nice and great food in the city, like Neries which is down the road only a bit from the compound. Great place to see a new culture and people trying to make life go. Staying on the ship, you'll learn nothing about Belize.

We look forward and are planning to make this a return port for sure! We enjoyed it more than the Carlos & Charlys/Margaritaville, Del Sol, Fat Tuesday choked ports.

 

And yes, the Wet Lizard is fun

[Carmelita]

We rave about them because we have always had nothing but very positive snorkel trips with them for at least the last ten years, going with them two times most years.

One has to remember that in any third world country, out of the norm things may happen at any time & your outlook on life might have too high an expectation for 100% of the time.

Bill in FL

 

Bill you are entitled to your comments as am I. Just because our experiences and opinions have differed in regards to Coral Breeze doesn't really give you the knowledge to interpret my "outlook on life" or my "expectations". We travel extensively - mostly independent, non-cruise - and often to third world countries - in fact I don't even consider Belize to be "third world". You continue to sing the praises of Coral Breeze and most of the more recent reviews have tended towards the negative so I feel CCers are entitled to hear both sides of the story. All I was looking for was a decent snorkel trip and this was definitely not it. On the good side, the actual underwater life was great.

[crewsweeper]

Due to health issues, we didn't go on any tours in Belize. We got on the tender, took that long ride to the city, walked out of the port area - a girl with "horse ride" sign was there, and then it was cheap, like $10 or $15 per person one hour ride.

 

The ride was narrated, we enjoyed it and tipped the guy! He brought us back to the pier, but some passengers got off early, they went to a church - don't know, if for service or just to see it.

 

We walked around a bit - and hey, you can have your hair braided. One guy on the ship even got his beard braided, this was hilarious! It was interesting to catch a glimpse of Belize, don't just stay on the ship!

 

For the OP expressing some physical limitations, the horse carrage tour might be a good option over snorkeling. Jus thave to pick the right carriage and be aware that there are many aggressive tour hawkers outside the gate. Not dangerous, but can be a bit unsettling if you're not used to this behavior. A lot of cruisers/tourists do go to see St John's Anglican church, it's the oldest Anglican church in Central Ameirca. Interesting stories behind some of the grave stones. And ther's a very interesting Cultural Museum across the street from the church with British colonial and native Beliean exhibits. Don't get your hair braided, LOL.

[SingingPixie]

OP, do you have any interest in wildlife? I might consider a tour to the Belize Zoo or the Community Baboon (ie Howler Monkey) Sanctuary. These are both in easy tour distance from port, and not very physically challenging. (There's walking, but no hard-core hiking or climbing).

[CruisersNC]

OP, do you have any interest in wildlife? I might consider a tour to the Belize Zoo or the Community Baboon (ie Howler Monkey) Sanctuary. These are both in easy tour distance from port, and not very physically challenging. (There's walking, but no hard-core hiking or climbing).

 

I think we're going to do the Belize zoo and city tour. Its a ship tour that only takes 4 1/2 hours so we'll have plenty of time to walk around the pier shops when we return. Shouldn't be too strenuous just walking around the zoo. When we get back to the pier we'll go outside the gates and walk down to the little craftsmen flea market area and hopefully find some more great deals on woodcarvings and jewelry like we did last summer. :)

[Banditswife]

To OP, there is a couple-Nacho & Cynthia who give personalized tours. They can customize the tour to your likes/needs. NCQexcursions I think is their website. They are a bit $$, but I have read great things about them. They can take you to zoo, baboon sanc, show you the city. We have booked them for Nov.

[beachbum53]

I think we're going to do the Belize zoo and city tour. Its a ship tour that only takes 4 1/2 hours so we'll have plenty of time to walk around the pier shops when we return. Shouldn't be too strenuous just walking around the zoo. When we get back to the pier we'll go outside the gates and walk down to the little craftsmen flea market area and hopefully find some more great deals on woodcarvings and jewelry like we did last summer. :)

 

Thanks for the suggestion. After going back and reading about each of the excursions offered through Carnival, this looks like a good choice for us (although lounging around on the ship wouldn't be so bad either):). I know that some people like to book their excursions independently of the cruise line, but we're not comfortable doing that. I'd hate to risk missing the ship.:(

[Armedaneian]

Thanks for the suggestion. After going back and reading about each of the excursions offered through Carnival, this looks like a good choice for us (although lounging around on the ship wouldn't be so bad either):). I know that some people like to book their excursions independently of the cruise line, but we're not comfortable doing that. I'd hate to risk missing the ship.:(

 

No one likes the idea of missing the ship, and marketers and sales people know peace of mind can be priceless... but, I've never heard of anyone missing the ship just because they used a non-ship excursion. In fact, I've actually seen the ship wait over an hour for a non-cruiseline excursion to return. (Certainly not something they'd mention when trying to sell their own products ;)).

 

The only "horror stories" I'm familiar with involve people losing track of time (usually due to consuming copious amounts of adult beverages) and missing their return trip. If that describes something you have the potential to do... stay with the ship and just deal with the double priced, cattle-packed excursions. If not, lower prices and individual attention can be priceless as well. :)

 

Can anyone not affiliate with a cruise line share one of these personal horror stories with us? I'd love to hear what actually happened. :confused: