Carnival's Altun Ha Mayan Site & River Wallace excursion???

[cml88]

Anyone ever done this excursion...Looking for some reviews of it :) Thanks!

[KroozFoolz]

We did this tour with Carnival back in 2003.

Here is a more current report from a recent Legend review:

 

We "slept our way" to Belize only to wake up to another day of sunny and 85 to 90 degree weather again. Here we did the Altun Ha and River Wallace tour. Altun Ha is a Mayan ruin and hasn't been totally exposed as yet. The tour guide (Melissa) was very good and her assistant was good too. Belize is a tendered port. It's about a 20 minute ride from the ship to the shore. Again, no problem. I have to give Carnival credit here because they really do have it down pretty good to get you off the ship and into port as smooth as possible. Anyway, we met Melissa at the dock and were platooned over to a waiting air conditioned bus. The first part of the journey is about a 1 hour bus ride to Altun Ha. During the bus ride Melissa gave a very informative talk on the history of Belize. She spoke with a Cajun accent (which I love) and if you're into getting a little education (I am) on places you don't know much about you would find it interesting. A few years ago I had the good fortune to visit Chichen Itza. Altun Ha is about a quarter of the size but still a pretty nice place to see a ruin. From there you bus it for about 45 minutes to a "resort" where you can buy a lunch and have a beer if you so choose. We did just that. This is where you catch the boat and go up river to see the crocodiles and other wildlife along the river banks. The river ends at the sea and once in while you get some dolphins in the river looking for food. We were lucky to see a couple of them. There are also some manatee at the mouth. The mouth of the river is a few miles away from the dock to pick up the tender to the ship. This was the chance for the boat driver to open up the throttle on the boat and quickly drive us across the shoreline. It moves pretty quick for that size of boat loaded down with a bunch of tourists. Some interesting houses along the way too.

 

I kind of wanted to do the cave tube thingy, but was out voted again. Maybe next time. It was an excellent tour, but the cave tubing sounded like it would be more fun. They also have zip lining here if you want to try that. I heard from others that it's pretty good.

 

 

 

 

Al & Marlene

 

Sounds pretty much like I remember but we did the river part first which I think would be better.

[HeatherC430]

I did this excursion last April on the Dream. The river wallace was very hot that day. To make matters worse they crammed alittle too many people on the boat so you were literrally right up against the person next to you. Next we made a pit stop at a local place to eat/drink. The ruins were great though! They sold a bunch of handicrafts at the entrace. We bought two handmade wooden bowls that are probably my favorite souvenirs of all our cruises. I would say that overall this is a good tour!

[flyorange]

i did this tour back in 2010. i thought it was pretty good. our tour guide was very funny and informative. The first part of the tour (boat ride down the river) was nice and we saw some wild life. then a quick stop at a restuarant along the river for lunch. then we went to the ruin and saw the temple. it was really hot though. I think ziplining or cave tubing would've been more fun. but since i was with my parents who aren't into those outdoor activities this tour wasn't bad.