Snorkeling bannister island

[lasefton]

We will be in Belize in jan. on ncl the Dawn . We are thinking of taking the snorkeling and bannister island tour through ncl. Has anyone here done this excursion ? Or have a better idea similar to this ? Also wonder why the excursion starts so early it says. 8:30 ? That seems really early.

[soonergirl27]

We are also interested in this excursion and would love to have input from anyone who has personal experience.

[mitsugirly]

I can not comment on the "snorkeling" portion. We only did the Bannister Island Beach Break. There's not too much snorkeling at Bannister, but if you want to see starfish, this is your place. They are everywhere.

 

If you click on my Bannister Island review link in my signature line, you will find a complete review of the place with tons of pictures. At least that will give you an idea about Bannister Island.

 

We normally don't do excursions with the cruise line because of the outrageous amounts they charge for something you can do on your own. However, with Belize being a tender port, and we had already done cave tubing before that, we figured the added luxury of having them pick you right up from the ship and drop you back off at the ship and not having to tender to port and then catch another boat was well worth booking with the cruise line. :)

[lovebears]

The comments about the shells on the beach at Bannister and wearing shoes........are the shells all broken up or are u able to find whole shells?

[CENTEX CRUISER]

We have done Bannister Island by itself and a snorkel tour with Coral Breeze. Your ship tour would be probably Goff's caye or Rendovouz Ceye ( can't spell it } with Bannister as your beach break.I would go with this and you will be fine, as the independent tours in Belize have gotten a little crazy lately. The snorkeling portion of you tour should be fine , and Bannister is a good place to relax.

[soonergirl27]

Thank you for the information about Bannister Island. I would love to see a starfish!

[CENTEX CRUISER]

Here's one at Bannister.

Thank you for the information about Bannister Island. I would love to see a starfish!

 

greenshot screen capture

[lovebears]

Was this just on the beach? Wow!

[mitsugirly]

Here are some more "wow"s for ya. They are everywhere. (No they are not on the beach. They live in the water. So you have to go out and get them...and make sure you put them back)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jdkirkp]

We did the snorkeling and Bannister Island just this past December. What are your specific questions about it. I would be happy to answer!

[lasefton]

We did the snorkeling and Bannister Island just this past December. What are your specific questions about it. I would be happy to answer!

 

Did you go with a ship excursion ? How long did you snorkel ? How long at the island ? Was it easy to find chairs or loungers ? Thanks in adv. for any information

[jdkirkp]

Did you go with a ship excursion ? How long did you snorkel ? How long at the island ? Was it easy to find chairs or loungers ? Thanks in adv. for any information

 

Yes, we did the NCL sponsored ship excursion. The original time was 8:30, but once it filled up they offered an additional one at 11:30. We switched to that one. We ended up snorkeling for well over an hour, which was enough to completely wear both me and my wife out. After the snorkeling you take a 30 minute ride to the island. But during that time the rum punch open bar is started on the boat and the music begins to play also. Once you reach the island, I believe we only had about 1-1:30 hours, but there is a snack bar with hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and sodas. There is also a fully stocked bar, not free. They were out of ice when we got to the island, so no margaritas or frozen drinks were available. There are plenty of places to sit and lay out on the beach when you arrive. I believe ours was the only boat there at the time. The island also has nice, clean restrooms and I believe that same building had a small gift shop.

 

Did I miss anything? If so, just let me know!:)