Lamanai Ruins & River Safari

[che5904]

Can anyone give me input on this NCL shore excursion

[Laszlo]

Can anyone give me input on this NCL shore excursion

 

LMAO :)

 

Make no mistake this excursion takes the entire day. We were on the first tender over and boarded the bus about 8:45am. 45 minute drive? I don't think so........it was 75 minutes each way. We did pass some interesting sites. I was told it was 58 miles from the port to the river boats. Then its another 22 miles up the river. Belize had received a lot of rain for 3 weeks prior to our cruise. The river was flooded and muddy, we saw a few birds but that was about it. The ruins were fantastic, our guides were very good. The guided tour lasted about 75 minutes total, the one temple you can climb is steep but it has a rope you can help pull yourself up. The difficult part is climbing down, the "Steps" are very tall and deep. Its doesn't help others are trying to walk up as your climbing down. We saw 3-4 howler monkeys, these guys are small but very, very loud. We arrived back at the pier in Belize just in time to catch the last ferry back to the Dawn. If you plan to do any shopping in town your not going to have the time. Overall the tour was very good.

I will add a word of caution, I forget what the level of this tour was but we had a handful of people who had "No idea" they had to walk thru the muddy jungle for 75 minutes. Its hot, humid a little buggy, paths are rocky. Be prepared, we had a few elderly people who tripped and fell

 

Please excuse any typo's

[che5904]

Thanks Laszlo, I wanted to book my excursions this weekend, so I'm gathering all the info I can. This is one that came recommended by another long time CC'er.

 

Since our main purpose is to see the ruins, I'm glad that was the highlight of your tour.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the travel time, did the guide tell you about anything you were seeing along the way?

 

The videos of the river make it appear that the only purpose for that is transportation to the ruins, so I wasn't expecting much there. And seeing wildlife along the river is, well totally up to the wildlife ;) So I don't have high expectations there either.

 

We intend to wear good walking shoes and jeans (for the bugs). Although I know it will be hot and sticky, we wear jeans no matter what weather we are in, so we won't find them too hot.

 

Did you use any bug spray or were you OK without it.

 

LOL well although we are getting up there in age, not quite to the elderly status yet, although I am kind of a stumble bum, so I may give people some lasting memories :D

[che5904]

Oh, It says a buffet is included, how was the buffet? Was there actually time to eat or should I pack us a few prepackaged snacks?

[MeHeartCruising]

I'll pretty much agree with Laszlo on his review. It was a fun, long day if you're fit enough and dressed properly for the effort. Here is a video I made from the trip. Note the speed of the boat (and the likely breeze in your face). There was an elderly lady near me who spent most of the boat trip with her hands over her face because the wind was too much for her. I've also include a link to my pictures from the trip. If I recall, the buffet was chicken and rice and maybe a salad of some sort. Not fancy, but edible. For us, there was plenty of time to eat. And shop. They of course have trinkets for sale at the restaurant/inn that you are fed at.

 

Video:

Pictures: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjCrWy8B

Edited January 10, 2014 by MeHeartCruising

[Laszlo]

Thanks Laszlo, I wanted to book my excursions this weekend, so I'm gathering all the info I can. This is one that came recommended by another long time CC'er.

 

Since our main purpose is to see the ruins, I'm glad that was the highlight of your tour.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the travel time, did the guide tell you about anything you were seeing along the way?

 

The videos of the river make it appear that the only purpose for that is transportation to the ruins, so I wasn't expecting much there. And seeing wildlife along the river is, well totally up to the wildlife ;) So I don't have high expectations there either.

 

We intend to wear good walking shoes and jeans (for the bugs). Although I know it will be hot and sticky, we wear jeans no matter what weather we are in, so we won't find them too hot.

 

Did you use any bug spray or were you OK without it.

 

LOL well although we are getting up there in age, not quite to the elderly status yet, although I am kind of a stumble bum, so I may give people some lasting memories :D

 

We actually had very few bugs luckily. Check the weather ahead of time if you can, we wore sandals, it was pretty easy to wash the mud of. Some people wore sneakers and hiking boots. Their shoes were covered. I hope it will be a littler drier for you. Both the guides were very good, telling us about the history and economy of Belize. They pointed out a few things in the bus but to tell you the truth their was not much so see on the ride up. A few small villages, thats about it. The river is basically the highway to the ruins. A few birds and that was it. I their is a chance of rain try and sit in the middle of the boat. The front is wide open where we sat, great view but we also had a torrents of rain for 10 minutes.

 

The only bad part about the tour is the lack of time at the ruins, we were there about 75 minutes total. You spend a lot to time traveling up and back. 100% worth it to see the sites. The day before ours someone had fallen on the ruin you can climb up (forget the name). They had broken their arm….Careful climbing up:)

Edited January 10, 2014 by Laszlo

[Laszlo]

Video:

Pictures: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjCrWy8B

 

 

Great video, looks like the one I shot:D

Glad you liked the tour!

[Laszlo]

I hope you don't have the nightmare issues getting off the ship in Tampa. What a PITA that was. We like the Dawn, I especially like the stadium seating around the pool. The ship does have some wear on her. We had a mini suite and the carpets were destroyed. We might do the same cruise in October on the Sun

[che5904]

Thanks both. and for the video and photos.

 

I'm still not convinced I want to climb try to the top of the ruin (afraid of heights), but we will see how brave I get once I'm there. Sometimes I will even surprise myself :p

 

This has been very helpful.

[che5904]

I hope you don't have the nightmare issues getting off the ship in Tampa. What a PITA that was. We like the Dawn, I especially like the stadium seating around the pool. The ship does have some wear on her. We had a mini suite and the carpets were destroyed. We might do the same cruise in October on the Sun

 

Well we'll know after this coming Sundays sailing, but I'm not extremely concerned about that. Besides considering our ice age weather we've had up here this winter, waiting where it's hot and I'm not freezing to death would be a dream ;)

 

I guess if I had that many people walking over me and living on me, I'd be worn too :D

 

I'm counting the days.

[alwalaska]

Thanks for your review. We did this same tour in 2011. Since someone is looking to book this, I have a few other comments to add.

 

 

• Where good walking shoes, not flip flops if you plan on climbing up the temple. Even if you don't plan on climbing, like Laszlo said, there are uneven paths and a fair amount of humid walking.
  
• We were not there after floods, and we really didn't much in the way of wildlife and I don't think we saw any monkeys, but it was still a fun boat ride. We did see monkeys at the ruins.
  
• Your guide can make or break the ruins. Our was pretty good. We walked around close to the ruins and he explained quite a bit. I overheard another guide who was amazing and knew so much more. Another guide we saw though, just stood at one place and the group barely walked around.
  
• Laszlo didn't mention the lunch. I'm not sure if it is still part of the excursion or not. We thought it was pretty good for a tour lunch. Free drink offerings were very limited, but they did have a bar there as well.
  

 

 

I am curently very sad that I have lost all of my photos from this cruise, but if I find them, I will come back here and post.

[biker@sea]

Thanks Laszlo, I wanted to book my excursions this weekend, so I'm gathering all the info I can. This is one that came recommended by another long time CC'er.

 

Since our main purpose is to see the ruins, I'm glad that was the highlight of your tour.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the travel time, did the guide tell you about anything you were seeing along the way?

 

The videos of the river make it appear that the only purpose for that is transportation to the ruins, so I wasn't expecting much there. And seeing wildlife along the river is, well totally up to the wildlife ;) So I don't have high expectations there either.

 

We intend to wear good walking shoes and jeans (for the bugs). Although I know it will be hot and sticky, we wear jeans no matter what weather we are in, so we won't find them too hot.

 

Did you use any bug spray or were you OK without it.

 

LOL well although we are getting up there in age, not quite to the elderly status yet, although I am kind of a stumble bum, so I may give people some lasting memories :D

 

on our tour the Iguana's were out on the riverbanks as were the birds that walk on water , a croc , a tree full of bats ,huge termite nests ,hawks ,Herons ,and howler monkeys at the ruins . @ the Jaguar Temple a guy was tricking a tarantula out from and a rock with a peace of straw .

 

Before you leave the site be sure to check out the little building with artifacts near the restrooms.

 

Also the native ladies in the shacks that sell local crafts and REAl coke/ with sugar on ice .

[che5904]

Thanks for your review. We did this same tour in 2011. Since someone is looking to book this, I have a few other comments to add.

 

I'm all ears ;)

 

• Where good walking shoes, not flip flops if you plan on climbing up the temple. Even if you don't plan on climbing, like Laszlo said, there are uneven paths and a fair amount of humid walking.
  
• We were not there after floods, and we really didn't much in the way of wildlife and I don't think we saw any monkeys, but it was still a fun boat ride. We did see monkeys at the ruins.
  
• Your guide can make or break the ruins. Our was pretty good. We walked around close to the ruins and he explained quite a bit. I overheard another guide who was amazing and knew so much more. Another guide we saw though, just stood at one place and the group barely walked around.
  
• Laszlo didn't mention the lunch. I'm not sure if it is still part of the excursion or not. We thought it was pretty good for a tour lunch. Free drink offerings were very limited, but they did have a bar there as well.
  

 

Thanks, all good information to keep in mind.

 

I am curently very sad that I have lost all of my photos from this cruise, but if I find them, I will come back here and post.

 

Oh, how sad.

 

I have heard the views from the top are breathtaking, anyone that has a photo from the top would be great.

[che5904]

on our tour the Iguana's were out on the riverbanks as were the birds that walk on water , a croc , a tree full of bats ,huge termite nests ,hawks ,Herons ,and howler monkeys at the ruins . @ the Jaguar Temple a guy was tricking a tarantula out from and a rock with a peace of straw .

 

Before you leave the site be sure to check out the little building with artifacts near the restrooms.

 

Also the native ladies in the shacks that sell local crafts and REAl coke/ with sugar on ice .

 

Oh yuk, bats in trees, really won't be sorry if I miss that one ;)

A tarantula??? OK maybe this might not be such a great tour to take :D

[che5904]

Just looked up howler monkeys.

 

They are really cute, but definitely noisy little critters.

[Laszlo]

Yes about lunch, sorry I forgot about that. We did not eat until almost 2pm when we arrived back from the boat. Lunch was buffet style, grilled chicken, beans, salsa etc…. It was pretty good. You were also given a bottle of water when you got off the bus. FYI, we brought some packaged peanut butter crackers with us and water

 

 

One thing I failed to mention and I really should bring it up. If you need to go to the bathroom make sure you go before you get on the tender. We found out after getting on the bus because of the flooding we were not able to use the bathrooms were the boats launched from / have lunch. You do not want to use the buses bathroom, enough said on that. They do have nice bathrooms at the locations of the ruins.

 

 

Here's a 15 minute combo slide / video I posted on youtube last month. Its highlights of the entire cruise, not just Belize

 

 

Around the 7:30 minute mark you can see how wet it was and how windy it is up front on the boat. 9:15 you can see and hear the Howler monkeys

Edited January 10, 2014 by Laszlo

[che5904]

Yes about lunch, sorry I forgot about that. We did not eat until almost 2pm when we arrived back from the boat. Lunch was buffet style, grilled chicken, beans, salsa etc…. It was pretty good. You were also given a bottle of water when you got off the bus. FYI, we brought some packaged peanut butter crackers with us and water

 

 

One thing I failed to mention and I really should bring it up. If you need to go to the bathroom make sure you go before you get on the tender. We found out after getting on the bus because of the flooding we were not able to use the bathrooms were the boats launched from / have lunch. You do not want to use the buses bathroom, enough said on that. They do have nice bathrooms at the locations of the ruins.

 

 

Here's a 15 minute combo slide / video I posted on youtube last month. Its highlights of the entire cruise, not just Belize

 

 

Around the 7:30 minute mark you can see how wet it was and how windy it is up front on the boat. 9:15 you can see and hear the Howler monkeys

 

Great video thanks.

[weltek]

We didn't do it through the ship, but thought our Lamanai tour was one of the most memorable excursions we've taken in seven cruises to the Caribbean. Anyone considering a trip there should definitely go for it (though it would be difficult if you have mobility issues).

 

We kept reminding the tour guide what time we needed to be back, just to ease our minds. :-)

[Laszlo]

Glad you liked it, we got back a little late I think. We were on the last tender, I think they waited for us

[CaribbeanBound]

We took this tour with Celebrity.

 

Once at the Belize pier we were greeted with a nice Welcome sign. There are only a handful of shops at the pier. I am guessing there were about 90 folks on this tour. We were herded onto 1 of 3 air conditioned buses. Whatever bus you get becomes your tour group, and included a guide that not only narrated the bus tour and answered our questions but also drove our boat on the jungle cruise and lead our excursion of the ruins. Our experienced guide was Vel, and he was breaking in a very pretty young guide-in-training that joined us for the duration of the tour. Our guides were very friendly, knowledgeable, and proud of their country.

 

Belize is a poor country with great natural and historical assets. One idiot on the bus asked "Why are there bars on the windows of houses?" during an otherwise interesting Q&A about the country. (Answer: they have a crime problem related to a "crack" problem). The housing and habitat reminded us a lot of Waimanalo on Oahu (sans the bars). We learned a lot about the city and country on our 1.25 hour bus tour over a paved 2-lane road to the boat dock. [side note: from visible signage along the road it appears Pepsi "controls" the less populated part of the country while Coca-Cola "owns" Belize City itself]. Each bus unloaded their groups into a large thatched roof building sporting restrooms and a couple of artisans. Within a few minutes we were loaded onto covered boats with comfortable seats and two powerful outboard motors.

 

We snaked South down the river to the Lamanai Ruin site. Our guide plying us with information and pointing out numerous birds (including King Fisher, Blue Herrin, Vultures, and Snow Egrets), baby crocodiles, and a huge green iguana, as well as various flora and fauna. We also found the huge termite nests in the trees to be of interest to all. One of the 3 boats experienced engine trouble which slowed us down a bit, but that boat was never abandoned. Our boat held back each time to make sure they were not stranded.

 

Once we arrived at Lamanai, we ate a hearty lunch of Mayan chicken, rice, coleslaw, coconut tarts, and bottled Pepsi and water. We started our tour in a small museum with interesting Mayan artifacts and continued on by foot through an impressive jungle featuring vines, "Jurassic Park"-sized palm fronds, medicinal trees, and Howler Monkeys. We spent about 1.5 hours exploring 3 large Mayan temples and the remains of a small Mayan town. Our guides provided an enormous amount of insight and kept us moving at a reasonable clip.

 

We returned to the boats, sped back up the river, and returned to the buses just before nightfall. We arrived back at the docks about an hour after the final tender was suppose to leave for the ship. Our guides, to their credit, had made the decision to give us the full tour --- not an abridged tour --- even though we had arrived late. After all, we were paying the full price of the tour and they weren't going to let us get anything less. It was clear, back in Lamanai, that we were not going to make the tender cutoff time. This began to cause great distress among some tour passengers. Just remember, that if you are on a cruise-sponsored tour, there are "no worries!" They were not going to strand any of their passengers in Belize if they are on a cruise-sponsored excursion. Sure enough, we were met at the pier with a nice large boat that easily and comfortably sped all of us back to the ship, which was beautifully illuminated out on the sea. Bottom line: take this tour.

 

More "Secrets of the Caribbean": http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

First-hand information on excursions in over 20 Caribbean ports.

[che5904]

We took this tour with Celebrity.

 

We returned to the boats, sped back up the river, and returned to the buses just before nightfall. We arrived back at the docks about an hour after the final tender was suppose to leave for the ship. Our guides, to their credit, had made the decision to give us the full tour --- not an abridged tour --- even though we had arrived late. After all, we were paying the full price of the tour and they weren't going to let us get anything less. It was clear, back in Lamanai, that we were not going to make the tender cutoff time. This began to cause great distress among some tour passengers. Just remember, that if you are on a cruise-sponsored tour, there are "no worries!" They were not going to strand any of their passengers in Belize if they are on a cruise-sponsored excursion. Sure enough, we were met at the pier with a nice large boat that easily and comfortably sped all of us back to the ship, which was beautifully illuminated out on the sea. Bottom line: take this tour.

 

More "Secrets of the Caribbean": http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

 

First-hand information on excursions in over 20 Caribbean ports.

 

Thanks for the very detailed description of this tour.

 

Hopefully our guide will do it in a more timely fashion. I really don't need the stress while on vacation of getting late back.

[urbanhawk]

We didn't do it through the ship, but thought our Lamanai tour was one of the most memorable excursions we've taken in seven cruises to the Caribbean. Anyone considering a trip there should definitely go for it (though it would be difficult if you have mobility issues).

 

We kept reminding the tour guide what time we needed to be back, just to ease our minds. :-)

 

I would really like to see these ruins, but Carnival does not offer an excursion to Lamanai. (On my last cruise Carnival did have one to Xunantunich, which I enjoyed very much, but I was glad it was through the ship, as it was an all day excursion, and I knew they wouldn't leave without us.) Just out of curiosity, which tour company did you use? They'd have to be very reputable, before I'd book with them. As much as I'd like to see Lamanai, I would not want to miss the boat:eek: Thanks.

[chipmaster]

THANKs to all that shared their experience, this is high on our possibilities for this stop.

[bjcruiser]

Mine also!!! The videos and pics were awesome.

[Laszlo]

Have a Great time!