Confused! Belize Private Excursion/Time Constraints

[lmares1968]

Okay, I am new to cruising so please bear with me. In researching my Nov. 30, NOS Cruise out of Galveston. I want to book a private tour to Altun Ha. I am not interested in the River Wallace part of the excursion offered through RCI and I am not a fan of touring in large groups:eek:

 

Here's where my confusion comes in with the tendering process and RCI. I have read conflicting reports about the process being a huge mess to not a problem at all. I realize that those that do not book excursions through RCI do not have tender priority.

 

Will I have time to do a private excursion to Altun Ha? Is it worth even trying to book a private excursion? Of the three ports on this cruise, this one is the one that worries me. Getting back to the ship on time.:confused: Thanks for your input in advance:)

[CaribbeanBound]

Yes, you will have time for a private excursion. They are well aware of the ship tender situation. They also won't likely stay in business if they miss the ship. Be sure to go with a tour company that gets good reviews on Cruise Critic.

 

That said, in 30 years of cruise travel we have only twice booked excursions through the ship. One of those was in Belize, to Lamanai. and it was a good thing we did because we were an hour late getting back and there were about 90 of us that they held the ship for.

 

If your tour is expected back with 2 to 3 hours to spare then I wouldn't worry about it too much. Otherwise book with the ship in Belize for the long-haul trips.

[jaasb0808]

We did this a few years ago and I had the same concerns, we had booked Altun Ha through Coral Breeze Tours. We were on Carnival and the weather was kind of bad that day so the water was very choppy, it took 2 hours standing in line to get off the ship making us 1.5 hours late meeting the tour guide. We were very worried but when we got to the meeting point they were happily there waiting for us as they knew it was not our fault. They assured us we still had plenty of time to complete the tour and got us back in time to do a little shopping at the port before the last tender.

 

It was a great time, highly recommend them if you are doing Altun Ha.

 

On our most recent trip we did Lamanai, if you do this I would recommend booking through the ship, we did book through the ship because it is much further away and we were worried about the time. I was really glad we did because our boat broke down and we were cutting it very close on the way back. :)

Edited February 21, 2014 by jaasb0808

[lmares1968]

Thank you, CaribbeanBound & jaasb0808 for putting my mind at ease. ;)I'm never afraid to go out and explore a new destination, but I would be terrified of missing the last tender.:(

I'm looking at experience Belize tours and they seem to get really good ratings on both CC & TA.