Belize travel. Alert issued

[Dorothyd]

Today show said this a.m., after murder of female u.s news reporter in belize on vacatipn , u.s. issued travel advisory. Going there 2/20 on jade w/teens, little worried.....

[luddite]

Today show said this a.m., after murder of female u.s news reporter in belize on vacatipn , u.s. issued travel advisory. Going there 2/20 on jade w/teens, little worried.....

 

Huh?

[kayleighbayleigh]

http://abc7chicago.com/news/tourist-from-chicago-murdered-in-belize/1160633/

 

So awful. Looks as though she was alone and in a more "hidden" area of the farm she was staying at when she was murdered. She also was not staying near port. Use caution and keep an eye on your teens and you should have a fine time. Belize has lovely snorkeling!

Edited January 16, 2016 by kayleighbayleigh

[www3traveler]

Today show said this a.m., after murder of female u.s news reporter in belize on vacatipn , u.s. issued travel advisory. Going there 2/20 on jade w/teens, little worried.....

She was at a remote resort near the border with Guatemala. The ships tender at Belize City many miles away.

 

I would not be worried beyond normal safety precautions.

 

Have a great cruise.

[zqvol]

Today show said this a.m., after murder of female u.s news reporter in belize on vacatipn , u.s. issued travel advisory. Going there 2/20 on jade w/teens, little worried.....

 

 

Why?

 

If you are worried about this you should be worried about going to any city over 50,000 people in the US. This could and does happen on a daily basis in any number of US cities.

[Laszlo]

Today show said this a.m., after murder of female u.s news reporter in belize on vacatipn , u.s. issued travel advisory. Going there 2/20 on jade w/teens, little worried.....

 

Your kidding right? Its too bad for the woman but you need to look at the big picture. I work in Philadelphia, if I was too worry about every murder there and everyplace else in the US I would never get out of bed. How many people are killed in the US everyday

Edited January 16, 2016 by Laszlo

[hawk1972]

I don't see a travel advisory for Belize on the U.S. State Dept. website that lists such things.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings.html

[kjquilts]

We don't usually do ship excursions but in the case of Belize we did and one of our very favorite excursions is the full day Lamanai Ruins and River Safari trip. A few years ago we took our twin 16 year old granddaughters on the Spirit and we did this excursion. They loved it and were the first to the top of the big pyramid. They were in shape, we're not so we stayed on the ground :)

 

Due to the distance and length of the excursion we would not do this one independently. I would not want to be left in Belize. We felt very safe on the excursion. I've done it three times with NCL. There is a long bus ride to the river landing where you catch the boat. We had no problem with the bus ride and looked at the surroundings while listening to the guide. The boat ride to Lamanai is slower than the return ... both were enjoyable. On the bus ride back the guide doesn't talk which was probably good because a lot of people dozed.

 

Lamanai itself was very interesting. It is a large site and you only see a small part but what you do see is far outside at least our normal experience. Be sure to take mosquito repellent.

 

There are several youtube videos on Lamanai. Here is a brief one from NCL

 

 

Here is a longer video ... gives you a better idea. Does not show the included lunch (chicken, rice, beans). I think it was served at Lamanai after the tour before getting back on the boat for the return ride to the bus but my brain is fuzzy on this part.

 

 

[hawk1972]

We don't usually do ship excursions but in the case of Belize we did and one of our very favorite excursions is the full day Lamanai Ruins and River Safari trip. A few years ago we took our twin 16 year old granddaughters on the Spirit and we did this excursion. They loved it and were the first to the top of the big pyramid. They were in shape, we're not so we stayed on the ground :)

 

Due to the distance and length of the excursion we would not do this one independently. I would not want to be left in Belize. We felt very safe on the excursion. I've done it three times with NCL. There is a long bus ride to the river landing where you catch the boat. We had no problem with the bus ride and looked at the surroundings while listening to the guide. The boat ride to Lamanai is slower than the return ... both were enjoyable. On the bus ride back the guide doesn't talk which was probably good because a lot of people dozed.

 

Lamanai itself was very interesting. It is a large site and you only see a small part but what you do see is far outside at least our normal experience. Be sure to take mosquito repellent.

 

There are several youtube videos on Lamanai. Here is a brief one from NCL

 

 

Here is a longer video ... gives you a better idea. Does not show the included lunch (chicken, rice, beans). I think it was served at Lamanai after the tour before getting back on the boat for the return ride to the bus but my brain is fuzzy on this part.

 

 

 

We are doing this excursion with NCL in 2 weeks. Can't wait, and I'm not worried one bit about our safety.

We did cavetubing and ziplining last year.

[abe3]

Why?

 

If you are worried about this you should be worried about going to any city over 50,000 people in the US. This could and does happen on a daily basis in any number of US cities.

 

 

Yep. I would rather travel to Belize over Detroit.

[roger001]

Yep. I would rather travel to Belize over Detroit.

 

 

I was about to say...a single cruise port killing makes the news. The city of Chicago, to date, just January of 2016, 26 KILLED, and 138 shot and wounded ...and the month is only half over. Belize....or Chicago...hmmmm...let me think.....

[allison0523]

Yep. I would rather travel to Belize over Detroit.

 

I've been to both many times and am still here. To the OP, use common sense, stay in populated areas, don't flash money, etc. and you should be fine. The way I see it, the cruise ships bring a lot of money to these areas. So, it's in the city/countries best interests to do their best to keep people safe and keep the cruise ships coming in.

[abe3]

I was about to say...a single cruise port killing makes the news. The city of Chicago, to date, just January of 2016, 26 KILLED, and 138 shot and wounded ...and the month is only half over. Belize....or Chicago...hmmmm...let me think.....

 

 

Yep more murders in the United States than Belize. Maybe we should be more careful here at home and have a travel alert issued by our government when traveling to the inner cities.

[Dorothyd]

Thanks for positive replys. (Second cruise. )When I go to major u.s. cities I don't spend the day in the bad areas w/children .

[beguine2]

If you were travelling on your own, there might be a higher risk; but if you stick with organized shore excursions to the more tourist-oriented areas, you are much safer.

 

I couldn't see a special travel advisory for Belize, but I did find this section in the US State Department's description of Belize: http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/belize.html

 

I really loved Belize and would not have missed it!

[fille_canadienne]

We don't usually do ship excursions but in the case of Belize we did and one of our very favorite excursions is the full day Lamanai Ruins and River Safari trip. A few years ago we took our twin 16 year old granddaughters on the Spirit and we did this excursion. They loved it and were the first to the top of the big pyramid. They were in shape, we're not so we stayed on the ground :)

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We took this same exact tour only from NCL Star 2 weeks ago - it was very interesting, and felt very safe. It was my first time in Belize but everyone seemed very sincere and friendly. In fact, I felt much safer in a remote town in Belize when we boarded the boat than in highly populated by tourists Cozumel in Mexico.

 

P.S. We flew home via Detroit and I was amazed at how beautiful and modern the airport was, besides they had a choir performance right in the middle - how often do you get to see this lol It's too bad the city has such a negative reputation...

[cruzsnooze]

One of the points not addressed is are they targeting American Tourists? If that were the case it doesn't matter how many people were killed in Chicago.

[NayRN]

Yep. I would rather travel to Belize over Detroit.

 

Funny - I'd much rather stay in Detroit than go to Belize....:rolleyes:

[titangas]

You can always just stay on the ship and enjoy some of the amenities without the crowds.

 

We did this once on a cruise that stopped in Jamaica and I did not want to venture off with the kids.

 

We had a fabulous day.

[zqvol]

Thanks for positive replys. (Second cruise. )When I go to major u.s. cities I don't spend the day in the bad areas w/children .

 

 

You don't in Belize either.

[zqvol]

One of the points not addressed is are they targeting American Tourists? If that were the case it doesn't matter how many people were killed in Chicago.

 

 

You've been watching too much TV news. You have a greater chance of being harmed in LA than you do in Belize.

[Mom2B&Z]

There was a Canadian film producer killed in Belize a few weeks ago, media reports here in Canada indicate it was a targeted event. Probably didn't garner media attention anywhere except Canada.

We are Canadian, going to Belize and taking a tour with our children ages 10&8 yrs. Am I concerned about our safety? No more than I am when we travel to any large city. I wouldn't travel to Syria right now, but I'm ok going to Belize. Jmho.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cruzsnooze]

You've been watching too much TV news. You have a greater chance of being harmed in LA than you do in Belize.

 

Nobody is targeting me in Los Angeles. That's not to say it's not an isolated incidence in Belize but the answers are not addressing the OP 's concerns. We don't know if Americans are being targeted for being American or perceived as rich or it's just a crime of opportunity. We need more information about what happened in Belize.

 

There is no State Department advisory for travel to Belize but the Central American country "is rated high for crime" on the State Department website. No areas are closed to travel but the department urges visitors to exercise caution, particularly in southern Belize City and remote areas along Belize's borders such as where Swaney was.

Edited January 17, 2016 by cruzsnooze

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

From our experience, been to Belize a few times.....

 

First thing I noticed was Welcome to Belize sign, behind all the barbed wire.

(I used to have a picture on if on my phone)

 

We felt safe Inside the barbed-wire Shopping area, where the cruise ship docks.

This area is fine for you & your teens to explore, shop, then return to ship.

 

But, Belize is one of the ports I would ONLY do Organized ship excursions if wanting to explore outside that barbed-wire ship/shopping area.

 

Rather be safe than sorry. Nothing is ever foolproof....

I would NOT recommend exploring Belize on your own.

Edited January 17, 2016 by CalLuvsCrusingToo

[luddite]

Funny - I'd much rather stay in Detroit than go to Belize....:rolleyes:

 

Only because that keeps you close to Bell's Brewery!