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Sooner-Cruisers

By Sooner-Cruisers,
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Sooner-Cruisers

Sooner-Cruisers

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We just got back, there were 7 of us total.

 

My parents went to the beach by the ship, it was pretty and they enjoyed it. They were able to see some ocean life.

 

My in-laws came with me, my husband and 4 year old on the Victor Bodden fun-n-sun tour. We had a great time. It was warm and humid and we had our hands full so we were thrilled to take the $2 taxi up the hill. The hill wasn't that big of a deal, but it was nice to have the taxi option.

 

When we reserved, I told them about traveling with a car seat, there were seatbelts available and we had no issues. Our guide was Elin (not sure how she spells it) but she was interesting and shared lots of information about herbs they use as medicine. She loved her country and made it sound a bit utopian. We always felt safe, but listening to the guide would make you think there's no crime and you are in the safest place on earth. ;)

 

We toured around the city, made a stop at a little flea market with a view of Coxen Hole and then headed to see the monkeys. The monkey visit was so much better than I expected. They gave us a lesson on how to handle being in with the monkey and how to be safe. We then looked at the lemurs, different birds, rabbits and deer. It was a quick stop 30-40 minutes, there wasn't any time to take advantage of the free wifi.

 

After the monkey stop, we headed to the beach. The sand was powdery soft, my 4 year old loved it! She played in the sand and built sand castles, the water was absolutely beautiful! We saw a starfish, but the main snorkeling area is further up the beach than I expected. I would love to spend more time there for sure! I reapplied sunscreen several times, but still got burned. I'd definitely recommend a swim shirt if you have fair skin like I do.

 

After the beach we headed back to the ship, Elin gave a quiz and passed out prizes. Everyone had fun with that. Several people stated this was the best thing they did the whole cruise.

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chukli

chukli

Posted
Posted
We just got back, there were 7 of us total.

 

My parents went to the beach by the ship, it was pretty and they enjoyed it. They were able to see some ocean life.

 

My in-laws came with me, my husband and 4 year old on the Victor Bodden fun-n-sun tour. We had a great time. It was warm and humid and we had our hands full so we were thrilled to take the $2 taxi up the hill. The hill wasn't that big of a deal, but it was nice to have the taxi option.

 

When we reserved, I told them about traveling with a car seat, there were seatbelts available and we had no issues. Our guide was Elin (not sure how she spells it) but she was interesting and shared lots of information about herbs they use as medicine. She loved her country and made it sound a bit utopian. We always felt safe, but listening to the guide would make you think there's no crime and you are in the safest place on earth. ;)

 

We toured around the city, made a stop at a little flea market with a view of Coxen Hole and then headed to see the monkeys. The monkey visit was so much better than I expected. They gave us a lesson on how to handle being in with the monkey and how to be safe. We then looked at the lemurs, different birds, rabbits and deer. It was a quick stop 30-40 minutes, there wasn't any time to take advantage of the free wifi.

 

After the monkey stop, we headed to the beach. The sand was powdery soft, my 4 year old loved it! She played in the sand and built sand castles, the water was absolutely beautiful! We saw a starfish, but the main snorkeling area is further up the beach than I expected. I would love to spend more time there for sure! I reapplied sunscreen several times, but still got burned. I'd definitely recommend a swim shirt if you have fair skin like I do.

 

After the beach we headed back to the ship, Elin gave a quiz and passed out prizes. Everyone had fun with that. Several people stated this was the best thing they did the whole cruise.

 

 

Hellio:

So glad you enjoyed this tour. I have read your review on the cave tubing too, that is also something i plan on doing.

Just wondering if the tour with Victor was private? I understand he offers different options, also would you have preferred to take a private tour as oppose to a large bus? I am not sure what you needed the taxi for? Does the tour pick up from the port?

You mention that the cave tubing involved a long hike, but tubes didn't need to be carried,? I read somewhere that this tour operator made customers carry their tubes or that the tubes were not inflated enough? I am worried about the tender process in Belize and want to ensure the cave tubing tour brings you back at port in time!

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Sooner-Cruisers

Sooner-Cruisers

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Posted (edited)

The tour with Victor Bodden was private (not a ship tour,) we contacted him via his website and made a reservation. Private tours aren't allowed in the tourist ship area, so it's a bit of a hike and up hill. Doable for sure, but the taxi was nice, especially with a four year old and a car seat to carry. The group tour was fun, I'd describe it as a minibus or a really large minivan. We had about 20 of us, I liked the group, everyone was friendly and from the same ship. For the monkeys we broke into smaller groups of 5 or so. They are allowed to drop you off close.

 

Cave tubing .bz Belize: mitsugirly has great reviews of this tour with lots of pics. I also saw the review that mentioned they were made to carry their tubes, I don't think that must happen often and didn't in my parents & in-laws case. They range in age from 65-70 years. They were very happy with the tubes and said they were much nicer than what other tours offered. I researched this company and never saw a mention of trouble getting back to port on time. I believe if you are close on time, they box your lunch up to eat on the bus.

Edited by Sooner-Cruisers
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Sooner-Cruisers

Sooner-Cruisers

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I wanted to add that some ships dock at Coxen Hole, so their pickup info will vary and there won't be a hill. We were on Carnival Magic and docked at Mahogany Bay.

 

I was really happy with the level of communication and information they provided. I'm one that wants to know every detail, so it was perfect for me!

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bes391

bes391

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Posted
I wanted to add that some ships dock at Coxen Hole, so their pickup info will vary and there won't be a hill. We were on Carnival Magic and docked at Mahogany Bay.

 

I was really happy with the level of communication and information they provided. I'm one that wants to know every detail, so it was perfect for me!

 

Do you have a link for the VB website?

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rkacruiser

rkacruiser

Posted
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here is the website for Mohagany Bay:

Its a very nice port area

 

http://www.mahoganybaycc.com/

 

Thank you for providing the link to the port's web site. My traveling companion and I will be visiting this port later this year on the Nieuw Amsterdam. It will be a new port for both of us and it appears interesting.

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shernor

shernor

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Great to hear you had a great visit to Roatan. West Bay Beach is truly breathtaking. Beautiful. West End Village is great for food and shopping. Victor Bodden Tours is top notch and so is Rony Tours. I can't wait to get back to Roatan in Sept.

 

We just got back from our cruise and I would be remiss if I did not post about how wonderful our tour was in Roatan with Rony's Tours. We had a private tour with just the two of us, and we had Carla as our tour guide and Rony as our driver. I'm not sure how we got that lucky but we had a great day! They gave us a tour of the island, took us everywhere we asked, a place to hold monkeys, ( and we got to hold a sloth as well!) iguana farm, lunch and snorkel at Half Moon Bay( with free wi-fi) because we told them we wanted somewhere not crowded, then snorkel at West End Beach and the awesome reef there (which wasn't as crowded as I'd feared) We never had to worry about our stuff or which direction to go…. On the way back to port we went to Rony's neighborhood and had some gifts for the kids…. they were awesome and I can't say enough good about what a wonderful day we had because of their exceptional service!

 

Because we had some heavy stuff (play dough for the kids + our snorkel stuff) we took the taxi to where the tour guides wait. When we got back they were able to drop us off right at the shopping area.

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Cruise-mom

Cruise-mom

Posted
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We just got back, there were 7 of us total.

 

My parents went to the beach by the ship, it was pretty and they enjoyed it. They were able to see some ocean life.

 

My in-laws came with me, my husband and 4 year old on the Victor Bodden fun-n-sun tour. We had a great time. It was warm and humid and we had our hands full so we were thrilled to take the $2 taxi up the hill. The hill wasn't that big of a deal, but it was nice to have the taxi option.

 

When we reserved, I told them about traveling with a car seat, there were seatbelts available and we had no issues. Our guide was Elin (not sure how she spells it) but she was interesting and shared lots of information about herbs they use as medicine. She loved her country and made it sound a bit utopian. We always felt safe, but listening to the guide would make you think there's no crime and you are in the safest place on earth. ;)

 

We toured around the city, made a stop at a little flea market with a view of Coxen Hole and then headed to see the monkeys. The monkey visit was so much better than I expected. They gave us a lesson on how to handle being in with the monkey and how to be safe. We then looked at the lemurs, different birds, rabbits and deer. It was a quick stop 30-40 minutes, there wasn't any time to take advantage of the free wifi.

 

After the monkey stop, we headed to the beach. The sand was powdery soft, my 4 year old loved it! She played in the sand and built sand castles, the water was absolutely beautiful! We saw a starfish, but the main snorkeling area is further up the beach than I expected. I would love to spend more time there for sure! I reapplied sunscreen several times, but still got burned. I'd definitely recommend a swim shirt if you have fair skin like I do.

 

After the beach we headed back to the ship, Elin gave a quiz and passed out prizes. Everyone had fun with that. Several people stated this was the best thing they did the whole cruise.

 

Great review, thanks. We are interested in this tour, I hope you can help me with some details?

 

Can I ask how long you spent at the beach?

 

Were loungers included?

 

Were there any other extras on the tour you needed to pay for?

 

Do you think the non beach part would be interesting to teens?

 

Trying to decide between this and booking direct with Bananarama, but we don't last long in the sun so that might be too long spent at the beach.

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BrotherCraig

BrotherCraig

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Posted (edited)
We just got back from our cruise and I would be remiss if I did not post about how wonderful our tour was in Roatan with Rony's Tours. We had a private tour with just the two of us, and we had Carla as our tour guide and Rony as our driver. I'm not sure how we got that lucky but we had a great day! They gave us a tour of the island, took us everywhere we asked, a place to hold monkeys, ( and we got to hold a sloth as well!) iguana farm, lunch and snorkel at Half Moon Bay( with free wi-fi) because we told them we wanted somewhere not crowded, then snorkel at West End Beach and the awesome reef there (which wasn't as crowded as I'd feared) We never had to worry about our stuff or which direction to go…. On the way back to port we went to Rony's neighborhood and had some gifts for the kids…. they were awesome and I can't say enough good about what a wonderful day we had because of their exceptional service!

 

Because we had some heavy stuff (play dough for the kids + our snorkel stuff) we took the taxi to where the tour guides wait. When we got back they were able to drop us off right at the shopping area.

 

Rony is usually who we go with but we like to keep it a secret. :) Glad you had a great time. Roatan is a beautiful place.

Edited by BrotherCraig
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