Expedition cruise - Belize City to Belize City (Dumont d´Urville Nov 2023)

[Charmar78]

I think 6.30am is the earliest you can disembark but you can also leave after breakfast. At least that´s what the travel documentation they sent us for our Nov 21rst departure says.

 

It will still be early to catch a flight in the afternoon though. If you have a late flight, you can also take an excursion to Lamanai ruins or the Belize Zoo but not sure what you would do with your luggage in that case.

[Becky2010]

6 minutes ago, Charmar78 said:

I think 6.30am is the earliest you can disembark but you can also leave after breakfast. At least that´s what the travel documentation they sent us for our Nov 21rst departure says.

 

It will still be early to catch a flight in the afternoon though. If you have a late flight, you can also take an excursion to Lamanai ruins or the Belize Zoo but not sure what you would do with your luggage in that case.

Oh that's great - thank you @Charmar78!! Can I ask you another question? Are you flying in ahead of time? Are you staying in a hotel for a night? I can't seem to see any hotels that seem good in Belize City! We've never sailed with Ponant and have only been on one other cruise (Galapagos), so I'm still not sure how this all works (and we haven't booked it yet!)

 

[Charmar78]

No problem! It will be my first Ponant cruise (and 2nd cruise so not an expert!).

Yes, I highly recommend arriving to Belize City at least 24hrs ahead of departure just in case there are issues with the flights as Belize does not have many other options if a route is cancelled.

 

I am flying to the US from Europe 48hrs before the departure of the cruise. I have read that there is not much to see in Belize City, and it is a bit sketchy so upon arrival, we will go directly to San Ignacio (2.3 hrs. from Belize City). There we will visit the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich, there are quite a few nice hotels options - see.

 

Depending on your budget and time, there are many options:

 

1. Ponant offers 2-night pre-cruise program from Cancun to discover Yucatan and the Mayan ruins, It has the advantage to take you directly across the border to Belize cruise port but might involve long hours on a bus and is quite pricey in my opinion.

 

2. Stay at San Ignacio or around to experience the Belize wildlife - there are many nice hotels. 

Belize Luxury Resort | Belize Best Jungle Lodge - Chaa Creek

Belize Luxury Hotels, Resort Belize - Blancaneaux Lodge at Coppola Hideaways (thefamilycoppolahideaways.com)

San Ignacio Resort Hotel: Belize Luxury Resort | Best Belize Jungle Hotel (sanignaciobelize.com)

Gaïa Riverlodge | Belize's Rainforest and Waterfall Resort (gaiariverlodge.com)

 

3. If you arrive 2-3 days early, fly to the Cayes and stay in San Pedro

Matachica Resort Belize | Belize's Best Adult-Only Resort & Spa

Mahogany Bay Resort & Beach Club, Curio Collection by Hilton

 

Hope this helps! 🙂

[Becky2010]

It does help! We have been to Belize before and it’s an amazing country so you are right to get out of Belize City and see it! Our favorite part of our Belize trip was to the Cayo district and to visit the ruins of Caracol. It was totally incredible. We plan to fly in the night before but that’s all the time we have and so I’m trying to see what a good option could be!

Edited October 17, 2023 by Becky2010

[Charmar78]

Belize looks amazing, can´t wait to be there!

Good luck on your hotel search in Belize City, aside from Best Western, not sure there are any nice options...

[Explore01]

Hello there! We (sister and I) are going on the same cruise as you (same date!)! We are both from the USA, and I noticed that you are coming from France. I am looking forward to the diversity of guests as well. We both like traveling, however this will be the first cruise and expedition for us. We are both excited!

[Explore01]

On 3/31/2023 at 8:59 AM, AussieBoyTX said:

Since COVID, I have always used/purchased some kind of travel insurance. We had a few small claims -- all were a pain to deal with the insurer, but all were ultimately paid.

 

The Ponant insurance certificates are very official looking and in places that required COVID evacuation coverage at the time (Seychelles and Mexico), they were readily accepted at the border.

 

Otherwise, our American Express card has trip cancellation / delay coverage and we use it for most travel expenses aside from rental cars -- Capital One Visa serves as primary rental car insurance, which is helpful.

 

We also have coverage through Diver Alert Network -- the coverage is designed for scuba divers, but is actually reasonably priced and apparently has good customer service. My understanding is that a number of non-divers use it for that reason.

 

You certainly don't need all of these. IMO, the biggest risk is missing the start of the cruise due to a flight disruption (though I guess being diagnosed with COVID is still a possibility). We usually deal with that by arriving at the embarkation port at least two days in advance, but a cancellation and full flights over the summer meant that we still almost missed a cruise over the summer. We wrote about that here on CC.

I am also booked for this Belize cruise expedition.  You seem to be very knowledgeable as having taken cruises with Ponant before! I am just wondering if you ever received any type of directive from Ponant regarding recommended vaccinations for the countries that you are visiting? I reached out to Ponant and was told that there are no required vaccinations for this trip. I looked up the United States vaccination recommendations for Belize and Honduras. There are specific recommendations for high risk groups (like those going on expeditions). I am trying to figure out which vaccinations to get without going overboard! I am wondering if you have any recommendations on who I might be able to reach out to at Ponant and how you figure out what vaccinations you might need for a given expedition. Thank you! 

[Becky2010]

4 minutes ago, Explore01 said:

I am also booked for this Belize cruise expedition.  You seem to be very knowledgeable as having taken cruises with Ponant before! I am just wondering if you ever received any type of directive from Ponant regarding recommended vaccinations for the countries that you are visiting? I reached out to Ponant and was told that there are no required vaccinations for this trip. I looked up the United States vaccination recommendations for Belize and Honduras. There are specific recommendations for high risk groups (like those going on expeditions). I am trying to figure out which vaccinations to get without going overboard! I am wondering if you have any recommendations on who I might be able to reach out to at Ponant and how you figure out what vaccinations you might need for a given expedition. Thank you! 

We have a travel vaccine clinic where we live and if you bring them your itinerary, they will recommend what you should get. Not sure if you have anything like that where you are!?

[Explore01]

29 minutes ago, Becky2010 said:

We have a travel vaccine clinic where we live and if you bring them your itinerary, they will recommend what you should get. Not sure if you have anything like that where you are!?

Thank you! This was super helpful! I have booked an appointment with a travel clinic for Thursday! 

[AussieBoyTX]

38 minutes ago, Explore01 said:

I am also booked for this Belize cruise expedition.  You seem to be very knowledgeable as having taken cruises with Ponant before! I am just wondering if you ever received any type of directive from Ponant regarding recommended vaccinations for the countries that you are visiting? I reached out to Ponant and was told that there are no required vaccinations for this trip. I looked up the United States vaccination recommendations for Belize and Honduras. There are specific recommendations for high risk groups (like those going on expeditions). I am trying to figure out which vaccinations to get without going overboard! I am wondering if you have any recommendations on who I might be able to reach out to at Ponant and how you figure out what vaccinations you might need for a given expedition. Thank you! 

 

Ponant only has a "required" list, so I don't think that's worth your while to pursue. Personally, I'm always fully vaccinated for other reasons -- but I always review the CDC list to see if there's anything special that I'm missing. See here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/belize?s_cid=ncezid-dgmq-travel-single-001

I think their list is overkill (rabies & typhoid are IMO edge cases) but I have the routine vaccinations plus hepatitis A & B.

 

In reality, though, it's unlikely you'll be put in a situation where you're exposed to any of these potential diseases.

[Explore01]

26 minutes ago, AussieBoyTX said:

 

Ponant only has a "required" list, so I don't think that's worth your while to pursue. Personally, I'm always fully vaccinated for other reasons -- but I always review the CDC list to see if there's anything special that I'm missing. See here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/belize?s_cid=ncezid-dgmq-travel-single-001

I think their list is overkill (rabies & typhoid are IMO edge cases) but I have the routine vaccinations plus hepatitis A & B.

 

In reality, though, it's unlikely you'll be put in a situation where you're exposed to any of these potential diseases.

Thank you for the response and link! I typically refer to the CDC and I think that is where I became a little confused as there are a number of recommended vaccinations (i.e. rabies). This will be my first time on an actual expedition based trip in a more remote area. As this is my first time, it is hard to gauge how exposed I will be to these risks. I, of course, want to be responsible. However, I also do not want to go overboard on vaccinations that I may not need. I have a scheduled appointment (due to a recommendation on this thread) with a travel clinic on Thursday and plan to bring my detailed itinerary to find out what the recommendations are. Thank you again! 

[Charmar78]

Hi @Explore01, I was not planning on having any vaccination based on Ponant´s requirements for the destinations we are visiting but let me know what your travel clinic says about our itinerary. Thanks!

[Becky2010]

On 10/17/2023 at 5:59 PM, Explore01 said:

Thank you! This was super helpful! I have booked an appointment with a travel clinic for Thursday! 

Did they end up suggesting that vaccines were needed? We have an appointment set for next week.

 

We ended up booking this trip with a December departure, so I will look forward to reading any information from those who are going in November! I'm so excited! 

 

[Becky2010]

On 10/17/2023 at 9:27 AM, Charmar78 said:

I think 6.30am is the earliest you can disembark but you can also leave after breakfast. At least that´s what the travel documentation they sent us for our Nov 21rst departure says.

 

We have booked trip for December, but while I got a confirmation letter, I haven't received any additional information. What sort of information did you receive and was it via email?  Thanks!

[Charmar78]

You should get the documents soon via email and I also received paper copies and a nice Ponant pouch with luggage tag via mail.

[Becky2010]

On 11/7/2023 at 2:54 AM, Charmar78 said:

You should get the documents soon via email and I also received paper copies and a nice Ponant pouch with luggage tag via mail.

I just got mine! It's pretty silly, but it's a really nice little pouch with nice luggage tags and it makes us even more excited for the trip! If you have a chance, I hope you'll let us know how your trip is!

 

[Becky2010]

On 3/30/2023 at 11:28 AM, Charmar78 said:

Thanks for all your inputs! We are planning to do Xunantunich closer to San Ignacio as the trek down to Caracol seems rough and we only have only 1 night between arrival in BZE and departure of the cruise so it will be too tight. I wish we had time to do it + Tikal which is super close as well, next time

 

Did you arrange tour with Ponant? @Charmar78? We realize since we won't board until late afternoon we will have a free day in Belize.

[Charmar78]

Hello, no we have booked directly with our hotel. Wondering whether anyone on here is on the 14th of November departure? If not, we will be the first one to report back 🙂

[3ric]

Hi everyone, I am checking in to see if anyone has booked the additional excursions that are now listed? I understood during the webinar and booking that the trip was an expedition trip, with all excursions included but the diving one. I am a bit flustered to now see that a few paying expeditions have popped up. Including snorkeling. 


What is everyone else doing?

[Becky2010]

@3ric I saw your post and checked the ponant app and now I do see excursions listed, but no charges? Edited to add: I do see charges! And yes - we were also told that expeditions didn’t have charges for excursions so maybe it’s an error?  And now I see charges for the Blue Hole snorkeling 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Becky2010

[Becky2010]

This is what it says under expedition cruises so maybe that’s why there are several additional charges for a few excursions. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

No mention of snorkeling in the above screenshot.

[Charmar78]

Blue Hole outsourced excursion makes sense as I believe only authorized companies are allowed in the area. Ponant told me that there would always be a snorkeling option of some sort included for the non-divers but the additionnal charge for the blue hole snorkel is disappointing.

[3ric]

I guess I expected that polar expeditons and boots/parka were the cold weather equivalent of snorkeling expeditions, with mask etc.. (re: above screenshot from Becky10)

I would be interested to know what the plan is for those who don't book the blue hole snorkeling or punta sal expedition so I can make an informed decision. It is understandable but a bit disappointing since it does not feel quite the same as what was marketed. 

Additionally. for the case of the punta sal expedition, The cruise description states a visit in a zodiac and now it has an optional excusions shown to do the zodiac tour of the marine park + small tour.
It is unclear what is optional and what is included.  Additionally, the website only shows the punta sal excursions but the app shows additional ones at placencia and for the blue hole. If I cant use the app, I dont have all the info when booking or before traveling. 

[Becky2010]

57 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

No mention of snorkeling in the above screenshot.

We were told that Scuba was extra and snorkeling was included - but I do understand that snorkeling at the Blue Hole is a big deal, and maybe best done with a local company. But was not expecting that!