Excusions in Belize

[Luvcrusin]

Has anyone used Island Marketing LTD in Belize. Looking at the zoo, old belize, beach excusion.

[Island Annie]

I used Island Marketing for my Belize excursion last March. They were EXCELLENT! I booked them online thru their website. Booked their day trip to the Maruba Jungle Spa & Resort.

 

I was a bit hesitant to book this at first (my very first "independent" excursion, not familiar with Belize etc) but then I accessed their "click here to chat with a live agent" feature and had all my questions answered. Enough so that I felt completly comfortable about booking with them:-) Since this would be my first time to Belize, I wanted to know exactly where I was to meet my guide & at what time. (ships time/island time). Was told my guide would be waiting for me at the "flag pole" at (I think it was 8:00am ships time).

 

Do to weather the Miracle was running a little late getting into Belize so I was getting nervous. Anyone who had booked an indepent tour was to meet in a particular lounge (can't remember the name)@7:00am.This lounge was located very near to where passengers would exit the ship to board the tenders. I actually arrived at that lounge about 6:40-6:45 and there were already several other people lined up waiting for a CCL rep to show up with tender tickets. Soon, It was 7:00, then 7:10, 7:15, etc. and still a CCL rep had not yet shown up, so now I was getting REALLY nervous:-( As I stood in line waiting with rest, I remember reading a comment on this board a while back from a poster who found himself in a similar situation and said he went directly to the pursers desk, explained his situation, and the purser somehow gave him some sort of permission to be one of the first people off the ship once the tenders started to arrive. So I decided to try the same. I was DETERMINED not to miss this excursion so I bolted up a few flights of stairs, went to the Pursers desk, explained my situation to him, and showed him the confirmation I had printed out that I was to give to my guide. He then asked to see my S&S card. Typed something into his computer and came back to me and said he noticed that I've been a very loyal CCL guest for many years & appologized for the inconvenience of the ticket rep not arriving on time. He then took a piece of CCL stationary out, wrote something on it, signed it, and told me to give this to the security officer at the tender gangway when I got back down there. and then thanked me again for my loyalty to CCL. I KNEW this HAD to be something good, but still hadn't had a chance to read what he wrote. Once I got into the elevator, I read the note. It said "Please give Ms________ priority tender service ashore ASAP" and signed his name.

 

I handed the paper to the officer at the gangway as soon as I got back to that area. He looked at it, smiled, and said "have a seat please. I'll let you know when the first tender arrives".

 

Just a few minutes later he came over to me and said that the first tender had just arrived and to avoid any further delay he was going to put me on that tender by myself which would save all the time it would have taken for the boat to be fully loaded. I was shocked!!, a bit embarrassed, and extremely happy all at the same time!!!(mostly happy) He escorted me across the rocking gangway, sat me down into a seat up front close to the driver and buckled me in, and away we went!!

 

Once we were docked, I got out, looked around the area, and noticed a group of "locals" standing nearby. I asked them if they could tell me where to find "Island Marketing", and they told me exactly where to go. "just walk up to that store with the green sign there, and look to your left. There you will see a flagpole, and that is where you'll find Island Marketing". So I did as he instructed. There were actually several tour guides gathered in this area and they eagerly asked me where I would like to go today. I told them I had booked to go to the Maruba Jungle Spa, and they said "oh, then you're looking for Richard!" Then he introduced me to him. I gave Richard my confirmation paper & started to explaine to him some of what had already happened this morning, he assured me that he would have waited for me even if I was late, then walked me to his car, and said he would get me to the Resort as quickly as he could. And boy did he!!! At first I was a little nervous about how fast he was driving, but soon I could tell he's obviously been driving this route for a long time, and seems very confident in his driving skills so I started to relax.Once we arrived at the resort he walked me to the main entrance, opened the front door for me and then introduced me to Anna (the owner) who offered to personally take me on a tour of the resort & then introduce me to my massuse. Richard told me that he would just be just hanging out in the lobby so I should spend as much time at the resort as I'd like to. and reminded me that we will need approx 30-40 minutes to get back to the ship.

 

The package I booked included transportation to&from the ship, 2 spa services & a tropical lunch in the jungle so I assumed I was going to be there for quite a while. I had my tour, 2 services, lunch in the jungle (how cool was this!!!) relaxed at their pool for about an hour, then took another stroll thru the property before going back to the lobby to look for Richard. (didn't want to leave ANY sooner than I had to)There he was paciently waiting for me. We hopped back into his car and had me back to the tender pier in no time.

 

In short : I have nothing but Good things to say about Island Marketing and would not hesitate (in the least) to book with them again. I like their "Live chat" feature to be able to ask any questions you might have before submitting your cc info, They sent me a confirmation email immediately after booking, and followed up with the confirmation print-out to give to your guide well within the time they said I would receive it.

 

My stress level was a little high side by the time I finally arrived in Belize, but once I met my guide and was on my way to the Resort, I felt totally relaxed:-) In my opinion, Island Marketing is a very proffessional operation and I look forward to using them again on a future cruise. (Don't think you could go wrong with using their service).

 

Enjoy!

 

Annie

[EMTRa]

Annie,

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to post such a detailed review! Our first trip Belize is coming up and though I have an excursion booked already...I will feel confident using Island Marketing the next time (DH will HAVE to take me back..lol) or in other ports. I noticed they operate tours in Costa Maya and GC too. It sounds like you went by yourself and obviously felt very safe. How wonderful of the CCL Purser and guard to get you on a tender "pronto"! :)

 

Glad to hear you had a nice day in Belize..Thanks again for the great review!

[Island Annie]

emtra,

 

Yes, Island Marketing also does tours in the other ports you mentioned. And yes I was traveling solo. (I Never felt even the least bit nervous about booking with IM or with meeting up with & traveling with my guide(once I was on that tender speeding towards the pier:-)).

 

They are a first class operation, and (IMO) you should have no hesitation in using them.

 

Enjoy!

 

Island Annie

[sweetsuri]

I am still confused about what would be better to do - cave tubing or going to the ruins. For people who have done both, which would you recommend for a family of 5 - my 2 parents and 3 kids - a 23, 19, 14 year old. This is our first cruise, so any suggestions would help!