Lamanai- Have you booked independently... and missed the ship?

[LBS1]

I am weighing the odds of being frugal, and saving a few bucks, by booking the Lamanai/New River tour from an independent company.

 

Has anyone done this and missed the ship? This one time I am considering booking the tour through NCL and feeling like I can enjoy the day without watching the clock.

[Toyz711]

that's why i went with NCL. i read all the reviews on this board and was ready to contact a local, but decided against it. plus the fact that it's a tender port and we got off right at 8am with the ship's excursions. those booked independently didn't start getting off until after 8:30.

by the time we were on the bus and driving out of town, people with independent tours were still trying to get off the ship. depending on how well behaved the other passengers are, tendering can be a mess.

i will say, we had the tour guide ranked right up in the top 2 ever..she was great. small tour, only 29..and they had a young man with our group, he watched the rear of the group, helped others over rough grounds, helped some on thier climb of the sites. much better operated tour then i was expecting, except for the bus....the interior was a little rough, but it ran good and our bus driver was great.

we left the ship at 8am, back on the ship on the 2nd to last tender.

i know there are several great guides, i just didn't want to worry the whole day.

[DonMar]

We went to Lamanai on an indi tour and made it back. The company we used was on top of our time. We did weigh our options and felt that the excursion was worth the risk.

 

This was one of the best experiences I have had cruising. We were also the only two people on the excursion and at Lamanai. How outstanding!

 

We also made it back with time to do a little shopping outside and inside the port.

[jcjky]

We like to do independent tours but on this tour we went with the ships tour because of lenth of the tour. The tour was great one of the best we have ever taken. It took all day we got back late but with a ship tour no worries they will wait for you. Peace of mind is worth a few extra bucks.

[thatbloominplace]

this is one of the only tours i have taken in the last 10 years that i used the one provided by the ship. this is a full day tour with a long bus ride and an equally long boat ride. if either of these encounter a problem, you could very well miss your ship. it is not worth the few dollars you may save to worry the whole day if you will make it back on time.

 

by the way, this was a wonderful excursion and should not be missed!

 

steve

[saraisarai]

we got back just in time to make the last tender. We did the ncl tour and glad we did. great tour---no time to shop.

 

Also--the boat used for our tour was much better than the one for the other cruiseline!

[sarahsema]

We are cruising to Belize on a Carnival ship and I haven't seen Lamanai offered as an excursion. This is really the one we want to do, but the recommended company by many on these boards is belizecruiseexcursions.com who states a minimum age of 6 and we have a 3 year old.

Any suggestions, or does anyone know if they will allow my daughter once we get there?

[saraisarai]

allowed my 3 year old.

[jetskier]

Most definitely do this with the ship. It is a very long excursion. All it takes is for the bus to get a flat tire or have engine problems and you will be left if booked independantly.

 

It is a great tour and worth the extra expense for the peace of mind.

Dave

[driftwood]

if your 3-year-old kid is used to being in a backback or some other carrier, and you are used to hauling, you will probably be okay; but even without a baby or small child you will get a workout that day. Birders not in the best of shape can take the beautiful cruise down the New River and see many species of birds, and can stay in the shelter as soon as they get to Lamanai. There is a museum some yards to the south of the shelter which would probably be worth an extended visit while others are on tour of the ruins, and it was probably intended for just such an alternative. Also there are several vendor huts nearby to poke around in for memorabilia, etc. And cold drinks, notably bottled water and Coca-Cola.

 

Our boat developed engine trouble in one of its two 200 HP engines, and as the engines could not be stepped independently [a truly weird fact], the one engine had the full drag of the other--so we had to pause periodically on our way back to prevent overheating of the one good one. Even so we were at the dock by 3:30 PM (half an hour late), and from there to Belize City is 49 miles along excellent highway. The indies use exactly the same facilities as the cruiselines, so there is little mystery in this package. The clock is watched more carefully than chicken entrails in ancient Rome, and probably with better results. Don't worry, be happy! :D

 

P.S. if given a choice between a boat with normal padded seating (along the sides and center) vs. chair-type seating, I think you should prefer the chair-type seating as being much easier on your backs in the long run. The run down to Lamanai will take ninety minutes: an hour of dawdling and birdwatching and crocspotting, and thirty minutes of racing; one the way back it is pretty much one hour of racing, if your engines are all right. There are NO ALLIGATORS in Belize, although the two species of crocodile that they do have are commonly called alligators. But your guide knows.

[LBS1]

Thanks all.

 

Jetskier convinced me, and as bad trouble follows me around, I am not taking chances and booked through the ship.

[dgack1]

O.k...I have a strange question. How would you describe the "bumpyness" of the boat ride / bus ride. DH has neck problems. Were ya'll bouncing out of your seats or would you say that it was smooth up/down ride?

 

thanks for any input...

[Toyz711]

i have back/neck problems...DH has lower back problems.

the bus, we had, needed repairs...it ran good, but the interior was not good. the seats were very uncomfortable. but with only 29 in our tour, we could move seats if we needed to. our bus driver slowed when he saw a bump (they have a speed bump in a odd place). the road getting in and out of town was bumpy..not not painful.

the boat was great, well cared for...nice seats. when it's at full speed, it's a great ride. since there river is smooth, the ride was also. we had an other boat in front of us, our boat driver stayed out of it's wake, kept the ride very nice. you do have to be able to step down, into the boat, and up to the docks. besides the tour people, my DH stays close in case i need his hands. in this case, i didn't.

i got more jarring on the walk. it really is uneven..i needed to keep my eyes down so i won't trip over a roots or rock. some of my photos show the path and area. i keep my meds handy, but didn't need them until the way back when the back got tight.

[driftwood]

For those of you who plan ahead (as I do), I highly recommend his advice and would follow his advice.

 

If it happens, however, that you are a bit more spontaneous in your decision-making process--if, for example, you find yourself on the dock at 8 or even 9 AM, and decide NOT to spend the day shopping (as indeed that would be a short day) or boozing (as indeed that would be a day much like every other), and had a fancy to visit Mayan ruins come upon you, I would first look about to see if Major Tom is there (at 6'3" tall, he is hard to miss), ask his advice, and see if he could accommodate you or arrange for a guide for you.

 

If he were NOT there, I would walk two blocks north from the cruiseship terminal to the Radisson Fort George and ask ANY of the cabdrivers there whether he would take you either to Altun Ha (if you have no loose fillings), or to Lamanai. He can tell you instantly if it can be done in your time frame, and as a licensed tour guide himself he will be able to arrange everything for you quite reasonably. Do not haggle with his price, take it or leave it, gas in Belize is now over $5 US per US gallon, so the haggle has gone out of the conversation. But EITHER tour will PROBABLY be doable with ease; if not, trust his recommendation. ;)

[jetskier]

I do take risks at times, but there are some things just not worth risking. For me, any excursion getting back within an hour or less of a ship's sailaway time is cutting it too close. A lot depends on the port, tendering or docking, distance from the port, available alternative transportation. If the excursion vehicle were to break down, could I jump in a cab and still make it back in time.

 

I also hate spending money extra when I know I could have gotten it cheaper elsewhere. So for me to recommend the ship's tour means there are risks there that cannot be overcome.

Dave

[driftwood]

You are right, entirely right, on a number of counts!

 

But almost all the traffic from the Lamanai Boat Dock to Belize City shoots down the Northern Highway without let or hindrance as soon as all or any buses are loaded, so the odds of anyone's being left behind on that particular package are in my opinion somewhere between "nil" and "zero." If you are too late for the day, you will be told so before you leave Belize City in the first place. :(

 

The Altun Ha venture is marginally more secure as being never so far from Belize City, and never having to depend on more than the one vehicle. But the Old Northern Highway is more LIKELY to destroy a vehicle, and being a rotten road it is not so heavily traveled, so thumbing from there might be more time-consuming. :rolleyes:

 

Price is price. We went as a party of two, and I do not believe we paid any more or less than anyone else--the package is essentially of two elements: the round-trip from Belize City to the boat dock and back, 100 miles on a good highway with a handful of speed bumps, over which most cab and bus drivers go very gingerly out of respect for their suspensions and transmissions; and the charge of the Lamanai Boat Tour from the dock to Lamanai, lunch, the tour, and the return to the boat dock. That is fixed by the boat tour operator, and they cut NO deals--taking exactly what they ask from the person who brought you, and never discussing it with you or them.