At the port excursions/shopping

[erRN2be]

Belize is the last city on our Miracle cruise. I was planning on doing the cave tubing excursion, but I don't know for sure that is exactly what all of the people in my family want to do. So I was wondering for those who have been to Belize, are there many openings at the port for you to book an excursion if we decide to??? What about shopping or other things to do on our own. Is the town worth getting off the ship for if we decide not to an excursion?

 

Any help would be appreciated..Thanks

[PDC55]

I just returned from the Elation. Because of a pinch nerve in my back I did not book anything for Belize up front and by the time I figured out I could have everything I wanted to do had sold out. Ended up just taking a tender in to port. We had been strongly advised not to go outside of the gates but after talking with the tender operators plus checking the prices the tour companies inside were charging for just touring the city I thought I'd give it a chance. Ended up with a local gentleman named Michael taking us around in his van. Charged us $15 each which was a better price than inside. They wanted $25 a piece if we could get 4 more people. They never would give me a price for just the two of us but did say it would have to be more. Michael also took us to a factory outlet where we got 2 golf shirts, 2 tank tops, 1 tshirt, 1 cap, 1 shot glass, and 1 picture frame for $48. Most of the tshirts I saw in the shops at the pier were at least $15 each so I thought we got a pretty good deal even with the $30 it costs us for the tour. There's not much to look at in Belize City but I felt that Michael gave us a good tour and I never felt unsafe. The only place at the pier that I thought was worth another visit would be the pharmacy that is located towards the left side of the pier. She had pretty good prices for those of us who can't afford prescription cards.

[MartiniMama]

I'm not sure how comfortable I would feel booking an excursion at the port. I would either book through the cruise line or book in advance on line through tour companies that I have read about here on the cruisecritic message boards. This will be our second trip to Belize. On the first cruise, we made the mistake of not booking a tour and decided to just get off and walk around. I can tell you that was a big mistake and a waste of a day and an opportunity to see something new and different. At the port, there is only a very small strip mall with a few tourist shops and a restaurant. We didn't venture outside the tourist area because it just didn't look all that safe. This time around we are looking at tours through Belize Cruise Excursions (belizecruiseexcursions.com) and Coral Breeze Limited (coralbreezelimited.com). Hope that helps!! :)

[erRN2be]

Thank you so much. I guess we will stick with our original plan and go cave tubing. I plan to book it online by myself ahead of time.

 

I was just second guessing myself because my dh and grandmother are complaining that they don't know if they will enjoy something like that..bah humbug.. :)

 

Thanks for the suggestions and info I appreciate it.

[mnsawyer]

Isn't there some kind of shopping center at the cruise terminal in Belize? I believe I've seen a diagram and there seems to be lots of shops, restaurants, internet cafe, etc. right at the dock???

[lindnet]

Yes, mnsawyer, there is shopping right there at the dock when you get there. They actually have quite a variety of shops. I bought several things when I was there last Dec. Then head over to the Wet Lizard, right next door. You can't miss it, it's a brightly painted bar that overlooks the ocean.

[Katlan]

Here is a map that you can check out to see how the Tourism Village is set up.

 

http://www.belizetourismvillage.com/map.html

 

The last time we were in Belize, we just checked out the shops at the dock and didn't get to see any of the country. This time we are planning to venture a little further. Some in our group are interested in doing the Thriller Powerboat ride, but I haven't been able to find out much about it for them. :o

 

We always get off the ship whether it's "worth it" or not just so we can say that we've been there and then form our own opinion. My DH says that I'm always afraid that I'll miss out on something. :rolleyes:

[lindnet]

Katlan, check out this thread....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=99449

 

There is a review of the Thriller Powerboat excursion there. It sounds pretty cool! I'm almost thinking of changing from my Rendevous Caye excursion to that one.

 

Have fun!

[Katlan]

That info helped a lot. I was starting to think maybe it wasn't a worthwile excursion as I couldn't find many reviews on it. :confused: I did do a search, but only on the Belize board. :rolleyes: Thanks for the link.

 

If you do change your mind and decide to go with the Thriller, please come back and let us know about it.

[RedSoxWon]

Definitely book an excursion. While there is quite a bit of shopping at the pier, much of it is repetitious and I didn't find the prices to be all that cheap. The city is supposed to be a little scary. In the back of the tourist village is a set of gates (which tells you something right there) with guides trying to tempt people into one of their tours. I would definitely not go off on your own. While we were in Belize, we did the snorkeling/lunch combo. You take a speedboat about an hour from the pier through beuatiful scenerey to the barrier reef. If your family does not want to snorkel, they can just splash around or relax in the boat. The snorkeling is only about 45 minutes, and afterwards we went to lunch at Crazy Canuck's, a beach bar near the town of San Pedro. A two-minute taxi ride takes you to San Pedro, which is very quaint and Caribbean (dirt roads) but with good shops, some air conditioned. San Pedro was actually one of my favorite stops, and the shopping was better than at the tourist village.

 

Ron

[quiltsnh]

I am planning on meeting some friends in Belize, they are with the Peace Corps. Can anyone telll me if they will be able to get inside the gated shopping area or will I have to meet them outside? and where would be a good place to meet them???

Granduer 1999

Victory 2001

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Explorer 2005

[transit5495]

We just got back from belize and took a chance with BelizeRays Snorkeling to Goffs's Caye. I just posted a diary of the day we had with them and would recommend them. I think everybody on board left completely fulfilled. A great day and less than 1/2 price of Shore excursion. There were also many-many tours available at the dock. That's how we found Belize-Rays. The tour companies take turns at how close to the tender boats they're salesmen are. So walk up the dock a ways and you might find something different.