Seeing Lamanai while on a Carnival Cruise

[spoonful]

I agree with your decision - if Carnival had offered this excursion I most definitely would have booked with them despite the added cost - just for the peace of mind!

 

You will love Lamanai - have fun!

 

I am really excited. i bought a spiffy new superzoom camera with HD video for the cruise and i am sure it will be worth it in the jungle. i will be sure to come back here after the cruise and write about my experience with the cruise led excursion.

[Scubachick84]

A question to the people who came very close to missing the ship, what were your times in port? I'll be there from 8 am to 5 pm, so that's 9 hours, although with tendering I suppose that's cut down quite a bit? I really like the look of Lamanai better than Altun Ha, but I'm bringing along a group of 6 first time cruisers and it wouldn't be very good of me to get us stranded in Central America!

[lh9789]

Has anyone been to both Lamanai and Altun Ha? I'd be interested in a comparison of the site, the journey, the monkeys,... everything!

[Froufie]

A question to the people who came very close to missing the ship, what were your times in port? I'll be there from 8 am to 5 pm, so that's 9 hours, although with tendering I suppose that's cut down quite a bit? I really like the look of Lamanai better than Altun Ha, but I'm bringing along a group of 6 first time cruisers and it wouldn't be very good of me to get us stranded in Central America!

 

We were there for the same amount of time - watch the watch! :D

[spoonful]

I just talked to a co-worker today who did the Allta Huna tour with Carnival in May. He HATED it. Said that there were so many people on the tour that you couldn't hear the guides unless you muscle to the front. that the restaurant they take the tour to is a touristy place with hamburgers and hotdogs. and because the group was so big it took and long time to go from here to there. He strongly advised against doing a ruin tour with the ship. i was so happy with my booking this tour with RCCL due to the tour length but now i am unsure again.

[BonnieVA]

I just talked to a co-worker today who did the Allta Huna tour with Carnival in May. He HATED it. Said that there were so many people on the tour that you couldn't hear the guides unless you muscle to the front. that the restaurant they take the tour to is a touristy place with hamburgers and hotdogs. and because the group was so big it took and long time to go from here to there. He strongly advised against doing a ruin tour with the ship. i was so happy with my booking this tour with RCCL due to the tour length but now i am unsure again.

 

That's a tough one. But I have heard that Altun Ha is a shorter distance away from the port (but still a way's away). I would be more likely to book Altun Ha on my own ... but not Lamanai.

 

But aren't you planning on Lam? I wonder if the tours going to Lam are less crowded because it is a longer excursion & fewer people are interested in the longer ones. I still stick to my advice & suggest not doing Lam on your own ... too much stress even if you do make it back on time (which most DO).

[rjscott]

We used Belize Cruise Excursions for Lamanai, and our time in port was 8-5. Even so, I was a bit stressed about getting back in time because of it being a tender port. When we met our guide at the port terminal, I expressed our concerns to him and he was very conscientious about getting us out and back (as far as the driving portion was concerned). We arrived back at the terminal with about 45 min. to spare. before the last tender. It was a great excursion and I loved Lamanai and the howler monkeys.

[Froufie]

I just talked to a co-worker today who did the Allta Huna tour with Carnival in May. He HATED it. Said that there were so many people on the tour that you couldn't hear the guides unless you muscle to the front. that the restaurant they take the tour to is a touristy place with hamburgers and hotdogs. and because the group was so big it took and long time to go from here to there. He strongly advised against doing a ruin tour with the ship. i was so happy with my booking this tour with RCCL due to the tour length but now i am unsure again.

 

Well that's some bad news? I was considering this tour for our stop in Belize - and give our experiences with Belizecruiseexcursions and Lamanai I was absolutely going for a ship sponsored tour.....I have read the reveiws of Altun Ha and most of them are good? Wondering why this one is so bad?

[spoonful]

Well that's some bad news? I was considering this tour for our stop in Belize - and give our experiences with Belizecruiseexcursions and Lamanai I was absolutely going for a ship sponsored tour.....I have read the reveiws of Altun Ha and most of them are good? Wondering why this one is so bad?

 

To be fair i think my co-worker wasn't suited for a tour of the ruins so some of what he complained about was not related to the ship tour and i didn't include it. for instance he didn't enjoy the steaming heat or the bugs but these are things one would expect so it wouldn't bother me. He found the bus ride and river "cruise" to be boring but, again, i am expecting to be on the bus for a while as that is clearly explained so i wouldn't be bothered about that either. HE really enjoyed the actual tour of the ruin itself.

 

the points that really concerned me were just the way the tour was run as compared to the private tours that he took at his other ports. So i am still all about going to the ruin and espeically Lamanai since it seems to be the most impressive but really don't want to be herded like cattle on a ship cruise. that would irritate me.

 

So while i know booking with the ship is the most risk averse plan , i really wonder how high the risks of going with a private tour are. I don't recall seeing that anyone did miss their tender or even anyone who knows of anyone who did. so, i wonder if this worry is really overblown based on the data, as anecdotal as it may be.

 

call me crazy but i would really rather prefer the personal attention and accept the risks that would accompany it.

[BonnieVA]

We were on an NCL-sponsored tour (not CCL or RCCL) to Lam but I have to say that we never felt overcrowded or herded. I know I've read others talk about feelings like that on various ship tours so I was kind of expecting that but we did not feel that way at all. Like I said, I wonder if fewer people travel all the way to Lam?

[Toyz711]

since it's limited to the size of the boat..yes, fewer people travel to lamanai.

we did a NCL tour, also, never felt crowded. we had 32 people in the tour.

there were 12 to 15 that stayed near the tour guide..the others would catch up along the way. (no one is allowed to wander on their own).

there was one other tour, from another ship, in the boat ahead of us. they had lunch 1st, we toured the site...when they toured the site, we had lunch. we saw more monkeys then people. the site is amazing!!

the dock, where we got on the boat, is not that big..

the ramp at lamanai is even smaller..no room for too many boats.

[spoonful]

since it's limited to the size of the boat..yes, fewer people travel to lamanai.

we did a NCL tour, also, never felt crowded. we had 32 people in the tour.

there were 12 to 15 that stayed near the tour guide..the others would catch up along the way. (no one is allowed to wander on their own).

there was one other tour, from another ship, in the boat ahead of us. they had lunch 1st, we toured the site...when they toured the site, we had lunch. we saw more monkeys then people. the site is amazing!!

the dock, where we got on the boat, is not that big..

the ramp at lamanai is even smaller..no room for too many boats.

 

okay. perhaps my co-worker is just cranky. and perhaps i am overthinking this:)

[Luckyroot]

I have been lurking here, trying to decide what to do in Belize when we're there in December on RCCL Navigator. I was a bit worried about the private tour to lamanai but really wanted to do it. RCCL only just published the excursions for my cruise about a week ago and i was so happy to see that they have one going there. it is 21 bucks more than the private tour through Belizecruiseexcursions.com but after tipping that difference is even lower and i will pay that as a price for peace of mind. i would normally plan with private operators and if i were going to any other ruin i would but i don't want to mess around with missing the boat.

 

Aren't you expected to tip on the ship's tour as well? I normally book private excursions so I didn't really consider that it might not be a tipping situation if we took the ship's tour.

 

Hint about climbing high temple: stradle and face the rope, and then hold on to it as you ascend and descend one step at a time. No butt bumping needed. The boat's driver gave us that advice, worked well.

 

Do you go up AND down facing the rope? I sometimes have anxiety attacks from heights and this sounds like an excellent possibility for me. I REALLY want to go up, but am afraid I'll be up there and panic and not be able to get down!

[Toyz711]

the rope is there to guide you, but they ask that you don't pull on it.

many go down on their butts.

i didn't go up, i KNEW i couldn't go down without help. my knees don't bend enough to step down those steps. i really, really wish i couldn't have done it.

yes, a little tip is nice..even for the ship's excursions. we had a nice tour guide named "jewell", she was outstanding. kept our group together, moved the tour along at a nice pace. i think she was the 2nd best we have ever had (the BEST tour guide was one in turkey)

we gave jewell $20 for the 2 of us...the boat driver got $5 and the bus driver got $5. we had this nice kid with the tour, he acted as "tour protector". helped people going up and down the site, watched for critters and watched over the last of our group. we had one person with knee problems, she was having problems walking on the uneven, wet stones. the kid took her arm and helped her along. everyone gave him a couple of $$, also.

our day at lamanai was OUTSTANDING..everyone from the ladies who served the lunch, the bus driver, boat captain and tour guide...we would do it again.

[Froufie]

Too funny - cuz I don't even remember a rope being there - ha ha ha....but it was a 'challenging' climb to say the least (and my legs were not the same for days - felt so 'lazy taking the ship elevator after that instead of doing my usual stairs!).

 

Also climbed Chichen Itza a few years ago - wow - that was also a tough climb but well worth the view - and yes I did the 'bum descent' as well!

 

I now have a pic of the temple at Chichen Itza and Lamanai on the wall in my work office - to remind myself if I can do that - I can do anything! LOL (waiting to add the Altun Ha 'climb' to the wall)

[BonnieVA]

Do you go up AND down facing the rope? I sometimes have anxiety attacks from heights and this sounds like an excellent possibility for me. I REALLY want to go up, but am afraid I'll be up there and panic and not be able to get down!

 

You can go up & down any way you want. I think I came down on my fanny. But I can see how people who are afraid of heights might have trouble getting back down. The view is really awesome, though, & you can always climb part-way up & then assess your situation. There are tiers so you can stop & rest on a flat surface. It's a great experience so I think you should try it. When we were up there there were 2 women who said they had a fear of heights ... but they made it all the way to the top. It did take them longer to get back down but they did it.

[rjscott]

I have a fairly extreme fear of heights, but really wanted to climb the temple, so I went up with my husband. But, I only made it to the first "tier". He continued up, and I went back down, only looking back occasionally to see how much further I had to go. It really does help to use the rope and to go down backwards.

[Eeyoregon]

A question to the people who came very close to missing the ship, what were your times in port? I'll be there from 8 am to 5 pm, so that's 9 hours, although with tendering I suppose that's cut down quite a bit? I really like the look of Lamanai better than Altun Ha, but I'm bringing along a group of 6 first time cruisers and it wouldn't be very good of me to get us stranded in Central America!

 

I'm in the same boat. There are 6 of us going and 4 are 1st time cruisers. It's so much more stressful to plan excursions for other people! What might seem like a good risk to me may not go over as well with the others.

[Bluemoon319]

I really wanted to do this as well, but I heard way too many horror stories. Also, because it was a tender port, we weren't really on the island as long as we thought we would be. We did a tour with coralbreezes instead & had a really good time, & didn't have to stress about if we would make it back.

[Scubachick84]

Yeah, I think I'm pretty much abandoning my attempt to go to Lamanai. While I'm sure we would all laugh heartily 5 years from now if we got stranded in Central America... it's not something I wish to live through :p Altun Ha it is.

[framerman]

We did lamanai with belizecruiseexcursions and had a great time. Got back 15 min before last tender. Well planned and executed excursion. I wouldn't hesitate to use BCE again.

[spoonful]

We did lamanai with belizecruiseexcursions and had a great time. Got back 15 min before last tender. Well planned and executed excursion. I wouldn't hesitate to use BCE again.

 

I was really worried about being stuck on a large ship tour so its good to hear your experience. my group of 5 just confirmed a reservation with them. while 15 mins before last tender may get people scared, i just want to be back before the tender leaves which is the point. if they can do that, which it seems they can pretty consistantly, then all will be fabulous.

[pmetiv]

We did lamanai with belizecruiseexcursions and had a great time. Got back 15 min before last tender. Well planned and executed excursion. I wouldn't hesitate to use BCE again.

 

We went with them too last year and it was fine. I was really worried with time but once you're in, it's out of your control. So we decided to just enjoy the ride.

 

The boat ride! (really cool but a bit windy - bring a windbreaker)

 

The main temple (you can climb it)

 

The lunch...very good.

 

 

We got back to port a half hour before the last tender and even had time for a Belikin (local beer).:D

 

Pierre & Jim

[Silverscreencruiser]

We went to Belize on the Glory last month, and I had read the same reviews about Belize Cruise Excursions and was a bit concerned about their sometimes cavalier approach to time on the Laminai excusion. Instead, we booked with Belize in the Sun, which offered an excursion at about the same price. It turned out to be, by far, the most professional tour experience we've had on five Caribbean cruises.

 

My wife and I were greeted by our guide, Capt. Nicholas Sanchez and the manager of the agency at the pier when the tender arrived. After paying the balance of the tour fee, Capt. Sanchez took us on a guided tour of the city then out to the riverboat to the ruins. It took us about ten minutes from the time our tender arrived until we were under way. The roads are two-laned all the way, but paved and in good condition, comparable to most state highways here in the U.S.

 

Laminai is a great trip. The ruins aren't as developed as the ones at Chichen Itza but it has more of a Raiders of the Lost Ark feel to it. You can actually climb the tallest pyramid. We met a young college-age student at the tour boat who went out with us (he'd gotten to the boat on his own). He managed to get to the top in about a minute, although I decided that half way up (where it gets really steep and you have to use the rope) was enough for me.

 

Our guide pointed out howler monkeys and a crocodile on the way, as well as some smaller animal life. The boat ride isn't leisurely; it really zips along except when they stop to point out some sights.

 

What really made the trip for us was Capt. Sanchez. He is a man in his 70s who had spent years in the U.S. before returning to Belize in the early 90s to get into the guide business. He spent a lot of time talking to us about his travels in the U.S. and his experiences in Belize, as well as pointing out a lot of sights in the city (including the house where he was born). He's a real card, and we loved the time we spent with him. He even had my wife and I stop underneath a ceremonial tree at the ruins where he pronounced us honorary citizens of Belize (he's a justice of the peace, so I guess that made it "legal").

 

I have to say I was a bit nervous about this because I hadn't heard any comments about Belize in the Sun, but I researched them a bit and they seemed very professional. Gilbert, the manager, even called us at home about a month before the cruise to confirm. The entire trip was very professional but not rushed. We made it back in time to have a leisurely beer at the Wet Lizard before catching a tender (and not the last one by any means) back to the boat.

 

Ironically, when we had finished our tour of the ruins, we noticed that the Belize Cruise Excursions group was just arriving. They must have used a different riverboat service from the one we used. I was wondering if they were going to be able to get back in time or not.

 

If you take an independent tour like this, you need to get on the first possible tender. However, if you book with someone who knows what they are doing, as we did, you shouldn't have a problem. I'd highly recommend Belize in the Sun for their professionalism.

[Pssunshinegal]

Laminai is a great trip. The ruins aren't as developed as the ones at Chichen Itza but it has more of a Raiders of the Lost Ark feel to it.

 

Can you explain what you mean by this? I have been to both and my description would be just the opposite. The thing about Lamanai that I find unbelievable is how they have cleared away different periods of the temples so that you can actually what it looked like and how they remodeled with a new dynasty/period. Actually seeing how they added and built on to the buildings is something of a real highlight for me.

 

Janice