Seeing Lamanai while on a Carnival Cruise

[40yearcruiser]

We were on Carnival Valor last month and booked the Lamanai tour with belizecruiseexcursions (Island Marketing). We enjoyed the speedboat ride, which was really fast, and touring the ruins. I climbed to the top of the high temple (and I'm 65 years young!). The steps are much higher than we are used to and that made the climb more difficult--sore legs the next day. I came down backwards within reach of the rope.

 

We were returned to the terminal about 45 minutes before we needed to catch the last tender so had plenty of time. Our only concern was the wait for the tour to leave in the morning. We rushed to be sure we were on one of the first tenders off the ship and made a beeline for the meeting point, only to have to wait nearly an hour for the others to get checked in. They had only one person taking the payment for their multiple tours and the process was slow. Except for that, we had a great day and I highly recommend this tour.

[Silverscreencruiser]

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

 

There isn't as extensive a clearing at Laminai as there is at Chichen Itza (at least the parts we saw).You are much more aware of the jungle all around you than you are at Chichen Itza.

[Pssunshinegal]

There isn't as extensive a clearing at Laminai as there is at Chichen Itza (at least the parts we saw).You are much more aware of the jungle all around you than you are at Chichen Itza.

 

Thanks for the explanation, I agree exactly. I don't think that Chichen Itza was exactly as much of a jungle as Laminai was to begin with. Having to take a boat to even get there shows you just how primitive and far removed it was/is.

[J&E07]

We are hoping to go to Lamanai with belizecruiseexcursions (Island Marketing) on our cruise in January. What time do they usually operate this tour? Does it run on time? Not sure if it is worth the risk and worry to miss the last tender.

[Froufie]

We are hoping to go to Lamanai with belizecruiseexcursions (Island Marketing) on our cruise in January. What time do they usually operate this tour? Does it run on time? Not sure if it is worth the risk and worry to miss the last tender.

 

We used them and almost missed the ship (after being assured by the vice-president that this would not happen)....others have had better luck - depends on how risk averse you are? On my next visit to Belize in January I am planning to take a ship's excursion just to be on the safe side!

[J&E07]

I heard back and this is not available on the day we are in Belize. One less thing to worry about. Looks like we will be going to Altun Ha.

[lh9789]

Help, please! If you were on Carnival Legend and booked Lamani on your own through belizecruiseexcursions.com aka Island Marketing, I need your help.

 

We are being charged even though they said we arrived too late to catch the tour. Not only are they not refunding our pre-paid deposit of $30, which would not be so bad, but my concern is that they may sock us for the remaining $120 (for 2 people). And per their terms of service, if you file a dispute by filing a charge back with your credit card company "for any reason" you will be charged a $50 administrative fee (per disputed credit card charge) by Island Marketing "if the chargeback is ruled in the favor of Island Marketing by your financial institution."

 

I'm hoping someone who went can tell me what time their tender left the ship or reached shore, and whether you were on the first tender. The info for ANY DATE -even future dates- would help, but especially for Oct 15 2009. We went to get tender tickets early and got a sticker that said "4", and called our number within 5 minutes. I assumed that was the 4th tender, but DH says no they took those with stickers 1-4 on the FIRST tender. When we got to port their guy who met us showed us where the restrooms were in the port and where the office was. DH went to the restroom and I went to the office where I was told we were too late and "the other people got tired of waiting" so they had left without us and could they offer us Altun Ha instead? The guys attitude was one of sheepishness, so I became suspicious and told him to talk with DH when he got back. My suspicion was that they did not want to do the tour because they did not have enough people booked to make it worth it. They refused to refund our money and told us to email Island Mktg. We walked away.

Now, in response to our email, they say "We are aware you arrived late and missed your reserved tour, and also aware you did not board the first tender. 23 Passengers also arriving on the Carnival Legend arrived on time and departed on the Lamanai excursion as scheduled (7:30am local time)" 23 people? Really?? That seems a lot for this excursion. No one on my Roll Call had mentioned plans to go to Lamanai when I mentioned we were going.

 

So my questions are:

1) what time was the Carnival Legend's first tender in Belize?

2) how many Legend people went to Lamanai an their own (NOT a ship's excursion) on any given date?

3) and do you recall if people with various sticker numbers boarded your tender?

 

Thanks

[Froufie]

May I suggest this post this as a separate/new thread? Possibly on the main Carnival board and/or the Belize board? I think you might get better response from possible fellow cruisers!

 

Did anyone on your roll call use the early tenders? Maybe they can also add their insights!

[Silverscreencruiser]

We used them and almost missed the ship (after being assured by the vice-president that this would not happen)....others have had better luck - depends on how risk averse you are? On my next visit to Belize in January I am planning to take a ship's excursion just to be on the safe side!

 

After hearing other comments like yours about Belize Cruise Excursions on this tour, we decided to book our tour to Laminai last month with Belize in the Sun aka Belize Tour Guide Ltd. It was the highlight of our cruise and one of the best excursions we've ever had.

 

They were waiting for our tender when it arrived, holding up a sign with our names. They escorted us to their office to pay the balance of the fee and then we were in the van and on the road within ten minutes of our arrival. Our guide was very knowledgeable and a bit of a local character and he kept us entertained the entire way with stories about Belize and his travels in the U.S. He also seemed to keep a very good eye on the clock without rushing us through. Ironically, when we were getting ready to leave Laminai on our boat, we crossed paths with the Belize Cruise Excursion tour which was just arriving (which seemed to me to be pushing it a bit for time). We got back in plenty of time and our guide gave us a bit of a tour of the city before going back to the pier. We even got a personalized email from Gilbert, the general manager of the company (who I talked to in person when I booked the excursion) when we got back to the U.S. thanking us for using their services.

 

If you spend a day in port in Belize, you have plenty of time to take a good excursion in Laminai if you go with a company that knows what it's doing and is aware of the time and what can happen. I highly recommend Belize in the Sun and Captain Nicholas Sanchez.