Triple C

No, ABQrobin, I appreciate the suggestions!  We've only been there once, and booked a land excursion through the cruise ship.  We welcome advice from people who've been there.  :-)    Is it possible to get to Hol Chan Marine Reserve with a boat tour?  I know Shark-Ray Alley is part of that reserve, so maybe?

On 6/4/2019 at 8:15 AM, ABQrobin said:

Why do you want to go all the way to Ambergris Caye to snorkel?  There are 500+ islands off the coast of Belize, many small islands for snorkeling excursions, that are not that far away.  Ambergris is nice but FAR away from Belize City.  There are much closer options for much less $$$ and time spent in travel.

We have seen Ambergris Caye mentioned on countless lists of "the best place to snorkel in the Caribbean", so it has become a sort of bucket list item.  It is pricey, for sure, but less so than if we spent a week there.  We are expecting to see more there then we would at the other islands.

We went to the Lamanai ruins in Belize, and they were amazing.  Our ship was unable to make port in Roatan.  We were so disappointed to miss it that we spent our entire spring break in Roatan this past year, and it was amazing.  We felt safe 100% of the time, though we spent most of our time snorkeling or wandering around West Bay.  We did spend a day with Victor Boddens tour driver (one of them) where we held sloths and basically just told him to take us everywhere we needed to see on the island.  There is still more to be done, so we will be stopping at both places again in 2020.  We did all of this with our 13 year old son - that's how safe we felt.  Have fun!  Don't wander into any back alleys, and you'll be fine - just like any city in the US.  :-)

My family and I would like to use our time in Belize to snorkel at Ambergris Caye (we did the Lamani ruins on an earlier cruise).  We see Shore Excursioneer offers a day for 3 people at $460.  Happy and Grumpy offers it for $265/person, so $795.  I know Happy Grumpy would be private, but that is the only real difference I see.  Is it worth $335 more to go with Happy and Grumpy?  Has anyone ever used Shore Excursioneer?  TIA

Roatan is amazing, and you do not have to spend much to see more than the port.  If you like swimming, and that is all, then by all means, enjoy Mahogany Bay and don't think twice about it.  :-)  However, we just spent a week there after our cruise last year was unable to make port, and wow....what a paradise!  We like to snorkel, so that is what we primarily did.  Count me among the many that recommend Victor Bodden.  He will take you anywhere you want.  Animal sanctuary?  You have monkeys and birds, not in cages, at Gumblimba.  Monkeys, birds, and sloths in cages but you can go in with them?  Bodden has his own zoo.  Free roaming iguanas that you feed?  Arches Iguana Farm, for sure.  He can also take you to a rum factory (really just a store with samples).  I think Bodden's farm was $5/person if you use his driver.  Arches was $10/person.  Gumblimba is more expense at near $45 I think, but that might include the beach.

For beach time, hands down West Bay Beach.  You can buy wristbands that get you lounge chairs at Infinity Bay, or you can just throw a towel in the sand.  You can rent snorkel gear at the beach, or bring your own.  You can literally see the fish two steps into the water, and the coral is just a few feet further in, where you can see so many colorful fish you might think you fell into your dentist office's fish tank.  Amazing.

So yeah.  If nothing else, take a local taxi and get dropped off at West Bay/Tabayana Beach.  They are easy to find.  If you'd like to see anymore, or want a personal touch to your taxi, reserve Victor Bodden.  He can even hook you up with the wristbands you would need at Infinity, or give you great advice on Tabayana.

We are also looking at doing this.  We see Shore Excursioneer offers a day for 3 people at $460.  Happy and Grumpy offers it for $265/person, so $795.  I know Happy Grumpy would be private, but that is the only real difference I see.  Is it worth $335 more to go with Happy and Grumpy?  I see many wonderful reviews for them.  Has anyone ever used both Happy and Grumpy AND Shore Excursioneer?  (two separate trips, obv)   TIA

We are also looking at doing this.  We see Shore Excursioneer offers a day for 3 people at $460.  Happy and Grumpy offers it for $265/person, so $795.  I know Happy Grumpy would be private, but that is the only real difference I see.  Is it worth $335 more to go with Happy and Grumpy?  Has anyone ever used Shore Excursioneer?  TIA

We also did Lamanai, as I couldn't imagine being in Belize and not seeing anything beyond the ship.  We decided it would be a great place to see ruins, and wanted to see the biggest/most we could.  It was a long bus ride through a dirty city/countryside, but that is Belize and we want to see ALL the world, not just the parts polished for tourists.  Also, it makes us want to do better - for ourselves and our planet.  :-)

That being said, we loved it, loved the ruins, and would do the same thing if we had it to do over again, knowing what we know now.  This year, however, we will be focusing on water and try a snorkel trip.  If not that, then cave tubing for sure!

I can't seem to upload the files. :-(. I'll try again tomorrow at a desktop. Just found the directions.

Yes, the op was missing grand Cayman,,,thanks!:D

Here you are!

Do you still need any? I just got off of the Glory on March 31st, and I think I have all of them from that week (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and the bonus day at sea instead of Roatan, plus the sea days).

Hi! We just completed our first cruise ever, and it was the Nassau, Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk itinerary on the Sensation. My family consists of two semi-active adults and an 11 year old son. We LOVED the Sensation! Any longer/more "at sea" days and I think the ship would have grown smallish, but the food everywhere was amazing, we never had a problem with crowds, and the staff was beyond compare. Blue Iguana and Guy's were wonderful. The ports of call - paradise. Have a great vacation!

Hi! We just disembarked the Sensation last Saturday. We arrived on time at , but there was a problem at the port, and we could not get off until after 9. Once we did, it took maybe 15 minutes to get off, but I wouldn't count on it. Even a perfect scenario would be tight and stressful and probably still result in a missed flight.