mikeyd

We recently did the Mokey River Tour with Ralph and wanted to share our experience.

During this tour we saw tons of birds, iguanas, crocodiles, monkeys, manatees, turtles and lots of other interesting stuff. Ralph is wonderful and extremely knowledgeable.

I don't have the link but I am sure you can find it. Here is what we did:

1. Used the NCL app to reserve the 9.30am ferry to Placencia. Even on the second day there was plenty of spots.

2. Took our time getting off the ship and wandered off around 8:45. We went to the ferry docks (just ask for directions, it's very close to the path you will take to get off the ship.)

3. At the ferry desk we got our wristbands for a 9.30am depart and 12.30pm pick-up. You only get a 3 hour window.

4. Boarded the ferry at 9.30am and arrived in Placencia around 9:45. Once off the ferry/water taxi, there will be 2 or 3 people at the end of the dock offering tours. We found a guy in a yellow shirt who was the sales person for Ralph's Tours. Paid him $75 per person and were pointed to Ralph's boat tied up near the ferry.

5. It was a 20-25 minute boat ride (right past the NCL ship, lol) to "Monkey River" which is indeed an estuary and has an interesting history. Ralph also offers lunch (I think it was $10pp) and they offered chicken or fish. It was a fantastic meal.

6. We arrived and navigated Monkey river and Ralph pointed out all sorts of wonderful things - animals and plants. He has an amazing eye for detail and incredible knowledge of the animals.

7. After 45 minutes or so of spotting animals we pulled up to a river bank and tied the boat off and went on a hike in the forest. Please bring bug spray. I really wish Ralph had some since the mosquitoes were pretty bad. While docking the boat you can hear the howler monkeys and it was really cool. We did a 20 minute hike and say some Monkeys towards the end up in a tree. We also smelled and talked about the native plants in the forest.

8. Back on the boat, we backtracked up the river to lunch. Again, lunch was really good! You pay the lady at the restaurant for your meal. After lunch we left for the manatee reserve - this was right off the coast of Harvest Caye and we did see about 20 manatee - but they come up and descend quickly. It was still very cool.

We went back to Placencia (I'd say this was around 1:45pm) and the tour is done. We got a great drink and smoothie at the bar right at the end of the dock - fyi - at first we thought the prices were high and didn't realize it was Belize currency which is double the USD - so drinks selling for $8 were only $4 - very nice.

We also were approached by a nice Mayan young lady who showed us some items she made and we bought 2 small baskets and a necklace.

9. Once done with our drinks we walked up the dock for the 2.30pm ferry. Although our bracelets said a 12.30pm return they were never checked and we were boarded with no issues - but the ferry/ water taxi was nearly full.

All in all a great time!

I have one for you to consider - and it's likely the tour you mentioned. It's called Monkey River with Ralph.

We did this tour 2 weeks ago and REALLY enjoyed it! We saw tons of birds, iguanas, crocodiles, monkeys, manatees and lots of other interesting stuff. Ralph is wonderful and extremely knowledgeable.

I don't have the link but I am sure you can find it. Here is what we did:

1. Used the NCL app to reserve the 9.30am ferry to Placencia. Even on the second day there was plenty of spots.

2. Took our time getting off the ship and wandered off around 8:45. We went to the ferry docks (just ask for directions, it's very close to the path you will take to get off the ship.)

3. At the ferry desk we got our wristbands for a 9.30am depart and 12.30pm pick-up. You only get a 3 hour window.

4. Boarded the ferry at 9.30am and arrived in Placencia around 9:45. Once off the ferry/water taxi, there will be 2 or 3 people at the end of the dock offering tours. We found a guy in a yellow shirt who was the sales person for Ralph's Tours. Paid him $75 per person and were pointed to Ralph's boat tied up near the ferry.

5. It was a 20-25 minute boat ride (right past the NCL ship, lol) to "Monkey River" which is indeed an estuary and has an interesting history. Ralph also offers lunch (I think it was $10pp) and they offered chicken or fish. It was a fantastic meal.

6. We arrived and navigated Monkey river and Ralph pointed out all sorts of wonderful things - animals and plants. He has an amazing eye for detail and incredible knowledge of the animals.

7. After 45 minutes or so of spotting animals we pulled up to a river bank and tied the boat off and went on a hike in the forest. Please bring bug spray. I really wish Ralph had some since the mosquitoes were pretty bad. While docking the boat you can hear the howler monkeys and it was really cool. We did a 20 minute hike and say some Monkeys towards the end up in a tree. We also smelled and talked about the native plants in the forest.

8. Back on the boat, we backtracked up the river to lunch. Again, lunch was really good! You pay the lady at the restaurant for your meal. After lunch we left for the manatee reserve - this was right off the coast of Harvest Caye and we did see about 20 manatee - but they come up and descend quickly. It was still very cool.

We went back to Placencia (I'd say this was around 1:45pm) and the tour is done. We got a great drink and smoothie at the bar right at the end of the dock - fyi - at first we thought the prices were high and didn't realize it was Belize currency which is double the USD - so drinks selling for $8 were only $4 - very nice.

We also were approached by a nice Mayan young lady who showed us some items she made and we bought 2 small baskets and a necklace.

9. Once done with our drinks we walked up the dock for the 2.30pm ferry. Although our bracelets said a 12.30pm return they were never checked and we were boarded with no issues - but the ferry/ water taxi was nearly full.

All in all a great time!

I am also going to copy and past most of this text into this forum for future cruisers.

Great review. We were on the same cruise too. We noticed the hit and miss attitudes with the crew as well but overall it was pretty good. The cloudy mornings, with the occasional shower was strange but it always seemed to clear up by 10/11am. That is so strange with the "extra protien" in your salad. It was not tiny and I am amazed the kitchen did not detect it since it was so large.

Did you learn the backstory on the large population of young Asians on board? There were certainly a lot of them and I never was able to chat with one to see if there were all together or or there were several groups.

We were also on this cruise and you summed it up well. The disembarkation was an absolute cluster - shame on NCL for not having this perfected.

We too thought the service was hit and miss. Once in Taste our dinner service was really bad - people who arrived 15 minutes after us were served and gone well before us. Other times in Taste it was superb! Oh well.

The photo scam in the Tepenaki restaurant was indeed really scummy. Our entire table went from "wow, what a nice little surprise!" to "are you kidding me?"

I too was glad they announced the no smoking policy. Several past cruises where we had a balcony dip*****s would continually smoke on their balcony and it really pissed me off. This time, no smell of smoke - yea! FYI - if you do have a balcony and are sitting outside, PLEASE don't have a conversation on your balcony at 10:30pm - especially by yelling to someone inside the cabin. The wind and engine noise naturally make people yell in these situations and I think the 50 rooms around our neighbor heard their entire 30 minute conversations. Seriously? Have some common decency!

Overall this was our first time on the Gateway (or a ship that class) and it was absolutely awesome! Very well designed (except the atrium) and the performers on board were superb.

Very true - Krazy Lobster is a good alternative and they seemed to have a large presence. And yes, you will have vendors come by every 5 minutes or so. A nice "no gracias" is all that's needed as they are not aggressive with their sales.

We just returned and it was very nice. In the area we sat, it was not crowded at all and there were many empty chairs around us. I am not sure on the lobster meal but our combo plate that was included was really good and filling. I think most drinks are around $5 but they are in the smaller, clear plastic cups - maybe 8oz and filled with ice.

I will make another post but wanted to mention we did the pkg with the snorkel tour of their man made statues or something. It's a guided tour that starts every hour or so. When we went to the tour and to get our gear we were upssold for $10 per person to another snorkel adventure where a pontoon boat takes you to a reef (part of the barrier reef). if offered this DO NOT do it. I've been on many snorkel trips and this was horrible. The gear they have is absolute crap and several people had issues with their fins falling off and straps not staying on - was super annoying. We had a smaller group and they ran out of the neon yellow safety vests for me and several others and forced us to take the orange life jackets - which again just sucked. The guide was annoying and repeatedly yelled at our group to stay with him - which I get but we also need space sine I was kicked in the head over 20 times since the group was so concentrated. Overall just a crappy experience.

Not available? Huh? Did you specifically here this from the owner of the resort? I find it hard to believe. Anyhow, we just got back and there are easily 30-40 resorts along the boardwalk where Tropicante is located. Find any of them and relax and enjoy.

Like I mentioned we just returned recently and ALL of the beaches I saw (all were very close to Tropicante) were really full of sea weed and not very appealing. There were not many people in the water either.

My suggestion is to take the trolley service (DO NOT WALK - it's way too far) to the second stop. Walk towards the water and you'll see a nice boardwalk and make a left so you are essentially heading back towards the direction of the first trolley stop and just walk until you find something that works for you. Perhaps go just for a drink and while sipping away scope out the place and the 5 others beside it :) to see if it works for you. Drinks are pretty affordable so nothing will be wasted.

Also, I highly suggest a message. I had my very first one and it was incredible. $20 for 30 mins or I could have got an hour for $25:o but didn't want to keep my wife waiting. They are literally every 25 feet, so you can't miss them.

Hello! We will be on NCL and will stop in Belize / Harvest Caye in 2 weeks. We really like the idea of going to Placencia to basically just check it out. In order to find things to do in Placencia I had a couple of questions for recent visitors who went to Placencia from Harvest Caye.

1. How is the snorkeling from the beach in Placencia if we brought our own gear? Did they have vendors who could run you out to a nearby reef for an hour or so?

2. Has anyone done the Monkey River trip - possibly with Ralph? It sounds very appealing. Could we have beach time in Placencia and still do the Monkey River trip?

3. It seems like they are getting better and better with trips to Placencia from Harvest Caye. Are vendors starting to pick people up in Harvest Caye as the "start" of the tour and not requiring people to show up in Placencia via the water taxi?

4. Aside from renting a golf cart in Placencia and checking out the bars and stuff, is there anything else to check-out? Can you rent beach-chairs and umbrellas at any beach bars? If so, any recommendations?

Thanks everyone!

Unless there are two towns with that name, yes, it is where the ferry ends up. Be sure of how much time the tour takes; hours of the ferry are limited.

I did see a recent post on these boards about Splash being shut down due to a sad death with the owners. You may want to double check your plans.

my but wise son does have a point, how much longer will such a great sight be there?

The reef is not going anywhere! It was here long before us and will be here long after us. :)

There are typically vendor booths right outside the cruise dock where you can buy all the typical souvenir stuff. The people are wonderful there and won't be pushy nor aggressive.

All I can say is Aruba is not a great place to snorkel.

Huh?? I have to disagree. I would guess it depends where you go but some of the best snorkeling I have done in 20 or so Caribbean islands has been in Aruba. The reefs off the shore and typically accessed by boat are very, very good. If you enjoy snorkeling, please give it a try here.

Honestly, check Trip Advisor since there are many options. We have done Mi Dushi and Jolly Pirates and preferred Jolly Pirates. Either way, they were both very awesome excursions.

I highly recommend ABC tours. They have incredible guides and nice Land Rovers to get to some very remote areas and crazy steep hills. The ride is half the fun!! Google ABC Tours in Aruba.

Arashi and Boca Catalina is a nice beach for snorkeling, and you can take the Arubus to it. For food recommendations look on Trip Advisor - you'll see all the available places and ratings. Much of the Seafood will be fresh. Perhaps Moomba's for a nice dinner - we have been there twice and really liked it. It's on the beach too!

"Would agree, Arashi and Boca Catalina is a nice, and you can take the Arubus to it."

This sums it up. Snorkeling will be much better and you'll be able to take the bus.

We did this as well and enjoyed it. As mentioned the ship wreck site is very hit or miss. We have snorkeled the wreck three times and it was only ideal and enjoyable once. The other stops closer to shore will be amazing!! Just another option, Jolly Pirates was truly a blast. The crew will make it fun and the included lunch was really good.

You may want to consider the ABC Tours as well. You'll ride in (and perhaps drive) some heavy duty Land Rovers. You'll cover more ground and be a bit more comfortable. We saw many groups on ATV/UTV's and they looked covered in dust and honestly not really enjoying the experience. We have done ABC twice and loved it both times.

Jolly Pirates is a good option. They have 2 or 3 trips daily and they were a blast to travel with. It's an old wooden pirate ship looking boat offering great snorkeling or just relaxing with free drinks.

Another vote for Pelican Pier. Affordable food considering it's over the water and on Palm beach. Very good civiche if you enjoy that.

I too thank you for your comments but like others we disagree with your "not ready for prime time" view.

The main appeal to us is that it's NOT overly developed and it's rustic with beautiful views and charming people. I think you'll admit that not finding a good tour guide ahead of time was the main reason for the disappointment. The island has one of the nicest landscapes - we did the Titou Gorge too and some hot baths - and found the island and people to be incredible and authentic.

I will say that in general if we have not researched an island and just decide to "wing-it" we are usually disappointed.

I had heard for some time that crime in Belize was getting out of control and the safety of cruise ship passengers were getting called into question. I suspect that had a pretty large impact on them creating their own island. I may be wrong.....

We did a recent stop in Grenada. It was a very beautiful island and we enjoyed ourselves but I wonder if anyone else got the impression that we did, which is that people in Grenada were not very happy. Some places we visit people have a permanent smile and greet others (not tourists but other familiar faces). It struck me as odd and for the last 2 hours on the island I watched many people. People walking on the sidewalk, eating at diners, hanging out at the corner and no one seemed happy and no one greeted each other. Lot's of sour faces and thousand yard stares.

We did a tour of the island and so we saw more than just the downtown, cruise port area and it was the same.

Just curious if anyone else picked up on this or if it was a funky day for some reason.

Great summary and our thoughts exactly after our Feb. sailing on the Jewell too. It was frustrating that sooooo many bad choices were made on so many things. The Centrum was always packed yet there were 3 other bar areas which were literally ghost towns. Did someone not notice this and have ANY desire to fix the issue?? It was a massive struggle to find lemmonaid and iced tea at times too. These are simple things that any cruise line should have figured out years ago. Bar staff was severely overworked. Food was not inspiring although our service in the MDR was always pretty good.

Like you said, the island stops really made this cruise a success for us.

I also think it has a lot to do with the ship you cruise on. We have sailed 10 times before, mainly NCL and Carnival and always thought RCL was "upscale" since their prices are normally higher.

We tried the Jewel Of the Seas recently and were completely let down. Poor food, poor entertainment, poor decision making on all sorts of small things. I don't plan to go back to RCL but the Oasis class is appealing to me.

We did shy away from Carnival after 2 cruies in a row that had lots of annoying, obnoxious drunks on board. One cruise was spring break so we expected it, the other was off season and it was just downright annoying and a turn-off.