Goff's Caye Carnival Excursion Review

[theos on the go]

We went on the Elation Jan. 2nd and took the Goff's Caye Snorkle Excursion through the ship. We had the best time! The tour operators were really wonderful. This was the first time we had ever been snorkling and the operators were so helpful. We were apprehensive about snorkling from the boat but they were very reassuring. The water was rough and there was a current so everyone was made to wear a life jacket at first -- then experienced snorklers were allowed to take off the jackets if they wished. We ended up snorkling from the boat and it was a memory we will never forget. We were in the water for about an hour we saw so many beautiful fish, coral . . . even a barracuda. The lead guide even took my daughter's camera and dove down in the water and took pictures for her. They were excellent pictures. There were four guides in the water with us--this was very reassuring. The guides would dive down and bring up different sea creatures for us to hold and look at (i.e. conch shells, sea cucumbers, etc.)We were told if we spotted a lobster (of legal size) they would spear and cook it for us once we got back to the little island. One guide dove down and speared a lobster for one of the passengers and he said it was very good! I can't say enough about the tour operators of this excursion -- they really put us at ease. Then we were taken back to the island to sun, eat, etc. for about 45-50 minutes. It truly was beautiful. Again, it was an experience we will never forget! It was well worth the money ($ 59 a piece)

[judyf]

What was the time on the tour? If I remember right it's 4 hours or less. Did you feel that was enough time? We have 9 hours of port time in Belize so I was hoping to find a 6-7 hour tour. I'm not have good luck at all!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like a wonderfull tour!

[theos on the go]

I believe our excursion left at about 8:30 and arrived back at about 12:45. The reason we liked it was that we were able to get back to the ship change and eat and then tender into town and shop. We had the best of both worlds -- we got to see the highlight of Belize (the water and its treasures as well as a beautiful little island) and the city itself with its wonderful citizens and shopping. We had no problem getting a tender in the afternoon. It was wonderful.

[mnsawyer]

Great review..thanks. I'm torn as to what to do in Belize...the river tubing is a once in a lifetime experience but am concerned about going with an independent since I don't want to be stressing out about getting back to the ship and I'm too cheap to pay $85 per person through Carnival!

 

In terms of other tours, there is a Shark Alley/Caye Caulker tour through Carnival that is 6-7 hours, I believe and there are independents out there that do the same tour but believe it's only about a $10 difference per person.

 

I wondered about the Goff's tour and really like the idea doing the tour through Carnival and getting picked up right at the ship. Also, like being able to eat on the ship and then go into town in the afternoon.

[seking]

Thanks so much for the review! I was wondering if they take people who want to snorkle from shore in to the island first to drop them off. I am taking my mother (68) on her first cruise in May and this will be her first snorkeling experience. I thought for her it might be better to start off snorkeling from shore.

[theos on the go]

Yes, the boat did stop at the island and drop off anyone who just wanted to snorkle from the island or enjoy the beach at the island. There were some palm trees that provided some shade but just a suggestion I would bring a hat and plenty of sunscreen. There were a few port a potties at the dock also.

[seking]

Another question for you! When you went into town after your excursion, did you go to the shopping area right at the pier or did you venture out into Belize City?

[CaribbeanCrazy]

Does anyone know why this excursion isn't offered on the Carnival Glory? All the snorkeling tours are 75.00 and up...and none of them list Goff Caye as an option.

Thanks

CaribbeanCrazy

[mayrashke]

?? Was there a lot of people on your excursion? It sounds quite good, although I would prefer a slightly longer snorkel time in the water. The price($59/pp) is reasonable also. Thanks in advance for the info on the # of people!

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

Thank you for the great review! It was exactly what I was hoping to hear, as we will be first time snorkelers too. We have booked this tour in March and I can't wait. Another question for you, what do you think about this tour for small kids? I mean I know mine are too little to snorkel (4 and 2), but other than that, the boat ride, the beach and such, do you think it is okay? Were there any kids on your tour? Thanks! :)

[theos on the go]

In answer to your question about shopping. We went past the initial gate where they check your id and turned to the right a little and shopped at the shops that were along the waterfront (past the Wet Lizzzard) and down the alleys -- it was very hot so we did not venture too far.

 

In answer to how many people were on our excursion -- on our particular day we went on the morning excursion and there were about 45 people but only about 25 people went snorkling from the boat. The rest chose to snorkle from the island or just enjoy the beach (there were some smaller children). We were not crowded at all on the boat. Everyone had a seat and the majority of the boat was covered (only about 5 people sitting on the very end of the boat were in full sun.

 

I can tell you that one of the guides did say that at this time of year (beginning January - just after hurricane season) sometimes the water is more calm in the afternoon than in the morning.

They told us that if at any time any of us become tired to give the signal (they gave a set of signals to us when in the water for safety purposes)and a guide would escort us back to the boat (2 people did just that!). After about 50 minutes of the waves and the currents I was about ready to get back into the boat. It can tire you out.

[mnsawyer]

Can anyone confirm if Goff's Caye is offered on the Glory? Thought that a poster (Pelican Bill) just returned from the Glory and took this shore excursion. I hope it's offered! It's our #1 choice by far for Belize.

[lemontea_zer]

Does anyone know if the Goff's Caye snorkel is a follow the leader one or are you allowed to do some snorkeling on your own? We will be going the end of March, so any info will help.

 

Can you make reservations a head of time thruough Carnival or do we have to wait until we are on the ship? Also is there a difference in what you see snorkeling from the beach opposed to going off the boat? Which is better?

[astros fan]

We have not done the tour through the ship, but have gone with the company Carnival uses to do the tour. It was not really a follow the leader. We had to generally stay together for the first part of the time, the we had time to snorkel on our own.

[ksapp101]

We are going on the Elation on 3/20 and have already booked this excursion through Carnival website. They offer an 8 am and 12 noon excursion. Sounds like a good one and at a reasonable rate($59). We usually book on our own, but this is our first time to Belize so decided to play it safe.

[lemontea_zer]

We are going on the Elation on 3/20 and have already booked this excursion through Carnival website. They offer an 8 am and 12 noon excursion. Sounds like a good one and at a reasonable rate($59). We usually book on our own, but this is our first time to Belize so decided to play it safe.

 

We will also be on the Elation 3/20! How many in your travel group? Any kids/teens? Did you book Goff's for Am or PM?

 

My DH & I will be with our kids (18,16 & 12).

[tanner2]

what else is on the island at goffs cay is there a cash bar for drinks?

[ksapp101]

There will be 4 of us, hubby, teen daughter (16) and her best friend (16). We booked the 8 am excursion so we can go into town in the afternoon if we want. Where are you traveling from? We are from Missouri.

[lemontea_zer]

There will be 4 of us, hubby, teen daughter (16) and her best friend (16). We booked the 8 am excursion so we can go into town in the afternoon if we want. Where are you traveling from? We are from Missouri.

 

We are from Idaho and first timers. I know we'll have a great time no matter what we do. My boys are really looking forward to it! Hopefully there is enough to do on the ship that they won't be bored!!

[cruisingschool]

Do you have to book Goff's Caye through the ship? On other islands I have always just taken a taxi from the dock and they dropped us off at a beach. Can you do this on Belize?

[mnsawyer]

It's my understanding that there is not currently an independent operator that takes you to Goff's Caye anymore. We booked this through Carnival directly for a couple of reasons. I couldn't get a straight answer about Belize local time after daylight saving time plus I'm concerned about getting back on time for the river tubing and I don't want to be stuck in Belize. Secondly, you are picked up right at the ship. We're doing the morning tour and plan to come back and have lunch and then take the tender into the pier area. Looking forward to having the best of all worlds!

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

Do you have to book Goff's Caye through the ship? On other islands I have always just taken a taxi from the dock and they dropped us off at a beach. Can you do this on Belize?

 

There are no beaches on the mainland at Belize..all rocky coast. If you want to get to a beach, you have to book a tour somewhere. I have also heard good things about Coral sands beach resort (again, this is on an island/caye off the mainland). You have to book a tour to get to Goff's as it is an island. I hated to book a ship tour as they are always more $$ than private tours, but I could not find a private operator that goes here. I Looked and looked. I was not willing to go with a company that nobody had heard of (I checked this board as well as many others). This place is a ways from the ship too, so for peace of mind, I just went ahead and booked it thru the ship. As far as ship shore excursions go, this one seems very reasonably priced.

[cruisingschool]

Thanks for the info. I will book through the ship.

[Blue Eyes]

[SIZE=4]This is some info I was sending to poster who wanted info about our trip to Goff Caye...hope it helps....

 

Laura

 

 

I have been attempting to reply to your request for several days and it seems that my hotmail account has gone haywire. I wanted to send you a picture of Goff Caye also. I will try that later.

 

We booked with Snorkel Belize on the pier. We were told to come to the shop on the dock at 11, so we did and then we waited an hour for the boat to show up and then they had to re-fuel. It was a closed in boat that held around 40 people and it was packed. It takes about 25 minutes to get to the Caye. It is a beautiful little island about 1-2 acres in size, white sandy beach with palm trees, a grass hut and 2 port-a-pottys....we snorkled off the boat from the end of the reef back to the island. I have done many snorkel trips around the Carib, and this was not in my opinion a very good one. It is drift snorkeling where you drift with the current. I saw lots of evidence of damage to the reef from the recent storms and almost no fish. The current can be swift and you swim out against it to the end of the reef before you start back. I later in the day snorkeled off the beach around the reef and saw more fish there than out in deeper water. There is a snack bar on the island and they have a few water toys, rafts, etc to rent. Carry some extra towels as there are no chairs available. I am not sure I would reccomend SB, but your experience may be different than ours. We had a problem boarding the boat on our return, we did not go back to the pier. Just make sure you can re-board from a private excursion boat before you leave the ship....It is a beautiful caye and I am glad we went and we enjoyed just lying around on the beach....I'll try the picture later...wish I was going again....[/size]

[triplover]

Recently went on the goff's caye excursion booked thru the carnival miracle. We did not enjoy this one. We have taken several snorkeling excursions over the past 5 years and this was the least enjoyable. The main reason was because the boat was so crowded. My husband had to sit half on a bench, half on a pile of life jackets. We could not see out to enjoy the ride because most of the boat is enclosed and there were so many people packed into it. I don't know if it's always this crowded. There were originally two times scheduled and the day before they canceled one time slot and put the two together. Also we met people on it who had originally signed up for the sargent's caye excursion but when they went to the meeting area on the ship they were told after an hour wait that oops there excursion was also canceled and they were to pick something else to go on instead on the spot. If this had been my 1st time snorkeling, I would never want to go again. The water is very rough and little instruction was provided. If you have your own snorkeling vest, you should bring it because they only provided the orange life jackets (like the ones in your room) and we were told to tie them around our waist. It felt very uncomfortable to me. I felt the whole excursion was somewhat unsafe feeling and not worth the money. I must admit that the island itself was very pretty but small. I hope others who book this have a better experience than we did.