Length of Tender Ride

[rjkcubs]

In the past our group has done the Bannister Island Beach Break directly through Carnival. Now that it looks as if it won't be offered we are considering booking it through and outside company. We have small children with us, so we are trying to determine if the length of the boat rides will be okay or not.

I've heard from the port it is ~15 minutes to Bannister. Can anyone tell me approximately how long it takes to tender from the ship to the port?

[mom2two2]

We were just here a couple weeks ago. I remember the tender being quite lengthy. I have a really bad concept of time but I am going to guess we were a good 20 mins?

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that there may be delays in getting off the ship. We were about 45 mins later than anticipated by the time customs cleared us. And then you can imagine the hold up with people in lines and waiting where they were not supposed to be....impatient people pushing to the front etc. Try not to book yourselves too close for time I guess.

[sigmahawk]

We just returned off the Carnival Legand Sunday. Thursday was our day in Belize...tendored off the boat at about 8:30 (arrival was 8AM)...went ashore with no idea of what to do...decided to do the beach break with Eco Tours...their boat left the pier to go to Bannister at 10:30....left Bannister at 2PM or so...back in plenty of time to catch the last tendor (4PM) back to the ship. Was a good time...actually the ride to Bannister Island kind of goes right past the Legend (and 2 other ships). About 3 hours on the island (Bannister).

[Name Of The Game]

I'm not going to guess. We timed it and it wasn't as long as people said. Exactly 17 minutes to Belize and 14 minutes back to the ship.

[MamaParrotHead]

The thing that stinks about it is that you have to first mess around with tender tickets if you're not on a ship excursion (which we weren't) and wait around in the lounge for your tender group to be called (a good 15-20 minutes). Then spend 15+ minutes tendering in (I'd guess ours was longer than that, atleast 20 minutes). Then you have to locate your tour guide, then tender LITERALLY right past the ships (another 20 minutes) and then head wherever it was you're going (we did go to Bannister, it was another good 15-20 minutes to Bannister). It was a TOTAL waste of time.

 

Bannister was nice, but it's seriously a total pain in the butt. And I'm not a fan of ship excursions AT ALL. But if we ever go to Belize again, I will be taking a ship excursion.

[Tahlulla-Hula]

Also take into consideration that once you get on the tender, you may not always leave right away. We waited about 15 minutes before the tender left after getting on board, so think about adding that to your time frame as well. Perhaps there are certain times they leave that we weren't aware of??? That would make sense and might be something to look into.

[stanner2009]

Hi there - could you tell me a bit about Bannister - facilities etc.....and how much with Eco - we are the in March on the Valor.....any shore snorkelling.

Thanks

Stacey

[sigmahawk]

Bannister was 40 dollars with Eco Tours...you might be able to negotiate it down a bit. Plenty of ammenities are on the island . far , changing huts , food , water toys , etc. Don't know if the snorkling is good right off the shore...but it's close by...the Eco Tours sells that as an addition to the package.

[stanner2009]

Thanks for the info!

[snorkelgirl1]

The thing that stinks about it is that you have to first mess around with tender tickets if you're not on a ship excursion (which we weren't) and wait around in the lounge for your tender group to be called (a good 15-20 minutes). Then spend 15+ minutes tendering in (I'd guess ours was longer than that, atleast 20 minutes). Then you have to locate your tour guide, then tender LITERALLY right past the ships (another 20 minutes) and then head wherever it was you're going (we did go to Bannister, it was another good 15-20 minutes to Bannister). It was a TOTAL waste of time.

 

Bannister was nice, but it's seriously a total pain in the butt. And I'm not a fan of ship excursions AT ALL. But if we ever go to Belize again, I will be taking a ship excursion.

Totally agreed....look at the ships excursions closely...for this very reason, I elected the Ships excursion (Carnival Valor/ Dec 09) to Geoffs Caye/ Belize...reason...the boat picked us up directly off our ship...and then left directly for the Caye. Did not have to tender in....to then go back out on the water. Was much more restful and enjoyable..so worth the price. I hear Belize is having a pier soon...needs it!

[Shay_Ole']

Totally agreed....look at the ships excursions closely...for this very reason, I elected the Ships excursion (Carnival Valor/ Dec 09) to Geoffs Caye/ Belize...reason...the boat picked us up directly off our ship...and then left directly for the Caye. Did not have to tender in....to then go back out on the water. Was much more restful and enjoyable..so worth the price. I hear Belize is having a pier soon...needs it!

 

Hi there Snorkelgirl! Thanks for the info. We were going to book a private snorkeling excursion, but with your help and MamaParrotHead's we are going to book through the ship instead. Will you please let me know...how long was the excursion to Geoff Caye and how much actual snorkel time did you get in the water? Thanks in advance!