Belize question

[sillig]

Hi there. I was just in Belize well a month ago and a few friends of mine were there a week and and said something like the govt there raised the taxes and alot of the local people were walking around with guns and macheties (sp?) what's going on here????:confused:

[yst347]

I was in Belize on Saturday. We went cave tubing. I must say I never saw a machette and the only guns I saw were M-16's in the possession of the uniformed officers at the two checkpoints we passed through on the western highway.

 

This was my experience. I haven't heard anything about taxes or discontent but it might be true or urban legend.

[ute_fan]

I did a little hunting on the internet, as we're supposed to be going in May. The following article indicates that there may be something going on: http://www.sfbayview.com/012605/generalstrike012605.shtml

[bishop35]

We were there on Jan. 25 and there was a bomb scare:eek: at the tendering area. Unless you were on one of the first tenders, which I was:D , you were sent back to the ship:( . We didn't even know about this until we got back on the ship that afternoon. It was a false alarm:) , but it was done because the people are upset with the high taxes. They pay over $4 for a gallon of gas and about 56% of it goes to the government. The average wage is about $2.50 an hour. If this continues the cruise companies may have to stop using Belize as a port of call.

[cherdon]

We were there Jan. 28th. We heard alot of rumors. The city was without water and power during the day we were there. We were cave tubing so, we didn't know if that was true or not. We heard of a town riot the night of the 28th. The port officials made it difficult for our ship to allow passengers to shore. Making the shore excursions either cancel or leave late. We had booked independent with Wet and Wild for cave tubing. He did not take us. That's another story. I would stick to shore excursions with your ship in Belize.

[judyf]

We had booked independent with Wet and Wild for cave tubing. He did not take us. That's another story. I would stick to shore excursions with your ship in Belize.

 

I would love to hear this story! I'm booked with them in March. Did you get your deposit back? What haooened that you didn't go? Thanks so much! e mail me if you don't want to post it here. Autumnsam@aol.com

[Bosun]

I hope this helps some of you out a little, I know it has helped me! This is an awesome site for anyone going to a new destination and are wondering what the culture is like, how to get around, what to do when there, what festivals/holidays are going on, but most importantly it give you warnings on any travel advisories that might be in effect. This site is updated on a semi regular basis as well. It doesn't give any warnings for Belize, but does issue one for Roatan .. this however is more of precaution of not going out after dark and not flashing your wealth.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/

[cherdon]

In answer to what happened?

The port authorities delayed our ship. Belize was (is) on strike. They could not run a tender until 9:00 a.m.

We were on the 1st tender off our ship(windsurf 300 passengers) The other cruise ship (carnival 2800 passengers) did not appear to have any passengers on shore yet. When we found Marvins booth. He said we were late and the group had already left. We were there at 9:10. What group??

He then opened his appointment book and showed us the page with our names (our names only) and said our credit card was not valid. I had done a follow up email to him to check that he had received my online reservation. He sent me a yes, and a confirmation to print out which I gave him that morning. We did not bring our credit card with us on shore so I had no way to verify the number with him. He did not offer to take us if we paid cash. Which is what we did do with someone else. I had read all the information on this board and was sure I had made a good decison. Then, I ended up booking with a man holding a sign at the port!! At least we got to go. Our trip was short though. Because in the group were 4 from the Carnival that had to board at 3:30 p.m. we did not need to be back until 5:30 p.m. Another reason I think Wet and Wild could still have taken us.We were happy with the guide we had and we were able to stay at the restaurant, have a great lunch and get a later ride back to the ship. We think wet and wild did not have any other reservations and did not want to take just two of us. Good luck. Who we did go with http://www.bztaxitours.com

[Valentinecruiser]

Hi there. I was just in Belize well a month ago and a few friends of mine were there a week and and said something like the govt there raised the taxes and alot of the local people were walking around with guns and macheties (sp?) what's going on here????:confused:

 

 

We were there last Thursday, February 3, 2005. We basically shopped in the mall area right next to the pier where the tenders dropped you off at.

 

The only thing we noticed out of place were kids. When I asked why they weren't in school, the store owner said

the TEACHERS ARE ON STRIKE!

 

I wouldn't want to be there if the entire country went wild,

say like LA did after the King verdict, etc....I agree with the other post....use ONLY ship sponsored cruise excursions in Belize. I would *NEVER* use one in Cozumel though...it's seems great and safe and easy for tourist to get around.