Good reasons to go to Belize?

[booboo0530]

I'm looking to do a cruise in March to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize City. But the pictures I have seen of Cozumel and Costa Maya look so much more welcoming and beautiful than the ones of Belize do and I was just hoping for some input from some cruisers who have been to Belize City please and thank you!

[MacSmooth]

I'm looking to do a cruise in March to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize City. But the pictures I have seen of Cozumel and Costa Maya look so much more welcoming and beautiful than the ones of Belize do and I was just hoping for some input from some cruisers who have been to Belize City please and thank you!

 

My wife and had a great time in Belize when we went on the Valor last year. Since it was our first time cruising, we did a Carnival sponsored excursion. We did the Belize City Tour and Airboat Adventure. It was a great activity. We got to see the city (all the different neighborhoods and historical landmarks) and we got to see some absolutely beautiful scenery on our airboat ride. It may not have been the most "beautiful" port (we went to Grand Cayman, Roatan and Cozumel as well), but we still enjoyed ourselves.

 

Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

[booboo0530]

My wife and had a great time in Belize when we went on the Valor last year. Since it was our first time cruising, we did a Carnival sponsored excursion. We did the Belize City Tour and Airboat Adventure. It was a great activity. We got to see the city (all the different neighborhoods and historical landmarks) and we got to see some absolutely beautiful scenery on our airboat ride. It may not have been the most "beautiful" port (we went to Grand Cayman, Roatan and Cozumel as well), but we still enjoyed ourselves.

 

Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your pictures were a tremendous help! We will be going to Belize and that airboat ride looks like it was alot of fun. Thank you!

[GeckoGirl]

OK, I live in Florida and one thing we do NOT do is feed the Gators, LOL Great pic but I'll stay on the other side of the boat for that one.

[98Charlie]

I'm looking to do a cruise in March to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize City. But the pictures I have seen of Cozumel and Costa Maya look so much more welcoming and beautiful than the ones of Belize do and I was just hoping for some input from some cruisers who have been to Belize City please and thank you!

 

Mmmmm, Belize, thoughts immediately go to the Wet Lizard, ice cold Belikin beers and great conch fritters!!!:D:cool:

 

Dianne

[Jatimer]

Last January we did a trip up the new river by boat to the mayan ruins at Lamanai and loved it. There were three generations in our group and everyone found it to be a highlight. We saw lots of wildlife on the river and at Lamanai, really enjoyed the tour of the ruins and had a good lunch of chicken, rice and beans. We booked through NCL since it was a longer trip and wanted to play it safe, but there were plenty of independant companies as well.

[alexandra cruiser]

Im from central FL...and have gators occ.in neighborhood retention ponds and small lakes,,,so NOT something I would like to see or do.....eat enough small pets now,,,,yuck..

PS..love your cat photo,,,I have 2,,plus a beagle...

Was thinking of this tour,,,but having doubts,,since can do similar on river here.....:rolleyes:

[MacSmooth]

OK, I live in Florida and one thing we do NOT do is feed the Gators, LOL Great pic but I'll stay on the other side of the boat for that one.

 

That's EXACTLY what my wife did. When she saw one of the guides get out the bucket of chicken parts to feed the gator (well, this was actually a croc), she said "UH UH, we need to go!" and walked to the other side of the airboat. lol... I probably would've thought the same thing if I knew they could spring up from the water in the picture I took below (the driver at the back of the boat feed the croc and since the back of the boat is so high, it sprung up to catch the food):

 

[ortech]

booked cruise to do the western cruise in March 2011 on Carnival Valor.. dont think ill do the airboat ride.. those crocs look scary.. looking todo the ziplining.. but was wondering how the beaches are...???? need more info..

[STARFISH*4]

reason to go to Belize: the RUINs...we did Altun Ha and really enjoyed the tour even in the rain:D

[ellbon]

Mmmmm, Belize, thoughts immediately go to the Wet Lizard, ice cold Belikin beers and great conch fritters!!!:D:cool:

 

Dianne

 

i am going back there. .not just Belize but there..

[98Charlie]

i am going back there. .not just Belize but there..

 

 

 

Some things are just too great to miss.:D:D:cool:

 

Dianne

[clackey]

Our # 1 reason for a stop in Belize was cavetubing. On our first trip there we couldn't tender because of rough seas, so I booked the same cruise a year later just for the cave tubing. It was worth the wait. Since then we have been to Bannister Island and Caye Caulker. It will be Altun Ha next trip.

[Happy0810]

Our # 1 reason for a stop in Belize was cavetubing. On our first trip there we couldn't tender because of rough seas, so I booked the same cruise a year later just for the cave tubing. It was worth the wait. Since then we have been to Bannister Island and Caye Caulker. It will be Altun Ha next trip.

 

Clackey - on Caye Caulker, did you do a ship excursion or independent company? Did you snorkel and how was it? Thanks for any info!

[clackey]

Clackey - on Caye Caulker, did you do a ship excursion or independent company? Did you snorkel and how was it? Thanks for any info!

We booked with Star Tours and it was a fiasco. The outboard had issues. It would run a little and quit. The tour, besides the motor trouble was pretty good. We saw dolphin, plenty of fish at the reef and then went to a sandbar and swam with some rays. That was pretty cool. Our guide didn't have a watch so I had to keep track of the time.

 

The biggest problem was the water taxis. There were two and we nearly missed the one we were supposed ride. If we had missed it we would have missed the last tender to the ship. Luckily my wife is good with her elbows and we made it aboard. I think that there were 3 or 4 people that didn't make it.

 

From what I have read, the water taxis have merged and are more screwed up than they were. I would not do this tour again on my own, but you might check out Coral Breeze. I think that they offer it and I have seen good reviews on the company.

[Bruckner]

Our group split up on our last visit to Belize - with the older kids going with one parent and grandparent on the cave tubing / zip line with Major Tom, and the younger kids, one parent and one grandparent going to Bannister Beach. Everyone had a FANTASTIC time. I love Belize.

 

Make sure you drink the Beliken. Yummiest beer on the planet!

[chasm4u]

 

make sure you drink the beliken. Yummiest beer on the planet!

so true!

[truchattycathy]

Make sure you drink the Beliken. Yummiest beer on the planet!

 

 

Ok I don't even like beer, but I will be meeting my excursion at the Wet Lizard, I will have to try one!

[seahunters2000]

I'm looking to do a cruise in March to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize City. But the pictures I have seen of Cozumel and Costa Maya look so much more welcoming and beautiful than the ones of Belize do and I was just hoping for some input from some cruisers who have been to Belize City please and thank you!

 

 

I agree with Jatimer. We have been on many cruises and tours over the years. We took the Lamanai tour up the new river in 2000 and still talk about it today. It has been our best tour by far to this date. One thing Jatimer didn't mention is that you can climb up the pyramid and look to the north & see Mexico, look to the south & see Guatamala. The views are just stunning. You really get to see alot of Belize with a bus ride, a boat ride , and a walk through the jungle. We even saw a Jabaru which I believe is the national bird that stood about 6' tall in a nest the size of a truck. Also while walking through the ruins we came across 5 or 6 Howler monkeys crashing through the jungle tree tops. The whole experience was just awsome.

[brelyn]

I'm looking to do a cruise in March to Cozumel, Costa Maya and Belize City. But the pictures I have seen of Cozumel and Costa Maya look so much more welcoming and beautiful than the ones of Belize do and I was just hoping for some input from some cruisers who have been to Belize City please and thank you!

 

 

Just came back from Belize (9/14/10). We did the Belkin beer (awesome), zip-line and the cave tubing. We would highly recommend that. The cave tubing was unbelievable. We did the zip-line and cave tubing with FAB Tours Ltd http://www.fabtoursbelize.com/ and only paid $80 for both my husband and myself. We met them right off the docks.

[Love Boat Dream]

I agree with Jatimer. We have been on many cruises and tours over the years. We took the Lamanai tour up the new river in 2000 and still talk about it today. It has been our best tour by far to this date. One thing Jatimer didn't mention is that you can climb up the pyramid and look to the north & see Mexico, look to the south & see Guatamala. The views are just stunning. You really get to see alot of Belize with a bus ride, a boat ride , and a walk through the jungle. We even saw a Jabaru which I believe is the national bird that stood about 6' tall in a nest the size of a truck. Also while walking through the ruins we came across 5 or 6 Howler monkeys crashing through the jungle tree tops. The whole experience was just awsome.

 

did you take a private tour or a ship excursion?

[amazonlady]

We did Caye Caulker on our own, just walked round to the terminal and booked, cost about the equivalent of £8 for the boat trip each way. it was a beautiful place, we snorkelled, swam and ate and drank in the small bars overlooking the sea, a wonderful place, one of our best days:)

[Warmer Climes]

We also did the NCL Lamanai excursion and it was fantastic- one of the best shore excursions we have ever done. I was really sorry that my daughter (11) vaulted up that pyramid so I had to go after her (and do what, I don't know.) She was back down ASAP and then I tremblingly followed after I figured out I couldn't stay on the top forever. It is VERY high. The bus ride is interesting and the boat ride up the river was great.

 

Cave tubing was a lot of fun, too. We did that with cave tubing dot com.

 

Belize is a very interesting country and one of the most beautiful we have visited. I would not just go out and wander around Belize City but you are perfectly safe on an excursion.

[dvan68]

We did Goff's Caye snorkel excursion with Carnival - here are some pics:

It was a great day - did the excursion and still had time to tender to shore to shop.

 

View of the Caye from the boat:

 

On the island:

 

An underwater shot:

 

Click here to see all the pics from our Western Valor:

http://s897.photobucket.com/albums/ac179/dzdan68/Carnival%20Valor/

[cruisermom8888]

I have a question about the cave tubing excursion with Carnival. We are going to Belize in February. I really want to do the cave tubing, but I would like to know how physical the excursion is. They say on the Carnival website that you have to walk 30 minutes in the jungle to get to where it starts. I'm in my 50's and have some extra pounds and I would like to know just how exerting the excursion really is. I would not have any problem with walking 30 minutes, but not if the terrain is very uneven or uphill.

 

Any opinions would be welcome and much appreciated. Thanks!!