Island Marketing or Coral Breeze for Snorkle & Bannister Island?

[txyellowrose]

I have four of us booked to do the snorkle, beach break, and manatee watch with Coral Breeze, but now I've read from some that they did not like the Manatee part. Some thought it was about like "watching paint dry" and that they got very hot. It is $60 for the 3 of us that want to snorkle and $50 for the one that is only beaching. Island Marketing offers the beach part for $30 and $40 with the additional snorkeling.

 

I've read a lot of reviews about Coral Breeze Tours, but nothing about the beach break/snorkle with Island Marketing. Has anyone booked this tour? Opinions? Do their boats have ladders for getting in & out of the water when snorkeling? Do they provide drinking water after your snorkle or should you bring your own? Is one company better/more reputable than the other?

 

Thank you for any info you can provide to help me make the best decision.

Susan

[Kim.cc]

I haven't done either but we've been very happy with the tours that we have booked with Island Marketing / Belize Cruise Excursions in the past and personally I'd rather use the $20 per person that you save on souvenirs and drinks lol ;-) 'Manatees are nice but not the most exciting creatures and I've read that you don't always see them anyways

[txyellowrose]

That's what I'm thinking. An extra $80 for the four of us to possibly see some manatees. That can pay for our food and other things while on the island.

[2dot2dot]

I just booked with Island Marketing. It sounds good and they had good reviews from Grand Cayman and other places : I hope it is fun!

[Binker]

I haven't done either but we've been very happy with the tours that we have booked with Island Marketing / Belize Cruise Excursions in the past and personally I'd rather use the $20 per person that you save on souvenirs and drinks lol ;-) 'Manatees are nice but not the most exciting creatures and I've read that you don't always see them anyways

We are thinking of booking through Islan Marketing as well, for Belize (Beach Break) and maybe doing the same thing in Roatan. Seems, they have good reviews from what i can tell ~

[elliebird]

booked a beach tour with Coral Breeze and the island they took us to,was NOT a good beach location. They go to the coral reef for snorkling.

[Moongazer]

booked a beach tour with Coral Breeze and the island they took us to,was NOT a good beach location. They go to the coral reef for snorkling.

Elliebird,

Didn't Coral Breezes take you to Bannister Island? Is that the beach that you signed up for? I'm booked with them next month and wondering if I should cancel if they don't take you where you are supposed to go.

[Irishlinny]

Ecotours does a snorkel and Bannister Island beach break (we were booked for it for 2 weeks from now). However, Bannister Island is now closed until further notice after being damaged by the hurricane. Too bad, as Belize is short on nice beaches:(

[Binker]

Ecotours does a snorkel and Bannister Island beach break (we were booked for it for 2 weeks from now). However, Bannister Island is now closed until further notice after being damaged by the hurricane. Too bad, as Belize is short on nice beaches:(

I wondered if Belize had much damage due to the hurricanes ... we will hold off on booking anything ahead of time. Maybe, closer to our sailing date something will re-open or new will pop up.

Thanks for the info ~

[CruisingPiper]

I just booked with Island Marketing. It sounds good and they had good reviews from Grand Cayman and other places : I hope it is fun!

 

Would someone mind sending me a link or phone number to Island Marketing. I can't find anything about them on the web.

 

Thanks!

[russianmom]

Would someone mind sending me a link or phone number to Island Marketing. I can't find anything about them on the web.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Have used them is the past and been pleased

 

http://belizecruiseexcursions.com/Island_Marketing.htm

[Binker]

http://belizecruiseexcursions.com/

 

http://cozumelcruiseexcursions.com/aboutus.htm

 

http://roatancruiseexcursions.com/

[Nova Scotia Cruisers]

From: Andrea[/email]

To: "bannisterislandresort@yahoo.com" <bannisterislandresort@yahoo.com>

Cc: Peter ]>

Sent: Thu, November 4, 2010 11:40:29 AM

Subject: Open for Excursions?

A tour company has indicated that your island was damaged by a hurricane but we still see some companies offering the excursion. We on a cruise in February, will we be able to come to your island?

Thank You,

Andrea

 

 

 

Absolutely yes, we will be reopened from next week, November 10th...look forward to seeing you.

Regards,

Linda

Bannister Island Resort

"It is what it is"

Office:501-223-1449

Mobile: 501-610-0886

[truchattycathy]

I really like Island Marketing. We did not port in Belize due to hurricane Richard, but when we went to Cozumel instead on a Monday (we were scheduled for Thursday)and the weather did not look promising, I went online and Island Marketing assured me that the weather was really nice at the beach we were booked at, but if I wanted to cancel, they understood and would refund my money (even tho I had not given them notice). The woman encouraged me to go ahead with my plans and I am so glad I did. It was beautiful weather at the beach. I book thru Island Marketing for just this reason. Great communication and good refund policy. Carefully read all companies cancellation policies.

[CruisingPiper]

Thanks to everyone for your great reviews about Island Marketing. I now have their website saved and will be booking through them for our March cruise (hey, its only 132 short days away!).

 

I was also glad to see the post about Bannister Island being back open. Although we would have done Goff Caye, we had such a blast at Bannister last year that my heart was set on going there.

[berge11]

No luck with them directly, Carnival or the excursion online company.....any other solution??

[adk0425]

I've read mixed reviews about Island Marketing LTD a/k/a Belize Excursions (go to tripadvisor.com for further reviews). Has anyone used these folks in the last 90 days for a Mayan Ruin tour?

What was the condition of the vans? Temperament of the tour guide/drivers? They're price looks good, but if the experience is going to be a nightmare, then spending more through the ship may be worth it.

[footballfu45]

I used them for an Altun Ha tour. Everything was very well organized when we arrived. It was very easy to find who you were supposed to meet, and they would point you to the next person, who would point you to their office. Payment was a breeze. They used an old rental van, but the a/c worked fine. That being said, our tour guide was horrible. We were all from the same ship, and no matter how many times we told him what time we had to be back (even giving it to him in Belize time) he always thought we had 2 hours more than we did. He stopped on the way and pointed out things, he picked leaves off a tree for us to take and look at on the way, and then informed us fire ants lived inside them. Once we got to Altun Ha, our guide just sat down while we walked around. He didn't explain any of the ruins to us. The other guides we saw actually walked around with their groups.

 

Bottom line: The company seemed to have it together, but our guide did not. Hopefully he is just the bad apple of the company.