ISLAND MARKETING N Belize

[ShellDil]

""We are a group of 11 and will be in Belize this Dec. on the Legend. I would like to use them to see the Lamanai Ruins. This is the first time I'm a little reluctant about using an outside source since these ruins would be an all dayer. I sure would hate to miss the ship .

 

Has anyone used IM for this tour? Carnival does not offer the Lamanai ruins tour. ""

 

We used them in April of this year & we were delighted with our tour of Lamani & we got back in plenty of time.

They do sub out their tours in most all ports so you never really know, but in Belize for Lamani they were great !

 

What cruise line were you on? Did you feel rushed at all on the tour or that you had to rush to get back to the ship? We're on Carnival, on the Liberty in January and I really want to go to Lamanai. It seems like there's plenty of time, but there seem to be so many warnings against going, this being a tender port. We're there from 8 - 5.

[Limeia]

What cruise line were you on? Did you feel rushed at all on the tour or that you had to rush to get back to the ship? We're on Carnival, on the Liberty in January and I really want to go to Lamanai. It seems like there's plenty of time, but there seem to be so many warnings against going, this being a tender port. We're there from 8 - 5.

 

I'm pretty sure we will be doing this tour. If we do I'll be sure to post a review when we get back.

[littlelovely21]

I'm pretty sure we will be doing this tour. If we do I'll be sure to post a review when we get back.

 

I'm curious of you did end up choosing this tour and what your review was :)

 

We'll be in Belize 03/15/12 and can't decide between using IM or going through the ship, it's ~$85 difference in cost so I'd love any advice if you felt rushed or if they got you back to the tenders on time, etc. We'll be in Belize from 8-5.

[JimmyVWine]

I'm curious of you did end up choosing this tour and what your review was :)

 

We'll be in Belize 03/15/12 and can't decide between using IM or going through the ship, it's ~$85 difference in cost so I'd love any advice if you felt rushed or if they got you back to the tenders on time, etc. We'll be in Belize from 8-5.

 

I know that you are looking for the actual experience of others who have done this, and I can't help you there. But I can share with you my thought process, as I wrestled with the same decision for my upcoming cruise in April. Ultimately, I came down in favor of the ship's excursion, (the only excursion that I have booked through the ship, with all other ports being done through private companies, including Island Marketing). While I have yet to see a thread discussing people getting left behind, I have seen lots of threads discussing the relative disorganization and slow process of tendering in Belize. Up to and including certain cruise lines that embargo the port from time to time. Island Marketing states that their tours start 1 to 1.5 hours after the ship arrives. Not being an Elite or Platinum member on Princess, I am not afforded "first off" access when tendering. Add in the fact that people who book ship excursions are also first off the ship, and the fact that the tendering process in Belize seems to be a tad shoddy at times, I worried that I would miss the excursion. Of all the things that I want to do on this cruise, going to Lamanai is the absolute highest priority. I want to leave nothing to chance that I won't be able to enjoy the day.

 

I know myself all too well. I know that if I went with Island Marketing, I would pay a non-refundable deposit, would rush my family through breakfast,... would push them faster and harder than they want to be pushed on vacation,... would try to figure out a way to game the system to get on an early tender,... would have a nervous pit in my stomach the whole way over to the mainland hoping that I could find my tour operator and praying that they haven't left yet,... would check my watch every 15 minutes trying to calculate exactly how ahead or behind schedule we were,... would watch every inch of the highway both coming and going, hoping that there were no traffic jams,... would spend an inordinate amount of time figuring out in my head just how I was going to get my family out of Belize and to the next port after ship left without us,... and ultimately would make all the connections and wonder what all the fuss was about.

 

And then I asked myself. If someone said to me at 7:00 a.m. the day of the tour: "I can make all that stress go away and you wouldn't have to worry about a thing. All you have to do is pay me $89." What would I do? I'd pay him the $89 and enjoy the day, stress free. And as soon as I answered this question in my head, I got on the computer and booked the excursion through Princess, and didn't even have to put down a deposit.

[littlelovely21]

I know that you are looking for the actual experience of others who have done this, and I can't help you there. But I can share with you my thought process, as I wrestled with the same decision for my upcoming cruise in April. Ultimately, I came down in favor of the ship's excursion, (the only excursion that I have booked through the ship, with all other ports being done through private companies, including Island Marketing). While I have yet to see a thread discussing people getting left behind, I have seen lots of threads discussing the relative disorganization and slow process of tendering in Belize. Up to and including certain cruise lines that embargo the port from time to time. Island Marketing states that their tours start 1 to 1.5 hours after the ship arrives. Not being an Elite or Platinum member on Princess, I am not afforded "first off" access when tendering. Add in the fact that people who book ship excursions are also first off the ship, and the fact that the tendering process in Belize seems to be a tad shoddy at times, I worried that I would miss the excursion. Of all the things that I want to do on this cruise, going to Lamanai is the absolute highest priority. I want to leave nothing to chance that I won't be able to enjoy the day.

 

I know myself all too well. I know that if I went with Island Marketing, I would pay a non-refundable deposit, would rush my family through breakfast,... would push them faster and harder than they want to be pushed on vacation,... would try to figure out a way to game the system to get on an early tender,... would have a nervous pit in my stomach the whole way over to the mainland hoping that I could find my tour operator and praying that they haven't left yet,... would check my watch every 15 minutes trying to calculate exactly how ahead or behind schedule we were,... would watch every inch of the highway both coming and going, hoping that there were no traffic jams,... would spend an inordinate amount of time figuring out in my head just how I was going to get my family out of Belize and to the next port after ship left without us,... and ultimately would make all the connections and wonder what all the fuss was about.

 

And then I asked myself. If someone said to me at 7:00 a.m. the day of the tour: "I can make all that stress go away and you wouldn't have to worry about a thing. All you have to do is pay me $89." What would I do? I'd pay him the $89 and enjoy the day, stress free. And as soon as I answered this question in my head, I got on the computer and booked the excursion through Princess, and didn't even have to put down a deposit.

 

Well when you put it that way ;) I appreciate your POV and your time to post here. The more and more I think about it, it is safer for us to just book through the cruise and pay the difference. It's a long excursion so I'd hate to worry the whole time about making it back. Thank you :)

[moflojo]

So this is my first cruise...from reading this post it looks like Belize is the place to do an excursion and not the beach??? Am i correct?

 

If you could choose on thing in Belize to do, what would it be? And how/when would you book?

 

Does IM have a website?

 

Do i need to try and find out times we will be at port before booking anything? I am so confused!:eek:

[crazy1here]

So this is my first cruise...from reading this post it looks like Belize is the place to do an excursion and not the beach??? Am i correct?

 

If you could choose on thing in Belize to do, what would it be? And how/when would you book?

 

Does IM have a website?

 

Do i need to try and find out times we will be at port before booking anything? I am so confused!:eek:

 

belizecruiseexcursions . com thats by IM.

[HappyHappy1]

I used Island Marketing twice in Belize, both times to Altun Ha. The first time I was with my teenage sons...who absolutely loved the tour and the ruins. I talked about the ruins so much to my friends that they wanted to go as well when we went on our annual girls cruise. Once again we used Island Marketing and were definatly pleased.

 

Manuel and his group were very informative and professional. They gave us a tour of Belize City and told us all about the country. At the Mayan Ruins they exceed our expectations as they were a wealth of knowledge (both times and both guides). Island Marketing also provides lunch where the cruise ship does not. Cost was $42.50 including lunch. Two thumbs up!

[jandtmom]

Just returned from Carnival Dream cruise and used Island Marketing in Belize. "M&M" was our guide on the Altun Ha and city tour and he was very interesting and informative. He answered any questions we had. Jason our driver stopped the coach to let us check out animals, plants along the way. I would definitely recommend this tour if you want to see these ruins. I was initially nervous about booking outside the cruise ship, but it turned out to be unwarranted. You will save tons of money booking with the local tour companies and have a better experience.:cool:

[smarks]

I am having trouble with Belizecruiseexcursions.com. We booked the Lamanai Ruins and was told that if the ship made any changes they would give a refund if we could not make the tour. Well that's not the case. They will give you a credit to use at another time. I booked myself and 7 more people and the ship was to dock at 8. It is now docking at 9. They are saying that they will depart the pier 1 1/2 hrs. after the ship docks. It is a 6 hr. tour and from what I remember we will have to be on the last tender at 4:30. This will put us back at 4:30 if we are lucky. If I cancel I will be given a credit which will not help since I paid cash for 7 other people. I asked about all this and have it in writing that they will give a refund. They won't. They are wasting time by waiting around 1 1/2 hrs. after the ship docks. We are a group and will be getting off the ship all together since most of us are platinum we can be on the first tender. Lesson learned. I will let you know how it goes if we don't cancel. It is really pushing the time limit. I will not be dealing with belizecruiseexcursion.com anymore. It seems they want you to cancel and not use the credit.

[smarks]

I did the Lamanai Ruins tour through them with absolutely no problems.

 

They were very aware of the time and we were back at the pier with time to spare.

Hi Mona, I have booked 8 people including myself for the Lamanai Ruins in Jan. 2013. We were supposed to dock at 8:00 but it has been changed to 9:00. I already have the tour booked. When asking them about the time the tour departs they tell me it departs 1 1/2 Hrs. after we dock. It is a 6 hr. tour and we should be back by 4:30. Do you remember when the last tender was, and did your tour leave 1 1/2 hrs. after docking? Thank You in advance.