I thought Belize was Building Docks??

[frito58]

We were in Belize a couple of years ago I thought it looked like in the distance and we were told by someone they were building docks so you would not have to tender , but as I see on here they are still tendering what gives???

[crewsweeper]

Politics my friend. In a nutshell, the powers that be behind the dock idea are no longer in power. Some rumor mills have it that a bit of corruption (more than the usual "business")spiked the deal and it's in deep mothballs.

[frito58]

Politics my friend. In a nutshell, the powers that be behind the dock idea are no longer in power. Some rumor mills have it that a bit of corruption (more than the usual "business")spiked the deal and it's in deep mothballs.

 

Wow how sad is that , I kept googling it trying to find some bit of info but nothing . I thought they had started buiding them but guess I was wrong .

[swedish weave]

They would first have to a monstrous dredging job to make a channel deep enough for the ships to get close to shore. The water is very shallow for a long ways. When we were there on the Star, the props were kicking up sand, and we were nearly four miles out.

[setsail]

RCI bought land here

 

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs/1005/127279/Change+in+the+Sea+Air+%E2%80%93+Placencia,+Belize?destId=358198

[wadethegringo]

Placencia is south of Belize city, about 30 min by air. Very pretty town. No comparison to Belize city. The local community has fought to keep ships out of town..They think the week long tourists are better for them.

[SeaPA1]

Placencia is south of Belize city, about 30 min by air. Very pretty town. No comparison to Belize city. The local community has fought to keep ships out of town..They think the week long tourists are better for them.

 

 

I can understand why some would have that viewpoint. From a strictly "dollars" viewpoint, teh cruise crowds probably bring in a lot more $. From a quality of life standpoint, I'm not so sure.

[chewap]

They would first have to a monstrous dredging job to make a channel deep enough for the ships to get close to shore. The water is very shallow for a long ways. When we were there on the Star, the props were kicking up sand, and we were nearly four miles out.

 

You are right. Too shallow for ships to dock. Expect to tender in 4-7 miles out.

[mitsugirly]

There is tons of reef there and they go in as close as they can which are several miles out from the port as others mentioned. I don't see them ever building a dock there. We were so close in that when we were leaving and stirring up the bottom of the ocean because we were so close, it seemed as if we got "stuck" there for a minute. It took awhile to get out but you felt it when it did. There are buoys along the route you have to follow to get out for miles and miles as well because of the waters not being very deep. :)

[frito58]

I just thought the last time we were there in 09 we could see contruction type stuuf in the distance on another part of the island and it looked as they were constructing a port area but I guess we were wrong no big deal , Tender doesnt bug me that much we booked the Liberty for the ship ths time as long as we can get hit a beach or I may go see some ruins.

[HappyFamilyCruise]

Go in on 12/28/11 on NCL Star. Planning independent excursions. Curious how long is the tender. Do tour operators wait?

[swedish weave]

Go in on 12/28/11 on NCL Star. Planning independent excursions. Curious how long is the tender. Do tour operators wait?

 

The tender ride is about fifteen to twenty minutes. If you don't have priority tender tickets, it would be best to get in line about 30 minutes before the time they start giving out the tickets so you get a low number.

 

The tour operators know what to expect, but it depends on who you book with if they will wait. Maybe you should contact them before your cruise.

If you don't have one booked, google Major Tom Belize and see if he has anything you like. He is a very nice person.

[CGBCruiser]

They would first have to a monstrous dredging job to make a channel deep enough for the ships to get close to shore. The water is very shallow for a long ways. When we were there on the Star, the props were kicking up sand, and we were nearly four miles out.

 

At our meet and greet with the ship's captain in November, he told us the exact same thing. The water was very shallow and it would be a huge project to dredge a channel.