serene56 Posted December 24, 2011 #1 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I am thinking of staying on the ship on our Belize day but also thinking of taking the tender ride to visit the pier- Do you know if there are stores on that pier? anything near by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner15km Posted December 24, 2011 #2 Share Posted December 24, 2011 How does one with 40,000+ plus posts not know the answer. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted December 24, 2011 Author #3 Share Posted December 24, 2011 How does one with 40,000+ plus posts not know the answer. Just curious. Beleize is a relativly new port for me. Only been one time and did a tour right from the ship which bought us back right in the nick of time. I couldnt even tell you what the pier looked like back then. and this was several years ago- ( i think Carnival has rebuilt it since then) 15 cruises and only been to Belize once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askimdog Posted December 24, 2011 #4 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I have not been in Belize before either. But will be next month on the Legend. Researching the port area and town, everything looks walkable, shops in the Tourisn Village, Market shops outside the gate and plenty interesting stores down neighboring streets. I youtubed people taking tours of the city from their cruises. Seems like an interesting city much different from so many ports. My wife, young daughter and I look forward to wandering and catching a local meal. I have friends who lived in Belize City for years and they loved the local folks. The coolest thing about getting to Port is checking out the local places and not just the tourism shops and excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lidolounger Posted December 24, 2011 #5 Share Posted December 24, 2011 The Tourism Village has many shops. There are the very basic T-shirt shops, but also some nice shops that sell handmade woodcrafted items. It's definitely worth a few hours checking them out. All of the wood products we purchased have held up well and are well made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner15km Posted December 24, 2011 #6 Share Posted December 24, 2011 Beleize is a relativly new port for me. Only been one time and did a tour right from the ship which bought us back right in the nick of time.I couldnt even tell you what the pier looked like back then. and this was several years ago- ( i think Carnival has rebuilt it since then) 15 cruises and only been to Belize once. Thanks, In the past you have been a wealth of info, just surprised about Belize. We have purchased hand crafted wood cravings at the pier. The artists are set up under tents behind the main buildings near the tour bus departure point. We also did a city/country tour for around $30 and we booked right at the pier. The driver was very informative and the tour was well worth the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadethegringo Posted December 24, 2011 #7 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I went shopping in The City on Thursday. I live in San Pedro with my Girlfriend. I visit the city weekly. She has not in 6 months. One stop that I have not been to in a while was Mirab. department store. Just a short walk from the ship. We passed the Tourist Village on our way and had many offers for tours. It has become more controlled and was not as aggressive as in the past. My GF was like a kid in a candy store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted December 24, 2011 Author #8 Share Posted December 24, 2011 We have purchased hand crafted wood cravings at the pier. The artists are set up under tents behind the main buildings near the tour bus departure point. How pushy are these vendors? I have 3 people with me that will be 80+ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blind Squirrel Posted December 25, 2011 #9 Share Posted December 25, 2011 We were there a couple of weeks ago. Once you leave the Tourist Village there will be a lot of people trying to sell you tours. We ended up using a guy named Charles Noel. We had a van to ourselves ( 2 of us ). He took us arond the city fisrt stopping to get me an ice cold Belkin. After a tour of the city he took us to a resturant named Bird Isle. Great resturant, we sat on deck over the water and had a wonderful meal of chicken, rice, and beans. On the way back to the Tourist Village we went by a bunch of shops downtown. My wife mentioned she would like to buy a pair of sandles and he said no problem there was a good shop up ahead. A few minutes later we pulled up to a shop with LOTS of shoes. The wife looked around a bit and found a pair she liked for $15. She went to the counter to pay and they said that was $15 Belize dollars. She was thinking oh crap until they told her that was only $7.50 US. She then about broke her next looking back at the wall for another pair:D. I would highly recommend Charles Noel for any shore tours in Belize. His email is : charlesinbze07@yahoo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mitsugirly Posted December 26, 2011 #10 Share Posted December 26, 2011 Belize is one of those places you have to tender to. When you arrive, it's just like most other ports, it's all built up with tourist shops selling arts & crafts, tees and so on. It's nice/cute and safe inside. Here's a few pictures I took: When we first got there, this is the area that we went outside to and it didn't have many people there (other than those to point you in the direction you need to go in order to catch your ride) We took a cave tubing tour. We were told that the best deals were outside the gates and you would pay double or more inside in the tourist area. When we pulled up, it was UNREAL. There were so many people there up in your face trying to get you to buy everything and trying to coax you to the shops. We had a 3 year old with us and although we didn't feel like we would be harmed, we didn't feel comfortable with her being with us to stay out there either. There were security guards (or port officials), not sure what they are called, standing at the doorway to check your ID's/ship pass to let you in and I remember the one standing at the doorway we were trying to get to extend her hand as if saying "come on hurry". Once inside, we felt relaxed and relieved. I have to say though, I'm not sure if we were dropped off at the port at the same place we left because it definitely did not look the same. :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkansasrebel Posted December 28, 2011 #11 Share Posted December 28, 2011 How pushy are these vendors? I have 3 people with me that will be 80+ We were at the Tourist Village a couple of weeks ago. The vendors outside the gates are pretty aggressive and would follow you a little ways down the street talking to you. I wasn't uncomfortable, but another couple with us were. Inside the Tourist Village, they weren't pushy, until you get near the areas where they were selling excursion trips. Really pushy isn't the right word... annoying is!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Kat Posted December 28, 2011 #12 Share Posted December 28, 2011 They do get pushy. My 17 year old daughter and I wandered outside. Even had someone offer to buy her, but we did not get into serious negotiations about pricing. My favorite vendor had a gorgeous carved wooden door. I glanced at it, and he told me $300. When I expressed interest, he added, "Plus $3000" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted December 28, 2011 Author #13 Share Posted December 28, 2011 They do get pushy. My 17 year old daughter and I wandered outside. Even had someone offer to buy her, but we did not get into serious negotiations about pricing. My favorite vendor had a gorgeous carved wooden door. I glanced at it, and he told me $300. When I expressed interest, he added, "Plus $3000" too funny. I wonder if they wanted to buy my honey would I get into some serious negotiations....LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itf Posted December 28, 2011 #14 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Interesting - on my recent Equinox sailing, that doesn't look like the port area we tendered to. All that was there was some shifty luggage / bag shops selling designer fakes, and 'no prescription required' pharmacies with 'no photography' warnings. Maybe there's multiple port areas - the one I was at so closely resembled hell that I took the first tender back - thankfully we'd been on an excursion so had seen more of the place, but the port area was dreadful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted December 28, 2011 Author #15 Share Posted December 28, 2011 WHen did you go there? MAYBE celebrity has a different pier? But this one was built in the past 2 years. a hurricane destroyed the last one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itf Posted December 30, 2011 #16 Share Posted December 30, 2011 WHen did you go there? MAYBE celebrity has a different pier? But this one was built in the past 2 years. a hurricane destroyed the last one This was within the last two weeks - only came back on the 24th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukester Posted December 30, 2011 #17 Share Posted December 30, 2011 dont buy from diamonds international Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted December 30, 2011 Author #18 Share Posted December 30, 2011 interesting-= so different cruise lines use other piers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted December 30, 2011 Author #19 Share Posted December 30, 2011 dont buy from diamonds international why is that? That stuff is supposed to be backed by the cruiselines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Oviedo32765 Posted December 30, 2011 #20 Share Posted December 30, 2011 why is that? That stuff is supposed to be backed by the cruiselines. Read these reviews and decide for yourself: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150809-d317512-r121954265-Diamonds_International-Cozumel_Yucatan_Peninsula.html#REVIEWS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaofblue Posted December 31, 2011 #21 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Lots of shops at the pier--Wet Lizard is a fun place to have a snack or drink--also went outside the gate--there were several people out there offering tours--we just smiled and said no thanks-we just want to shop--no pressure--there is a little market area--we found the people there to be very sweet, polite--they are just trying to make a living--felt very safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukester Posted December 31, 2011 #22 Share Posted December 31, 2011 cruise ship gets 10% cut on al sales and the manufacuter the rest......Thanks for trip advisor on di ..they are wothless corp.. Bait and steal is more like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nessz79 Posted January 3, 2012 #23 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Lots of shops at the pier--Wet Lizard is a fun place to have a snack or drink--also went outside the gate--there were several people out there offering tours--we just smiled and said no thanks-we just want to shop--no pressure--there is a little market area--we found the people there to be very sweet, polite--they are just trying to make a living--felt very safe Is Wet Lizard the only restaurant in the tourism village/port area? We don't want to go outside the gates as we have no excursion planned that day, but we'd like to get off the ship for a couple hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargent_Schultz Posted January 4, 2012 #24 Share Posted January 4, 2012 interesting-= so different cruise lines use other piers within the same compound. The pharmacist doesn't want pictures of her on the Internet because apparently she can get in trouble. I don't know that the village was ever destroyed, but it has been greatly expanded over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargent_Schultz Posted January 4, 2012 #25 Share Posted January 4, 2012 { the store directory listing is only for the "Reef" area - there are more shops and places in the others.} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.