Concerns about Belize

[alligirl78]

Just had my DS's (ages 7 and 10) there last December and had a great time. We booked a private cave tubing excursion, had no trouble and wouldn't feel uncomfortable going back. There were some areas of the city I wouldn't venture into alone, but heck, I have Detroit AND Flint in my home state so I can't say much :o.

 

Vendors outside the terminal were a tad pushy but nothing that a "no thank you" didn't fix. Had a blast!

[mikel24m]

Thank you, everyone!

 

I live in a big city, so I'm pretty street-wise (at least here). We are doing a Carnival excursion, so am *hoping* the likelihood of issues is a bit less.

 

I am looking forward to this port and visiting Altun Ha. Not looking forward to seeing the poverty, but it is an opportunity for my kids to see how lucky they (we) are.

 

Happy cruising everyone!

 

We have been to Belize but only did the cave tubing.From what I read on here the further you choose to venture (once outside the gate) the more demanding the people are.

 

Next month I think we will just hang out around the port and check out the chocolate factory ( We may change our minds again though) lol

[kiraryker]

We were there last Jan - we booked a private cave tubing tour and it was AWESOME!! There were 9 in our party and the youngest was 11 the oldest was 70 (my father) he is in a wheel chair and they took great care of him while the rest of us were cave tubing - it was the best excursion of our whole cruise!!

 

cavetubing.bz Vitalino was an awesome host and the dinner after the tubing was great! You will have a great time - it really is a beautiful place.

[alligirl78]

We were there last Jan - we booked a private cave tubing tour and it was AWESOME!! There were 9 in our party and the youngest was 11 the oldest was 70 (my father) he is in a wheel chair and they took great care of him while the rest of us were cave tubing - it was the best excursion of our whole cruise!!

 

cavetubing.bz Vitalino was an awesome host and the dinner after the tubing was great! You will have a great time - it really is a beautiful place.

 

 

That's who we used too. Agree completely :)

[soccersharon]

Feeling much better now! I did just purchase a Faster to the Fun package, so hoping we won't have to wait in a long tender line going back to the ship. But, I will stop at the Wet Lizard before we board!

 

Really looking forward to this cruise :)

[moore4220]

Have been to Belize twice, once on 12/07 & in 01/10. It is to date, our favorite port. The first time, wecbooked an independant snorkle excursion to Caulker Caye that was great. Disney could not have created a quainter setting.

 

The second visit we chartered a boat to take us to the Maroon Creole Drum School in Gales Point. This was great. We (my DH & 3 DSs ages 22, 20, & 15) loved this trip. Bought Djembes that were made on sight, the boys got a hand drum lesson. It was really a unique experience. We contacted Jill & Emmeth Young (owners of the school) to let them know we wanted to visit. They even arranged to have some of the local kids perform for us. They were featured on episode of the Food Channels "Bizarre Foods".

 

Belize City, right outside the gates, is a little iffy, but probably no more so than several other ports. People trying to sell you things & begging. Just be aware.

[Sh1035]

I was robbed at gun point two blocks from the white house. Walked all over Belize and nobody did anything but ask for money or try to sell something. Just ignored, said no thanks and moved on. Sad part is they could use the money not like the thugs in the US.

 

So if you can tour dc you can certainly handle Belize.

[Scott34787]

I did just purchase a Faster to the Fun package, so hoping we won't have to wait in a long tender line going back to the ship.

 

Just FYI, the FTTF package gets you priority tender

to the port only (ship-to-shore)_.. coming back

(shore-to-ship) you will have to wait in line with

everyone else.

[CJ0226]

We were there in 2010 did same tour up to Al Tun Ha. It was through Isalnd Marketing. We did not venture past the port area and I later seen why.

 

Upon boarding the bus, we departed en route to Al Tun Ha. The further we went the darker it got. This particular area up there is pretty slum like, border line third world conditions in my opinion. You coudl see the very low economic state.

 

At one point we approached a check point, there were what appeared to be military personell or armed guards w/ assault rifles. This was kind of uncomfortable being in a foreign country and seeing this. Not sure what the checkpoint was for, but I believe it was close to the Mexican border.

 

Everything went fine we were not stopped, searched, etc. Made it to Al Tun Ha without incident other than the bus not shifting out of gear the entire time and sounding as if it were going to fall apart.

 

Upon return back into city we did a brief drive through Belize City. You can certainly see the low economic state, gang bangers, drug addicts, prostitutes, and again more less ghetto like conditions.

 

I seen various police with long guns, assault rifles, etc and it just did not seem like a pleasant place. Not a place that you woudl want to cuddle up and read a book in! ;)

 

I would not feel safe roaming around there alone, after all they do have the 6th highest homicide rate in the WORLD, 125 homicides last year, but its still lower than other places.

 

There is a lot of gang warfare and drug problems just like Philadelphia back home, I wouldnt feel safe there alone at night either. Every place in the world has it's evils, keep that in mind.

 

My advice: Travel in groups, use a reputable tour service, don't travel there at night, use good situational awareness, and most of all use common sense...don't wear flashy jewelry, clothing etc. DON'T VICTIMIZE YOURSELF! TRUST NO ONE, SUSPECT EVERYONE

[mikel24m]

We were there in 2010 did same tour up to Al Tun Ha. It was through Isalnd Marketing. We did not venture past the port area and I later seen why.

 

Upon boarding the bus, we departed en route to Al Tun Ha. The further we went the darker it got. This particular area up there is pretty slum like, border line third world conditions in my opinion. You coudl see the very low economic state.

 

At one point we approached a check point, there were what appeared to be military personell or armed guards w/ assault rifles. This was kind of uncomfortable being in a foreign country and seeing this. Not sure what the checkpoint was for, but I believe it was close to the Mexican border.

 

Everything went fine we were not stopped, searched, etc. Made it to Al Tun Ha without incident other than the bus not shifting out of gear the entire time and sounding as if it were going to fall apart.

 

Upon return back into city we did a brief drive through Belize City. You can certainly see the low economic state, gang bangers, drug addicts, prostitutes, and again more less ghetto like conditions.

 

I seen various police with long guns, assault rifles, etc and it just did not seem like a pleasant place. Not a place that you woudl want to cuddle up and read a book in! ;)

 

I would not feel safe roaming around there alone, after all they do have the 6th highest homicide rate in the WORLD, 125 homicides last year, but its still lower than other places.

 

There is a lot of gang warfare and drug problems just like Philadelphia back home, I wouldnt feel safe there alone at night either. Every place in the world has it's evils, keep that in mind.

 

My advice: Travel in groups, use a reputable tour service, don't travel there at night, use good situational awareness, and most of all use common sense...don't wear flashy jewelry, clothing etc. DON'T VICTIMIZE YOURSELF! TRUST NO ONE, SUSPECT EVERYONE

 

I would advise hit the edit button and remove most of what you wrote

[smc0320]

I have to agree with you on this. If you walk outside the doors to the Tourist Village where the tenders dock, and walk across the street tot he crafts/flea market, you'll find, friendlier folks to deal with and lower prices for the same merchandise inside the TV. While the hawkers are a bit on the aggressive side they are not out to mug you. The immediate area around the TV is home to some upper scale hotels and several embassies. Granted that when taking a taxi or tour outside of Belize City you have to travel through some of the poorer section of BC and the countryside is, for the most part, very poor.

 

I don't recall any reports of danger, muggings or murders to cruisers while in Belize City over the past few years. But I do recall that a young girl was killed by a gang related shoot out in St Thomas while she was on a cruise ship sponsored tour to what was supposedly a very safe place to be.

 

Exactly the incident I was going to mention....

 

We LOVE LOVE LOVE Belize! Going there for our 3rd time this December. Last year, we just walked around the town for a while....it was raining all day so our beach day was cancelled and we didn't want to do anything else. We never felt unsafe.

 

Americans kill me....most on this post have been reasonable.....Belize is not unlike MOST medium to large size American cities...you wouldn't feeel safe walkng around many of them.

[askimdog]

We try to go far from the water on every port. Get away from Tourism Villages and tourist shops. This past January we hit Belize City we went into Ladyville to tour the Brewery, then wandered Belize City. WONDERFUL time for wife, 7 year old daughter and I. We ate local food (gibnut, rice, beans etc..) we talked with so many folks on the streets, one family invited us to there porch and we sat and chatted. We shopped ( everything we bought from Marie Sharps to Cashew Wine to Local Barrel 1 Rum was cheaper than the prices in the Tourism Village of course.).

Yes, it looks a bit rough, and it is a depressed city, but we never felt unsafe wandering the streets. We went into some churches and schools and enjoyed the culture so much.

 

Carnival says " WARNING don't leave the Tourism Village"...duh? Of course they want your money.

[justlaff69]

I would advise hit the edit button and remove most of what you wrote

 

Second that !!!

 

Don't go to the 'shore talk' programs, unless you're planning a drinking game or buzz word bingo.

Their whole agenda is to scare you into booking your shore excursions with them. And to stay in the port area and shop at 'selected' stores.

I guarantee you that they will push Tanzanite and Diamonds International.

 

This past March we docked at PV, walked all the way to the Walmart to pickup sun screen and then took a 25 min cab ride to a water park. The whole time, the cruise line giving us heavy warning not to go out on our own, pffft.

This was two weeks after a cruise sponsored tour was robbed at gun point.

[jayscore]

Last April DW and I took an excursion to Caye Caulker. It was a good way to waste the day to see something different.

This was our second trip there, and if we should ever go there again, we may just make it a " look and scoot back to the ship day".:rolleyes:

[mikel24m]

We try to go far from the water on every port. Get away from Tourism Villages and tourist shops. This past January we hit Belize City we went into Ladyville to tour the Brewery, then wandered Belize City. WONDERFUL time for wife, 7 year old daughter and I. We ate local food (gibnut, rice, beans etc..) we talked with so many folks on the streets, one family invited us to there porch and we sat and chatted. We shopped ( everything we bought from Marie Sharps to Cashew Wine to Local Barrel 1 Rum was cheaper than the prices in the Tourism Village of course.).

Yes, it looks a bit rough, and it is a depressed city, but we never felt unsafe wandering the streets. We went into some churches and schools and enjoyed the culture so much.

 

Carnival says " WARNING don't leave the Tourism Village"...duh? Of course they want your money.

 

I am trying to love Belize :), we are going in a few weeks.What would you suggest ,you sound like us. We were just going to stay in port and visit the chocolate factory and wander around

[CBCGirl]

We did Altun Ha last August, we had our two DSs with us, they were 12 & 14 at the time. It was ok, the tender was the worst part. We didn't really feel scared at any time. But our bus sort of broke down-the emergency door flew open several times, so we were on the side of the road alone for like 30+ minutes. We weren't nervous or anything. It is mainly country on the way to the ruins. You should be ok. Just be ready for the tender.

 

 

What was bad or scary about the tender boats? I am going on my first cruise in a little over a month and hadn't really thought about the tenders being bad. Just curious, I try to be prepared for everything.

[surfjock27]

Bring me back a Belikin..

Please and thank you. :)

[surfjock27]

What was bad or scary about the tender boats? I am going on my first cruise in a little over a month and hadn't really thought about the tenders being bad. Just curious, I try to be prepared for everything.

 

We also had a bad experience with the tender from shore to ship.

They crammed so many people on that the boat kept stalling out from weight.

At times the boat felt as if it were going to capsize forward.

Not trying to be a downer here, just speaking from my experience.

 

The tender from ship to shore was ok.

[mikel24m]

What was bad or scary about the tender boats? I am going on my first cruise in a little over a month and hadn't really thought about the tenders being bad. Just curious, I try to be prepared for everything.

 

Sometimes getting on the tender from the ship is alittle rocky depending on mother nature.Not to be nervous about though

[CJ0226]

Sorry to those who think I should delete my experience in Belize, but I won't.

 

I'm sure other areas outside of the city may be great, however my experience there was not a positive one so why should I portray it as such.

 

Yours may have been fabulous and thats great for you, glad you enjoyed it. I was never in absolute danger, did not become the victim of a crime, came home safe, but I was not in Kansas anymore either. :)

 

Here ya go:

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1055.html#crime

 

;)

[mikel24m]

We also had a bad experience with the tender from shore to ship.

They crammed so many people on that the boat kept stalling out from weight.

At times the boat felt as if it were going to capsize forward.

Not trying to be a downer here, just speaking from my experience.

 

The tender from ship to shore was ok.

 

I have been on many crammed tenders.How did you know it was stalling because of weight

 

Never heard that one before

[mikel24m]

Sorry to those who think I should delete my experience in Belize, but I won't.

 

I'm sure other areas outside of the city may be great, however my experience there was not a positive one so why should I portray it as such.

 

Yours may have been fabulous and thats great for you, glad you enjoyed it. I was never in absolute danger, did not become the victim of a crime, came home safe, but I was not in Kansas anymore either. :)

 

Here ya go:

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1055.html#crime

 

;)

 

Sad to say I would rather go to Belize than to Philadelphia.Once a week you see a cop gets killed

[surfjock27]

I have been on many crammed tenders.How did you know it was stalling because of weight

 

Never heard that one before

 

Possibly the two gentleman talking near us, contemplating stopping the tender and sending a second tender to meet us to eliminate some of the weight?

We were on a Carnival excursion that ran longer than expected so they were trying to rush and crammed way too many people on the tender.

 

Again, this was my experience.

I'm not saying that all experiences are alike.

K?

[mikel24m]

Possibly the two gentleman talking near us, contemplating stopping the tender and sending a second tender to meet us to eliminate some of the weight?

We were on a Carnival excursion that ran longer than expected so they were trying to rush and crammed way too many people on the tender.

 

Again, this was my experience.

I'm not saying that all experiences are alike.

K?

 

Thats funny a Carnival excursion would take that risk.Im sure the ship would not have left you :)

[surfjock27]

Thats funny a Carnival excursion would take that risk.Im sure the ship would not have left you :)

 

You're right.

I came on here tonight just to make up a story about having a rough shore to ship tender in Belize.

My life is THAT pathetic.

Absolutely nothing else to do.

 

Lord forbid someone else has an experience or opinion that differs from yours.

Sleep sweet, buttercup.