lizziehope Posted January 6, 2013 #1 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Hello- We are getting ready for our first cruise, and are very excited to go snorkelling in Belize. We are trying to decide going with a ship snorkelling excursion, or booking with Coral Breeze...our hesitation is the tendering to shore. Can you please share your experiences with either (ship vs. Coral Breeze or another company)? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debr Posted January 6, 2013 #2 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Hello- We are getting ready for our first cruise, and are very excited to go snorkelling in Belize. We are trying to decide going with a ship snorkelling excursion, or booking with Coral Breeze...our hesitation is the tendering to shore. Can you please share your experiences with either (ship vs. Coral Breeze or another company)? Thanks! Hi, Last year we booked with Coral Breeze and had a blast! They have an office right on the dock where you tender. We snorkeled over a fabulous coral reef, swam with rays and sharks and had a nice lunch at another island. We had no problems tendering from the ship. Debr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackieo Posted January 6, 2013 #3 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Last year we did a snorkel trip at Belize it was a Princess excursion. The boat collected us straight off the ship so no need to tender to shore. It was well organised and the snorkelling was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marietta Posted January 6, 2013 #4 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Is it possible to book a good company to snorkle with right off the dock or do we need to make reservations ahead of time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will in sunny FL Posted January 7, 2013 #5 Share Posted January 7, 2013 We'd second the Coral breeze Tours suggestion & yes you meet them right where you get off of your tender. Go to their site & ask Mark any questions that you have. We have taken their snorkel trip many times with the stop for lunch on Caye Caulker & have always had a super time with Heni & her crew. Enjoy Belize. Bill in FL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debr Posted January 7, 2013 #6 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Is it possible to book a good company to snorkle with right off the dock or do we need to make reservations ahead of time? You could, but it's easy to make reservations online, that way you won't be disappointed if they are filled that day. Deb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkscruiser Posted January 7, 2013 #7 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Ships Excursion or not..... You can sure save some significant dollars by using a local company that is for sure. We have done that in other ports - what concerns me the most about doing so in Belize is that Hol Chan is a bit of a ride from the pier in Belize City and you must be back in time to catch the last tender back to the ship. We decided to use the Cruise Line just becasue they picked us up at the ship and delivered us back to the ship - we were the last folks on board before the ship pulled anchor. Another fun part of our trip was on the way back from Hol Chan we had snacks and rum punch. We sang songs and when arriving back at the ship singing, folks on the decks above us were shouting "We should have gone with those guys!". Great excursion - my one complaint was that it was a pretty large group and they really "herded" us around, keeping us all pretty close together. I have snorkeled in the South Pacific and they pretty much let you do whatever you want, so this was a bit restrictive. I have a Shark video on my pic links from the Sydney to Honners cruise ...... Whatever you decide - have a great cruise! Laurie The Cruisin Camper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mn_isla_girl Posted January 7, 2013 #8 Share Posted January 7, 2013 Can you please share your experiences with either (ship vs. Coral Breeze or another company)? I had a great snorkel day in Belize at Goff's Caye, booked thru Island Adventures. We were actually late getting to our meeting point because high winds caused the tenders to only run intermittently. The tour reps knew this and were there waiting for us. The independent operators know the ships schedules just like the cruiseline sponsored tours. They cannot afford to loose business by bringing people back to the ship late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mn_isla_girl Posted January 8, 2013 #9 Share Posted January 8, 2013 booked thru Island Adventures. Oops, make that 'Island Marketing' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdlu Posted January 13, 2013 #10 Share Posted January 13, 2013 I used Sea Sports Belize; great Barrier Reef snorkel trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clcizme Posted January 14, 2013 #11 Share Posted January 14, 2013 My husband is an experienced snorkeler and diver. We are doing a surprise trip for him for his Bday. So, I (who are neither of the above) am looking for the best company to hire for him to go out with while we are in port. Don't mind using the ship excursion (Royal Caribbean - Rendevous Caye) if it will give him the freedom to explore on his own. But, don't mind booking elsewhere, just want the best experience for him. He literally will snorkel for HOURS! Also, the rest of our group includes non-snorkelers (who would just stay on the boat or sit on a beach) and casual snorkelers. Thanks for all the recommendations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdlu Posted January 14, 2013 #12 Share Posted January 14, 2013 My husband is an experienced snorkeler and diver. We are doing a surprise trip for him for his Bday. So, I (who are neither of the above) am looking for the best company to hire for him to go out with while we are in port. Don't mind using the ship excursion (Royal Caribbean - Rendevous Caye) if it will give him the freedom to explore on his own. But, don't mind booking elsewhere, just want the best experience for him. He literally will snorkel for HOURS! Also, the rest of our group includes non-snorkelers (who would just stay on the boat or sit on a beach) and casual snorkelers. Thanks for all the recommendations. With Sea Sports Belize; Barrier Reef snorkel: we snorkeled for an hour, ate lunch (great food) and went back out and snorkeled for another hour. There were only 8 in our group; they did not make us wear snorkel vests; it was great. We were at Goff's Caye; so for the non-snorkelers the beach is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clcizme Posted January 15, 2013 #13 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Thanks for the info. I am definitely going to check them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clcizme Posted January 16, 2013 #14 Share Posted January 16, 2013 With Sea Sports Belize; Barrier Reef snorkel: we snorkeled for an hour, ate lunch (great food) and went back out and snorkeled for another hour. There were only 8 in our group; they did not make us wear snorkel vests; it was great. We were at Goff's Caye; so for the non-snorkelers the beach is great. I wrote to this company and haven't heard back from them. How long do they usually take to respond via email? Thanks again for your help, they got good reviews on Trip Advisor as well and the tour sounds perfect for our group. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will in sunny FL Posted January 16, 2013 #15 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I wrote to this company and haven't heard back from them. How long do they usually take to respond via email? Thanks again for your help, they got good reviews on Trip Advisor as well and the tour sounds perfect for our group. :) You will hear back from Mark @ Coral Breeze Tours who will answer any & all of your questions in a timely manner. Give them a try ? Bill in FL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdlu Posted January 16, 2013 #16 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I can't remember exactly how long it took; but it was in a timely manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illinois cruiser Posted January 16, 2013 #17 Share Posted January 16, 2013 Were you happy with the size of the group and did you have plenty of time to get back to the ship with Sea Sports? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clcizme Posted January 17, 2013 #18 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I did hear back from them and was told we don't have enough people to confirm the tour. So, back to square one. I am going to check out the other recommendation given here. Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdlu Posted January 17, 2013 #19 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Were you happy with the size of the group and did you have plenty of time to get back to the ship with Sea Sports? I was very happy, there were 8 snorkelers in our group, and yes, we had plenty of time to get back on the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margarita Monkey Posted February 13, 2013 #20 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We can book the snorkel excursion from the ship... power boat takes us to Goff's Caye for a few hours or is there a better option such as Caye Caulker? Any pros and cons or advise on selecting the best snorkeling tour for inexperienced snorkelers that includes food and/or drink? I like the idea that some of them pick you up from the dock so you don't have to wait to tender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meester_jamie Posted February 13, 2013 #21 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Hello- We are getting ready for our first cruise, and are very excited to go snorkelling in Belize. We are trying to decide going with a ship snorkelling excursion, or booking with Coral Breeze...our hesitation is the tendering to shore. Can you please share your experiences with either (ship vs. Coral Breeze or another company)? Thanks! We were on Carnival Glory, week of 12/12/12 in Belize, and booked Island Marketing tours,, Zipline and Boat Snorkel... and were pretty dissappointed,, but made lemonade from the lemons started out with them putting us on the wrong bus,, it took us to the zipline,, had fun! .. but only because I enquired about the boat size.. did I get told... I was on the wrong bus.. new bus came, took us and another 3 to the snorkel boat,, one of them couldn't swim!...soo the captn of the boat didn't want to venture tooo far from shore, and wouldn't leave the non swimmer on the boat alone.. so I didn't get my escorted tour as promised... sigh,,, but ,, it worked out great ,, because they did the snorkel right in front of Ronnies BareFeet Bar!... so we had lunch there,, and met a GREAT guy, great place, and Great Wife! ... they can provide you with everything you might want,,, so I recommend contacting Ronnie and asking him about transportion, and snorkel and food, and return to the ship info... BIG GRIN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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