Review of RCL Rendezvous Caye Snorkle & Beach

[Trekker954]

How I miss Bannister Island. B/C I had no interest in tendering to Belize City, I opted for the ship excursion to Rendezvous Caye. I would say I am an advanced snorkeler, even at 60 yo. But was traveling with an intermediate snorkeler who had foot surgery within the year. We opted for the 12 noon excursion (there was also a 9 am. excursion). You meet up in Studio B, they will give you a number that sticks on your shirt and in about 1/2 hr you get on the ship's excursion tender direct to the island.

 

As we approached the teeny tiny island. They gave us fins on board and when we disembarked the tender we were given snorkles, vests and a beach mat to sit on. (not too many chair and only three floats that I saw).

 

They had three groups, beginners, intermediate and advanced. My friend and I got in the intermediate. They then described how the advanced would circle the whole island reef, the intermediate half and the beginner, well, probably half of that. My friend decided due to her surgery, she thought the intermediate might be too strenuous, so I stayed with her and we headed over to the beginner. They told one couple who had 5 snorkeling trips that wasn't enough for the intermediate group.

 

All groups were rather large, well, maybe not the advanced. Ugh, the beginner was tough waiting for the lessons of how to put on a mask. IMHO, the group should have been broken up even further because it was just too big for one guide and they do remind you this is a guided snorkel excursion. No one, and I mean, NO one is to break away from the group, no one is to go too far from the guide and needless to say, there was a lot of fins getting kicked in your face as they wanted you in a tight pod so he could watch all. ugh.....

 

The reef itself was magnificent. One of the best I've ever seen. Lots of beautiful coral reef, and lots of fish.

 

The had a jug of complimentary water (again, from a container). They sold local beer and soda, they also had some burgers, etc for sale. We bought a local beer for $3. and a bag of potato chips for $1. We dragged a couple of chairs to the water.

 

We were on the island about 3 - 3 1/2 hours. On the boat ride back to the ship, they serve punch (non alcohol) or a cup of water.

[ecooper05]

How I miss Bannister Island. B/C I had no interest in tendering to Belize City, I opted for the ship excursion to Rendezvous Caye. I would say I am an advanced snorkeler, even at 60 yo. But was traveling with an intermediate snorkeler who had foot surgery within the year. We opted for the 12 noon excursion (there was also a 9 am. excursion). You meet up in Studio B, they will give you a number that sticks on your shirt and in about 1/2 hr you get on the ship's excursion tender direct to the island.

 

As we approached the teeny tiny island. They gave us fins on board and when we disembarked the tender we were given snorkles, vests and a beach mat to sit on. (not too many chair and only three floats that I saw).

 

They had three groups, beginners, intermediate and advanced. My friend and I got in the intermediate. They then described how the advanced would circle the whole island reef, the intermediate half and the beginner, well, probably half of that. My friend decided due to her surgery, she thought the intermediate might be too strenuous, so I stayed with her and we headed over to the beginner. They told one couple who had 5 snorkeling trips that wasn't enough for the intermediate group.

 

All groups were rather large, well, maybe not the advanced. Ugh, the beginner was tough waiting for the lessons of how to put on a mask. IMHO, the group should have been broken up even further because it was just too big for one guide and they do remind you this is a guided snorkel excursion. No one, and I mean, NO one is to break away from the group, no one is to go too far from the guide and needless to say, there was a lot of fins getting kicked in your face as they wanted you in a tight pod so he could watch all. ugh.....

 

The reef itself was magnificent. One of the best I've ever seen. Lots of beautiful coral reef, and lots of fish.

 

The had a jug of complimentary water (again, from a container). They sold local beer and soda, they also had some burgers, etc for sale. We bought a local beer for $3. and a bag of potato chips for $1. We dragged a couple of chairs to the water.

 

We were on the island about 3 - 3 1/2 hours. On the boat ride back to the ship, they serve punch (non alcohol) or a cup of water.

 

Thanks for writing about your excursion. I've been looking at this trip also. We are so spoiled I don't want to waste my time if it's not any good.

 

But I have a couple of questions question....

 

Do you think it would have been better in a different group? Intermediate or advance?

 

Do you have time to go ashore and see Belize? or is this the whole day?

 

Thanks

Liz

[Trekker954]

Thanks for writing about your excursion. I've been looking at this trip also. We are so spoiled I don't want to waste my time if it's not any good.

 

But I have a couple of questions question....

 

Do you think it would have been better in a different group? Intermediate or advance?

 

Do you have time to go ashore and see Belize? or is this the whole day?

 

Thanks

Liz

 

 

Someone told me the intermediate was crowded also, but it probably would have started more quickly due to everyone knowing how to put on a mask on and the guide shouldn't freak out if EVERYONE isn't in his sight.

 

I'm not so sure about doing both. The tender for the snorkel excursion is directly from the ship to the island. You chose either the 9 am or noon excursion. the tender from the ship to Belize City is from my past experience and what I've heard on this sailing a nightmare. That tender takes a long time to load and get to belize. The first tender, my friend was on for a private tour, was 45 minutes lates to get going. When we were boarding our tender at noon, some staff was calling over the radio that there were no more tenders arriving for belize and where the heck were they.

 

When my daughter and I did Belize City last year, it was a 45 minute trip (the seas were a little rough). If you really want to do both, I'd pick the morning snorkel and then when you return see how much time you have and get right on the tender to the city.

 

Belize city is sort of crappy though. You are warned not to go too far either.

[topspot]

When the guided portion of the trip was completed, were you permitted back into the water, or did they make everyone stay on land??

[mitsugirly]

So it's really hard for me to tell if you would actually recommend this tour?

 

You didn't seem to like having to be contained to a large group, but yet you said that the snorkeling was one of the best you had ever seen. If you had to go one way or the other, would you say the snorkeling made the adventure worth it?

[wantocruisemore]

So based on what I read, you would recommend the snorkeling part, just go with someone where not a big group?

[MomtoCCC]

I'm signed up to do this excursion next week also. I mainly picked because my dd is a beginner snorkeler while I'm definitley more experienced. I also picked it to avoid the tender issues into Belize city.

 

I would also like to know if you are able to go back in the water yourself after the "guided" tour? I'm not thrilled about having to stay with the group but I will want to be close to my daughter anyway.

 

I signed up on-line and would like the 9am time. I hope that is what I get.

[mitsugirly]

I'm signed up to do this excursion next week also. I mainly picked because my dd is a beginner snorkeler while I'm definitley more experienced. I also picked it to avoid the tender issues into Belize city.

 

I would also like to know if you are able to go back in the water yourself after the "guided" tour? I'm not thrilled about having to stay with the group but I will want to be close to my daughter anyway.

 

I signed up on-line and would like the 9am time. I hope that is what I get.

 

So did you do the tour and what were you thoughts? Did you have to stay with the group and were you able to go back out once on the beach and the "tour" was over?

[libertybelle41]

When the guided portion of the trip was completed, were you permitted back into the water, or did they make everyone stay on land??

 

 

 

I would like to know this as well.

[MomtoCCC]

The tour was fine. My dd was nervous about the snorkeling - mainly swimming out in the ocean. Once we got her a good life vest (not the inflatable kind).. she did fine as long as I stayed close to her. We bailed out of the snorkeling before the end and the workers/guides were good about letting us do that. They did keep everyone in a group but it was kinda spread out.

 

After we snorkeled, she and I did go back in the water just to walk around. I think I did see other people snorkeling but didn't pay close attention. The island is very small but we had a good time. We played volleyball with some other families.

 

It was nice to meet on the ship and walk off to the smaller boat and not wait around forever for a tender.

[dna1990]

Just returned from this excursion, although now titled Wonders of the Barrier Reef or similar. "Wonders" is the name of the operator.

 

We had tickets for a 8:15 meet and 8:30 tour, but I remember it was after 9 before we left the ship. The main reason to pick this RCCL tour (we often book independent), was that it left right from the ship out to the reef - versus having to wait for tender ticket #, over to land, then back out, etc.

 

There was an additional delay as we were led by RCCL to the wrong tender - then having to re-board (and rescan thru security) and then walk down to the correct boat headed out to excursion.

 

Ride out was very calm and peaceful. We got fins and they worked hard to get kids or big feet folks fitted well. Everyone else got good condition adjustable fins.

 

Upon arrival at the little dock, we got masks, vests, and a straw mat. Our group gathered under a hut that was being left by another tour. We suited up and went to the intermediate group (which was very large and they suggested some may wish to go advanced).

 

It took a fair amount of time to actually push off and get to the point of seeing the reef. Yes, they insisted folks stay pretty close - but not super kick-in-the-face tight. If you hung back a little, it was fine.

 

I was actually disappointed in the reef itself. I think it is just too saturated by tourists and the coral and fish just don't seem to be thriving. I had this expectation of the barrier reef being like what Cozumel used to be in the 80s/90s. It was OK, but nothing spectacular. next time, we will find a way to do a private tour to a less-visited spec along the reef.

 

After snorkel, we got drinks, burgers, and dogs from the snack stand. Good quality at a decent (expected) price.

 

However, we did NOT have much time at all after that. Only a few pictures and a few tosses of volleyball. Whatever time we lost in getting there for whatever reason - was taken off the back side. It also started to rain pretty heavy, so it was OK to head away from the little storm.

 

Nice ride back to ship.

 

We had time for a QUICK change and then tendered to the mainland for a QUICK 30 minute shop along the terminal area. Nice tender rides to/from.

 

 

It was an OK trip and we LOVED leaving direct from ship. But it was everything about a cruiseline tour we all have come to dislike. Crowded at times, over-visited, and time constrained. At $69/pp we think we could have done better on our own - but at higher risk and need for lots more planning.

 

 

If you go, I suggest the advanced group unless you have never snorkeled before or get super tired from slow kicking along. The idea being it will be smaller group and you will cover more of the reef, and therefore hopefully see more pristine formations and sealife.

Edited August 4, 2014 by dna1990

[medsed]

We just did this one with CCL and we had a nice time. It sure does beat tendering to Belize and then boating back out to the reef.

now, I will say this. Many people who thought they were intermediate dropped out from the swim. I went in beginners as I am not the fastest swimmer and it was the right choice. They insisted I wear fins which they soon learned was a mistake...I have a wonky knee and the fins make me even slower as the weight on my knee just doesn't work. Once they were off I was fine. We saw a lot of corals, snails, conch and sponges...not too many fish. Hubby went with the advanced group and he had a little trouble keeping up because he wanted to take a lot of pictures and the guides really want to keep it moving.

The advanced groups was pretty small. Intermediate and beginner were quite large. I believe 200+ people were on this excursion. The beginner group was broken up into three of four smaller groups. We had a great guide and he was patient and showed us a lot of sea life...but...it was not the easiest swim. Afterward people did go out on their own and the guides did seem to be keeping a watchful eye. The day we were there the sea was not particularly rough but there were some strong currents. It is a tiny, tiny place. They do sell burgers and hot dogs and chips and beverages and a few trinkets. Our tour was at 11 and we were back a bit after three so I do not think there is enough time to tender over to the mainland and really see much of anything. From what I was told we did not miss much....

Would I recommend this trip..sure, if you want a quick way to get out and snorkel on this stop it is probably the best way to do it. It is not a luxurious beach day, it does not allow for a lot of independent touring time, but it was safe and we did see the reef.

If one does not wish to go to the zoo, cave tubing or trek out to the ruins...this is a viable option. Several,people just stayed on the beach, waded into the water etc and enjoyed themselves while their families snorkeled.

[lucigo]

 

Here is our short video tour of the excursion. We did the beginner section because my son has autism and you just never know..but he loved it and was a little fish. If we were to go again I would be less concerned with keeping up and just go at our own pace a little more and hang toward the back. I think I was just stressed about having the group get ahead of us, and had I known just how far we would be swimming and where we were going I would have relaxed more. My son and I ended up stopping at the half way point which really was perfect for us, we saw a lot of fish including the starfish in the video. My oldest daughter went on in the tour and saw the sea urchin and conch after we left.

 

Back on land we watched a guide harvest a conch out of a shell and played in the water while we waited for the groups to finish. It was a really nice day and I would do it again.

 

Although we brought our own equipment (my daughter got a prescription lens mask really reasonable on amazon), I did notice that the equipment they provided looked nice and new.

[mitsugirly]

 

Here is our short video tour of the excursion. We did the beginner section because my son has autism and you just never know..but he loved it and was a little fish. If we were to go again I would be less concerned with keeping up and just go at our own pace a little more and hang toward the back. I think I was just stressed about having the group get ahead of us, and had I known just how far we would be swimming and where we were going I would have relaxed more. My son and I ended up stopping at the half way point which really was perfect for us, we saw a lot of fish including the starfish in the video. My oldest daughter went on in the tour and saw the sea urchin and conch after we left.

 

Back on land we watched a guide harvest a conch out of a shell and played in the water while we waited for the groups to finish. It was a really nice day and I would do it again.

 

Although we brought our own equipment (my daughter got a prescription lens mask really reasonable on amazon), I did notice that the equipment they provided looked nice and new.

 

Thanks for sharing the video. I hope to go there some day. This time around we are doing the shark ray alley and will hopefully get to swim with the sharks. Next time, I want to go to Rendezvous. :)