Goffs Caye or Rendezvous Caye?

[mitsugirly]

I'm headed back to Belize once again in November and need to find something new to do. We have done the cave tubing twice now and also went to Bannister Island. We are in port from 8am-5pm. We will be in Belize with the Carnival Pride and Carnival Magic. It is also my hubbys birthday.

 

I have always wanted to tried either Goffs Caye or Rendezvous Caye just for the neat "little" island experience (it helps that they both look beautiful as well).

 

I will be on a NCL ship and for some reason they do not offer either of these trips...which is a real bummer because Belize is the one place that I don't mind booking an excursion with the ship for the simple fact that it avoids having to tender.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated. This will probably be my last Belize trip for awhile. I have been to the western Caribbean waaaayyyy too many times over the years. After this trip, I will be booking Bermuda or Southern for awhile.

 

So which island would you like to send me to and have an awesome review from? :D

 

Tell me about the food and drinks (along with pricing).

Tell me about the water and beach.

Tell me about the boat ride and how far it is.

Tell me about the snorkeling, what I might see, is it done from the beach and can you do it on your own?

Tell me any of yours experiences good or bad.

 

Also...where should I book these? I noticed that Goffs can be booked with Island Marketing (and another, but IM was the cheapest).

 

I can't really seem to find who offers the Rendezvous Caye trip. :cool: Is it possible that it's only offered as a ship sponsored tour?

Edited June 9, 2014 by mitsugirly

[crewsweeper]

MG...last I heard Rendezvous was a ship sponsored only. If it's available through larger operators like IM or Coral Breeze, it'd be on their websites.

 

There's a nice relatively recent blog spot on RCL's Rendezvous Caye excursion here:

 

http://thirdeyemom.com/2014/01/08/unbelizeable-belize-a-day-at-rendezvous-caye/

[mitsugirly]

MG...last I heard Rendezvous was a ship sponsored only. If it's available through larger operators like IM or Coral Breeze, it'd be on their websites.

 

There's a nice relatively recent blog spot on RCL's Rendezvous Caye excursion here:

 

http://thirdeyemom.com/2014/01/08/unbelizeable-belize-a-day-at-rendezvous-caye/

 

Maybe that's why I can't find anything on booking it. :( If it's a ship sponsored tour only, then I guess it would be off the list for good since NCL doesn't seem to offer it. :cool:

[topspot]

We have done both excursions. Goffs Caye through Princess and last month we did Rendezvous Caye through Carnival. This allowed us to skip the looong tender ride. The ride to each place was around 30 minutes (maybe a little longer for Rendezvous). The beach at Rendezvous Caye was nicer in my opinion. There was shade from palapas and the sand was gentle on the feet. I remember Goffs Caye sand as being more sand with gravel mixed in..

 

The snorkeling was about the same at both. We were split into three groups (beginner, intermediate and advanced). They were better at keeping people in the correct groups on Rendezvous Caye. There was snorkeling from shore here also (this is where the beginners went). We were in the advanced group and snorkeled about 3/4ths around the island. When we went to Goffs Caye we were also in the advanced group, but it was clear many had not snorkeled so this was frustrating for us.

 

We did not buy food, just drinks. Everything was reasonably priced. They had burgers, chips that I know of, but I didn't pay much attention to the food.

 

Mitsugirly, If you have any other questions please ask. I sure have used info from your reviews. :D

Edited June 12, 2014 by topspot

[mitsugirly]

We have done both excursions. Goffs Caye through Princess and last month we did Rendezvous Caye through Carnival. This allowed us to skip the looong tender ride. The ride to each place was around 30 minutes (maybe a little longer for Rendezvous). The beach at Rendezvous Caye was nicer in my opinion. There was shade from palapas and the sand was gentle on the feet. I remember Goffs Caye sand as being more sand with gravel mixed in..

 

The snorkeling was about the same at both. We were split into three groups (beginner, intermediate and advanced). They were better at keeping people in the correct groups on Rendezvous Caye. There was snorkeling from shore here also (this is where the beginners went). We were in the advanced group and snorkeled about 3/4ths around the island. When we went to Goffs Caye we were also in the advanced group, but it was clear many had not snorkeled so this was frustrating for us.

 

We did not buy food, just drinks. Everything was reasonably priced. They had burgers, chips that I know of, but I didn't pay much attention to the food.

 

Mitsugirly, If you have any other questions please ask. I sure have used info from your reviews. :D

 

Thanks so much for the info. :) I'm still trying to decide, although we are now thinking about going to shark ray alley to swim with the sharks. At least that might change things up a little during the cruise. :p Have you ever done that one?

[crewsweeper]

DW and SIL have done Shark Ray Alley twice. They love it! Think sting ray city on Grand Cayman and add some little nurse sharks to the mix. Nice snorkeling along that reef. I know Coral Breeze's excursion hits Caye Caulker for lunch. Obviously, a private excursion will have less people than a ship excursion although you do have to tender into Belize City and then tender back.

[mitsugirly]

DW and SIL have done Shark Ray Alley twice. They love it! Think sting ray city on Grand Cayman and add some little nurse sharks to the mix. Nice snorkeling along that reef. I know Coral Breeze's excursion hits Caye Caulker for lunch. Obviously, a private excursion will have less people than a ship excursion although you do have to tender into Belize City and then tender back.

 

 

That's exactly what I was thinking...sting ray city and throw in some sharks. :D

 

I have started researching it a little and people have mentioned not to go with Coral Breeze and they have declined over the years in service. So I'm continuing my search.

 

We have another couple on our roll call that are experienced divers and they dive with sharks all the time (real sharks, not just nurse sharks) and they are up for the tour.

 

We are also checking into taking a plane over there as well (although hubby is a little worried about that) because it only takes 15 minutes by plane and you go to San Pedro and also go to the reef. The other couple is a pilot and loves aviation. So that would be a plus as well and would make us feel better about a small plane I guess.

 

I hadn't really thought of the ship tour just for the fact that most things that involve something like this do not allow young children on those tours. Once you mentioned it, I checked it out and it does say they have to be at least 5 years old (which almost surprises me because most of the others are older) and it doesn't look like it goes to the reef at all. Just to Caye Caulker and shark ray alley. It also states they depart directly from the cruise pier. :confused:

 

 

More research coming my way. :D