Carnival Private Island Beach Break?

[BambiRumsey]

I cannot wait to hear the review of this. When is Susibell traveling to Belize? I will be there on January 5th on the Miracle and as of right now this is the ONLY excursion offered by Carnival. Can someone tell me if there is snorkeling available from the beach of this island? this will be my second time to Belize and if I don't do some of the amazing snorkeling I hear about I will be bummed!

 

I am leery of doing a private tour again (got burned when one of my cruise critic "friends" told Coral Breeze to leave with out us becuase we had cancelled - we had not and to Paul's credit, my charge card was credited before we got home) Anyways..... Bad taste in my mouth regarding private tours and not getting the very very very first tender to shore so I think this time I will stick with a ships excursion.

[BambiRumsey]

Another question, since th is is the only excursions listed through the ship for Belize, do I book something now (either this excursion or something privately) or do I take my chances and wait until I board?

[OCruisers]

Rambi ... :D Could be wrong ... but would to be willing to bet more will be offered!

 

Hear what you're saying. We are booked on Glory for the Western part the last week in January! Will be very interested in what you're offered for Belize on Miracle by November 5th (60 days before you go).

 

susibell has promised to give us her thoughts on the "Private Island Beach Break". If she likes it, that's what we'll do. Just don't care as much about snorkeling or scuba as we use to. Belize is on that same huge barrier reef as Roatan (have snorkeled there ... almost as good as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia ... and would be a shame to miss doing once....)

 

Hope you get the excursion you want!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

Please let us know if you are truley able to spend the entire day at the beach and not just a few hours.

 

Paul: keep us updated on other tour operators selling this excursion.

[susibell2]

We leave next sat Oct 22..will be in Belize on the 25th.We'll let everyone know what it's like when we get back.Never snorkeled before so we decided to just spend the day at the beach,after what we've heard about Belize and the crime figured this was the best route to take.

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

Happy Sailing!

[jen2681]

Just tried to book this excursion for the 10/30 Valor sailing & it's gone. Gotta love it when that happens! So, I called Carnival and they said that there was some confusion with pre-sales on the website (maybe the times) and now they were only going to be offering this excursion onboard. They said that it absolutely wasn't sold out.

 

Hope this helps in case anyone else runs into this problem.

 

Happy cruising!

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

It may have to do with the change in Itinerary:

 

Sun - MIAMI Departs 4pm

Mon - At Sea

Tues - Grand Cayman 7am - 4pm

Wed - Isla Roatan 11am - 6pm

Thurs - Belize 8am - 5pm

Fri. - Cozumel 8am 10pm

Sat. At sea

Sun Miami

 

 

When is your cruise?

[jen2681]

We're on the 10/30 sailing. When did this itinerary change come out? Always the last to know... :) I booked trips with Fosters in Roatan & Moby Dick in Grand Cayman - guess I need to change those now. This is another reason why it's easier to book the ship excursions... But, we'll figure it out! Thanks so much for the info - I had no idea. My booking on Carnival's website still has the old itinerary, but I called and your list is dead-on with the changes for all Valor trips after 10/16.

Thanks again!

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

Oh no...don't make any changes. The change in itinerary only applies from January - September.

[jen2681]

I called Carnival - twice - to make sure I got the same answer. They said that my itineray (for the 10/30/05 sailing) is exactly as you have listed above. I even had them confirm with a supervisor. Have you heard anything else? I haven't cancelled or changed anything yet, but I need to soon! Again, thanks for your help!

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

From what I've heard from others on here - the itinerary has changed effective this month. If Carnival has reiterated that to you then I think it's safe to say that you should make changes to your excursions. I hope everything works out for you.

[susibell2]

Just got back from our cruise,due to the hurricane we went to the eastern carribbean instead so sadly I can't comment on the beach break. Our captain said he doubts they'll be returning to Cozumel this year due to the intensive damage from Wilma.We had a great time anyhow.

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

Gad to hear that you were safe and had a great time. Isn't The Valor wonderful :-)

[aloveforwander]

Has anyone now seen the Bannister Island http://www.bannisterisland.comwebsite?? It now lists Coral Breezes (Paul) as an available PRIVATE tour operator. His tour is listed at $59~ all inclusive (lunch, manatee watch, snorkeling, etc.) ilo Carnival's tour. :rolleyes:

 

I too will be aboard the Carnival Miracle soon (12/25) and I am excited about this new tour. :D

 

Paul- will you be so kind as to confirm if Carnival passengers can book this tour directly through you now?? Thank you! :confused:

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

Has anyone now seen the Bannister Island http://www.bannisterisland.comwebsite?? It now lists Coral Breezes (Paul) as an available PRIVATE tour operator. His tour is listed at $59~ all inclusive (lunch, manatee watch, snorkeling, etc.) ilo Carnival's tour. :rolleyes:

 

I too will be aboard the Carnival Miracle soon (12/25) and I am excited about this new tour. :D

 

Paul- will you be so kind as to confirm if Carnival passengers can book this tour directly through you now?? Thank you! :confused:

 

That is great news! I'll have to check out that site and Paul if you have any details...please inform :D

[SomewhereBeyondTheSea]

Here is the site (I can't wait to go) http://www.coralbreezelimited.com/current_category.15/Product.150/tours_add.html?t_product=150

[Coral Breeze]

As you know, it is hard for me to answer some of these questions without violating the CC rules for tour operators, but I can answer any email questions.

[aloveforwander]

Thank you all ;)

[BambiRumsey]

Can anyone tell me if there is good shore snorkeling to be done on this excursion? I am doing some sail and snorkel trips in the other ports we are visitng and I would like some place where there is a beach but also where I can swim out a little ways to a some coral formations and see fish.

[TravelWorks]

I have been to Belize 3 times in the past 5 years. I am also going to be stopping there again this year on the Valor on Dec 11 -18th, 2005 sailing (come to the Roll Call for those dates and say hi-if you are coming along with us). If you have any questions feel free to ask!

 

For snorkeling from a beach I would recommend Goff's Caye...

WARNING: The tour boats will often try to get you to snorkel from off the boat about a 1/4 mile from the island~ to its left~ for around 2 hours and then let you sit on the beach for 20-30 minutes(Do not do this unless you are a good swimmer & are in good health! When the waves get rough on the reef to the left of the island ~it can happen fast! I saw an older woman nearly drown here!)

RECOMMEND: Just get off your boat on the dock at Goff's Caye and snorkel from the beach~swim out 30 yards on the deep right side of the island...it is calmer...you can see it when you go there yourself. There is some sea grass close to shore but head out further and you will see great coral and fish-your tour guides will show you where if you ask them. When you get tired you can swim back and relax under some palms. They sell BBQ Chicken and beans on the island for around $5. Bring your towels here to lay on~ there is no chairs.

 

If you want to snorkel from a boat...Rendevous Caye is better. Less crowded but smaller island(no dock)...not easily accessed from the boat... you have to swim in. Palm trees were messed up here from 2004 storm last time I was here. But the coral formations are great!

 

I am going to go out on a limb here and give you my secret weapon...Tom *****... who also owns ***** just bought a new boat in Oct of 2005 and is now going to offer snorkeling tours for larger private groups to where ever they want to go...I arranged an Exclusive day there in Dec for my group giving us 5-6 hours on the Goff's Caye island for less than what the ship charges for 3- plus he gives me the boat for just me and my friends...

IF YOU USE HIM>>>TELL HIM

AMY LOVELESS SENT YOU! His email is info@*****

 

Bannister Island is not great snorkeling! It is mainly a nicely groomed beach and you can rent kayaks there. It is pretty though-Just not very adventurous! I think it is nice enough for some down time and to some people it is exactly what they are looking for. It just isn't what I would choose to do on the world's second largest barrier reef.

 

I haven't been to the Cucumber Beach or the new "Belize Museum" yet so I hope to get a peak at it when I go there in December...I'll let you know.

Amy