Need help with Belize

[THERAPYCRUISE]

Hi all,

 

I am traveling on the Valor on Dec. 24. We are a family trying to avoid the usual x-mas as we lost 3 family members last year at x-mas time and one was only 18 and was shot. I am only writing this to express my fear of Belize and Roatan. I have read that it can be dangerous and we are traveling with children age 8-16. We really need to have a good time as this is going to be a difficult time for all of us. Any recomendations for us would be so appreciated. We are really looking forward to this cruise and I am so grateful I have these message boards for help.

[Tarheelbelle]

Sorry, double post...

[Tarheelbelle]

First of all, let me offer my condolences for your losses. Next, I would suggest that if all of you enjoy water and adventure, that you consider cave tubing. I did it last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would suggest a private company for smaller groups. We did it through X-stream [we had 4 in our group with 1 guide and it was excellent], but several other companies [Coral Breeze, Wet and Wild, etc.] also get excellent reviews. 2 years ago I did a river trip to Lamanai ruins and it also was excellent. This year, we will be back and one of us is planning to scuba dive, the other to go to Altun Ha ruins or snorkel.

Regarding safety, I would suggest that you stay in the tourist village till you are with your guide who will drive you out of the gates.

We were in Roatan last year and it is rather primitive, but we had a wonderful time there and felt very safe walking the streets of the small village. I went on a mountain hike there and my friend went to a beach and snorkeled.

Have a wonderful cruise!

[wrinklesandme]

So sorry for your loss.

 

We were in Belize in August and did the Stingray/Shark Alley Snorkel Tour with Coral Breeze. It was absolutely awsome. I can recommend this as we were a group of 16 with 8 kids. The kids were aged 8-12 and did great with the snorkeling.

 

You will tender into Belize City and meet Coral Breeze at the dock. They will then take you by boat to two snorkel sites and then to Caulker Caye for beach time. We chose the tour that included lunch, $5 extra each, and loved the lunch. I mention this because in Belize the people are very laid back and slow. In other words, it ain't McDonalds. Therefore, you pre-order lunch and it's ready for you when you arrive from snorkeling. This then gives you time to explore Caulker Caye. We rented Golf Carts for $10 per hour and had a blast.

 

Coral Breeze had us back to Belize City 90 minutes prior to the last tender. We then had a chance to walk around the gated village and shop a bit. My DD was also able to get her hair braided. (This was $15 for the front half of her head. Make sure you have small bills with you as they apparently didn't have change. Hmm. :o We also brought our own comb.)

 

Hope you're able to have a great time and make this a better holiday for your family.

[THERAPYCRUISE]

Thanks For All The Info. I'll Let You Know How It Goes. Should Be A Blast And I Can't Wait To Go.

[caribbean dreams]

We were just in Roatan and Belize, In Belize i would say take a tour or stay near the tourist area, i wondered out to the street venders and was fine but i kept my guard up , the are very pushy and will follow you

In Roatan i wondered the whole town and never felt unsafe, the locals are very friendly and kind, My Husband and i are thinking about going back to roatan and staying a few weeks, the island is small and there are 1700 americans living there, not to say that makes it any safer but i felt very comfortable.

 

[newby cruisers]

Hello, therapycruise,

Heartfelt condolences to you and your family.

 

We're headed on a New Year's cruise aboard the Grand Princess, and we've been looking at Belize excursions as well. Check out cavetubing.com. I've seen it recommended in other posts, and it looks good.

 

Have a great trip.

[blue2green]

We were on the Miracle recently and took the Beach tour to Bannister Island. It was beautiful, lots of shade, lots of chairs, clean bathrooms, clear water and mats to float on! We tendered from to and from the ship, not town.

[THERAPYCRUISE]

Thank you sooooo much for all the advice. I am thinking of private charter thru tsunami adventures in caulker caye for snorkeling, any advice on this would be awesome.

[grayling111]

what company did you use and what was the cost for both zip line and tubing? was that with lunch and where did you eat?

[jaded0628]

The snorkeling is awesome in Belize. Its my favorite stop. Just came back from my second time to Goffe Cay and it was so much fun. Its nice for kids because you can go out with the boat and snorkel or be let of on the island and snorkel from the beach. Ive done both and the snorkeling from the beach is just as nice. Even found some conch and a lobster lol. The island is the size of a football field and very beautiful. We booked with Carnival and they pick you up right at the ship. Was my husbands first time and it was his favorite day out of the week. Good luck and whatever you choose I hope you have a wonderful time.

[THERAPYCRUISE]

Thank you all for the help. I'm sure we will have a good time thanks to all of you and the great advice. I think our group is leaning towards cave tubing with yhony. A little concerned for myself as I am claustrophobic. We also have a little girl who is only 8. Does anybody know if this is ok for her and how dark and cramped are the caves? thanks again guys

[Deemuch]

I am going on our first cruise this January. One of our ports of call is also Belize, and I ahve been doing alot of research on the excursions available. We are going on the NCL "Dawn"...and they recently show all the tours/info available online for all excursions. I was also interesting in the cave tubing & or the zip line tours etc....but was disappointed to find out that the tours have age limit, minimum age of 12 yrs. My daughters are 8 & 11 yrs...so i am trying to find something suitable for all of us. We are now looking at doing a tour of the ruins in Belize, but am still looking for more info to help decide. If anyone has any suggestions...it would greatly be appreciated.

 

Thank-you

 

 

Thank you all for the help. I'm sure we will have a good time thanks to all of you and the great advice. I think our group is leaning towards cave tubing with yhony. A little concerned for myself as I am claustrophobic. We also have a little girl who is only 8. Does anybody know if this is ok for her and how dark and cramped are the caves? thanks again guys

[Deemuch]

One of our ports of call on our upcoming cruise is in Belize. We are also going to be visiting Roatan, Grand Cayman Island, Ochios Rios , Cozumel, & Great Stirrup Cay ( bahamas private island ).

 

Our children are ages 8 & 11 yrs. The 11 yrs old snorkeled once in Bahamas off a catamaran boat ( easy on/off ) & loved it. The youngest has never snorkeled before, and I plan on teaching her & going to our local swimming pool to practise before we go so she can feel comfortable.

 

my question(s) are:

 

I want to do some snorkeling at some of the ports of call but not all of them. I also want to try & do something a bit different at each country, but we are also restricted by age limits for some things because of our kids age.

 

I am concerned about what places would be best for beginner snorkler, but at same time be exciting for all of us, since I am an advid snorkler. I heard the snorkleing in Belize is amazing, but is it more amazing than let's say Roatan or Bahamas? I would love to do the Ruins in Belize but am struggling with not wanting to miss the snorkling, but none of the other ports offer the ruins, while snorkeling is available at most others. Also...on the tour to shark Ray Alley etc...in Belize...are you out in middle of ocean or near shore, and are waves rough? Would it be appropriate for beginner snorkler?

 

Also...on that note, we were planning to go to stingray city in Grand Cayman, so doing shark ray alley in belize seemd like a duplicate experience, so I am leaning more towards ruins in Belize, rays in Grand Cayman, and snorkleing in Bahamas & Roatan...

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank-you

 

 

We were in Belize in August and did the Stingray/Shark Alley Snorkel Tour with Coral Breeze. It was absolutely awsome. I can recommend this as we were a group of 16 with 8 kids. The kids were aged 8-12 and did great with the snorkeling.

 

.

[THERAPYCRUISE]

One of our ports of call on our upcoming cruise is in Belize. We are also going to be visiting Roatan, Grand Cayman Island, Ochios Rios , Cozumel, & Great Stirrup Cay ( bahamas private island ).

 

Our children are ages 8 & 11 yrs. The 11 yrs old snorkeled once in Bahamas off a catamaran boat ( easy on/off ) & loved it. The youngest has never snorkeled before, and I plan on teaching her & going to our local swimming pool to practise before we go so she can feel comfortable.

 

my question(s) are:

 

I want to do some snorkeling at some of the ports of call but not all of them. I also want to try & do something a bit different at each country, but we are also restricted by age limits for some things because of our kids age.

 

I am concerned about what places would be best for beginner snorkler, but at same time be exciting for all of us, since I am an advid snorkler. I heard the snorkleing in Belize is amazing, but is it more amazing than let's say Roatan or Bahamas? I would love to do the Ruins in Belize but am struggling with not wanting to miss the snorkling, but none of the other ports offer the ruins, while snorkeling is available at most others. Also...on the tour to shark Ray Alley etc...in Belize...are you out in middle of ocean or near shore, and are waves rough? Would it be appropriate for beginner snorkler?

 

Also...on that note, we were planning to go to stingray city in Grand Cayman, so doing shark ray alley in belize seemd like a duplicate experience, so I am leaning more towards ruins in Belize, rays in Grand Cayman, and snorkleing in Bahamas & Roatan...

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thank-you

I also am traveling with children ages 8-16. I e-mailed cave-tubing.com and asked about age limits and I am sure you can take an 8 yr old cave tubing if that is what you want to do. I am also struggling with snorkeling and tubing, but what I keep hearing is that Belize is the oly place you can do this and everybody says its great. Check out http://www.cave-tubing.com for more info and a video.

[woolfden]

Conny. I read your post about your excursion in Belize City. The cave tubing & zipling is exactly what I wanted to do, but my husband thinks it would be neat to do the Zoo. Could you email me & let me know which tour company you used & how much it cost? You can email me at tinarbarrett@yahoo.com if you are unable to post the name on this thread. Thanks a million.

[pwillmo]

We too want to zip and cave tour.. If you would email me the group you used I would really appreciate it..

Thanks,

pwillmon@aol.com

[DGP1111]

To TherapyCruise, my added condolences as well. Kudos to you for looking for a way to get family members through this together. My voyage last month was similar (attempting to get my brain out of the mode it was in following a hospice situation). I can easily say my day in Belize was one of the first times I could actually do just that, and the others on the excursion(s) said they had the same terrific time. My Carnival excursion was called 'Jungle Adventure Bike Trail', and I have to admit the bike part was tough, yet fun, with the ground that wet. But their are options at this same location for going on foot or horseback (and even for those with no riding experience). The ending point is the glorious Bacab Eco-Adventure Park where you have a lunch and pool time - or hammock time. Said to be largest pool in all of Belize, and a bunch of us passengers really bonded during this day, mostly saying we wanted to skip the rest of the cruise and just live there. All you need is your camera and insect repellant. Have a wonderful time in Belize, whatever you choose!!

[buckeyeinmd]

We did cave-tubing.com in August with my 10 year old and he had a great time. They are very accomodating and you'll have a blast. They will make sure you have a great (and safe) time.

 

Doug

8/92 Monarch of the Seas

3/93 Mardi Gras

3/03 Victory

8/06 Glory

[svosher]

Hi Therapycruise,

We lost our 23 year old nephew 3 years ago the family went to Hawaii between Christmas and New Years (his Birthday)Was the best diversion.

Roatan is great. Gunbalinda park has zip line that even the littler guys would love not too high and guides will tandem with them, the park also has monkeys that will try to pick their pockets, beautiful flowers, a place to get lunch and a very nice beach to snorkel from and also has a nice bath house. Also has a small cave the tells the story of the island. Google Gumbalina Park Roatan and see for yourself. Also Tabyana Beach is nice snorkel, kayaks and nice buffet and chairs.

Good Luck.

[THERAPYCRUISE]

To TherapyCruise, my added condolences as well. Kudos to you for looking for a way to get family members through this together. My voyage last month was similar (attempting to get my brain out of the mode it was in following a hospice situation). I can easily say my day in Belize was one of the first times I could actually do just that, and the others on the excursion(s) said they had the same terrific time. My Carnival excursion was called 'Jungle Adventure Bike Trail', and I have to admit the bike part was tough, yet fun, with the ground that wet. But their are options at this same location for going on foot or horseback (and even for those with no riding experience). The ending point is the glorious Bacab Eco-Adventure Park where you have a lunch and pool time - or hammock time. Said to be largest pool in all of Belize, and a bunch of us passengers really bonded during this day, mostly saying we wanted to skip the rest of the cruise and just live there. All you need is your camera and insect repellant. Have a wonderful time in Belize, whatever you choose!!

Thanks sooo much for the info and sharing that you also were trying to move on from something difficult. I hope it works for us. I'll post a review when we get back. Thanks again.

[LHP]

So sorry to hear of your loss.

 

Belize is a beautiful country with a lot to offer, but sadly at this time, it is best not to go beyond the fence without an organized tour. Now it does not have to be a ship's tour...there are many fine tour guides that you can book independently. In fact Yhonney's cave tubing is far superior to the one the ship offers from all reports that we have gotten on this board and others.

 

The people there are very poor and it causes them to do stupid things sometimes. (one of which is be to aggressive once you are outside that fence)

 

The "fence" surrounds a good size area that have many stores for shopping, restaurants/bars and a couple of registered tour operators that are allowed inside. Gilly has his "kiosk" (which in Belize means folding table) just below a restaurant called the Wet Lizard. Cave-tubing is by far the favorite thing to do in Belize, but if you can not do that... Gilly can take you on a general tour of Belize or to the zoo etc. You can emailed him ahead of time and chat about places and price at gillytours@yahoo.com Tell him that Linda said to take good care of you.

 

I would not do any extensive time consuming tour unless it was through the ship. The ship will wait for you if you are late and on a ship tour....otherwise it will not.

 

Make sure you stay on SHIP time. There will be a clock as you leave the gangway to verifiy that you and the ship are on the same page.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

[THERAPYCRUISE]

Hi Therapycruise,

We lost our 23 year old nephew 3 years ago the family went to Hawaii between Christmas and New Years (his Birthday)Was the best diversion.

Roatan is great. Gunbalinda park has zip line that even the littler guys would love not too high and guides will tandem with them, the park also has monkeys that will try to pick their pockets, beautiful flowers, a place to get lunch and a very nice beach to snorkel from and also has a nice bath house. Also has a small cave the tells the story of the island. Google Gumbalina Park Roatan and see for yourself. Also Tabyana Beach is nice snorkel, kayaks and nice buffet and chairs.

Good Luck.

This is great to hear that it was a good diversion as you know how difficult the holidays can be. I am sooooo sorry for your loss and I wish you all happier times.

[CleoPat]

Make sure you stay on SHIP time. There will be a clock as you leave the gangway to verifiy that you and the ship are on the same page.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

 

I booked an excursion with Shore Trips and it said to make sure you are on their time and NOT ship time. Ship says it arrives at 7 am (ship time?). Tour is scheduled for 9 am Belize time. Will I be on time for this tour?? Going over Thanksgiving week.

[LHP]

Make sure you stay on SHIP time. There will be a clock as you leave the gangway to verifiy that you and the ship are on the same page.

 

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

 

I booked an excursion with Shore Trips and it said to make sure you are on their time and NOT ship time. Ship says it arrives at 7 am (ship time?). Tour is scheduled for 9 am Belize time. Will I be on time for this tour?? Going over Thanksgiving week.

 

 

The reason we always advise that you stay on Ship time is because when that puppy says it will be sailing at 5PM...it means it will be sailing at 5PM Ship time...regardless of what the port's time is. And since our main goal is always to be back on the ship before the ship sails....Ship Time is all I worry about.

 

If you are going on the Miracle...the ship stays on eastern time the entire cruise. I would email Shore Trips back and ask them what time this port uses.

 

Have a great cruise.