Lamanai - Length of time?

[BlackJack109]

Hey guys, i've been reading this board for awhile but its my first time posting here! Well anyways, I have been reading up on people cutting it close on there Lamanai excursions and it has me a little worried. I booked through Belize Excursions.com and they set me up to met at 9:30am (ship time). My boat docks at 7:30am and leaves at 5:00pm. I know it is tendered so it may take a little bit to get out there, but I am worried that 9:30am may be pushing it? Of those of you who went through belize excursions, do you guys remember exactly how long it took you to complete the excursion? This is the way that I am looking at it right now:

 

9:30 - 10:30am - drive to the port

10:30 - 11:30am - Boat ride through the river

11:30 - 2:00pm - Hike through the jungle, see the ruins, eat lunch

2:00pm - 3:00pm - Boat ride through river

3:00-4:00pm - Drive back to the dock

 

If this pans out exactly as planned, we would be back in time to catch a tender back to our ship, but I am a little worried that things may not go as smoothly.

 

I haven't read of anyone having problems yet, but I was just curious to see as to what you guys thought on this? For those of you who went, did you have similar schedule/time frame?

 

Thanks!!

[bullsfan]

I don't know about the time thing because that is a concern to me also. I am just glad to see that someone else has booked with Belize Excursions.com! I put a question out on this yesterday with no replies yet. I did not know if they were ok or not.

 

Good to hear you have booked with them also and that I won't be a lone soul doing that later tonight.:o

[JoeTx]

just bring your credit card, drivers license and passport in case you get left. Just got back off the Grand Princess and took the Lamanai tour with Princess.

 

We tendered about 8am, got on shore, waited for the tour bus for 15-20 minutes, did the tour and got back to the pier around 4:15pm, 15 minutes before last tender... The boat ride to Lamanai takes more than a hour, because it stops frequently to let passengers view wildlife. The trip back is quicker, but if they spot alligators or other unique wildlife they still will pull over. Also, they have to slow down alot due to turns in the river and to cut down on wakes when they pass fishermen.

 

Your schedule only had 30 minutes of slack, and I can think of quite a few things we did during the day that cut into that slack... good luck!

[Zeno]

Personally I would be very uncomfortable with this. You HAVE to be on board the ship 1/2 hour before the departure time. ON BOARD by 4:30 - not waiting for a tender. The LAST tender probably leaves BEFORE 4:30 - too close for comfort. What if your bus breaks down or is delayed even for 15 minutes in traffic?

I hate to be so negative (I loved Lamanai and recommend it highly) but I know I would not want to cut it this close!!!

Take care and I hope it all works out OK.

[rjscott]

We did the Lamanai tour a couple of years ago with Belize Excursions. I was a bit nervous about getting back to the ship as well, with it being a tender port. There were a few others from the ship on our excursion, and we expressed our concern to our driver as he was waiting for the other passengers to arrive. He was very conscious of our concerns and we arrived back at the port terminal with about an hour to spare.

[BlackJack109]

I sent an email to the excursion people asking for them to bump it up by an hour, i dont know if they are going to be able to or not. I'm kinda SOL right now, cause if I already put 30% down so i am out that cash if i skip out on the excursion - not to mention doing the excursion itself! Once you guys got off the boat, how much much did you spend hiking through the woods, eating lunch, and walking back?

[ann2]

We, too, did this tour in early January of this year. It was a wonderful tour. That being said, we really, REALLY cut it close in getting back on time. The last tender was scheduled to leave at 4:15. We were close to the pier at 4:13 and stuck in traffic. We all got out of the bus and RAN. Luckily, there was a very long line to get on the tender and we actually ended up waiting about ten minutes. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!

[rjscott]

Blackjack, we ate lunch right after landing. It was a "typical" local lunch of chicken, beans and rice. Nothing fancy, but good, and beverages were included. I'd say we maybe spent about 1/2 hr on lunch and a potty stop before trekking down the path to the ruins. Probably an hour or hour and a half at the ruins. If people want to climb the pyramid, that adds to the time at the ruins. So, it does seem to follow the schedule you've outlined. Of course, the tour won't leave the port terminal until all the passengers have arrived, and with the tenders, that can delay departure somewhat. But, the tour company is aware of the last tender time and so will stick to their schedule to get passengers back on time. They really can't afford to have people missing the ship. That would be disastrous for their business.

[DonMar]

I was set on exploring Lamanai and booked with Belize Excursions. Our ship got in at 7:00 ship-time and left at 4:00pm ship-time. After meeting up with other CC members on the cruise we e-mailed Belize Excursions (a few days ahead) to see if we could move the start time up an hour. No problem. Richard was waiting for us as soon as we got off the tender approx 7:45 ship-time). We were also the only ones on the tour (two of us) so we did not have to wait for anyone!

 

It was the very best thing I did on the entire 8 day cruise (Legend). It was also one of, if not the most beautiful place I have ever been to.

 

Be warned, it is not a quick trip. There is a very high risk of not making it back to the ship. Because this was our last port of call we took the risk - bringing all of our travel documents just in case. We DID make it back thanks to our two tour guides - Richard for his Indy driving and Jr. for his expert boat handling skills on the New River. Everyone was very aware of getting us back to the ship on time. we even had an hour to shop!

 

A few things to know about if you want to go to Lamanai:

 

1. Belize is a tender port. You must get out on the first or second tender. I found that cruise ships like to get their excursion passengers off first so make sure to speak to the Purser's Desk and confirm the tendering procedure. On the morning of arrival, make sure to be in the gathering location early and be politely firm about getting off the ship.

 

2. You will need a print out of your confirmation with tour time - make it as early as possible! The cruise ship will ask for this as proof of an early tour. At least the Legend did.

 

3. Have your travel documents with you just in case you miss the tender. The ship leaves ON TIME.

 

4. The drive from the pier to Orange Walk is at least 1 1/4 hours. The you take a boat ride 24 miles down the New River. We traveled at about 22 knots the entire time so it took us about another hour or so. Then you have to do it all over again to get back!

 

5. Traffic in Belize City can be tough mid-day.

 

6. If you go bring bug replant and wear good hiking boots/sneakers and pants. There is a lot of mud in areas and if you climb any of the temples you need to have really good footwear and pants. The pants help protect you from the bugs and your shins as you climb down the temple.

7. The lunch we had was back at Orange Walk at a picnic table at the dock. Because out tour was so early we ate lunch after we got back from Lamanai. It was not glamorous, but it was authentic. Chicken, veggie rice and potato salad - Belize style. I am not one for glitz and glamour when I travel, I like to immerse myself in the culture, so this lunch was great. We ate with Jr and we had some time to learn more about his Mayan roots and Belizean culture.

 

8. This is not a trip for the passive sightseer. This is an adventure. The boat ride is not in a luxurious speed boat, it can be bumpy at times and we were not hot at all on the boat as we were traveling at 22 knots! (It was hot at Lamanai.)

That being said, I wish we had more time to explore this beautiful place. Because we left so early we were the only ones at Lamanai and it was WONDERFUL. This is a site that does not get a lot of cruise traffic - just what I like. I can not wait to go back to Belize and spend a number of days at Lamanai.

 

Richard our land based guide drove us to Orange Walk with the speed of a Puma. What a great job.

 

Jr. took us down the New River with a few stops along the way to see wildlife - including crocodiles. He was fantastic. Jr. also took us around Lamanai and was very knowledgeable. He encouraged us to climb the largest temple - so we did. Know that I am home I can say that I was glad that I did it. What a thrill!

 

This is not a fancy cruise tour. This is a real experience.

 

Tip: If climbing the temple -leave your backpacks on the ground but take a camera.

 

Hope this helps.

[Misnco]

We did the Lamanai tour and booked through the ship (NCL Sun) and we cut it very close, however we were not too worried since we booked through the cruise line. I would be very concerned about getting back to the ship on time. However, please do not miss Lamanai...it is a wonderful tour.