WARNING – Don’t miss out on this in Belize

[Former Guest]

I spent months researching the ports we were visiting during our Western Caribbean cruise in July. A lot of the information I gathered came from the Cruise Critic Community. So I thought it was time to give back to the community (as a Former Guest).

If you are stopping in Belize I want to warn you NOT to miss a tour with the operator we used. Okay, maybe the title is a little misleading, but heck, I’m still in vacation mode.

Our group, 19 strong, had different things they wanted to do in Belize. We read about Coral Breeze on this site as well as other cruise posting sites.

Our true warning to you is don’t miss out on their tours. I’m telling you, they do it right. We had people in our group who did their Cave Tubing and we were on their snorkel tour. I can only say, the people who did the tubing had an absolute blast.

Now, for our part of the tour. Three people went scuba diving and the rest of us went snorkeling. These guys did not skip a beat. I read how quickly they reply when you contact them…they did. I read how easy it was to find them…it was. I read how friendly the tour guides are…they were. I read how beautiful the snorkeling is…it was. I read how nice Caye Caulker is….it was. I could go on and on (trust me, my family tells me to stop too).

I want to go through my experience beginning to end for everyone. I know when I was doing research I appreciated when people did this. Sorry if I get long winded, but I’m just showing my excitement.

We were a little nervous about booking a non ship tour for all the same reasons everyone sites. I think there is no going back now. My communications with Paul were always prompt and professional. He answered my onslaught of questions (mostly from my other group members ;) ). Our next worry was this tendering thing. Everyone had me so worried that we would miss our tour because the ship tenders the people who bought their tours first. If I read this once, I read it a hundred times. Let me put it all to rest for you. Yes, the ship tenders their tour people first. But the tenders for the “others” get you to the village way early enough. I look at it this way…the ship tour people had to be up really early. Now don’t think you can lolly-gag along. You do have to make it a point to be ready to tender over, but it is not the worrisome experience we are all led to believe.

Next, the meeting location…how are we ever going to find them with all of these people. Oh, that’s right, they sent us a map with the confirmation. I will probably say this a couple of times… it is all in the details. The map was perfect and made it very easy to find them. It took all of a minute to get to the meeting spot at the village.

We had about 30 minutes before the tour was ready to leave (remember I said the tender thing was easy and on time). So we shopped for a bit at the Tourist Village before boarding the boat. This boat is similar to the boat we tendered over on. The difference is, it was elbow to elbow on the tender. The snorkel tour with only about 30 people left plenty of room to spread out. The boat was covered and very comfortable.

After everyone was on board we were on our way. The trip to Caye Caulker took about 35 minutes. We saw some dolphins playing in our wake along the way. It was a beautiful and scenic ride. It went quickly as we prepared our lunch menus and were fitted for snorkel gear. When we arrived on Caye Caulker, their were 4 people who went on the dive boat, 3 who were just spending the day on the island (beach bumming I guess), and the rest of us were on our way to go snorkeling. The same boat that we traveled in took us to the snorkel locations. First was Shark Ray Alley. The crew threw some sardines in to attract the sharks and rays. What an awesome site. Don’t think I’m some brave person who wants to swim with sharks. These are Nurse Sharks and from what I understand, they don’t have teeth (but I didn’t check). They more or less mind their own business. But it was a remarkable site to see. Then we headed over to Coral Gardens. I felt like I was in an aquarium. There was such beautiful coral and so many different species of fish. We spent about 45 minutes at each location.

Then we headed a back to the island for lunch. Here we met up with the divers. Lunch was in a restaurant, which was really nice. We sat in an area that overlooked the water. The food was very good. I had chicken, rice, beans and (A Belizean dish). Everyone seemed to really enjoy their meal. Again the details…we dropped off our orders before going snorkeling so lunch was ready when we arrived. We were given our departure time before heading out to explore Caye Caulker. What a simple paradise. Sand streets with golf carts as the only motorized transportation (that I saw). I spent time browsing the shops and street vendors. No one bothers you or chases you to buy from them like I’ve experienced in other ports (if you know what I mean). Others in our group either stayed on the beach, swam, or hung out in the bar. I think we were on the island for about an hour and forty-five minutes before loading back up for the beautiful ride back.

This day was absolutely perfect. All the details covered. They had bug spray for those who needed it. They had underwater cameras for those who needed them. The bottled water was ice cold (thank goodness because it was hot).

I can not say enough about the high quality of this tour company. If you are planning a tour in Belize, contact these guys and you will be well taken care of. We never once worried about time as they kept reminding us of how we were doing on time. If you always wanted to break away and do a tour outside the ship’s tour, this is the company I would recommend doing it with. You know how we cruisers like the pampering we get on board the ship. Well we all felt the same pampering from Coral Breeze. They were an absolute pleasure to be with.

[bplazo]

Thank you for the great comments for Coral Breezes. We have booked them for the cave tubing for our September cruise. There was so many tour groups it was hard to decide on which company to choose from.

[Dannzzigg]

Former Guest, you give a great review. So great, in fact, I'd love to hear more... What other ports did you stop at, what did you do there and with who? Detailed reviews like this really help those of us who are still making decisions. Thanks in advance!

[Former Guest]

Dannzzigg, I agree that the more detailed a review the better it is for everyone. I felt like I was going on and on about this tour, but I wanted to make sure my true impression was provided to all. I browsed these boards for months trying to figure out the best thing to do...where to spend the money set aside for tour. Hence the name "Former Guest". I was always a guest here and I'm glad to have something to contribute from my experience.

To answer your question about other activities/ports. We stayed on the boat in Costa Maya because nothing struck our fancy. In Cozumel we did a ships tour to Tulum Mayan Ruins. It was interesting and very cultural, but nothing to write home (or to CC) about. Our last stop in the Caymans we spent the day at Seven Mile Beach. This was really a beautiful beach to hang out on. We just relaxed and did some swimming. Besides our tour in Belize, there isn't much we did in the other ports that I would rave about. Fun and interesting...yes. But I wouldn't say "you have to do this!!!"

[mortypro]

do you have the website for them

we are going on a cruise in jan with our 2 year old grandson do you think this would be ok for him

[mwfnaf]

Former Guest,

 

Thanks for the good review. Can you tell me if there was shopping in Caye Caulker or is the only shopping when you arrived at the port? If both which did you see as the better place to buy?

 

Can you also tell us what the price of the tour you took was? That is what we are leaning to is the two snorkel locations and then Caye Caulker is fine too.

 

There will be 14 of us in our group. Does anyone know if they give discounts for a large group?

 

We are going to be leaving on NCL Sea on October 9th.

 

Thanks again for the good post,

 

Mike

[Former Guest]

mortypro, their website is www.coralbreezelimited.com

you can get their email address from there.

 

mwfnaf,

Shopping is available both at the Tourism Village where we met and on Caye Caulker. At the village, it was typical touist stuff (t-shirts, nic-nacs, stuff with "Belize" on it). On the island, there were shops with similar items. I wasn't doing comparison shopping, but a few things on the island I recall be cheaper. On the island, there are some street vendors with hand made items using stuff from the sea (shells, etc).

Their tour is $69 for adults and $49 for kids. They give a free tour to the organizer of a group. I think you have to have 6 or 7 in your group to get this. We had a total of 19 for all the tours, so they worked with us well.

[DM]

Former guest,

What ship were you on?

[eacruise]

Former Guest, what time did your cruise ship leave the port.

We are booked for the same excursion and I am alittle nervous it will be too close. I emailed Coralbreeze and they said we will get on the ship ok, but I am still alittle nervous.

[teacup754]

former guest, thanks for the great info. we are crusing in dec and will stop in belize. Right now on AOL there is a thread on the crusie boards about possible safety concerns in belize. Something about warnings from the government. can you comment?

[Former Guest]

I'm glad I can help. We were on the Explorer of the Seas. We were in port from 9am to 6pm according to our itinerary. But Belize is 2 hours behind this time. It is easy now for me to tell you not to be worried about getting back on time. We had the same concern/fear. Actually more so because we read about it as "a thing to be aware of". So of course it makes you think....hmmm, what if I miss the ship. I'm telling you, they were on top of the clock. We returned back in plenty of time. But you also have to think, if they did cause people to miss ships, they probably wouldn't be in business anymore.

Regarding the government warning question...I only know what I read on the US State Department website. I'm not an AOL member so I can't speak to what you are hearing. The warnings are against crime in the City, from what I can tell. I tranlated that into the same warning you would get for traveling in some major US cities at night. I think one of the things they said is use common sense where you are going.

Our tour went from the Tourism Village to a resort island which we didn't feel unsafe on at any time.

[Guest Time2gocruzn]

Thanks for the great review. We have already decided on this tour and will be booking it as soon as they let us. Just a note to others who might be considering this company. They have lots of options. If you have people who want to go but NOT snorkle, there are observer rates, child observer rates, rates that do not include lunch if you want to eat elsewhere, and many options so it is a good tour for everyone. Thought I'd share. :)

[llund]

I was so glad to read your review. I have been in contact with Paul for our trip in January. We have a group of 8 who all want to do different things. We are getting together in a few weeks to decide what to do. My husband is the only diver, but I thought this would work out well since we can meet up with him at lunch. One member of our group does not like to snorkel or do water sports so I was wondering what there is to do on Caye Caulker for her. The only concern I have is that another person may want to go to the Mayan Ruins. I was wondering if we can do the Caye in the morning and the ruins in the afternoon. Paul answered that only if all the stars are aligned right!! He really has been great to deal with and answers my e-mails promptly. Now, we just have to narrow down what each person would like to do! I will print out your review to show the rest of the group. Thanks

[steveNcindy]

They are a great company to deal with and I won't hesitate to use them again if we are ever back in Belize. One note when we were there in Feb, all the cruise ships in that day cancelled their snorkelling excursions but being booked with Coral Breezes we were lucky enough to get to go. Before we went, I thought Belize would be my least favorite port and it turned out to be my favorite.

 

If Wilbur happens to be one of your guides, get friendly with him as he was a great help to us beginner snorkellers

[Dannzzigg]

How was the water? Smooth or choppy? I figure the cruiselines aren't in business to cancel anything they don't feel is necessary to cancel, so either the conditions weren't that great for snorkeling, or there was another reason.

 

I'd be a little concerned for my safety if the cruiseline cancelled their excursion, but the private company was still willing to go. Maybe they are a little less likely to put safety first, instead going after the almighty dollar?

[steveNcindy]

They cancelled the excursions at noon the day before arriving citing "projected bad weather". We emailed Paul from the ship and he said they had no plans to cancel but if weather was poor they would and our monies would be refunded. He advised us to be on the pier at the arranged time and a decision would be made.

 

We arrived under clear blue skies and proceeded out. The weather was beautiful and the snorkelling was very easy. It was a little wavier out at the reef though but still manageable even for beginners.

 

I agree with you about alot of shore excursion companies putting the dollar before all else but honestly do not feel that Coral does this. He took a wait and see attitude and it paid off.

[Dannzzigg]

That sounds like a sensible business decision on the part of Paul. What weather forecaster is ever right more than 50% of the time anyway?

 

I'm glad you felt comfortable with the conditions. I'll be going on the Shark/Ray alley tour with CB in just a few weeks.

[MERED1TH]

Did anyone who took this tour see any kids like ages 6-10. I am currently in contact with Paul about this tour for my upcoming cruise end of Aug.

 

The only problem is my kids are afraid of sharks. They don't buy the Nurse sharks don't bite stories as of yet.

 

Paul has of course assured me that it is perfectly safe. I hate to spend all that money only to have two kids refusing to go in the water.

 

They are both experienced snorkelers for thier ages, this past June on the Golden Princess they snorkeled in Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Thomas. I don't want to freak them out. If there are a lot of other kids I think they will go for it.

 

Thoughts Please

[steveNcindy]

danzigg, I am sure you will have a great time and hopefully the weather will be beautiful. if there are questions though as you draw closer to belize just do what we did and fire Paul off an email. If I remember correctly we had a response from him within a few minutes while we were onboard.

 

 

meredith, there were about 6 kids they day we went in that age range. there were only 2 sharks when we entered the water and they left very quickly. Lots of rays though and they are quite beautiful and graceful. The couple we went with had a girl 9 and a boy 11 who both had a good time

[coccodog]

We went on the snorking tour last year ,and while coral breezes was very good the site was very choppy and I didnt really enjoy it that much. We liked caulker and everything else about the tour..think we might just go and stay at cauker this year and just relax...Tim and Rose

[maxs mom]

Hi!

We are thinking of taking the Coral Breeze water taxi over to Caye Caulker. We would just like to relax on a beach. Is that possible to do? Is there a nice beach close by? And has anyone rented a golf cart there? How much is that? Would you recommend letting Coral Breeze get lunch for us or should we just do that on our own? Thanks in advance for any help.

[tuggers]

Are there chairs and umbrellas available? Is there a charge? Drink service on the beach? Restrooms?

[flycatcher06]

Hi there, Were the divers part oif your group - my husband is an advanced diver and i am trying to see if this would be suitable - do you know what they dove? Did they take you directly back to the ship? thanks, Debbie

[Honeybear]

Would this cruise work for someone that has a problem walking over a couple of blocks?

By the way, this was one of the best reviews I have ever read. Great job, thanks.

[Travelitis]

Thanks for the fantastic review! It's so much more helpful having these details.

 

We have 3 kids, 1 with a hidden physical challenge, and we're trying to determine what will work best for us. I'm going to e-mail Coral Breeze these questions, but I'll ask here, too.

 

If you stay on Caye Caulker, is there just 1 CB boat back to the tourist village? (Are we going to be stuck there for hours, like it or not?)

 

Did you see golf carts for rent on CC?

 

Did CB provide childrens' life vests, or do I need to take my own?

 

Thanks!