Independent Lamanai ruins tour and getting back ot the boat.

[Froufie]

I believe Belize is currently 1 hour ahead of ship's time - they do not practice daylight savings time - depending on when you are cruising it may be a 2 hr time difference.

 

I think the 7:20/7:30 timeframe would be 8:30 according to ship's time (e.g. anchor at 8 am - then tender in asap to meet group at 8:20 - leave at 8:30 shiptime which would be 7:30 belize time).

 

Let us know how this works out!

[HRHMadonna]

OK...I just googled "what time is it in Belize?" and got 7:45 PM...It is 9:45 PM EDT where I am in the Eastern US...so it appears there is a two hour difference. BCE's email said Belize time was same as US Mountain time zone, so that makes sense.

 

Seem to me -- unless I am still confused! -- that with a 2-hr time difference, we could be/should be leaving earlier than 7:30 AM Belize time.

 

I am going to email BCE and request an earlier meeting/departure...Wish I'd done this before booking. Will let you know what they say since so many of you are interested in this excursion.

[EBallgrl]

OK...I just googled "what time is it in Belize?" and got 7:45 PM...It is 9:45 PM EDT where I am in the Eastern US...so it appears there is a two hour difference. BCE's email said Belize time was same as US Mountain time zone, so that makes sense.

 

Seem to me -- unless I am still confused! -- that with a 2-hr time difference, we could be/should be leaving earlier than 7:30 AM Belize time.

 

I am going to email BCE and request an earlier meeting/departure...Wish I'd done this before booking. Will let you know what they say since so many of you are interested in this excursion.

 

 

I am also booked with them for October...same schedule given, and that is why I asked about it...seems we could start sooner. But I didn't think about the fact that there could be others on our trip. I do remember reading that they weren't very good at responding to questions via email, so we will be hanging on the edge of our seats till we hear back from you! :p

[Froufie]

Seem to me -- unless I am still confused! -- that with a 2-hr time difference, we could be/should be leaving earlier than 7:30 AM Belize time.

 

So when exactly is the switch to daylight savings time? If we are cruising in November is it safe to assume there is a 1 hr difference instead of a 2 hour one? I too am confused and want to make sure we get the timing right - esp as they may be unaware of the time change as they do not follow DST!

[HRHMadonna]

Here is my email to BCE RE: excursion start time:

"Thank you for your prompt reply to my earlier questions and for the prompt confirmation of our reservations for the Lamanai excursion.



We are surprised, however, really worried about the propsed start time for our excursion: Meet at 7:20 AM Belize time and depart at 7:30 AM Belize time.

As I understand it, the Carnival Legend is scheduled from 8-5 Eastern time....So we are truly hoping that we could meet & start at least 1/2 hour earlier....Say meet at 6:50 AM Belize time and depart at 7:00 AM Belize time."



Due to our concerns about getting back to the ship on time after the excursion, we would feel so much better to have the extra time in the afternoon.



Thank you so much for your assistance with this. I will appreciate your consideration and prompt reply. We are not the only ones concerned about the start time...The time frame for this excursion continues to be a topic of much discussion on www.cruisecritic.com.







Here is the reply from BCE:

"The Legend is scheduled into Port at 6am local time, same as 8am ship time, there will be a 2hr time difference between ship and shore time. 1.5hrs following any ship's arrival time is an adequate start time for all excursions due to disembarkation taken in consideration (lines, tendering etc.) Legend passengers are serviced on the Lamanai excursion on a weekly basis without difficulties in tour timing.



Please ensure to board one of the first available tenders, your Guides will be awaiting your arrival regardless of shore time differences."

 

PS from Madonna: I guess we will just go with the flow...try to relax...and hope we make it back to the ship in time! I will write a complete review upon return.

[Froufie]

Well sounds like they know what they are doing? Or think they do? I would not fret too much - have fun and enjoy the excursion - can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!

[DonMar]

I am also booked with them for October...same schedule given, and that is why I asked about it...seems we could start sooner. But I didn't think about the fact that there could be others on our trip. I do remember reading that they weren't very good at responding to questions via email, so we will be hanging on the edge of our seats till we hear back from you! :p

 

If you Google "Belize Time" the current time comes right up. I would check the current time before you leave for your cruise - just for peace of mind.

 

BCE responded to me e-mails very quickly. When we went to Lamanai I was not aware that the ship time vs port time - had not cruised for many years:o . I e-mailed BCE from the ship to move the tour time ahead. They got back to me immediately and we were able to move the tour start time.

 

On this cruise I also learned how expensive e-mailing can be:eek: .

 

Madonna - sounds like they have got this down pat. When we went to Lamanai (Feb 07) I think it was a relatively new destination for them.

 

While I watched the time while on the excursion, I trusted the leaders to get us back and had a wonderful time. I also got lost in the wonder of the experience so it was easy to let go a bit.

 

So, enjoy the experience. It was one of the best places I have ever been in my life. Magical - IMHO. I am looking to all of your reviews.

[HRHMadonna]

Thanks to all for your encouraging words!

 

Attn: DonMar

Do you by any chance remember what time your excursion departed? Did you leave earlier that 7:30 AM? Also, what time did you return...How much time before the last tender?

[dgack1]

FYI...we are booked for the lamami tour with BCE. For some reason I was checking their homepage and noticed they had a "special" rate. The gov. taxes have been removed. I contacted them about the new rate vs the "old" (higher) rate I had booked. They rebooked me with the lower rate and we saved $24.00/6.00pp. Hopefully, one of you might be able to save a buck or two.:p

 

Waiting on your reviews....Denise

[DonMar]

Thanks to all for your encouraging words!

 

Attn: DonMar

Do you by any chance remember what time your excursion departed? Did you leave earlier that 7:30 AM? Also, what time did you return...How much time before the last tender?

 

 

If I remember correctly - we were in the early tendering area (theater) before 7am ship time and got to land just before 8am ship time. As soon as we got there, we met Richard from BCE and we left. We were the only ones on the tour.

 

We got back to the port with enough time to do a little shopping - although I would have like to have stayed at Lamanai to pick up some things from the little stands and museum they have there. We were not nearly on the last tender.

 

Note: I think Belize was just 1 hour behind when we were there. I also just found this great time converter website http://www.worldtimeserver.com/convert_time_in_BZ.aspx so you can see how many hours Belize will be when you are there. (I am sure you could check other areas in this site.) I wish I had known about this site before now.

[Froufie]

Thanks for the time conversion thing - I think I tried it already for November 2008 - right now shows a 1 hr time difference between Belize and eastern US time - so if the ship does observe DSL and we move clocks back one hour we will actually be synchornized with Belize and ship's time being the same!

 

Hope the tour operator knows this :)

[EBallgrl]

I booked today with BCE for our party of 6...We sail the Carnival Legend August 17....I'll post a full review on our trip to Lamanai as soon as I return...Let's hope I return on time! ;)

Cheers!

Madonna

 

So Madonna....did you make it back??? Waiting to hear your review! :D

[HRHMadonna]

I imagine that when I didn't post immediately some of you thought perhaps you'd find me camped out atop the Mayan temple at Lamanai surviving on plantains! ;)

 

Apologies for the delay, but I was home from the cruise less than 24 hours before heading out on a 3-day bsns. trip & I am just now getting back to normal.

 

My review is in a word: "Mixed" How I wish I could post a totally positve review because we loved seeing the ruins, we enjoyed the boat ride and Icy was a great guide...But since the title of this thread is "Lamanai tour and getting back to the boat", I must be honest...and this is just one person's opinion, but for me BCE stretched my comfort zone to the absolute max. We returned to the tender docks with exactly 17 min to spare before the last tender. So yes, BCE delivered as promised and the tour was wonderful...But it could have been ever so much more enjoyable with an earlier departure and an earlier return.

 

Note: In an attempt to avoid confusion, all times referenced below are "ship times on the Legend".

 

The Legend was scheduled for Belize 8 AM-5 PM -- last tender 4 PM.

 

Our BCE confirmation stated a departure time of 9:30 AM. I emailed BCE 3-times requesting an earlier departure time. I could not imagine it taking us 1.5 hours to tender & check-in and I would have been far more relaxed with a bigger time cushion at the end of the day. BCE would not change the stated departure time, but they advised me "to ensure to board one of the first available tenders, your Guides will be awaiting your arrival." BCE further assured me that the "The number of our Clients who have missed a ship before departure? Zero." And that we would "not be mixed with passengers with incompatible shore times."

 

Here is the timeline for our day:

7:45 AM Reported to Follies Theatre; assigned Tender #2

(Note: Since there was a medical evac that AM, there was a 15 min delay in loading tenders)

8:30 Tender #2 headed for shore

8:55 Check-in at BCE office; advised we would depart as soon as passengers from RCCL cruise ship arrived. We waited 10 minutes before saying, "This just is not acceptable. Our party is here and ready to go. We understood we would not be scheduled with ships with different port times." BCE agent was most gracious and agreed to put us in a van as soon as possible.

9:15 Van departed parking lot. :) So far so good.

10:40 Van arrived at the New River Dock...Yes, the "1-hour drive" took nearly 1.5 hours. It included a tour of Belize City; Nice, but we would have preferred the little tour at the end of the day instead of at the beginning. When I expressed concern, Icy assured us we'd be back by "4:15 PM"...I had to keep reminding him that our last tender was at 4:00 PM. Later I would learn that he had Carnival's last tender time confused with RCCL's last tender. :eek:

 

Once at the dock, we were treated to drinks, fresh fruits & a tour of the grounds. Lovely, but again, this would have been much more enjoyable at the end of the day. When I expressed concern over the delay, Icy admitted that we were "killing time" so other passengers could catch up with us...This did not please us at all; when I questioned him, he assured me they were from our ship, the Legend, just on a later tender.

 

We waited almost an hour and finally the other passengers arrived - Turns out, they were from RCCL the ship afterall.

 

They said they got off as soon as they could...that RCCL wouldn't let them off any earlier. When I told them how we had been killing time, they said, "Oh, that explains why our driver went about 90 miles an hour! He was trying to catch up with you."

 

The Belizean lunch was lovely, the ruins amazing....but after such a leisurely morning, the tour itself felt quite rushed and we had only 5 minutes for a rest room stop & gift shops.

 

1:45 PM Departed Lamanai by boat

2:37 PM Arrived new River dock; departed by van

3:43 PM Arrived Belize City tender dock area

 

This excursion receives consistently positive reviews....Each of you will have to make your decision based on your own personal comfort zone. If I had it to do all over again, I'd feel better if all 10 people were from the same cruise ship...and if I had assurances of an earlier departure time.

 

Also: Be sure your guide has YOUR correct last tender time and ask for the Belize City tour at the end of the day instead of at the beginning.

 

Bon Voyage!

Madonna

[EBallgrl]

Thanks so much for the review! Glad you made it back...but it definitely makes me think twice about the tour. I will have to get with my family and have them read your review and see if they still want to do it.

 

Ok so i have lots of questions...sorry...:o

 

Did you get to see any wildlife at all on the tour, either on the river or at the ruins?

 

Were the restrooms/giftshops near where you ate lunch? I mean, do you think if we had time to kill like you did would we be able to check out the giftshops? Would they not let you explore on your own nearby while you were waiting?

 

How much time did you have to explore the ruins on your own? Or did you have to stay with the guides the entire time? Did you get to climb to the top of the temple? And would you recommend tennishoes, or would some sturdy sandals be OK?

 

I was looking over my confirmation, and do not see any information regarding cancelling your reservation...do they keep your deposit if you should cancel, even with enough notice? Or I wonder if they would let us change tours staying with their company?

[HRHMadonna]

Did you get to see any wildlife at all on the tour, either on the river or at the ruins? No wildlife at the ruins....We did see some interesting plants & trees including Belize's national flower, the black orchid. On the boat trip we stopped to see some birds, an iguana, huge termite nests and a brief stop in the water for pics of the Mennonite settlement. No stops for crocodiles...or howler monkeys. The driver of the second car (not Icy) told me the tide was too high for crocodile sightings and it was too hot for the howler monkeys to be active.

Were the restrooms/giftshops near where you ate lunch? I mean, do you think if we had time to kill like you did would we be able to check out the giftshops? Would they not let you explore on your own nearby while you were waiting? The restrooms & gift shops are very near the covered picnic pavillion where we ate lunch. The problem is that we killed the time at the dock BEFORE the boat trip to the ruins site....If we could have explored the ruins on our own while waiting for others to catch up that would have been OK, but there were no ruins at dock area...Where we killed the time there simply wasn't much to do but walk around & look at banana & other fruit trees while waiting to board the boat for the trip up river to the ruins.

How much time did you have to explore the ruins on your own? None

Or did you have to stay with the guides the entire time? Yes..except for him saying something like he'd wait for us here while we took some pictures...we pretty much stayed together the whole time.

Did you get to climb to the top of the temple? Yes

And would you recommend tennishoes, or would some sturdy sandals be OK? Either would be OK

 

I was looking over my confirmation, and do not see any information regarding cancelling your reservation...do they keep your deposit if you should cancel, even with enough notice? Or I wonder if they would let us change tours staying with their company? Check their web site...I think I recall reading something about a 15 day cancellation policy.

I certainly would not discourage this tour; I simply wanted to be as honest about our experience as possible. No doubt, some people would not become as nervous about the time...but it was just too close for comfort for me. And, I just about jumped out of the van when Icy assured me I would be back to the tender by 4:15 PM. (That was 15 min AFTER Carnival's last tender!) I can only speak for myself. If we had not had to wait for the passengers from the RCCL ship, I would have had absolutely no complaints or concerns.

__________________

[Toyz711]

when we were there, sandals would not have been good....it was very muddy (dec '06, they had rain for the 2 weeks before we got there). the stones/rocks were loose and you need good walking shoes that don't slip.

we had 2 ship tours there at the same time...then a group of 3 with a private guide...never saw anyone wandering on their own, not sure it's allowed. there are critters in the jungle around the ruins...they don't want to lose a visitor.

we heard the howler monkeys, only got to "see" them when i got home and did some editing on my photos. a few weeks after i was there, someone came on here and said the monkeys got a little wild and the guides had to move their group away from those trees. (they like the trees just past the restroom and before the ruins)

there are crocs around the water and they do come ashore, plus they have big snakes and very dangerous small snakes...better to stay with your guide. our guide got nervous when some got too far behind..you could see her eyes darting around watching for safely issues.

when asked if she every saw a snake around the ruins..she said "no", then when she saw that i didn't believe her, she said "i never tell anyone when i see one, i just move out of the area". she's right, better to not cause a panic

[EBallgrl]

LOL i would be the idiot trying to get closer to the deadly snake to get pics! and I am used to seeing gators so that wouldnt bother me either...Ill get eaten, just wait and see!

 

The only reason i asked about free time is because we got lots of free time at some ruins in Costa Maya to explore, but obviously if there are safety issues i will gladly stay with the tour guide!

 

I was planning on wearing tennishoes, but when I told my mom, it blew her mind because now she has to "buy new shoes". I believe October is their rainiest month so i will be sure to stick with them! Even if they are old muddy ones.

 

Thank you guys for your honest opinions, and experiences! Most likely we will stick with this tour, and hopefully we will be the only ship in port that day! :D One can hope! Hopefully the reviews keep coming!

 

Madonna, how was the Legend, and will you be doing a full review eventually? Wow, I am NEEDY! :o

[HRHMadonna]

Attn: Toyz711

 

Your post was most interesting....I am happy now that we settled for an iguana sighting and termite nests!!!

[Froufie]

Wow - that sounds like a pretty tight schedule - just checked our confirmation and they also state the tour starts 1.5 hours AFTER arrival of the ship??? Wonder why they feel this is required?

 

Do you know which RCCL ship was in port with you? (I was doing research and noted that the Enchantment of the seas does this itinerary and their scheduled docking time is 7:30 - 5 pm so not sure why this would have held up your tour?)

 

I check porttime.com (eballgrl - looks like the Legend is only ship in port on Oct 23rd!) and looks like we will also have 1 other ship in port with us in November - but docking time is similar (7:30 - 5 pm) so wondering if we should ask about touring with others??? We are supposed to be there from 8 am to 5 pm - and have priority tendering so should be able to get off asap.

 

Maybe we will contact BCE to get more info on this!

 

Thanks so much for your frank input Madonna - much appreciated!

[HRHMadonna]

It was the RCCL Enchantment of the Seas....All I know is the RCCL folks who joined us said they got off as early as they could....I know that for our part we really hustled...We were the second independent tour party to check-in at the Follies Theater that AM and we were on the 2nd tender and we were the first group off the tender at the dock.

 

Your post RE: the EOS port times....Makes me wonder if the EOS arrived late that day...or if the other party just took their time getting to shore...They told us they got off as soon as RCCL would let them off.

[EBallgrl]

Ok, so if that porttimes.com is correct, we will be the only ship in Belize that day, are there any other websites I could check just to be sure?

 

So you are pretty confident that the tour would have been pretty close to perfect if you hadnt had to wait for the other group? So if we are the only ship, all I have to worry about is other passengers on MY ship getting off at a reasonable time (if there are others booked).

 

I am going to be a nervous wreck, this is only my 2nd cruise and the rest of my family's 1st and I put the whole cruise together. Picked excursions, booked everything, I am doing everything to make sure this is going to work out. So basically if something goes wrong, it will be on me! :(

[Froufie]

Well I think we will be definitely bringing our passports off the ship with us this time? (and maybe a toothbrush? :) ) Eball - I think you should be okay - maybe contact them closer to the cruise to see if anyone else off your ship has booked that excursioon?

 

Madonna - yes sounds like the RCCL tendering may have held you up despite the similar port times??? Doesn't seem fair!

[HRHMadonna]

Just so you are aware....ship itineraries are always subject to change. On the Aug 17 sailing of the Legend, our dates for Cozumel & Roatan were flipped. Also, that same week the Carnival Valor was in Belize 1 day earlier than originally scheduled. If your schedule should change while in route, I'd suggest you email the independent vendors...One would think they would be in a position to monitor these sorts of things, but Icy told us they were totally caught off guard when the Valor arrived one day early. Surely the local port authorities are informed, but apparently that info does not necessarily trickle down to local vendors.

 

On the other hand, in Roatan, Fins 'n Flippers told me "no problem"...they were totally aware of the change in date of arrival for the Legend.

[Toyz711]

QUOTE]

Attn: Toyz711

 

Your post was most interesting....I am happy now that we settled for an iguana sighting and termite nests!!!

 

don't know if you used the same area, on the new river...there were iguanas in the trees as we left the dock. this websites, near the bottom, even talks about the families of monkeys at the site

http://www.belizeexplorer.com/cgi-local/explorer.cgi?db=explorer&uid=default&Category=Mayan+Sites&view_records=1&nh=6&mh=1

 

during the winters, some birds have migrated down there. bird watching can be very good...just not for us.

 

didn't see his mom or dad, but we have see crocs and gators before

 

this i have never seen before...just wish i could have gotten a better photo..the boat kept moving...it's a jacuana (the bird that "walks on water")

 

didn't know i had gotten any photos of the monkeys...saw them when i enlarged the photos..just kept taking photos of any dark spots or motion in the trees

 

 

 

 

 

this is the night owl, have no idea what it really is...but it's less then 5 inches high. he comes back to this same tree every winter.

 

i didn't want to scare anyone, just to remind people that this area is very real...there are critters and you need to be aware...just think Indiana Jones!

[Slyfox16]

We are supposed to be using BCE for our tour to Lamanai. I have send them several emails, but only get a generic response. Do you have a direct email or phone number for them? The one they list is a business # and is for faxes.

How many people were in your bus and boat? We have 10 and were wondering if that would be enough for our own or would we have to wait for more people? Thanks, Amy