Independent excursions or transportation to Goff's Caye?

[dianeholly]

I very much want to snorkel from the beach at Goff's Caye during my brief day in Belize -- but I'd rather not do it with the Carnival excursion. Is there any other way to get there, spend a few hours and get back to the ship without using Carnival?

[sbharr]

We were on the Legend a few weeks ago - when I researched this, I couldn't find any other operator to take us to Goff's Caye, only the Carnival excursion - after thinking about it, we opted for Bannister Island...

[preschool teacher]

i did it with carnival a few weeks ago..i generally don't do the ships exercsions, but this one was good...not too many people and the beach was great with just on it...a bit of advice, don't worry about snorkeling from the boat it was actually better just off of the island...go off on the side of the dock once you get out go to the left.. it was great....

[preschool teacher]

i did it with carnival a few weeks ago..i generally don't do the ships exercsions, but this one was good...not too many people and the beach was great with just on it...a bit of advice, don't worry about snorkeling from the boat it was actually better just off of the island...go off on the side of the dock once you get out go to the left.. it was great....

[SnorkelBabe]

We did this last week on the Carnival excursion, too, and it was great, though it was a little crowded in the water.

 

The boat picks you up directly from the ship and takes you to the island, so you can skip tendering to Belize City. In fact, Goff's Caye is farther out to sea than where the ship drops anchor, so if there was an independant excursion, it would involve a lot more travel time. If you had to tender to Belize City first, you'd just retrace your route to get out past the ship again.

[dianeholly]

Thanks so much to all of you for your kind replies!

Question: The Carnival site lists this excursion as 3.5 hours -- and that seems like such a short time in the water. That's why I had hoped there was another means of transport that would allow us to really relax during our day in Belize. For those who've taken the Carnival excursion, can you give me a sense of what time you were picked up, how long it took to get to Goff's Caye, how much time you had to snorkel and play, and what time you got back to the ship? Did it seem like a long enough excursion -- or did you feel rushed? Does the 3.5 hours include all the time it takes to travel to and from Goff's Caye?

Thanks for the scoop!

--Diane

[SnorkelBabe]

Thanks so much to all of you for your kind replies!

Question: The Carnival site lists this excursion as 3.5 hours -- and that seems like such a short time in the water. That's why I had hoped there was another means of transport that would allow us to really relax during our day in Belize. For those who've taken the Carnival excursion, can you give me a sense of what time you were picked up, how long it took to get to Goff's Caye, how much time you had to snorkel and play, and what time you got back to the ship? Did it seem like a long enough excursion -- or did you feel rushed? Does the 3.5 hours include all the time it takes to travel to and from Goff's Caye?

Thanks for the scoop!

--Diane

Ours was supposed to go from 8:30-12:00, but we were picked up late, around 9:30, if I recall correctly. They did make up for it and return us to the ship at about 1:15.

 

Anyway, picked up at 9:30, got to the Caye around 10:00. They had passed out snorkel gear on the boat, but it still took some time to unload life vests for everyone, so we wandered around and took a few pictures. We were probably in the water by about 10:15. We all followed the guide (Clive - he was great!), and he'd point things out to us, swim down and pull up a sea cucumber or conch to pass around. They didn't give us the option of snorkeling from the boat, but the boat kind of followed us around in case anyone needed help. The current was fairly strong that day, and it was a little difficult for some to get back, but no one ended up needing the boat, that I saw. Once the guided snorkel was over (maybe around 11:30-11:45?), we had another hour to hang out on our own. Some snorkeled more, close to shore, some went back out with Clive. We just played in the sand with the kids.

 

It didn't feel rushed, but personally it wasn't long enough for me. But then, I'm a beach lover and we didn't have a single port day that was long enough for me. I think it was long enough for most people, though. A lot of people had stopped snorkeling and were just standing around waiting to get back on the boat. Of course, the weather was a little chilly and cloudy that day, too, so that could have something to do with it as well.

 

Hope that helps!

[dianeholly]

Snorkelbabe: Thanks so much for all the details. I'm new at snorkeling, and nervous about deep water, so I prefer to get adjusted by walking in from the beach. I think we will book this excursion, although I am sorry that there isn't more beach time, as it's the only beach port on this cruise. Thanks to all for helping me with my decision!

[ski ninja]

snorkelbabe- Thanks for the timeline, it will help with our decision making.

[cheeseheads1]

Our timelind was similar to Snokelbabe but we left the ship earlier. We were one of the first excursions off the ship. The nice thing about going with Carnival is you are transported directly from and back to the ship. There was no tendering to the mainland and then traveling. It probably took 20 min to get there from the ship. As you drop off the harbor master on the way out of Belize at the end of the day you will pass between the harbormaster island and Goff's Caye.