Guatamala-Is it safe to take Go with Gus tour or Norwegian excursion

[meliss35]

I am planning on booking the Go with Gus Humanitariam tour this monday for a christmas cruise on Norwegian Spirit. I was just reading travel warnings for Guatamala and am just concerned about traveling there. Is it safe to go with Gus on a tour or are we better off going on a Norwegian shore excursion? I really like the Go with Gus tour over Norwegian shore excursions. I started worrying about Guatamala after reading the recent posting about safety in Guatamala.

[steviecheri]

Meliss35- I know you (as I) have been going back and forth about which excursion to book in Guatemala..I finally had my mind made up to book with Gus and as you can see in posts below, was having trouble. I sent email to address given to me below which was not returned to me but still have not received a reply. I still want to do this...am not really any more concerned about safety of one excursion over the other, but am concerned I still have not gotten in touch with Gus! Let me know if you have any success! Stephanie

[meliss35]

I heard from Gus a bunch of times the other day. When I first emailed him, he didnt respond. I waited two days and then emailed him again and put in the subject line that I tried him and hadn't heard from him. I had a few questions and he then responded right away. I decided to go with Gus and I am sending the deposit tomorrow. Did you try this email? gustavo@turcios.com I would just mention in the subject line that you have been trying to get in touch with him and haven't heard back from him. Hope that works. Let me know. So you think that it is safe to go with Gus as with the Norwegian shore excursions?

[IDKaren]

Internet is sketchy in the small town gus lives in and it sometimes takes him awhile! Gus is an owner of a wonderfu llittle hotel and restaurant in his town and also one of the head honchos of the Tourist Safety Board and pretty much has his finger on the pulse of safety in the area. He has done this for SO long and would not take a tour if he felt the people would be jeopardized so please do not be worried!

 

We went on Gus's tour last year and it was one of the best tours that we took on our cruise! I think you will have a wonderful time! Good luck and happy sailing:D

[Sandy504]

We also just booked again with Gus for a tour the middle of December. Karen is right sometimes the internet is sketchy in the small town. We went last December and was the highlight of the cruise. Gus does know a lot of people and we always felt very safe with him. His hotel is wonderful and the food was fabulous. He and Ira his wife do a lot of great things for the children and people of the area. Because he has lived there so long he has a lot of knowledge about the people and surroundings.

[steviecheri]

I tried Gus again this morning and heard back from him within the hour. Apparently he had gotten my earlier email but I had not gotten his! He has confirmed our tour on the 24th and to answer the question posed above, I feel as safe traveling with Gus as with any of the tour operators doing business with NCL. He has received glowing reviews everywhere I have searched for information on tour options.

[meliss35]

Thanks for all the posts. I just sent my deposit to Gus today. Stevecheri: I guess that means we will both be on the same tour? Sometimes emails go to the spam section. That is probably what happened to Gus's emails. Now if I can only decide what to do in Cozumel.

[steviecheri]

meliss35: I think we will indeed be on the same tour! :) We booked a dune buggy tour in Cozumel through Island Marketing that came very highly recommended (lots of info on that board). We have not booked anything for Costa Maya....what are your plans there?

[meliss35]

StevieCheri: We are going on the Native Choice to Chacobbean (sp?) ruins and then go to the beach at Majuhual afterwards in Costa Maya. In Cozumel we are probably going to Paradise Beach. I was trying to decide between Paradise beach and Mr. Sanchos beach but I think the kids would have a better time at Paradise. I thought of doing the ATV jungle and beach trip with Wild tours but my son is too young to drive the ATV. What are you doing in Belize? We are taking the ships exursion swimming with the stingrays and nurse sharks, snorkeling at Hol chan and then going to San Pedro. I got a confirmation from Gus yesterday for the trip. Have you been on Norwegian before? This is our first time on Norwegian.

[meliss35]

I was informed that the US mentioned that the crime in Guatamala increased during Christmas and Easter and I was a little worried about my upcoming Go with Gus tour. I contacted Gus and this is what he said:

 

Our eco system is the most peaceful in Guatemala. The Humanitarian tour goes places where people are humble and hospitality is the best for the tourist industry. I started this tour three and half years ago and the Mayan Kekchi indians love Americans. I am the Secretary of Security for this area and I am in charge of organizing the security of all our visitors, we been having every week two Humanitarian tours and people feel very safe. I will be your tour guide in your group. Please post what I just communicated to you, on cruisecritic so everybody knows that our eco system is safe and secure to visit and for other people who had visit us already, to comment. The crime area is about 10 hours away from us in the border between Mexico and Guatemla where the drug cartels are fighting for territory.

 

I feel much better after reading his email.

[SoccerMom9195]

Meliss35 -

Thanks for posting the response from Gus. We are booked with him in March, we'll be sailing the Norwegian Spirit.

 

For the other poster that inquired about Norwegian. . . this will be our 4th cruise with NCL and we are very happy with them. They aren't the top of the line but we've enjoyed everything on all past cruises. The 'Freestyle' dining you either love it or hate it. . . . you typically wait in a line for the diningroom, times of waiting will vary. They push you through dinner much quicker than an assigned time on other cruises and you don't get to know your waitstaff because you never have the same ones.

 

This cruise we are taking our daughters and don't plan to eat in the diningroom. They don't like the food and we are traveling as light as possible and only bringing shorts & t-shirts and will be dining on the buffet each night. We are looking for nothing but relaxation!

 

Have a great cruise!

[gwydiana]

meliss35: I think we will indeed be on the same tour! :) We booked a dune buggy tour in Cozumel through Island Marketing that came very highly recommended (lots of info on that board). We have not booked anything for Costa Maya....what are your plans there?

 

We are going to be on the same cruise as you guys and doing the same tours, it would seem!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=772168

 

I'm looking into Gus' tour as well!

[meliss35]

gwydiana:I can't believe in a week that we are leaving for the trip. We are going on the go with gus tour. I can't wait. Are you doing the NCL's Belize swimming with stingray and nurse sharks, snorkeling and then Ambergis Caye and Costa Maya going with NativeChoice to Chaccobbean Ruins? Where do you live? We live in Pennslyvania. We are driving to New Orleans with my kids. After the cruise is over we are going to Texas for a week. We have never been to Texas before.

[gwydiana]

gwydiana:I can't believe in a week that we are leaving for the trip. We are going on the go with gus tour. I can't wait. Are you doing the NCL's Belize swimming with stingray and nurse sharks, snorkeling and then Ambergis Caye and Costa Maya going with NativeChoice to Chaccobbean Ruins? Where do you live? We live in Pennslyvania. We are driving to New Orleans with my kids. After the cruise is over we are going to Texas for a week. We have never been to Texas before.

 

I'm trying to configure a meetup on our roll call thread after Muster Drill so we all get to know each other :)

 

We are renting boats in Belize and Costa Maya. I'm in San Diego and my bf Andy lives near London, England.

 

I can't wait!!!!

[meliss35]

Sounds great. Let me know where and when.

[travelinglion]

Hi all:

 

I just returned last Sunday from the Spirit cruise out of New Orleans. A couple suggestions: Make sure if you have flights out of NO, they are after 3pm. It took us 4 hours to disembark as the NO customs only had 4 agents for 2400 passengers. I missed my flight and had to wait 7 hours in NO airport.....

 

About Guatemala....be carefull, very carefull. We took a cab tour of the closest two towns and to be honest none of us felt safe enough to get out of the cab. It was rainy and cool. The port has a nice welcome center with lots of vendors selling the same things. They are very willing to negotiate their prices. There is also native dancing and singing.

 

I personally would not suggest touring unless it is with the cruiseline. Just my thoughts.

The boat was OK and I enjoyed the free-style sailing. Best food is of course in the speciality restaurants. There are 5 of them. Don't wear shorts or flip flops in Windows dining after 5pm....they will not let you in. If you have a large group, it is best to make reservations in Windows but they do not take reservations between 7 - 8pm.

 

Enjoy your trip.

 

 

Sylvia

[Gingee]

What are the close towns and what made you feel unsafe?

[DWALL]

Hi all:

 

I just returned last Sunday from the Spirit cruise out of New Orleans. A couple suggestions: Make sure if you have flights out of NO, they are after 3pm. It took us 4 hours to disembark as the NO customs only had 4 agents for 2400 passengers. I missed my flight and had to wait 7 hours in NO airport.....

 

About Guatemala....be carefull, very carefull. We took a cab tour of the closest two towns and to be honest none of us felt safe enough to get out of the cab. It was rainy and cool. The port has a nice welcome center with lots of vendors selling the same things. They are very willing to negotiate their prices. There is also native dancing and singing.

 

I personally would not suggest touring unless it is with the cruiseline. Just my thoughts.

The boat was OK and I enjoyed the free-style sailing. Best food is of course in the speciality restaurants. There are 5 of them. Don't wear shorts or flip flops in Windows dining after 5pm....they will not let you in. If you have a large group, it is best to make reservations in Windows but they do not take reservations between 7 - 8pm.

 

Enjoy your trip.

 

 

Sylvia

 

TO miss your flight had to hurt. But, we just got off the spirit today and there was no problem with customs at all. There were agents in every booth so someone must have complaained loud enough! I had to wait an extra 2 hours on my parents coming off of the Fantasy a few weeks back, but at least starting today- things were good.

Regarding Santo Tomas-

Things could not have been more different for us than what you mentioned. We booked our Livingston trip after getting off the ship and had no problem. When we came back from there, we walked out of the 'compound' and were met by some very friendly people who were more than helpful to us. We felt totally safe. Just my viewpoint, but not nearly the DANGEROUS place that some would have you to believe. Its not Main Street in Disney World, but its not "Oh MY GOD!!" dangerous either!

[Lony]

We just came back from the Nov. 29 Coral Princess trip through the Panama Canal. I booked a private excursion to Antigua with Turansa (through the internet). It ended up there was 11 of us (or thereabouts) from our cruise ship on this tour. We had a small bus. I felt totally safe the entire time we were in Guatemala and would not hesitate to recommend a private tour there. We spent $40 instead of $119 for the ship's tour and visited some lovely spots. Also returned to the ship with plenty of time to spare. Guatemala is a lovely destination to visit and I think it is a shame Princess is talking about not going there anymore.

[fabuloso]

We just did a Go With Gus tour the week of December 14th and I never once felt threatened or nervous or in danger. Now Muhahual, next to Costa Maya? I was stressed most of the time we were near the vendor booths. It was awful.

 

We also did the Livingston tour and found the people there to be friendly, warm and kind. Many smiles from the people going about their everyday lives. We felt safe enough that we want to go back next year and stay in Livingston for at least a week.

 

Small example of the honesty we encountered: We were all relaxing on the dock after our hike through Livingston, while we were waiting for the delicious lunch we were served. Anyways, one of the local guys came up to me and asked me about a pair of sunglasses he found near one of the hammocks. They didn't belong to me, but I saw him go up to every tourist on the dock until he located the owner of the sunglasses.

[flashdog_1]

To answer your question if it's safe to go with Gus. YES.

[Sandy504]

We also just got back from the Go With Gus Tour and never felt threatened or uneasy in anyway. Even took my daughter and she wants to go back. The people there were humble and appreciative in every way. This is our second tour and both times we felt very at ease. The crime in Guatemala you hear about in the news is very far away from where you will be at. Have fun!

[flashdog_1]

We also just got back from the Go With Gus Tour and never felt threatened or uneasy in anyway. Even took my daughter and she wants to go back. The people there were humble and appreciative in every way. This is our second tour and both times we felt very at ease. The crime in Guatemala you hear about in the news is very far away from where you will be at. Have fun!

 

amen. There was some trouble a year ago, but was apparently an isolated case, and did not involve cruise ship passengers.

[pipedreams62]

It's the BEST excursion you will ever go on in your life. I'n still reliving it.

[cruisingforsix]

We have been to costa maya twice before and we love to go there . we love bartering with the people selling their wares. we always do costa maya on our own, take a cab to majahual and just spend the day shopping ,snorkeling ,shopping etc. We just booked the humanitarian tour with gus after reading many favorable reviews. we have already done the ruins there , Xunantunich was very interesting. We are taking sister and to lamanai because we enjoyed it so much the firsy time.also if you go to youtube you can pull up several videos oflivingston ,guatemala.