Belize tender -- how long a trip?

[oasis05]

I understand a tender is necessary for Belize. Cruising on NCL Spirit Apr 5 from New Orleans. How long is the ride from the ship? How far out is the ship anchored? Are the tenders available throughout the day?

[yvrnavigator]

I understand a tender is necessary for Belize. Cruising on NCL Spirit Apr 5 from New Orleans. How long is the ride from the ship? How far out is the ship anchored? Are the tenders available throughout the day?

 

We went to Belize on the NCL Pearl in December. The tender is further then usual but it's only about 10 - 15 minutes at the most.

The boats come in from Belize city and are quite big.

I am sorry I can't answer if there are tenders throughout the day though I assume there are.

We took an early tender out and came back with one of the last tenders as we did the Lamanai Tour which took all day.

[IslandCruiser87]

It's around 20 mins give or take a few depending on weather.The day we went it was rainy and choppy.Ships are anchored quite far out, but theres tenders going back and forth all day long. Have fun :)

[mistergq]

The ships are anchored pretty far from the city considering other ports. We went to Belize in 2005 at the end of the hurricane season. The water was pretty rough due to a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico and tenders were not moving that fast.

 

At Belize, we did a 3 spot snorkel excursion which picked us up from the ship. Then only did 2 spots because of the rough seas.

[navybankerteacher]

Probably about 20 minutes each way - it can be rough, as there really is no sheltered harbor, and the ship moors fairly far out. There are good tour possibilities - but if you are thinking of just going ashore to walk around a bit, do not bother - it isn't worth the boat ride.

[caribsun]

Sooner or later.:) http://belizecruiseterminal.com/

Anyone notice the new terminal being built.

[silentbob007]

It is quite a ride and because of that they use larger boats ... this can also mean quite a wait for it to fill and sit in the chop if you happen to be one of the first ones on.

[DanJ]

Not sure how much of an improvement the location of that new terminal will be. First off, the terminal is on a causeway about a half mile out into the harbor. By point of comparison,on Google Earth, if you look at Princess Cays, the ship anchored there is about as far from shore as the Belize terminal will be. There looks like they will have some shops and restaurants out at the terminal, but there is nothing ashore where the causeway is built, except what looks like a container port and oil terminal. I'm not sure where the tenders let you off now, but I bet the location isn't as inconvenient as where this new terminal will be. Should be good for those who only want to get off the ship by foot and walk around 10 or 15 stores at the terminal (likely the same chain stores at every other port).

[Krazy Kruizers]

The day we were there we had 3 ships anchored -- took about 20 - 25 minutes each way.

Yes the tenders operate all day.

Just make certain you are back on the ship one half before it sails -- there will be a time listed in your daily program as to when the last tender from shore is scheduled for your ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sooner or later.:) http://belizecruiseterminal.com/

Anyone notice the new terminal being built.

 

We were there in 2008 -- slow progress.

[punkmuse]

we were just there a couple weeks ago and i did not see any evidence of them building a new terminal. of course i wasnt looking for it but i figure i would have noticed construction :confused:

 

the tender boat ride is about 15-20 minutes. ours was not rough at all.

 

the boat has to anchor pretty far away as you are in some sort of riverbed. i believe the captain told us where we anchored the bottom of the ocean was only 10 feet below us :eek:

[Cactuscruise]

Cruise ships drop anchor five miles out from Belize to avoid damaging the coarl reef. The tender ride is twenty minutes or more depending on the type of tender and the weather.

[mactrio]

We got on the tender around 8:30 (we had an 8:45 time and an even later excursion time) and the tender just sat there, and there was a man screaming at the driver to go, go, GO because he had an 8:30 private excursion booked and had been on the tender waiting for it to fill it. What happened was the other tender filled up, then instead of sending people to fill up the one we were on, they filled up another and then a third on the other side while no one came on ours. So we sat and sat....after 35 minutes or so we finally fot full and were able to go. It took about 20 minutes and the water was rough. I got a bit queasy and I even took an extra bonine while on the tender.

[mistergq]

I hope they have a train to get you from the terminal to the shore on the cause way. That half mile walk does not look fun.

[DanJ]

we were just there a couple weeks ago and i did not see any evidence of them building a new terminal. of course i wasnt looking for it but i figure i would have noticed construction :confused:

 

It's doubtful one would notice it unless they knew in advance to look for it. I can't imagine the tenders would be anywhere near where the new terminal will be built and there is nothing around it now, so I don't see why anyone would be in that area on land. In this link to google maps, you can see the east leg of the causeway being built. Apparently that causeway is now complete. To the right and lower in the image, you can see the freight pier that sticks out into the harbor. The terminal will be about that far out as well, with the cruise ship piers sticking out from there.

 

http://maps.google.com/maps/mm?ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=17.48114,-88.20807&spn=0.02018,0.038624&t=h&z=15

[punkmuse]

makes sense,

though to be honest i dont even remember what the current terminal looked like as we had an early excursion and were shuttled straight from the tender to the bus and then got back in time for the last tender.