Belize Question

[RocketCityLady]

I will be cruising on Carnival's Glory in January, with a stop in Belize. I am not really into water or beach-type activities. When possible, I like to venture out on my own and experience the local culture. I usually try to research the ports prior to cruising and have an idea of what I may want to see. Also, I find it interesting to ride the local island buses, when available. In Belize, does the ship dock in an area that is accessible to shops and such, like in Nassau and St. Thomas? I found a fuzzy map on the internet that looks like that may be the case. Thanks.

 

[cwachtel]

We were in Belize in February on Royal Caribbean and the ships anchor quite a ways out from the land. You have to be tendered in to shore. We took a tour through the ship to snorkel and the boat for that picked us up at the ship. Otherwise it is a fairly long tender and from what I heard the town is not the safest and definitely third world type area. Not sure if it is real safe to wander. Our tour was wonderful but others said theirs was the trip from hell. One of those was on the river tour. It was polluted and nasty. Not sure if this helps but you will want to see if someone tendered in to the town. Enjoy!

 

[mjwark]

My dh and I were in Belize last November and took the Rain Forest biking tour. The tour included a mountain bike tour through a rain forest area, a tour of Al Tun Ha (spelling?) Mayan ruins, and a lovely lunch at a great secluded restaurant. The bike ride was intense and included brief stops and descriptions of the local wildlife and foliage. The ruins were our first so I can't compare to other ruin sites. There were several large temple sites and we were able to climb to the top of at least two. Local merchants sold their wares at the ruin sites. This tour provides a comprehensive view of Belize City as you travel to and from the bike site, as well as descriptions of city and country highlights along the way. Belize is a developing country and appeals more to eco-tourists. I would avoid the Baboon sanctuary. Remember to wear DEET insect protectant, light colored clothing, long sleeves and pants, old but comfortable shoes (you may get muddy and wet during the bike tour), a hat, and sunglasses. Also be sure to bring extra bottled water as the rain forest is very hot. Good luck as you choose an activity for this beautiful yet primitive country. -MJ

 

[RocketCityLady]

Thanks, folks. I may do the Belize City tour. I did one of those adventure nature hikes in Barbados a couple of years ago. I now avoid any tour which contains the words adventure and nature in the description. I will probably visit the ruins in Mexico.

 

[Darlene]

There is nice shopping where the tender docks but, I wouldn't wander around. We walked to the water taxi and that was a little scary although I like to think that most people are friendly I do want to be careful.

 

[FJ40TroutBum]

I would actually avoid the City Tour. We were there just last week and had the City Tour as part of a package to see the Mayan ruins. The city tour consisted of things such as "...and there's the hardware story...and over there is the bank. There are some school children playing off to the right..." Our driver actually stopped at his house because he needed to get some extra cash. It was actually quite funny, but not something I would do again. Most people we talked with seemed to enjoy the cave tubing the most.

 

[cruisin]

I was on the Glory in September and we stopped in Belize. Of all the ports we visited this was the one I was most excited about and also the one that I was most disappointed with after arriving. The boat anchors a couple miles from the city and you have to take a tenor.....it only took a couple minutes to get to shore though. We decided not to do an excursion b/c we didn't want to spend the money....big mistake. There are only a few shops to visit and they have all the same "touristy" stuff. We decided we would wander around the city on our own so we started walking and noticed that the there was a huge fence surrounding all the stores and it was a little scary looking on the other side of the fence......we decided it was probably a bad idea so we were back on the boat after about 45 minutes. I highly recommend that you do some type of excursion here so you don't waste your time. Same goes for Progreso which I assume you'll be going to also.

 

[tomdcruise]

Hi MJ, hey I was planning on doing the Baboon Sanctuary in January. Can you tell me why you'd avoid it? Thanks

 

[mjwark]

I heard from several people, including some Royal Carribean staff, the sanctuary contained fire ants and was not well kept. I can't share personal experience. If you really like baboons and don't mind fire ants, you might find it enjoyable. Good luck.

 

[lainie]

Hi There!
Hubby and I were on the carnival Spirit last Feb. with a stop in Belize. I did the Altun Ha / River Wallace tour and hubby went mountain biking through the rain forest. My tour was a nice leisurely tour of the Mayan ruins and a river boat ride on what used to be called the Belize River out into the Caribbean and back to the dock. We saw lots of wildlife -- crocks, black howler monkeys, birds, manatees; lush greenery, beautiful trees and flowers. It was really neat and I highly recommend it. Our guide was EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the History of the Mayan civilization, the local government, politics, economy, culture, traditions and ecology in Belize. We had great weather, mostly bright sun, short period of light rain and then sun again. No bugs at the ruins and none on the river, honey said very few in the rain forest. Be sure to wear SUNSCREEN and bring water along. It is very warm there. I really want to go back to Belize again soon-- I enjoyed the country so much.
Not sure who thought the river was polluted, it definitely was not and the Belizan government spends a lot of $ preserving the ecology, has building restrictions, etc. Stiff penalties for pollution.



Post Edited (11-18-03 18:51)

 

[abelcher]

on the altun ha. river toure how fast was the boat going was it a speed boat or just and boat slowing going down the river? Believe it or not I can sich on speed boats not cruise boats.

 

[lainie]

Hi,
The river boat traveled at a moderate speed but we slowed down many times along the river and came to a stop and floated along to look at the wildlife. At its fastest it was not any faster than the tender ride. It was very pleasant.

 

[ali38]

just got back from west. glory cruise, if you do not plan on doing a tour of any kind, do not ,and i repeat do not get off the ship!!!my dh and i went a few blocks past the port and turned back , the place is scary, dirty and just plain awful. i posted my review on this cruise, explains more.good luck

 

[robbie]

i LOVE the glory and belize (was there in september, returning in 3 weeks). but i agree with many others -- you must do an excursion.

the cave tubing was a blast. the water part was very easy and not nec to enjoy a lot of swimming etc. the walk through the rain forest is best saved for the moderately fit, tho. no scary things in the water, which i was wondering about.

if i wasn't going to do an excursion in belize, i would stay on the ship and enjoy the quiet while everyone else is ashore!

 

[Ron Cottle]

Hey would you mind if I ask the cost of the Rain Forest Bike Excursion. I am thinking about as well and have an alternative shore company to use if the excursion is to expensive.

Thanks

 

[lainie]

I cannot recall how much it was, maybe $40-50 ???? I really don't recall, maybe someone else knows?

 

[pnorth]

try shoretrips.com, this is where I scheduled my excursions with no problem.

 

[RINI]

If you go to port and shop, try the cashew and ginger wine, it's very different.
We brought a couple bottles home.

The beers are cheaper in port is about the best thing I can say.
We didn't really have a bad expirence but we didn't take a tour and the "port" was very limited.

One of the funniest things about this port was as we were boarding a tender to go to port a man was already coming back from his expirence ashore and he looked wilted. We said, back so soon? And he responded "this is the closest place to the sun".
Needless to say it is very hot HOT!

Enjoy

 

[LindaInCT]

Just wondering... with so many negitive opinions about Belize, not just on this board but others also, I wonder why RCI even goes there. I almost booked a cruise that included Belize, but all the negitive comments was the reason I booked a different itinerary (April 17, 2004 :grin). Isn' t there another port they could go too? I wonder if they (RCI) even know how everyone feels.

Linda

Enchantment of the Seas 4-17-04 :jump

 

[Rosie]

I enjoy learning about the Mayan ruins and am really looking forward to visiting this port. I've heard that the cave tubing is also a fun excursion.