--> Note: Sorry, I do know Belize is a country in Central America ... BUT,BUT,BUT it was on our Western CARIBBEAN itinerary so this seems as good a place as any to post the report!
BELIZE: "Private Island Beach Break"
Our tour met at the assigned lounge on the ship. We were taken as a group to the tender area. A tour boat picked up up DIRECTLY from the ship and tendered us to Bannister Island. (About a 20 minute ride)
Very pretty island! There were tons of beach chairs (no need to chair-hog ) and an endless supply of sturdy floats for our use. Very HOT ... so the thatch covered huts and shade from the palm trees were put to good use. A large playground for the children was located at one end of the island and there were a couple of volleyball courts on the beach.
Beer, foo-foo drinks, etc. were sold at the beach bar which played Island music throughout the day. Also, there's a small gift shop and a restaurant.
Pedal boats and kayaks could be rented. Snorkel tours to the barrier reef were offered (think $30 pp).
No PESTY vendors! Except for the island staff, only other cruisers were there. Three ships were in port. Never once did Bannister Island seem crowded. Had fun talking with many cruisers from other ships!
The beach was VERY clean and the water was completely free of seagrass. DO TAKE YOUR WATER SHOES! No rocks, but LOTS of shells.
The float was my favorite thing! Just floating aimlessly around in that beautiful warm blue water was total paradise!
Great place for "Beach Lovers"!
Any comments and questions are welcomed.
Hey, Lulu,
I'm reading your posts with interest as we are going to Belize next April. Did you take a tour with the ship or did you go out on your own. If you went out on your own- do you recommend the guides you went with? Who were they ?
Also, did they supply the boat to go out to snorkel? What was the price?
It all sounds so great!
thanks for your time- I know this was from a while ago!
STephanie
--> Note: Sorry, I do know Belize is a country in Central America ... BUT,BUT,BUT it was on our Western CARIBBEAN itinerary so this seems as good a place as any to post the report!
.
Great Report (as usual), Lulu.
Some general information... Several Central American countries are included on Western Caribbean itineraries, because they have coastlines on the Caribbean Sea. These are Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
I'm reading your posts with interest as we are going to Belize next April. Did you take a tour with the ship or did you go out on your own. If you went out on your own- do you recommend the guides you went with? Who were they ?
Also, did they supply the boat to go out to snorkel? What was the price?
It all sounds so great!
thanks for your time- I know this was from a while ago!
STephanie
We took the tour thru the ship! Very easy because they picked us up directly from the ship! We had a wonderful time and would do it again in a heartbeat!
The snorkel tour they were offering was prox $30/35 pp. and all snorkel gear was provided. (Note: That's in addition to the excursion to the island.) A couple from the ship brought their things over for us to watch while they did it. They said it was great! Basically, the snokeling tour goes to that Barrier Reef that runs along the Cariibbean side of Centeral America so you'll see LOTS of very colorful fish.
Hope this helps a bit....
LuLu ... Visit SOUTH CAROLINA!
11/21/09 Crown Princess 2/18/10 Island Pricess B2B Ft.Lauderdale to Acapulco and back (total 20 days)
OVER 40 (started young) Princess, Celebrity, RCCL, HAL, NCL, Costa, Disney, Carnival, Sitmar (Princess bought), and (a very long time ago) SS Bahama Star
Read the info on Belize with great interest. We will be there next week. I think we are going with a ships tour. Snorkeling and beach type excursion. I love the water and the snorkeling, hubby does not care for it as much. He is very fair and will seek shade, is there any availiable?