Only 7 hrs in Belize looking for suggestions

Thank you for the good advice. You are right it is a good insurance to have not missing a sailing.

I also had a positive experience about booking with this ship on Royal Caribbean during the excursion booked with them. I fell and got a minor concussion. All medical expenses with the ship doctor were totally covered because I was hurt during the excursion booked with them. I never realized that they would cover such a thing, but was so glad they did 🙏

PLEASE, DON'T DO IT!

I admit the tours offered by the cruise lines are more expensive. However, if in the event there is a delay in your returning to the ship, they are contractually bound to wait for your return. Do you really want to risk being stranded at the port, watching your cruise ship disappear over the horizon while you stand there in an unfamiliar country with the only belongings you have to your name are what you're wearing, or carrying?

My advice, If you're not willing or able to afford the additional expense of a tour through the cruise line, then either stay on the ship (It's a really nice experience when 80%+ of the guests leave for the day) or confine yourself to the port area.

For perspective, here is a story from our last cruise, which stopped in Belize. We booked a tour of the Mayan ruins. We were told we had to be at the location where the bus loaded by 9AM. We took one of the first tenders and got there on time, then proceeded to wait for over an hour before the buses were boarded. We got to the ruins somewhere around 11 to 11:15AM. After spending somewhere around 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours at the site, we re-boarded the bus and were taken to private residence where we were served a lunch. While we were there, the bus driver had to leave to pick up passengers from another bus that had broken down, then shuttle them to the port. Then he returned to pick us up to get us back to the port. I'd say we were at that residence for about 90 minutes before we re-boarded the bus and we were still at least 25-30 minutes ride back to the port.

Did I worry about getting back to the ship in time? NO. What did I care? I booked the excursion through the cruise line. They HAD to wait for us. I didn't give it a thought and, TBH, I don't even know if we did get back "in time".

As I've stated before, we just consider the additional costs charged by the lines as "insurance".

Not to worry..every cruise ship we've ever been on goes out of its way to remind folks of any time changes along the way. Some however, never change and everyone goes by "ships time", which btw I much prefer. Way simpler IMHO.

Thank you for the heads up on time difference!

This is an absolutely GREAT thread for anyone who isn't experienced in the fine art, and whys and wherefores of booking tours...book em early, and from home!!!...but read the reviews of folks who have actually taken them...especially the critical ones. I get suspicious about folks who gush about stuff, and then in the course of reading, discover they've never cruised before. Mebbe I should start a thread about the joys of staying onboard...hmmmm

As GIL155 pointed out the tender (aka water taxi) from where the ship anchors to the actual dock at the port is a long ride in and of itself (the closest anchor point is 30 minutes out and anchor position 8 is about an hour). But that doesn't take into account the wait on the ship to get on a tender. Most commonly ship's give priority to those that purchased excursions through the cruise line for ports like this one. Next those with special privileges due to loyalty status or for being in a suite or special section "neighborhood" cabin get dibs at boarding the tenders. That leaves those that have general boarding and no shore side tour through the ship left getting either on a long line or waiting 1st on a line to get a ticket or zone number to be called (sometimes distributed a day before or just a few hours prior to anchoring) before they can get to the port area.

Because of the long transit time to /from the port's dock to the anchor point of the ship and the dismissal process it's not uncommon for passenger to wait 1-3 hours to get off at Belize. Those on ship's purchased activities will get an escort from an on board meeting point to make sure they get to the land side meeting point for their tours, while select excursions will leave on a private tender directly to their tour start point (usually snorkel or dive activities). Priority passengers will have special instructions they will need to follow, but often taking the earliest available tenders they can get.. Then upon leaving port the last tender line up tends to be in Belize at 90 minutes prior to the ship's sail away time, which really cuts down on your port time as well.

So my advice if you don't plan on purchasing something through NCL for here is to just plan on a shopping day in the walled port area. Because unfortunately this is one of those ports where it's not advised to leave the security of the port (the 50mm vehicle mounted guns at the port gates is a give away) without a tour guide leading you, unless you very familiar with the Belize City already. If you do book a private outside of the cruise line tour do keep in mind that though Belize observes Central Time it does not use daylight savings and can often have a different local time than ship's time.

We brought colds home, but otherwise we are in one piece. Woke up this moring to -17F (-22C). Not a fan. It was a good cruise with only a few hiccups. I'll post a review in a few days, after the brain fog disappears.

WELL WELL!!! WELCOME HOME!!!!!! I assume you got home in one piece????

We just returned from a cruise that included Belize. While the ship tours are more expensive than what you might find on your own, it would be wise to use them. We waited over an hour to get everyone back on board because of the long lines waiting for the tenders. Many passengers complained about waiting over an hour in the hot sun (no shade) for the shuttle. Hopefully, this was a one off event but there 4 ships in port making it crowded and not very much fun. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

Well you need to weigh that against the fact that the cruise line excursions are created to fit into your visit time and they provide a worry free guarantee that you will not be left behind or be a pier runner providing entertainment for those on the ship ;)