CARNIVAL LEGEND | BELIZE

The snorkeling on the Spectacular Snorkel at Rendezvous Caye excursion was less than spectacular but Rendezvous Caye was absolutely gorgeous. The tiny island sits right along the coral reef and looks like an oasis in the middle of the sea. It has deep waters on one side of the island and shallower snorkeling waters on the other. In this post I will review the excursion and give you my thoughts. If you want to skip right to my final verdict, click here.

RENDEZVOUS CAYE | BELIZE

The cruise ship anchors off the coast when in Belize which means that you have to take a tender to shore. However, with the Rendezvous Caye excursion, the boat that transfers you to the island picks you up directly from the ship which saves quite a bit of time. It is about a 30-minute ride out to the island, past other larger island and mangroves. As you approach Rendezvous Caye, you immediately realize how small this tropical paradise really is. It is completely covered in sand and surrounded by incredibly clear water. We headed for a thatched-roof cabana as soon as we docked so we could drop our stuff off. The organizers then signaled that it was time for snorkeling which I will detail a little later. After snorkeling, Amanda wanted to spend some time in the water hammocks and get some photos. Despite being a small island and a full boat, there was still plenty of space to hang out and not feel overcrowded. They served us a buffet-style lunch of local cuisine. Before you knew it, it was time to depart the island and head back to our ship.

SNORKELING AT RENDEZVOUS CAYE

When the guides announced that it was time for snorkeling, they separated everyone into two groups - one for beginners and one for advanced snorkelers. Having our scuba certifications and veteran snorkelers, we went to the advanced group. They gave us a briefing and we headed for the water. The coral surrounding the island is very shallow and you can stand at most parts which makes it dangerous for both the swimmers and the coral alike. The guides keep everyone is a close group so that they can control everyone and keep them swimming - not standing on the coral. The best analogy I can think of is that the guides are cowboys and the snorkelers are cattle. They keep swimming around the group, keeping everyone so close that they are on top of each other, constantly kicking one another. This makes is hard to swim and not a fun experience. After a lot of frustration, we told the leader that we were returning to the island and not going to continue with the snorkel tour. He assigned a guide to take us back to shore.

SPECTACULAR SNORKEL AT RENDEZVOUS CAYE | FINAL VERDICT

Despite the less-than-spectactular snorkeling conditions, the island is a must-see and I would highly recommend the excursion. I would just suggest opting to not snorkel and using that time to spend on the island with nobody else around. There will be plenty of other opportunities to snorkel at other destinations on the cruise.

Check out how we spent the rest of our day while in Belize. Additionally, you can follow along with our 7-Day Western Caribbean cruise on board the Carnival Legend that also stopped in Grand Cayman, Roatan and Cozumel or read the review of the entire cruise.