The former British Colony of Belize has long been a favorite with adventure travelers, divers and those wishing to get away from it all to a place that is close to the United States, seemingly remote, with English as the official spoken language. Situated in the Western Caribbean, Belize is perfectly positioned to benefit from cruise traffic. However, with the second longest barrier reef in the world off its coast, cruising to Belize has always been problematic.

In the past ships have been required to anchor well off-shore to avoid the fragile reef. To benefit from the visitations, government officials required cruise lines to use local tenders rather than those of the ship. The long tender ride from the anchorage combined with cost of the local service made a call to Belize a pricey one. And, admittedly, those not on one of the many planned excursions to the Maya ruins, birding, snorkeling, etc. were often disappointed left solely with walk around Belize City.

To remedy that, not one but two cruise terminals are being built in the southern part of the country. This location will allow deep water access by large ships avoiding problems with the reef, but will also by-pass Belize City where the majority of the country’s population is located. The terminals will allow passengers to enjoy the natural beauty of the country - the beaches, rainforest, and ruins - but is questionable how it will benefit the people. The proposed terminals have also raised eyebrows among environmentalists who are concerned about the health of the reef in light of the increased ship traffic.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 14th, 2007 at 12:27 pm and is filed under General, Cruise News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.