Day 7 aboard the Queen Elizabeth brought us to Belize City, Belize — the ship’s maiden call here — and the third port stop on this nine-day Western Caribbean cruise. After visits to Costa Maya and Mahogany Bay, today’s adventure was… well, let’s just say a little more old-school. Belize doesn’t have a pier, so like it’s 1999, we dropped anchor offshore and tendered our way in.
Now, if you’ve never been to a tender port, here’s the deal. The ship drops anchor several miles out because the water near the coast is too shallow for cruise ships. Cunard teamed up with a local ferry operator running high-speed boats that seat 150 – 300 passengers, and around 7:30 a.m. the whole “operation tender” began. Those with early shore excursions or an unexplainable urge to be the first ashore needed a ticket. By 9:30, they went to open boarding — no ticket needed, just show up and off to shore you go.
The ride itself takes about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the boat and the weather, which can make things interesting. Ever try stepping from a giant cruise ship onto a little boat bobbing up and down? Yeah. Not for everyone, especially those with mobility issues or just a little wobbly. If the seas get too rough, tender service may be suspended — and if the weather really turns, the Captain can make the call to cancel a tender port all together for guest and crew safety. But today, the weather was in our favor.
Since I’m in no rush to visit Belize, I waited until the afternoon to head ashore. And honestly? That was plenty. Unless you’ve got a shore excursion booked, Belize City itself isn’t exactly bursting with excitement. There’s a small (and I do mean small) area of shops right by the tender terminal — a few souvenir stands, a bar or two, and some locals selling crafts — but beyond that? It gets rough fast. The area right outside the gate is what some travel brochures would call “authentic.” I prefer “sketchy.” English is the official language, so communication isn’t a problem, but you’ll definitely want to keep your belongings close as the area is known to have some clever pickpockets putting their skills to work.
Now, don’t get me wrong — Belize as a country has a more to offer. If you’re willing to venture inland, there are more of those Mayan ruins that every Western Caribbean cruise loves to push excursions to, plus rainforest ziplining, cave tubing through underground rivers, and snorkeling trips to the world-famous Belize Barrier Reef — the second-largest reef system in the world. You can also visit Old Belize for some history. All of these would require planning and, like I say all the time, book your excursions via the cruise line instead of a 3rd party.
But if you just want to “walk around a bit,” you’ll quickly run out of things to see. I wandered for about an hour, snapped a few photos near the lighthouse, and called it a day. Getting back to the ship was an adventure in patience — I boarded a ferry right away, then sat for 40 minutes waiting for it to fill up, followed by another 20-minute ride back. That’s a full hour from dock to deck, so if you’re cutting it close, you’re in trouble. Last tender was 4:30 p.m., and the Queen Elizabeth raised anchor around 5:15 p.m., weaving her way through the channel with some tight turns that even the captain warned us about.
In short? Belize doesn’t have much to offer, it’s mostly a long tender ride to grab a souvenir magnet. For me, it was just nice to hop on a boat and get off the ship for a few hours.
After last night’s ghost-town vibes, I honestly wasn’t expecting much excitement tonight — but color me surprised, there were actual signs of life aboard the Queen Elizabeth! I know, I had to do a double take too. But after the first dinner seating wrapped up, people started — wait for it — coming out of their cabins.
Bars and lounges that were practically tumbleweed zones the night before suddenly had actual guests in them. There were people mingling! I was SHOCKED! Even the casino had more than the usual four die-hard regulars keeping it alive. (If you’ve seen the video I posted below, you can see just how tiny the casino is onboard.)
Queen Elizabeth Casino Tour
I met up with a few folks I’ve been bumping into all week at the Gin & Fizz Bar midship, which has quickly become the unofficial meeting spot for those of us who prefer a solid G&T over turning in before sunset. We ordered a few pre-dinner cocktails and provided plenty of commentary about the rare sight of people actually around the ship. At one point, someone joked that we must’ve accidentally boarded a different cruise because it felt so alive compared to last night.
The energy kept up through dinner and into the later hours — well, “later” by Cunard standards, meaning about 10 p.m., when the bulk of the crowd decided it was time to pop a melatonin and call it a night. Still, it was nice to see the ship buzzing for once, even if the excitement had an early bedtime.
Dinner in the Britannia Restaurant on Queen Elizabeth
Having completely lost track of time while chatting, I looked down and saw it was 8:25 p.m.—five minutes before the Britannia Restaurant closed. I didn’t have any specialty dining booked tonight (you can read all about the various dining options on Queen Elizabeth here), so I headed over to see if they’d still take me. Thankfully, they did—and sat me at exactly 8:30 p.m. What happened next was less “fine dining” and more NASCAR race. I was out of there by 9:07. That’s right—37 minutes from appetizer to dessert.
I absolutely hate being rushed at dinner, but tonight took the cake. The moment my fork hit the plate, someone was there whisking it away and replacing it with the next course. I didn’t even get to finish my cocktail! It was mildly stressful.
Anyway, I started with the smoked duck appetizer, mostly because I wanted to confirm my suspicion that it was the same smoked duck they serve at breakfast and lunch up at the Lido. Spoiler: it was. But to be fair, it’s good duck, so I’m not complaining. Then came a watermelon salad that was… fine. It’s watermelon—you really have to try hard to mess that up.
For the main course, I couldn’t resist ordering the duck à l’orange, a throwback straight from your 1970s cookbook collection. It arrived lukewarm but not terrible—one of those dishes you order purely for the nostalgia factor. As soon as I took my last bite, my server swooped in asking about dessert. He recommended the vanilla chocolate chip pudding, which turned out to be more of a custard with a vanilla sauce than your typical Jell-O pudding. Not bad.
Tonight’s Britannia experience was exactly why I almost never eat in a ship’s main dining room anymore. The service always feels rushed, the food’s hit or miss, and you can practically hear the bean counters back at corporate figuring out how to cut even more from a once elegant affair. The main dining rooms just aren’t what they used to be—and tonight proved it.
After escaping the speed-meal contest, I made my way up to the Commodore Club for what was supposed to be a quick nightcap. One drink turned into two, then three, as I got into a great conversation with two lovely ladies. Next thing I knew, it was 12:30 a.m.—way past “Cunard bedtime.” The clocks went ahead one hour as we sailed back into Eastern Time, and tomorrow we’ll wake up in our final port of call: Cozumel, Mexico. More from there tomorrow—and as always, thanks for following along!
Daily Schedule
