Xocolati - The Chocolate Experience

Cruising this summer on Royal Caribbean. I haven't been able to find any reviews about this excursion. Does anyone have any info, pros/cons?

If this is what I think it is... it is a tiny little shop that makes chocolate and has free samples. Good stuff, but only worth about 10 minutes of your time. We stopped there last trip on our island tour.

The RC description is: Make chocolate the way the Mayans did centuries ago. Your adventure begins with a guided island tour and sightseeing highlights on your drive to a cacao plantation. There, you’ll have a chance to learn how cacao trees are planted and cared for as well as how cacao pods are harvested. Get a close look at the complete lifecycle of this amazing tree. See how cacao seeds are fermented and dried by natural sunlight. Then roast, grind and make your own exquisite chocolate bars to take home.

While waiting for your chocolate bars to set, join your guide for a tour through the botanical gardens, where you will see the famous Honduran mahogany, plus coffee trees, orchids, a variety of herbs and spices, tropical plants and fruit trees. After, enjoy a tropical fruit tasting in the garden in a palapa, a thatched shelter made from palm tree leaves. Plus savor a delicious traditional lunch featuring chicken, rice beans and fried plantains.

???

Wow, that sounds fantastic. Definitely not just a visit to the shop where they sell the chocolate.

I am interested as well. We will be doing it regardless as I am pretty sure my friend picked this cruise because of the excursion...:rolleyes:

I can't find anything called Xocolati on Roatan.

There is a Roatan Chocolate Factory Facebook page. It looks like they make chocolate.

I will interested to see what you find out.

I found something called Black River Plantation approx 10-15 min from port with a similar description. Not sure if this is it. Would love to hear how it is and how much of a tour of the island is included! Please share!!

Ahh maybe that is the confusion. The cruise ship companies added the Trujillo, mainland stop a couple years ago. Black River Plantation is very close to that port. It is possible the info about Xocolati being on Roatan is incorrect?

http://trujilloplantationtour.com/

Trujillo sounds much better, but I had located Mayak Chocolates in Roatan. They only appear to have a Facebook page. Trip Advisor lists them as both a restaurant and an attraction.

https://www.facebook.com/Mayak-763949777012200/#_=_

Looks like they have a few wires crossed..... Trujillo is on the MAINLAND of Honduras. Whole diffenrent place from the Island of Roatan. You port at one or the other.

Looks like they have a few wires crossed..... Trujillo is on the MAINLAND of Honduras. Whole diffenrent place from the Island of Roatan. You port at one or the other.

Yes, we know..that is the reason for concern. Some of us are not convinced the Chocolate Experience in on Roatan. Though a post on the other thread gives a good argument for a chocolate shop in West End Roatan.

Very interested if someone has done this, where it is, how much touring involved, and how it is as an excursion.... looking forward to hearing!

Interested in hearing as well!

My friend and I are going in April. I've bookmarked this thread and will try to remember to report back.

My friend and I are going in April. I've bookmarked this thread and will try to remember to report back.

Great! I'll be there in June!

There are two boutique chocolate factories in Roatan, both offering tours and tasting sessions.

One is "The Roatan Chocolate Factory":

https://www.facebook.com/theroatanchocolatefactory/

http://theroatanchocolatefactory.com/

The other one is "Mayak Chocolate Roatan"

https://www.facebook.com/Mayak-chocolates-Roatan-763949777012200

https://www.tripadvisor.com.mx/Attraction_Review-g303875-d8747040-Reviews-Mayak_Chocolate-West_End_Roatan_Bay_Islands.html

I'm no chocolate expert, but as anyone I love chocolate and both offer tasty chocolate that seems very high quality. But again - I'm no expert, I just enjoy eating it.

Booked this today on RCI for our June sailing on Liberty OTS.

I'm booked in for next week. I'll do my best to get back here with a timely review of it.

I'm booked in for next week. I'll do my best to get back here with a timely review of it.

I am very interested, please do let us know what you thought.

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We went on this excursion last week. My expectations were not nearly as high as my friends. The trip exceeded my expectations and met hers.

The excursion takes place at Carambola Gardens, not any of the locations we had guessed. I don't see the chocolate class offered outstide of the ship excursion.

It is an uphill and uneven walk up to the palapas that are used for the class. One gentleman in our group used a cane and didn't make it up for the class. On our way down, there was a couple helping woman with a walker make her way up. One carried the walker and the other held her hands as they slowly climbed. She did make it, but must have been exhausted. I didn't find the walk difficult. Others in the group that were not in good shape or had physical handicaps found it more challenging. Keep in mind that it was very hot and humid.

That disclaimer over, once at the top, the palapa had plenty of seats and was set up for attendees to either sit and watch or participate in the class. We learned about the island, the process of making chocolate, and then anyone wanting to participate was invited up. We roasted and peeled the nibs, learned how they were traditionally processed, blended the cocoa with sugar and cocoa butter and tempered the mixture. Everyone enjoyed it and got to taste the end product. When the class was over, a few chose to pass on the garden walk and were led down by the instructor. The rest of us were led through the trails to see some of the plants. This part was good, but not a highlight. After returning to the main building at the entrance, we were served a delicious lunch of chicken, rice, bean, plantain chips, fresh fruit, and lemonade. There was chocolate for dessert. Everyone wanted to know how to make the meal. The The dishes were cooked in coconut milk and very good. There was a small shop. They didn't sell chocolate bars, but nibs, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter.

The driver was good and talked about the island on both drives. He was easy to understand and very informative. You will have some free time to shop in port before or after if you desire.

I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed my time. It was a unique experience.

Thank you so much for reporting back. Glad we're booked for this one!

We did this excursion last week, and I wanted to report that it was excellent. The bus to the Gardens was air conditioned and as previously mentioned, the driver was interesting and shared a lot of info on Roatan. Once there, the walk up to the platform where the chocolate lesson happens is NOT handicap accessible. The day we visited, there was about 98% humidity, which did make things slightly uncomfortable. The lady who does the demonstration was nice & interesting to listen to. After the chocolate was made (it's definitely dark chocolate!) we were given thirds of bananas to peel and slather with chocolate...mmmmmm! Lunch was as described in the earlier post, coconut chicken, red beans & rice, fresh pineapple & melon and lemonade. For sale (2 scoops for $3) was what appeared to be homemade-style ice cream. It was delicious, and worth the money. All in all, the only negative was the extreme humidity...which obviously cannot be controlled! However, just keep this in mind if you book during the summer. Oh, and definitely bring insect repellent!

Hi,

Has anyone been recently? We are thinking about signing up for this.

Hi yes, I went on this excursion last week and was quite pleased with it. The description was not a perfect match to what the experience was, but overall I really enjoyed it. Like someone else mentioned, the walk up the hill is not handicap friendly or cane friendly. I wore flip flops, and was okay, but if I would have known before hand, the terrain, I would have worn dark tennis shoes (trail can be muddy in places). We did not get a guided tour or fruit tasting, as listed in the description, but that was ok for me, because I came for the chocolate. It does get humid in the area you are making the chocolate and some people brought cloths to wipe the sweat off. Also there are lots of bugs. They DO sell insect spray in the gift shop there, which is cheaper than the ship price for it.

I don’t typically like dark chocolate but I did like the stuff we made. Wish we could’ve taken a bar or something pre packaged home, but this was not offered for purchase or as a part of the excursion. You do get one small heart shaped chocolate as your dessert with the meal. The meal was the same as someone else listed, and was actually very good. I was afraid to eat anything from a foreign country regarding all the warnings, but it turned out ok.

At a cost of $74.99 per person, it was way overpriced.  The tour was approximately three hours in length.  The bus driver asked for a tip.  The woman who gave us a tour through the woods to the shelter asked for a tip.  The woman who gave us the demonstration on how to make chocolate asked for a tip.  On the table where they served lunch was a big jar with a note that said: “Tips for the kitchen staff”.  At $75 per person there should have been enough money to pay all these people a living wage without them having to beg for money.

After lunch, we could drizzle a little of the runny chocolate syrup made during the demonstration on a piece of banana, however, none of us were given any of the chocolates made during the demonstration.  How can a tour be touted as a “chocolate experience” and not serve even one piece of the chocolate candy we watched the lady make during the demonstration?  Needless to say, the excursion left a bad taste in my mouth.

Chattanooga Jim