Photo Review - Carnival Dream Exotic Western Caribbean with FTTF - 12/8/12

[brilliantseas]

This is an awesome review. We just contacted CBH to see if they had any room for this January. Sounds like crazy fun!! :)

 

CBH was awesome! I'm sure you'll have a great time.

[brilliantseas]

Great pictures. Thanks for posting!

 

Did any of the waiters at Coconuts show the 'surprise' under their apron? :D

 

The surprise under the apron at Coconuts is nothing compared to the surprise you'll get at Playa Bonita. Just take my warning and don't let Greg convince you to stand on a chair without telling you why you're standing on a chair...

[dragonsdesyre]

Thanks for the review, especially of the Bar Hop. We went on this last cruise. I partook just a tad too much of the festivities, and really don't remember much, so I appreciate the narrative! ;)

Edited December 20, 2012 by dragonsdesyre

[tucho]

Enjoying your review. We were on the same sailing, great times!!!:D

[brilliantseas]

December 11, 2012 - Belize City, Belize - 8:00AM to 6:00PM

 

Having been to Belize in 2011, I knew that there wasn't much to do in the port area or in the city, so we decided that Belize would be a great place to snorkel. I snorkeled at Goff's Caye with EcoToursBelize.com in October of 2011 and had a great time, except for the fact that we returned 40 minutes later than promised and almost missed the last tender back to the ship.

 

This time around, our plan was to take Carnival's Barrier Reef Snorkel & Beach Break excursion. We put off booking ahead of the trip because the forecast showed a chance of thunderstorms on the day that we were scheduled to be in Belize, but by Monday night the forecast had cleared and we decided that we would book the excursion on our interactive TV in the cabin.

 

Side note, the interactive TV in our cabin didn't work correctly the entire trip. It would display a black background instead of a white background, resulting in the text being illegible unless you highlighted it on the screen. We were able to work around it enough to order room service and purchase excursions, but checking Sail & Sign balances on the interactive TV was impossible due to the background problem.

 

Anyway, it was very late when we tried to book our excursion for Belize and we discovered that the remote booking for excursions in Belize had already been disabled. We should have taken this as a sign that we were not meant to go. We went to bed sometime after midnight, deciding that we would just wake up and take the tender into Belize City and decide what to do from there.

 

My friend woke up early and went to the Shore Excursion Desk as soon as they opened at 7:30AM while I was still sound asleep in the room. She came back and woke me up, excited that she was able to book the Barrier Reef Snorkel & Beach Break for 8:30AM and I only had 30 minutes to get ready, grab breakfast, and make our way down to the Encore! Theater to meet up and board the boat that would take us snorkeling. Unfortunately, all of the drinks from Cozumel had caught up with me and I still was not feeling well. I opted to skip the excursion and head to the Shore Excursion Desk to attempt to get a refund on the "non-refundable" ticket that my friend purchased for me while I was asleep.

 

The girl working the desk at this time of morning was either overwhelmed between the short line of guests waiting and the constant ringing of the phone 15 minutes before most excursions were to depart, or just didn't want to deal with the guests in line because she gave both the gentleman in front of me and myself full refunds for the excursion that was about to depart. I was very thankful that she let me cancel and get a full refund as my friend had booked it while I was sleeping and did not know that I was not feeling well that morning.

 

Anyway, I went back to the room to sleep off the after-effects of drinking too much in Cozumel while my friend went on the excursion. I did happen to catch a few photos of the excursion boat pulling alongside to load just as I made it back to our cabin.

 

 

 

After grabbing a few photos, I headed back to bed while my friend headed off on the excursion.

[brilliantseas]

About two hours later (the excursion was scheduled for 3.5 hours), my friend comes back into the room and wakes me up. I was a bit surprised to see her already as I knew that she was not due back until at least noon. She told me that the excursion returned early as one of the passengers on the excursion had a medical emergency in the water and, as we would find out later, passed away during the excursion.

 

Apparently everything went as planned for the first 45 minutes of the snorkeling excursion. There were roughly 100 passengers on the double deck catamaran tender boat that doubled as their snorkeling boat, and they were spread over a large area over the reef. Many of the passengers had been snorkeling for some time already and were quite a ways out from the boat. The tour guides were out in kayaks (pictured on the top deck of the catamaran) monitoring the snorkeling passengers. Apparently the woman started yelling that she needed help and waving her arms in the air, stating that she couldn't breathe. One of the passengers from the cabin next to ours made it over to her at about the same time the guide paddled up in a kayak, and together they were able to get the woman onto the kayak. She was apparently having some sort of a panic attack as she kept stating that she couldn't breathe and would not sit still on the kayak or lay down as they were instructing her to. The guide attempted to paddle back toward the catamaran but the woman would not sit still and ultimately tipped over the kayak.

 

By the time they got her back out of the water and onto the catamaran, she was unconscious. The guides were calling for all of the snorkelers to come back to the boat as they were having an emergency. During this time, they did chest compressions on the woman, whom I was told had a faint pulse at one point, but ultimately passed away on the catamaran. Among the passengers on the excursion were a fire fighter and a nurse, both of whom took turns giving CPR while they loaded the other passengers and headed back toward land.

 

By the time they were loaded, a second tender boat had arrived and they transferred the woman over to the second, faster boat, and shuttled her off toward Belize, while the double deck catamaran that served as the excursion boat headed back toward the Dream to return the passengers.

 

Upon arriving back at the Dream, all of the passengers were escorted to the Encore! Theater, where Jaime, the Cruise Director, came out and explained what had happened and that the woman was being rushed to the hospital in Belize City and Carnival had dispatched a member of the Guest Services team to shore to be with her, and that Carnival was also flying in someone from the Miami office to meet them at the hospital in Belize. All of the passengers on the excursion were old that the excursion would be refunded, and that they could participate in a different snorkeling excursion departing that afternoon if they so desired. I don't think there were many takers on that offer.

 

At the point that my friend returned to the room, we did not yet know all of the details or that the woman had indeed passed away, but my friend was still kind of shaken up by the whole situation. We decided that we would take it easy the rest of the afternoon and just head into port to do some shopping and have a drink at the Wet Lizard.

[brilliantseas]

Here are some of the photos that my friend took while snorkeling before their trip was cut short. As you can see, Belize has some of the best snorkeling in the Western Hemisphere, along the Mesoamerican Reef.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[brilliantseas]

By the time we were ready to head into Belize City, it was about 12:30PM and they had just called for General Clearance, meaning that there was no longer a wait for tenders in the lounges, and everyone was permitted to go directly to Deck 0 Forward for tender embarkation. A short, 15-20 minute tender ride later, and we were in Belize City with no need to use our free Faster to the Fun priority tender benefit. If we were trying to get off the ship before noon, however, I am sure that FTTF would have come in handy as we had a significant wait in the Burgundy Lounge with about 25 groups ahead of us waiting for tenders.

 

For those who have never been to Belize before, there isn't much to see in the port area, which consists of (I think) four terminals, which are basically long halls with shops. There are also some tents behind the terminals offering souvenirs before you get to the infamous fence. I call it the infamous fence because the cruise port area is a tourist only area built right along the waterfront in downtown Belize City, and separated from the rest of the city by a large cement block wall topped with barbed wire. You will see numerous locals sticking their arms through the fence, holding signs and trying to get you to come outside the gate to take a tour with them or buy something from them. The wise tourists don't leave the port area unless they are being escorted on an excursion.

 

We browsed all four shopping areas and bought some hot sauce and a bottle opener before heading over to The Wet Lizard for a nice afternoon along the waterfront.

 

 

EcoToursBelize.com, the company that we went snorkeling with in 2011. We had a great time at Goff's Caye, and with a much smaller group, there was a guide in the water for every 8 snorkelers a few hundred yards from shore and with a speedboat idling just a few hundred feet away if needed. Much safer than the setup that the Carnival excursion had, given that there were so many fewer passengers for the guides to keep track of and everyone always stayed close to the guides and the boat. We had a great experience with them except for the late return, and I would consider going with them again in the future, although next time I will choose the early excursion rather than the late one to ensure that we don't miss the boat!

 

 

Belize also has a miniature chocolate factory offering "tours" where they make the chocolate. Inside, you find out that a "tour" means standing next to a glass window looking into a small kitchen where they make their chocolate bars and truffles. A single chocolate bar was $7 and was about the size of a Hershey bar. They also sold other chocolate products, from chocolate soap and lotion to roasted cocoa beans. We spent about three minutes inside the shop and left without purchasing any of the outrageously priced items.

 

 

 

The Rainforest Rum Cake store. You'll see the same rum cakes being sold in very similar colorful boxes at almost every port in the Caribbean, although the names vary slightly. I believe they are all made by the same company. $6.95 for a small and if you buy 4, you get the 5th free. They also sold the same Habanero "Comatose" hot sauce that I bought in one of the other shops. Same price either place, $3 for a 5 ounce bottle, or two bottles for $5. I bought the Comatose heat flavor, as well as the Habanero and Orange Pulp flavor. They are very good, but INTENSE!

 

[brilliantseas]

The Wet Lizard is by far the largest bar/restaurant in the cruise port area, and is owned by a husband and wife couple from the States. They moved to Belize 18 years ago and built The Wet Lizard as a way to make a living in this tropical country. They work behind the bar at the smaller location on the dock, while their teenage daughter works alongside the locals as a server. The main restaurant is located on the second floor of a gift shop across the street, but we chose the dockside bar because it looked to be less busy and we only wanted a few drinks, anyway.

 

I believe there are two other bars down at the other end of the port complex, but The Wet Lizard is where everyone goes to hang out. It looks like there is another bar being constructed on the dock next to The Wet Lizard, so they may have competition in the very near future.

 

Here is the dockside bar at The Wet Lizard. The dockside bar only serves drinks and a few bar snacks, while the upstairs restaurant and bar serves a full menu.

 

 

 

A Watermelon Margarita from The Wet Lizard. It was okay, but the Watermelon Daquiri was much better. I guess rum goes better with watermelon juice than tequila. Who would have guessed? In any case, they recommend them on the rocks as it is just rum (or tequila) and fresh watermelon juice and it loses the watermelon flavor if you water it down by blending it with ice into a frozen beverage. It was delicious as recommended, on the rocks. I believe they were $6 each.

 

 

If you can't get away from the modern world for a full week, The Wet Lizard has two TV's, complete with a full satellite TV lineup, from ESPN to CNBC.

 

[brilliantseas]

As I said before, the downstairs, waterfront, dockside bar does not have full menu service from the restaurant, but they do have a few bar snacks on the menu, ranging from chips & salsa and nachos, to dried plantain chips.

 

We ordered the chips & salsa and they were delicious! The salsa was fresh and not spicy at all (unlike the salsa we had in Cozumel!). It was quite different, and contained tomatoes, onion, and lots of cucumber, which we found slightly unusual, but it was DELICIOUS! Be sure to try it if you stop at The Wet Lizard.

 

 

A large table across from us ordered the Macho Nachos, which is the most expensive item on the entire menu at $35. We watched the owner put one of these together and could not believe our eyes. It must be at least 5 pounds of layered chips, nacho cheese, ground beef, jalapenos, salsa, and all sorts of other goodness. The bowl they serve it in was bigger than the microwave. Everyone was taking pictures as they carried it to the table, where it was shared by at least six people. We didn't stick around to watch, but I'm guessing that they did not finish it!

 

[brilliantseas]

Looking down the pier in Belize

 

Cate's Place, a smaller bar located at the far end of the port area. Not nearly as popular as The Wet Lizard, but a neat little bar to stop at if you want a quick drink while shopping.

 

 

 

A little bridge and green space in the shopping area, near Cate's Place. Notice the Radisson in the background. It is outside the fence, but just a few blocks from the cruise terminal.

 

 

Boarding the tender boats to go back to the Dream.

 

 

Tenders busy taking passengers to and from the Dream. I believe they had a total of six tenders operating between the ship and shore, which is fine if you are the only ship in port, but I can't imagine when there are two or three ships anchored, all sharing the same fleet of tenders. The other tender in the fleet was used for the Barrier Reef Snorkel and Beach Break excursion in the morning and was only available for tendering in the afternoon.

 

[brilliantseas]

A fully loaded tender returning from Belize.

 

 

Last tender of the day. I don't want to be the person watching this thing pull away from shore. Being stuck in Belize and having to fly to Roatan to meet the ship would not be my idea of a fun evening.

 

[dst]

This is an awesome review. We just contacted CBH to see if they had any room for this January. Sounds like crazy fun!! :)

 

 

Hi cruise mate :) You'll have a great time with Tom - he knows the area and is such a wonderful guy

[brilliantseas]

Carnival Dream anchored a few miles off the coast of Belize City, Belize. Tendering is necessary in Belize because of the Mesoamerican Reef that lies just offshore.

 

 

 

Tender boats were ready and waiting for us when we dropped anchor in Belize. The first boat to pull alongside at about 8:15 was the catamaran that would double as the snorkeling boat for the Barrier Reef Snorkel and Beach Break. After it pulled away, the remaining tenders whisked passengers away to downtown Belize to meet busses to take them to the Mayan Ruins, to the river for Cave Tubing or Airboat rides, or to Bacab Ecopark for kayaking or horseback rides. Only after the excursion tenders pull away does Carnival start tendering non-excursion passengers to shore.

 

[thegoodlife247]

So if you book a cave tubing excursion with a company other than carnival you have to wait till 12:30 to be tendered into Belize? Or is it just passengers without any excursion booked? Sounds like a wonderful cruise (other than the snorkel excursion your friend went on). We will be sailing on the dream spring break.

Thanks for such a great review and pics.

[brilliantseas]

It was only after we returned from downtown and were out on our balcony that we started talking to a guy from the cabin above us and the couple in the cabin next to us about what happened on the excursion. Both were also on the excursion and the one gentleman above us seemed to have more information about what had happened. His story would later be confirmed two days later during a conversation with the shore excursion manager just before we arrived in Costa Maya (we wanted to cancel our snorkeling excursion in Costa Maya after the previous experience in Belize).

 

The woman was 44 years old and was not in the greatest of shape. She was a bigger woman and was apparently initially complaining of trouble breathing and chest pain. She was traveling with her mother, who was also on the excursion. Apparently she was snorkeling with her vest almost completely deflated, which could have something to do with her not surviving after the kayak capsized. They did CPR the entire ride back to Belize, but it took almost an hour from the time they got her out of water until they got her to shore, where she was taken to the local hospital.

 

She was pronounced dead in Belize. Her mother asked that Carnival not inform the rest of the family, and she came back to the ship briefly to gather her things and was escorted back to shore by one of the Guest Services agents from the ship. I guess she wanted to wait until she returned to the States to tell them. They were being met in Belize City by another person from the Guest Care team that was being flown in from Miami. The body had to remain in Belize until the investigation was complete, at which time it would be flown back to the States with the mother. The Shore Excursion Manager said that the person GSA from the ship and the Guest Care person from Miami would remain with the mother until she returned to the States and they were doing everything they could to help her.

 

The passenger in the cabin above me confirmed that he saw an older woman crying as she was boarding one of the tender boats to return to shore late in the afternoon, confirming the Shore Excursion Manager's story that she did disembark in Belize.

 

The whole situation was very unfortunate and put a bit of a damper on the stop and the rest of the cruise.

 

The guest in the cabin next to us was the one who initially helped the guide get the woman into the kayak, and they received a letter and a bottle of champagne in their cabin that evening thanking him for helping in that situation. The next day they also got an invitation for a free dinner in the steakhouse as an additional thank you for assisting a fellow passenger in need. It was completely unnecessary, but a nice gesture by Carnival to recognize the few passengers who were closest to the situation, even though the woman did not survive.

[dst]

It was only after we returned from downtown and were out on our balcony that we started talking to a guy from the cabin above us and the couple in the cabin next to us about what happened on the excursion. Both were also on the excursion and the one gentleman above us seemed to have more information about what had happened. His story would later be confirmed two days later during a conversation with the shore excursion manager just before we arrived in Costa Maya (we wanted to cancel our snorkeling excursion in Costa Maya after the previous experience in Belize).

 

The woman was 44 years old and was not in the greatest of shape. She was a bigger woman and was apparently initially complaining of trouble breathing and chest pain. She was traveling with her mother, who was also on the excursion. Apparently she was snorkeling with her vest almost completely deflated, which could have something to do with her not surviving after the kayak capsized. They did CPR the entire ride back to Belize, but it took almost an hour from the time they got her out of water until they got her to shore, where she was taken to the local hospital.

 

She was pronounced dead in Belize. Her mother asked that Carnival not inform the rest of the family, and she came back to the ship briefly to gather her things and was escorted back to shore by one of the Guest Services agents from the ship. I guess she wanted to wait until she returned to the States to tell them. They were being met in Belize City by another person from the Guest Care team that was being flown in from Miami. The body had to remain in Belize until the investigation was complete, at which time it would be flown back to the States with the mother. The Shore Excursion Manager said that the person GSA from the ship and the Guest Care person from Miami would remain with the mother until she returned to the States and they were doing everything they could to help her.

 

The passenger in the cabin above me confirmed that he saw an older woman crying as she was boarding one of the tender boats to return to shore late in the afternoon, confirming the Shore Excursion Manager's story that she did disembark in Belize.

 

The whole situation was very unfortunate and put a bit of a damper on the stop and the rest of the cruise.

 

The guest in the cabin next to us was the one who initially helped the guide get the woman into the kayak, and they received a letter and a bottle of champagne in their cabin that evening thanking him for helping in that situation. The next day they also got an invitation for a free dinner in the steakhouse as an additional thank you for assisting a fellow passenger in need. It was completely unnecessary, but a nice gesture by Carnival to recognize the few passengers who were closest to the situation, even though the woman did not survive.

 

 

What a sad unfortunate event; I can't image being the mother and having to deal with all of this - vacations and holidays will never be the same for this family.

 

Thanks for sharing the rest of the story

[SMSACE6]

Thankyou for your excellent and detailed review! The photos are beautiful. Im sorry about the tragic event that occurred in Belize. Im looking forward to more of your excellent review.:)

[brilliantseas]

After departing Belize, we got ready for dinner. Before heading to the dining room, we headed to the Taste Bar to discover that tonight was themed to the Steakhouse and featured some sort of a short rib croquette (short rib fried in what almost resembled corn dog batter) and a pumpkin bisque. I didn't try it as I do not eat beef, but my friend said that both were very tasty.

 

After the Taste Bar, we headed down to the Crimson Dining Room around 7:30 to find a somewhat shorter line for Your Time Dining. We were quoted 20 minutes, possibly less, for a shared table. We never inquired about a table for two as we really didn't care and kind of like interacting with our fellow cruise passengers.

 

The 20 minute quote was almost right on, and we proceeded into the dining room where we were seated at a table for four. We were immediately joined by another couple who were much more pleasant than our tablemates on the first nights, but whom we didn't really share much in common with. We enjoyed our dinner, but our tablemates excused themselves before dessert. I think that I had the fruit cocktail and shrimp cocktail as my appetizers, while my friend tried the asparagus vichyssoise and our tablemates had some sort of salad and soup. All commented that the appetizers were very good. As an entrée, I had the grilled jumbo shrimp in pomodoro sauce, and my friend had the filet, which was cooked almost perfectly. I was too full for dessert and just asked for a side of the delicious raspberry sorbet that comes as a garnish on the raspberry cream cake. The waiter said that this was no problem, but when our desserts came out, I got the full raspberry cream cake with it! Oh well, I guess I can squeeze a little more in ;). I am glad that I got it because it was delicious! My friend had the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake for the second night in a row.

 

After dinner, we went to the casino for a bit where we both lost at blackjack and I donated a quick $80 to the roulette table. In all that action, betting a combination of single numbers and 2-to-1 odds bets, I only managed to win a single 2-to-1 before exhausting my roulette budget for the night. I did make a little bit back on the video poker machines (the only machines that seemed to be kind to me on this trip), and then headed back to the cabin for a bit. My friend decided to go to bed, but I headed back out to explore for a bit. I won a bit at the video poker machines and lost a little in the slots.

 

After hitting the casino, I decided to go up to the Lido deck for some lemonade and a slice of pizza. I wasn't really hungry, but decided to get a slice anyway because it sounded good (typical American, right?). Just as I was finishing my pizza, the big screen kicked on and the James Bond theme song started blaring across the Lido deck. It was midnight, and tonight's midnight movie on the Seaside Theater was an older James Bond film, Dr. No. Being a fan of James Bond and having never seen Dr. No, I decided to grab a lounge chair in front of the pool and watch for a while. I ended up staying up until almost 2:30AM and watching the entire movie!

 

 

I would estimate that there were about 30 people spread out in the lounge chairs watching the movie, and several more watching from the tables near the poolside grill and pizzeria. I even caught the housekeeper that was supposed to be cleaning the deck leaning against a wall in the back watching for a few minutes. It must be nice working the night shift... About half way through the movie, I heard snoring coming from the row behind me. I turn around to count no less than four people sleeping in the lounge chairs behind me. I guess a long day of vacation really took it out of them!

 

The movie was good and it was the first time in six cruises that I've actually sat through a full movie on the Seaside Theater screen. Throughout the cruise, the ship offered a nice mix of family friendly movies (Happy Feet), recent blockbusters (Pirates of the Caribbean 4), and older movies for the adults in the crowd (James Bond). If I have only one complaint, it is that the lounge chairs, while comfortable for lounging under the sun, are not the best seating surface from which to watch an entire movie. I found myself constantly shifting after about the first 45 minutes to get comfortable because there is no cushioning what-so-ever on the lounge chairs on the Lido Deck.

 

Up Next: Mahogany Bay, Roatan!

[brilliantseas]

My picture reminded me of one other thing that I have to have a minor rant about. I have now been on three different ships that are equipped with the Seaside Theater for a total of four different cruises, and every single time there have been burnt out/non-functioning squares on the screen. It was not too bad on the Dream, just two small square areas (the blue areas seen above), but on the Victory and Triumph, it was really bad, with large areas either burnt out or flickering. I understand the weather can be hard on technology, but each square on these giant jumbotron-type screens is designed to be swapped out individually if/when they fail, and I don't understand why Carnival can't keep these things working.

 

If you are going to make the investment in such a large amenity, and one that is a centerpiece and focal point 24 hours a day in one of the most populated area of the ship, why can't you spend the money to maintain it. I know Carnival has electricians and lighting technicians onboard each ship, so why can't they stock a few extra parts and maintain the Seaside Theater screens on a more regular basis. I can understand if it just burnt out, but having screens with bad spots on four of four cruises that were equipped with the screens spells out poor/infrequent maintenance or repair to me.

 

Anyone else care to chime in before I continue my review?

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

My picture reminded me of one other thing that I have to have a minor rant about. I have now been on three different ships that are equipped with the Seaside Theater for a total of four different cruises, and every single time there have been burnt out/non-functioning squares on the screen. It was not too bad on the Dream, just two small square areas (the blue areas seen above), but on the Victory and Triumph, it was really bad, with large areas either burnt out or flickering. I understand the weather can be hard on technology, but each square on these giant jumbotron-type screens is designed to be swapped out individually if/when they fail, and I don't understand why Carnival can't keep these things working.

 

If you are going to make the investment in such a large amenity, and one that is a centerpiece and focal point 24 hours a day in one of the most populated area of the ship, why can't you spend the money to maintain it. I know Carnival has electricians and lighting technicians onboard each ship, so why can't they stock a few extra parts and maintain the Seaside Theater screens on a more regular basis. I can understand if it just burnt out, but having screens with bad spots on four of four cruises that were equipped with the screens spells out poor/infrequent maintenance or repair to me.

I agree with you - I was on the Splendor last week and we had a flickering block the size of the basket in your picture. It would have not been that bad if it just flickered to black, but there would be this flash of white light as it flickered back and forth. Blinding to say the least.

 

(Good review, thanks).

[brilliantseas]

December 12, 2012 - Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan, Honduras - 9:00AM to 6:00PM

 

Mahogany Bay has been near the top of my favorite ports list (alongside St. Kitts and St. Maarten) since my first visit last October. Carnival has constructed a beautiful facility at Mahogany Bay specifically for their ships, and although Mahogany Bay is not a "private island" in the way that Half Moon Cay is a private island, the Mahogany Bay cruise port and adjacent Mahogany Beach is reserved for exclusive use by Carnival Corporation ships and passengers. In fact, the port has two security guards stationed at the bridge connecting the shopping area to Mahogany Beach to prevent any non-Carnival guests from sneaking in and using the beach.

 

Our day at Mahogany Bay began very early, with a room service breakfast on our balcony as we watched the ship dock. We had previously tried to order room service on the morning that we docked in Cozumel, but our order must have been either lost or our card stolen (darn kids...) because our order never arrived and we ended up having breakfast at the buffet that morning. On this particular morning, we had a light breakfast of bagels, melon, and orange juice while watching the Dream pull alongside the pier in Mahogany Bay. Since we were scheduled to be the only ship in port on this particular day, we did not have to back up "around the corner" to the rear dock as we did last year when we shared the port with another ship, so docking was much quicker this time around. If you have never been to Mahogany Bay, the pier accommodates two ships, but features about a 30 degree bend in the middle between the two docks. All ships back in to the port at Mahogany Bay, and if you are the first to arrive and dock at the rear portion of the pier, you will be in port until after the ship at the front dock leaves because the ship in front literally blocks your ship into the little cove. After seeing it, you will understand why Roatan is the most frequently missed port in the Western Caribbean (competing with Grand Cayman for that honor) because if there is any wind or weather what-so-ever, it would be next to impossible to navigate the ship into the cove area where the pier is located.

 

Carnival, Princess, and Holland America will all use Mahogany Bay as their primary dock in Roatan, unless the weather prevents docking there. All other cruise lines will use the common cruise ship pier in downtown Coxen Hole, a few miles up the road from Mahogany Bay.

 

Anyway, as we pulled into Mahogany Bay, we were granted a beautiful view of an empty Mahogany Beach awaiting our arrival as the sun rises over the jungle-covered hills in the background.

 

 

This photo was actually taken at sunset (better lighting than the photos I took in the morning), but you get the point. It is absolutely beautiful!

[brilliantseas]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[brilliantseas]

We were off the ship just after 9:00AM and were among the first passengers to make our way over to Mahogany Beach. We were able to score front row loungers under a palm tree at the far end of the beach and enjoy crystal clear water and an unobstructed view of the beach before the crowds arrived (not that it ever felt crowded; the beach can handle crowds from two ships and we were the only ones in port on this day). I was able to get some beautiful pictures of the ship and beach area before the late-risers arrived.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only disadvantage to our area of the beach was that the booth that sells the coconut water out of a fresh cut coconut was right next to us and the young guy running the stand will ring a bell and shout out "Ice cold coconuts here" about every three minutes. It didn't detract from our experience too much, but might disturb some people.

[brilliantseas]

I was able to get a nice nap in under the shade of the palm tree for about two hours before the sun finally reached my chair. It was such a peaceful way to spend a morning on the beach!

 

As the beach started to get more crowded, I decided to walk around and take some pictures as well as go for a swim and do some snorkeling. There is some good snorkeling out near the end of the dock at the far end of the beach, but they do not rent snorkeling gear at the beach, so you'll have to bring your own. Mahogany Bay is very sheltered, so there are virtually no waves, thus reducing the need for a snorkel vest or fins. A snorkel and mask will do just fine here.

 

Being a private beach operated by Carnival, they do have a lifeguard on a jet ski patrolling just beyond the ropes of the swimming area, just to be safe. In two visits, I've never seen them actually have to make a rescue, but it provides peace of mind knowing that they are there.

 

Here are some photos that I took along the beach as it got busier.

 

The cabana area has a private section of beach, complete with day beds and misters. They looked quite refreshing.

 

 

The lifeguard jet ski is off in the distance. Note that the jet ski is only for the lifeguard and they do not rent jet skis at Mahogany Bay.

 

 

The sailboat is used for one of the excursions offered out of Mahogany Bay.

 

 

The beach is very close to the ship and provides for great photo opportunities.