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Carnival Magic Jan. 20 Isle of Roatan, Belize and Cozumel

Blueboss

By Blueboss,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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INCHARGE

INCHARGE

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I love this review, and the many pictures. I wish I had more pictures, but we did not take as many. The quality of your pictures is awesome. I could never get good Deck Party pictures at night. I always say I am going to get food pics, then we never do. Too busy scoffing it down! :eek: :D

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MsConfetti

MsConfetti

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Following along, hope to take this ship and itinerary in the future. Your disclaimer about the type of camera you use cracks me up. I love when people ask me " Oh you have such gorgeous pictures! What camera do you use?" :rolleyes:It's all about who is behind the camera, not the camera. But thanks!" is my reply :cool:

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Blueboss

Blueboss

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Wednesday Jan. 23rd, Mahogany Bay, Isle of Roatan. Cloudy and rainy today but that didn't seem to slow anyone down. We booked the Fun N Sun Excursion with Victor Bodden ($25 pp). Carnival doesn't allow independent excursions in the port area so we had to go through the gate and over a hill to meet up with the tour. As we were going through the gate, we found a desk that would stamp our passports for a donation. We planned to walk over the hill but were running a little late, so we got a taxi instead for $5. So glad we did! That hill is very steep and a madhouse with all the tour companies and guides waiting. Our tour consisted of driving around Roatan, a stop at Bodden's Monkey Zoo and going to the beach. We enjoyed ourselves and our guide, Anna, was very informative about the history and current events around the Isle of Roatan. She REALLY does not like the Mayor! ;) There are two shipwrecks that we saw as we docked, she told us the story about them and that they can't be moved now due to coral growing on their hulls. The Zoo was the first stop (if you book zipline with Bodden this is also where it is) and the second stop was Bananarama Resort/Beach where we had lunch (extra charge). The food was good and the drinks were strong, but the beach was just too crowded and not really all that pretty. According to Anna, most all of the beaches are owned by foreigners, Bananarama is owned by Italians, Tabyana Beach is owned by the Mayor. She said there is one public beach left, but it wasn't taken care of that well. On our way back to the ship, we made a couple of quick stops to take pictures. We thought it was a good tour for us to learn more about the people, lifestyle and history, but will probably not do it again. The people are very poor and depend on tourism for their economy. Some CC members, on this cruise, had gathered up school supplies and baby needs to donate to the orphanage, Carnival helped get those delivered. After getting back to port (they could drop us off at the gate so did not have to walk over the hill), we walked over to Mahogany Bay, just to see what it was like. Did not bother riding the Flying Beach Chair thing since we could walk faster that it was moving. The beach was alright with places to eat, drink, get a massage, beach volleyball and a clean bathroom. I know some people really like Roatan, but our opinion of it was "meh". I still found a lot to photograph though. There is a short 'nature trail' near the bridge to the beach that gets you away from the concrete sidewalk and brings you out close to the Duty Free store on the dock. It's a dirt path that can be a little tricky if you have mobility issues. Some of the following pictures were taken through the glass of our moving van so aren't the best quality.

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Blueboss

Blueboss

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DSC_1806_zps76f5f408.jpg

 

This was short photo stop and the kids came running from everywhere to sell us shells. This little girl was content to look at the water and let her sister take care of business.

 

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Some of the flowers at Bodden's Zoo

 

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Blueboss

Blueboss

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Thanks everyone for following along. Sorting through the pictures is very time consuming, wish I could do it faster. I may not be able to post anything tomorrow night since I will be spending the night with my daughter, helping her with a construction project so she can get her business up and running. Her internet, at home, is sloooooowww.

 

Glad you all like the pictures. I've had the camera a year and still learning what it can do and expand my capabilities. The next installment is cave tubing in Belize and most of those pictures were taken with the waterproof point and shoot.

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Blueboss

Blueboss

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Seems we shared the same stomping grounds that day..enjoying your pictures..did u happen to go cave tubing in Belize as well??..the cc member with the camera at Bananarama is me..

 

We did share the same stomping grounds, we checked in for this cruise right behind you and your husband. :D Yes we did go cave tubing, loading those pictures now.

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Blueboss

Blueboss

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Thursday Jan. 24th, Belize! This is the port we were really looking forward to! It's a tender port and another new experience for us. The boat ride from ship to shore was about 20 minutes. We had another excursion booked, this time it was with cavetubing.bz ($50 pp). Our guise was the owner's son, Junior, and very informative about his country with a great sense of humor. As we drove through Belize City and on out into the countryside, he kept a running commentary about the country's history, economy, politics, plants, animals and people. When we arrived at the river park, about an hour later, we were given a chance to change into swimwear, get our life jackets, helmets w/lights and our tubes as well as LIBERALLY use our bug spray. Next was the hike through the jungle for 30-45 minutes. The path is gravel, well marked and pretty wide. There are a couple of steep places, but our guide and driver are there to help any that need it. We also had places to catch our breath as our guide coaxed a tarantula out of her hole, showed us some trees that produce the green dye used in the U.S. Dollar, the orange dye used in the Nicaraguan money and the base used for school glue. We finally got to a floating platform where we were helped into our tubes and linked together (caribiners, not feet under the shoulders). The water was a little chilly, but felt good after our hike. The float itself is slow and relaxing. Our guide and driver stayed with us the entire time, telling us about the cave system, pointing out different formations and keeping our flotilla from bumping into the outcroppings. There is an underground waterfall and they pulled us over to the base of it so we could get some decent pictures. I had left my DSLR on the ship since I don't have waterproof housing for it and was using the waterproof point and shoot that limits the pictures I can take in the dark. The guides will also take your picture with your camera if you want them to. Toward the end of the float, they unclipped all of us so we could float a short distance on our own, assist us getting out of the tubes and back on the riverbank. The float ended at the parking lot, we turned in all our gear and was able to change into dry clothes. The van is locked while we are floating so we could leave our bags there safely. Anything you take on the float WILL get wet and the guide warns you that if anything gets away from you, it's gone for good. I highly recommend floating camera straps or cinching the strap snuggly on your wrist. After everyone had changed and loaded back in the van, we drove a couple of miles to the owner's house for some lunch (included in the tour cost). They serve the same meal to everyone, seasoned chicken, rice and bean dish and cole slaw. It was all very good and they do offer second helpings if you want more. There is soda and rum punch to drink. The rum punch is very good and strong! They also had a few trinkets and t shirts to purchase as well. After lunch, we drove back to the town. Junior was quiet and let us enjoy the scenery but would answer any questions we might have. We took a different route through Belize City and he told us the history about a couple of bridges and some of the buildings. They got us back to port with almost 2 hours to spare before the last tender left. We did a little shopping in the tourist village and then headed back to the ship. Tonight was the second Elegant Night and another opportunity for formal pictures. After dinner, we hung around Ocean Plaza for dancing and taking pictures. They were playing 80's rock and seemed to attract all of us that had been teenagers at that time. :rolleyes: We saw a Kenny Rogers look alike, another guy thought DH was Chuck Liddell and asked to have his picture taken with him. LOL

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