CARIBBEAN PRINCESS Jan 11 2014-Photo and video review

[Bimmer09]

After a fine dinner and our goodbyes to Milos we took a walk up on the Promenade deck and were entertained by the amazing shimmering lights on the surface of the water as we sped along.Cindy and co in the meantime pulled up chairs outside Crooner's (as all seats were filled) to listen to the young singer/pianist there. I'll dig out his name from the Patters later.

 

Carol tells me the lights are produced by algae...anyone know what I am referring to? Dancing , moving, lights. Now a circle, now an oval, now a streak. I videotaped it but it was inky black on the water bar the fluorescent lights and no Oscar winner.

 

With no Magic show (awww) and no Karaoke (damn!) an early night (10.30) seemed like a great idea as we had another excursion tomorrow in Belize. An airboat excursion, first time for either of us.

 

We had had a perfect day in Roatan. Very memorable. Tomorrow we would tender ashore and there would be other ships doing the same.

 

The sleep was deep.

 

The phone alarm was primed to shatter the silence at 5 a.m....

[Bimmer09]

<<The company was convivial and animated. We all passed on the offer of Limoncello (in my case the wine was enough alcohol for me) which we usually can't resist. It is now $4.95 a glass (you keep the cool Princess glass) instead of the $4.95 on last year's Ruby cruise.>>

 

Error- I meant $3.95 on the Ruby!!

 

Oh-the humanity!

 

Norris, hiring a new fact checker as I'm really not up to the task

[whataboutport]

Hopefully someone armed with facts will chime in...I am guessing that the pens are for training dolphins for a FUTURE attraction. They didn't seem to be entertaining paying customers and one of them (the trainers, not the dolphins) had a pro Camcorder shooting the action as they got them to leap...possibly for training or promotion purposes.

It would be a great place to have a paying attraction-just off the ship with bars and eats nearby.

 

Norris

 

The day you were there was probably just not available to guests. When I was there in Nov I saw this young girl there with the dolphins.

[Bimmer09]

Up early for coffee on deck. This is the pool by MUTS (Calypso Pool) at 6 a.m

 



 

Stocking of the bar was in progress at 6 a.m

 



 

With excursions planned people were up and about-and hungry

 



 

 

This was the line for service in the buffet

 



 

The sun was trying to peek through

 

[Bimmer09]

 

Other ships began to appear

 



 



 



 

 



 

Our port-mates today would be Norwegians Dawn and Jewel and the Carnival Legend.

[Bimmer09]

Belize would be a tender port and the tenders were not ship's lifeboats but rather a flotilla of various size boats from the port itself.

 



 

We dropped the port anchor

 



 

We had priority tender tickets but didn't need to leave the ship for a while so there was no rush and breakfast at Sabatini's was calling.

 

 

 

We had a window table and set about fueling up for the day

 



 



 

Cold cuts for me as my starter

 



 

I went off menu and ordered corned beff hash which was brought from another kitchen. An extra side of bacon stood by and was soon pressed into service.

 

[GoVikes]

Norris,

Great review--I am really enjoying it! Can't wait for our cruise! :D

[Grammyluvs]

Loving this review and love your sense of humor. Your pictures make me feel like I am standing there. Great job.

[Bimmer09]

Here is a video I shot of the morning in Belize when we had to tender ashore...

 

 

Thanks to everyone following along and for the kind words expressed.

 

Tomorrow I will upload the video of our Jet Boat trip through the mangroves plus lots of photos of same.

 

Norris

Edited January 31, 2014 by Bimmer09
bad url

[douglinc@msn.com]

Which pier did you dock at in Cozumel?

 

Doug

[curlybelle2]

Here is a video I shot of the morning in Belize when we had to tender ashore...

 

 

Thanks to everyone following along and for the kind words expressed.

 

Tomorrow I will upload the video of our Jet Boat trip through the mangroves plus lots of photos of same.

 

Norris

 

Hello Norris,

 

Thank you for sharing your adventures with us! We will be on our cruise tomorrow. How was the jet boat excursion? Was it a wild ride? We want to have a fun time but not overly wild!

 

Thanks, shelly

[ar1950]

Hello Norris,

 

Thank you for sharing your adventures with us! We will be on our cruise tomorrow. How was the jet boat excursion? Was it a wild ride? We want to have a fun time but not overly wild!

 

Thanks, shelly

 

I think that should have been air boat excursion, at least that is what he said in a previous post. A jet boat through the mangroves, wow, sounds like a wild ride for sure! Yikes!! :cool:

[monakayk]

:confused:So I am not sure if I missed this, but the beach with all the loungers so near the cruise port at Roatan...was that a public-free beach? How far walk do you think it was? It really looked great.

 

Thanks again for sharing all your photos. I am enjoying this thread so much!

Edited January 31, 2014 by monakayk

[New York Nana]

Here's Hector the singing Head Waiter in the Coral Dining Room treating us out of the blue to his love of song. Out waiter Milos is in the frame early on.

 

Norris

 

We were luck enough to have Hector sing while we were on the Caribbean Princess both during the Hurricane Sandy cruise, as well as the NE/Canada cruise this past Fall. What a beautiful voice he has! It really gave our anniversary dinner a special feel (like we were in Italy!) Thank you for sharing that video.

[whataboutport]

:confused:So I am not sure if I missed this, but the beach with all the loungers so near the cruise port at Roatan...was that a public-free beach? How far walk do you think it was? It really looked great.

 

Thanks again for sharing all your photos. I am enjoying this thread so much!

 

I can help here!

It is very close to walk. I thought it was farther bc of the chair lifts. It's so close. You first go through a few shops under a shaded area and then you go over the bridge (by the dolphins) and get to the beach. Yes it is free. There are pay for cabanas and massage tents too. Lots of bars and restaurants. There is a pier at the far end where you can snorkel off of. Not sure where you can rent snorkel equipment though.

[Bimmer09]

Which pier did you dock at in Cozumel?

 

Doug

 

Doug- I believe it was the International Pier which is where I used to dock on the Song of Norway almost 30 years ago. HAL had the pier downtown and there was a New (well less than 30 years old) pier which the Carnival ships docked at a few hundred yards beyond us. Lots of photos coming later. La Cieba is the closest hotel as it was back then.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

We were luck enough to have Hector sing while we were on the Caribbean Princess both during the Hurricane Sandy cruise, as well as the NE/Canada cruise this past Fall. What a beautiful voice he has! It really gave our anniversary dinner a special feel (like we were in Italy!) Thank you for sharing that video.

 

We are lovers of Opera and Neapolitan songs and we were very happy to hear Hector sing as it doesn't happen on all Princess ships and it makes for just another great memory on a cruise-which is a way of traveling with an endless stream of great memories-until disembarkation!

 

Glad you enjoyed. I wish I had been prepared for his song and could have got all of it. Took me by surprise.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I think that should have been air boat excursion, at least that is what he said in a previous post. A jet boat through the mangroves, wow, sounds like a wild ride for sure! Yikes!! :cool:

 

As ar1950 said it was an air boat ride, skimming over the water, not a jet boat racing through the water. Even though it was fast (between the stopping points to look at wildlife and listen to our excellent guide Sandy) and my camcorder got splashed I wasn't having to hold onto anything and never felt in danger. The wide sweeping bends where the boat was at an angle of maybe 30 degrees were telegraphed by Sandy so we knew we were going on our side for a bit. She stood up all the time while we turned hard and only fell down once to her seat. Safe fun!

 

You'll see on the video. I deliberately sat at the front to get better shots without heads in the way. I would book this excursion again in a heartbeat. Really good people (very witty) running it.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

:confused:So I am not sure if I missed this, but the beach with all the loungers so near the cruise port at Roatan...was that a public-free beach? How far walk do you think it was? It really looked great.

 

Thanks again for sharing all your photos. I am enjoying this thread so much!

 

Mona- I am really glad you are enjoying reading this. I enjoy writing it, although it is 30 minutes here, 10 minutes there, thanks to work and life.

 

I know the way I write is very long and one has to come back to it dozens of times over the weeks it takes to put on the board. Writing it chronologically rather than bullet points or a review where it is broken down into sections-Food/Excursions/Entertainment etc or as a Summary is certainly not quicker to read and write. Me sitting at a bar drinking Beck's is not great literature but I hope to give people a sense of how I enjoy the cruise- we all enjoy different things about cruising and we all have LOTS in common on board ship but some like to gamble, some like trivia, some playing cards, some shopping, some sunbathing etc. I do none of those but could enjoy all of them bar the gambling as there is no attraction there for me. I don't watch movies on the ship but love movies.

 

We all enjoy the experience of cruising in our different ways and I write "reviews" (not the best word really, more "recollections") in my own way without any contrivance and hope that someone enjoys the experience of reading them.

 

Thanks again,

 

Norris

[LC1950]

Thanks Norris for your link. Yo HECTOR!!!! Fabulous, loved it .... oh, and to those passengers who kept filling their gobs ("Aussie speak" for mouths :rolleyes:) and looking peeved off while he was singing .... bad ju-ju to you!

 

What a great moment. Sheesh, wish a few waiters, or even one, would sing to me on a Princess ship, whilst at dinner. I'd certainly appreciate the gesture! What a moment! :)

[Bimmer09]

Thanks Norris for your link. Yo HECTOR!!!! Fabulous, loved it .... oh, and to those passengers who kept filling their gobs ("Aussie speak" for mouths :rolleyes:) and looking peeved off while he was singing .... bad ju-ju to you!

 

What a great moment. Sheesh, wish a few waiters, or even one, would sing to me on a Princess ship, whilst at dinner. I'd certainly appreciate the gesture! What a moment! :)

 

I may have another video of Hector from another night. Carol and I have yet to see the entire video I shot. Carol made a DVD of it while we were busy doing other things (love computers). It took hours as the files are so big. We have watched it through Belize which is where I am on my computer and in the retelling.

 

It does add something special to the experience-an uplifting surprise.

 

Norris

[satxdiver]

:confused:So I am not sure if I missed this, but the beach with all the loungers so near the cruise port at Roatan...was that a public-free beach? How far walk do you think it was? It really looked great.

 

Thanks again for sharing all your photos. I am enjoying this thread so much!

 

Mahogany Bay was built by Carnival Corp which owns Princess. The beach is part of Mahogany Bay inside the secure area and free to all the ship pax that stop there. Here is a link to the port:

 

http://www.mahoganybaycc.com/

[satxdiver]

Which pier did you dock at in Cozumel?

 

Doug

 

Princess and Carnival usually use the Puerto Maya pier. Cozumel has three cruise piers with the other two being the International Pier and Punta Lagosta. Puerto Maya is the furtherist from the town plaza. Here is the port's website:

 

http://www.puertamaya.com/default.aspx

[Deck Chair Queen]

I may have another video of Hector from another night. Carol and I have yet to see the entire video I shot. Carol made a DVD of it while we were busy doing other things (love computers). It took hours as the files are so big. We have watched it through Belize which is where I am on my computer and in the retelling.

 

 

 

It does add something special to the experience-an uplifting surprise.

 

 

 

Norris

 

 

Ahem. Blu-ray, if you please!

Edited February 1, 2014 by Deck Chair Queen

[Cozumel Parrot]

 

Very jealous watching you dock at Roatan, as that was the port we missed on our 1/4 - 1/11 cruise. I recognize the scenery until about the 50 second mark. That's how close we got before the Captain announced the waters were too choppy to dock. :(