Kmom NEEDS LOTS OF HELP PLEASE - Pre-Planning Pre-Review Preview Mardi Gras August 7, 2021 - Join me if you dare

[i00762]

4 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Next question for the peanut gallery here relates to: Ports of Call, most specifically Mahogany Bay. And yes I have visited the website: https://discoverroatan.net/mahogany-bay-cruise-ship-port/ and also the port forum here on Cruise Critic.  The fact is, a lot of Cruise Critic members are mostly lurkers, reading stuff but not commenting unless specifically requested or otherwise inspired to do so. I want to hear from you!

 

 

It’s been a few years since we were in Mahogany Bay but we really enjoyed Daniel Johnson’s Monkey and Sloth Hangout. https://monkeyandslothhangout.com/home/
 

Carnival does an excursion there as well but if you book through them directly, you get there before the crowds and will have a better experience. 

[SNJCruisers]

8 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

WHAT? Inconceivable!

The green dye used to make the eggs is a Covid casualty, so they have to temporarily put the breakfast on hold. 😉

[SNJCruisers]

7 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

Next question for the peanut gallery here relates to: Ports of Call, most specifically Mahogany Bay. And yes I have visited the website: https://discoverroatan.net/mahogany-bay-cruise-ship-port/ and also the port forum here on Cruise Critic.  The fact is, a lot of Cruise Critic members are mostly lurkers, reading stuff but not commenting unless specifically requested or otherwise inspired to do so. I want to hear from you!

 

If you want to just tell me anything you know about this port without first dealing with my two cents (two hundred cents, really), please skip the lengthy blather below.

 

BLATHER WARNING:  On my very first cruise, on the Premier Cruise Lines SS Royale, we stopped at what is now known as Blue Lagoon Island, formerly known as Salt Cay, just barely off shore from Paradise Island and Nassau.  Premier didn't own the island, but rather leased it on a day basis from its owners. This was 1985 and I really don't know if this was the first experiment at a private island day (if you know please comment) but in any case, we really loved it. There was not a ton of infrastructure or a lot to spend $$ on, so it was really basically a private beach with the lunch barbeque included and of course a bar to buy drinks.  I'm not even sure they served lunch onboard that day - I think if you wanted fed you might have had to get off the ship. My mom and I walked quite a way from the entry area where the crowds gathered, and found a little bitty spot to be all alone with just some white sand, a beach towel to sit on, and blue water in front of us. Idyllic, simply luxurious, incredibly relaxing, and deeply memorable decades later. Later I visited Castaway Cay on DCL and more recently, Labadee.

 

Moving into the now, I can say I do not think those paid shore excursions to a beach day make sense for me.  Your Mr. Sancho's type outfits look great and I understand the appeal in general. However for me, Kmom, nearly 55 year-old well-traveled, nearly complete bucket lister, it doesn't look all that life-altering. If I want to lie around in the sun and occasionally get wet, I can do that on the Serenity Deck almost privately when everyone else is ashore - and I don't have to pack a beach bag for the day, and I can go back to my room and change clothes if I need to, and I won't get sand in any of my nether regions.  If I want food, it's already on the ship and I already paid for it once and I'm 'posed to be fitting in as many shipboard meals as possible anyway. If I want booze (mostly I don't), I can get it on the ship as easily as anywhere else.

 

So I am really trying to figure out what exactly we can do onshore without an excursion in Mahogany Bay for a short time. Frankly I am having a little trouble understanding the difference between the fully cruise company owned/managed destinations like Labadee and not-quite-as-fully-controlled semiprivate ports.  I understand Mahogany Bay is only for Carnival Corporation brands, is apparently a docking area they developed, and is on the island of Roatan.  Does Carnival control Mahogany beach, or are you off on the wild Honduran frontier at that point? If it's any good, once again, why would anyone bother with the add-on price of the excursion beach day?

 

I do see a car rental place right there near the pier. Is Roatan worth exploring on our own and if so, to what destination?  Mom and I rented a car in St. Thomas twenty years ago, and proceeded to make ourselves carsick corkscrewing around the hills and invariably ending up repeatedly at the same lookout point in spite of attempts to move in any other direction.  We also rented a car in Saint John, NB to visit the Sea Caves in St. Martins and it worked out great for us.  I could kinda dig an option like that if there's a purpose to it. There will be 5 of us travelling together so it would be cost effective but not if we are just driving around aimlessly. 

 

HELLLLLLLLPPPP!

There is a link that follows to a great place we went to the last time we visited here via NCL a few years ago.  It's the Johnson Sanctuary.  They have monkeys, parrots and sloths.  They will pick you up, take you there and bring you back for 30.00 pp.  There are additional optional add ons.  Goggle has close to a thousand reviews at 4.8/5.0.  The highlight of the tour is being able to hold a sloth.

https://monkeyandslothhangout.com/home/

[KmomChicago]

Wow thanks for the sloth info. This looks pretty great!

 

[SNJCruisers]

8 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

Wow thanks for the sloth info. This looks pretty great!

 

It is.  I booked it for our Halloween Mardi Gras cruise which stops in Roatan.  Our B2B next year does Eastern on both legs, with San Juan, Grand Turk and Amber Cove.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

30 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

It is.  I booked it for our Halloween Mardi Gras cruise which stops in Roatan.  Our B2B next year does Eastern on both legs, with San Juan, Grand Turk and Amber Cove.

 

You have a B2B doing the same route? Interesting !

[SNJCruisers]

47 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

You have a B2B doing the same route? Interesting !

Many of the routes for the Mardi Gras are doing East, stopping at SJ, GT, AC. They are only occasionally doing west, stopping at Coz, CMaya, Roatan.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

22 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Many of the routes for the Mardi Gras are doing East, stopping at SJ, GT, AC. They are only occasionally doing west, stopping at Coz, CMaya, Roatan.

Happy we're going the western route (given the Mardi Gras version of eastern). Eastern to me would include St Thomas or St Martin, perhaps both. Are any of the future Mardi Gras routes longer than 7 days, perhaps getting to southern islands or ABC's?

[SNJCruisers]

10 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

Happy we're going the western route (given the Mardi Gras version of eastern). Easter to me would include St Thomas or St Martin, perhaps both. Are any of the future Mardi Gras routes longer than 7 days, perhaps getting to southern islands or ABC's?

After some quick research, there are 6 future 8 day itineraries.  12/18/21, 5/13/23, 7/8/23, 9/2/23 are stopping at GT, AC, SJ, St.Thom.  There are two sailings going to Aruba, Curacao & GT.  6/10/23 and 8/5/23.

[SNJCruisers]

The Celebration will do 5 sailings to the ABC's from Miami.  5/20/23, 6/17/23, 7/15/23, 8/12/23, 9/9/23.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

16 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

The Celebration will do 5 sailings to the ABC's from Miami.  5/20/23, 6/17/23, 7/15/23, 8/12/23, 9/9/23.

Very nice!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

On 7/3/2021 at 8:20 PM, SNJCruisers said:

The Celebration will do 5 sailings to the ABC's from Miami.  5/20/23, 6/17/23, 7/15/23, 8/12/23, 9/9/23.

 

Just jumped on the May '23 ABC sailing - THANKS again for the heads up!

 

My staff doesn't know it yet, but this will probably be an office cruise !  🙂

 

Tom

[KmomChicago]

21 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Just jumped on the May '23 ABC sailing - THANKS again for the heads up!

 

My staff doesn't know it yet, but this will probably be an office cruise !  🙂

 

Tom

 

I can't imagine being able to plan life that far in advance. . . between work and still having a minor child in the family. That cruise looks awesome. We have never done a south itinerary and frankly, we are getting a little tired of everyone raving about how Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are "so much better" than the rest of the Caribbean, as we visit Cozumel and/or Nassau again. (First world problems)

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

1 minute ago, KmomChicago said:

 

I can't imagine being able to plan life that far in advance. . . between work and still having a minor child in the family. That cruise looks awesome. We have never done a south itinerary and frankly, we are getting a little tired of everyone raving about how Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are "so much better" than the rest of the Caribbean, as we visit Cozumel and/or Nassau again. (First world problems)

 

We usually book cruises with fully refundable deposits (we have three more booked on the Mardi Gras, of which we'll probably cancel at least two). We do that in order to get specific rooms - which tend to go *poof* as time passes. For the Celebration, we'll be "back to the aft" on deck 15. That's preferred for a couple of reasons - it's further from the deck 9 (noise) which will also afford us a better view of the sea, and from what I can tell, there's more overhang above - meaning more potential shade and rain blocking.

 

We've cruised to Aruba and Curacao 2-3 times (yep, first world problems), but have never been to Bonaire. Cheryl tells me our activities there will include flamingos 🙂 .

 

Tom

[SNJCruisers]

10 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Just jumped on the May '23 ABC sailing - THANKS again for the heads up!

 

My staff doesn't know it yet, but this will probably be an office cruise !  🙂

 

Tom

My pleasure Tom.  Looking forward to your sporadic reports from the Presidential Suite on the MG on 8/7.

[SNJCruisers]

10 hours ago, KmomChicago said:

 

I can't imagine being able to plan life that far in advance. . . between work and still having a minor child in the family. That cruise looks awesome. We have never done a south itinerary and frankly, we are getting a little tired of everyone raving about how Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are "so much better" than the rest of the Caribbean, as we visit Cozumel and/or Nassau again. (First world problems)

Halloween of 2022 we have a cabin on a repositioning cruise on the brand new NCL Prima going from Galveston to Miami for 11 days.  It stops at Cozumel, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Grand Stirrup Cay with 5 days at sea.

Have been to Aruba 3 times and it's my favorite Caribbean port. Went to Aruba Trikes last time.  Was a 3 wheeled chopper motorcycle for two, had a blast.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

11 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Halloween of 2022 we have a cabin on a repositioning cruise on the brand new NCL Prima going from Galveston to Miami for 11 days.  It stops at Cozumel, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Grand Stirrup Cay with 5 days at sea.

Have been to Aruba 3 times and it's my favorite Caribbean port. Went to Aruba Trikes last time.  Was a 3 wheeled chopper motorcycle for two, had a blast.

 

The Prima caught our eyes as well - we'll be onboard a little after you (2/23). Fun fun fun!

 

(great itinerary you have there)

 

[SRQbeachgirl]

On 7/3/2021 at 9:53 AM, KmomChicago said:

Next question for the peanut gallery here relates to: Ports of Call, most specifically Mahogany Bay. And yes I have visited the website: https://discoverroatan.net/mahogany-bay-cruise-ship-port/ and also the port forum here on Cruise Critic.  The fact is, a lot of Cruise Critic members are mostly lurkers, reading stuff but not commenting unless specifically requested or otherwise inspired to do so. I want to hear from you!

 

If you want to just tell me anything you know about this port without first dealing with my two cents (two hundred cents, really), please skip the lengthy blather below.

 

BLATHER WARNING:  On my very first cruise, on the Premier Cruise Lines SS Royale, we stopped at what is now known as Blue Lagoon Island, formerly known as Salt Cay, just barely off shore from Paradise Island and Nassau.  Premier didn't own the island, but rather leased it on a day basis from its owners. This was 1985 and I really don't know if this was the first experiment at a private island day (if you know please comment) but in any case, we really loved it. There was not a ton of infrastructure or a lot to spend $$ on, so it was really basically a private beach with the lunch barbeque included and of course a bar to buy drinks.  I'm not even sure they served lunch onboard that day - I think if you wanted fed you might have had to get off the ship. My mom and I walked quite a way from the entry area where the crowds gathered, and found a little bitty spot to be all alone with just some white sand, a beach towel to sit on, and blue water in front of us. Idyllic, simply luxurious, incredibly relaxing, and deeply memorable decades later. Later I visited Castaway Cay on DCL and more recently, Labadee.

 

Moving into the now, I can say I do not think those paid shore excursions to a beach day make sense for me.  Your Mr. Sancho's type outfits look great and I understand the appeal in general. However for me, Kmom, nearly 55 year-old well-traveled, nearly complete bucket lister, it doesn't look all that life-altering. If I want to lie around in the sun and occasionally get wet, I can do that on the Serenity Deck almost privately when everyone else is ashore - and I don't have to pack a beach bag for the day, and I can go back to my room and change clothes if I need to, and I won't get sand in any of my nether regions.  If I want food, it's already on the ship and I already paid for it once and I'm 'posed to be fitting in as many shipboard meals as possible anyway. If I want booze (mostly I don't), I can get it on the ship as easily as anywhere else.

 

So I am really trying to figure out what exactly we can do onshore without an excursion in Mahogany Bay for a short time. Frankly I am having a little trouble understanding the difference between the fully cruise company owned/managed destinations like Labadee and not-quite-as-fully-controlled semiprivate ports.  I understand Mahogany Bay is only for Carnival Corporation brands, is apparently a docking area they developed, and is on the island of Roatan.  Does Carnival control Mahogany beach, or are you off on the wild Honduran frontier at that point? If it's any good, once again, why would anyone bother with the add-on price of the excursion beach day?

 

I do see a car rental place right there near the pier. Is Roatan worth exploring on our own and if so, to what destination?  Mom and I rented a car in St. Thomas twenty years ago, and proceeded to make ourselves carsick corkscrewing around the hills and invariably ending up repeatedly at the same lookout point in spite of attempts to move in any other direction.  We also rented a car in Saint John, NB to visit the Sea Caves in St. Martins and it worked out great for us.  I could kinda dig an option like that if there's a purpose to it. There will be 5 of us travelling together so it would be cost effective but not if we are just driving around aimlessly. 

 

HELLLLLLLLPPPP!

 

We have been to Mahogany Bay and will be going back again in April 2022. The beach area at MB is fully controlled by Carnival, so it's very self-contained. When you come off the dock you can go to the left toward the shops (including the obligatory Diamond International) or to the right to go to the beach.

 

Getting to the beach can either be done by walking or by taking a ski lift-type contraption. You can walk over to the beach for free, but using most of the amenities is an extra charge. There is a beach rental hut where you can rent snorkel equipment, floating mats, kayaks, and lounge chairs/clamshells, though if you want a clamshell it might be best to book it in advance. There is also a restaurant, bar, and restrooms. Towels had to be brought from the ship when we were there, so I assume that will still be the case.

 

They also have private cabanas that can be rented. We have one reserved for our day there in April. They are air conditioned and include floating mats, a hammock, loungers, and wait service for food and drinks. They are in a semi-private area on the far end of the beach (the furthest end from the ship), so it's much less crowded than the rest of the beach. When we were there previously we saw several sea turtles swimming around the beach area, so I'm hoping we will see some again next time. 

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

The Prima caught our eyes as well - we'll be onboard a little after you (2/23). Fun fun fun!

 

(great itinerary you have there)

 

It does the same itinerary in reverse when it goes from NYC to Galveston before our sailing.  

[tallyho8]

I am on the 8-7-21 cruise and I like to rent cars in many of the ports we go to in the Caribbean. However, Roatan and Jamaica are two islands where we feel unsafe traveling around without a guide. There have been many warnings about this so we prefer to find some type of guided excursion to go on.

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, tallyho8 said:

I am on the 8-7-21 cruise and I like to rent cars in many of the ports we go to in the Caribbean. However, Roatan and Jamaica are two islands where we feel unsafe traveling around without a guide. There have been many warnings about this so we prefer to find some type of guided excursion to go on.

Go to the ports of call section and you will find various recommendations.  I recall hearing about Victor Bodden.

[IntrepidFromDC]

On 7/5/2021 at 9:09 AM, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Just jumped on the May '23 ABC sailing - THANKS again for the heads up!

 

My staff doesn't know it yet, but this will probably be an office cruise !  🙂

 

Tom

Tom, I would love to be on that cruise and meet you.  What do you do (staff)?

[tallyho8]

33 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Go to the ports of call section and you will find various recommendations.  I recall hearing about Victor Bodden.

Yes I have been to Roatan many times and Victor Bodden was great. Also had other great tours to see monkeys, sloths and other animals and greatly enjoyed a semi-sub excursion there also.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

9 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Tom, I would love to be on that cruise and meet you.  What do you do (staff)?

 

Then we'd need to start a roll call (I'll wait for someone to tackle that task) . 🙂

 

Twelve staff (healthcare provider).

 

Tom

[KmomChicago]

Good morning friends. My (what did I call this wacky thread again?) Pre-planning, pre-review, preview, is taking some interesting turns.  

 

I am rabidly watching posts from YouTube Vloggers ParoDeeJay (I don't think they are CC members/posters) who are currently onboard Carnival Horizon out of Miami which sailed on July 4. Also Clemson Cruiser, who is on the same ship and running a thread here on the boards. BTW they are both awesome and it is incredibly uplifting to see the cruise industry taking its tentative, but so far apparently wildly successful, steps back into live operations.

 

It seems ParoDeeJay (Dee and Jay) will be onboard the first and second Mardi Gras sailing, so that includes my bunch on August 7.  And apparently so will legendary Carnival brand ambassador John Heald. That makes humble little Cruise Critic blathering rambler Kmom SMALL POTATOES in the cruising social media presence world for this sailing. 

 

However, I'm a complete weirdo with a talent for obsessively picking up and describing a lot of fine details that others seem to gloss over or discount as unimportant. Thus as usual I will strive both here in the preview as well as during and after the experience, to provide my usual brand of opinions.

 

Nothing else has changed with my pre-planning except that I am giving that Mahogany Bay sloth sanctuary a LOT OF consideration. It looks like a really pleasant and unique experience that I will regret if we skip it.