Selbourne ‘Live’ from Aurora’s 2024 Grand Tour

[S1971]

Hope all is ok too, hopefully just having a lay in.

[Guest]

Hope you are both ok!

I loved Roatan when I stopped there on a cruise. The best snorkelling I’ve ever done and i went to an animal “sanctuary” with sloths- not caged but open to go where they wanted. It is a beautiful island. We had a local take us on an island tour for the day and they said it’s difficult to be able to live on Roatan- it’s a tough process as they don’t want any trouble makers from the mainland

[david63]

Possibly a problem with the Internet onboard

[tring]

51 minutes ago, david63 said:

Possibly a problem with the Internet onboard

 

Or just enjoying themselves.   I think he mentioned there is a stretch of port days (?4) coming up.  I suspect he prefers to make the most of the port days and use the sea days to catch up here.  Would make sense to do that, especially as he is often on tour as well as taking his wife out later on the same day, so very tiring.  He has been spoiling us so far.

 

Hope all is well though.  

 

[paulatsea]

Don’t like this — it’s too quiet !

[Selbourne]

 

Apologies for the delayed report. No internet problems, just a self inflicted issue that will become apparent as you read the report 😳😂

Day 46 - Saturday 17th February - Roatan, Honduras, Central America

 

At first glance, it didn’t look as though there would be much to see when we berthed. The whole area (Mahogany Bay) seemed to be trees with a few scattered buildings, but no town as such. We could see a beach resort but assumed that this was a hotel. Going ashore we were to be pleasantly surprised!

 

The cruise pier was very wheelchair friendly as it was just smooth concrete. There were smartly dressed ‘security’ personnel in white uniforms who were very welcoming. At the end of the pier was a modern air conditioned shop (like an airport duty free shop) and then this lead out to a wide pedestrian slope up to a cruise village. The security staff were on hand, even with a wheelchair, to offer assistance to anyone who might need it. The cruise village was very large with lots of shops and a bar, all well spaced and nicely landscaped. Again, fully pedestrianised, very wheelchair friendly and all the buildings were air conditioned. 

 

From the cruise village there was a wide concrete path leading to a private beach resort called Mahogany Beach. It’s private in that it’s for the sole use of cruise ship passengers, but it’s free. Judging by the number of sun loungers it can accommodate thousands, but as we were the only ship in the Aurora passengers barely touched the sides. It was lovely and, yet again, very wheelchair friendly. I even managed to get my wife onto the beach! We had a wander around, walked down a jetty which looks back across the resort and then sat in a beach front bar with a rum punch. There was even a cable car between the cruise village and the resort for those who didn’t fancy the short walk! We returned to the ship having had a very enjoyable morning in a lovely place. 

 

No time for lunch because I was booked on a tour - Snapshot of Roatan. This was a bit of an odd one. We were crammed in to one of those awful minibuses that they use in the Caribbean and first we were taken to a not terribly impressive viewpoint. Then the next stop was Archie’s Iguana sanctuary. That was quite a place. Hundreds of the things in all shapes and sizes freely roaming around. They are only caged up to a few years old to protect them, but once released they hang around as they know they will be fed by the visitors. Quite an experience. There was also an enclosure on the waterfront with absolutely ginormous fish in it that the guide fed, along with an amusing pelican who knew that the odd bit of food may come his way as well!

 

From there we went to a beach resort where over the course of a few hours quite a variety of things occurred. After a welcome iced tea we were taken along to watch a traditional tribal dance by some locals, and then shown how two food items, one savoury one sweet, were made from yukka (or similar sounding name) and coconut. Next a short boat trip into a mangrove reserve and then around a shipwreck, which also afforded good views of Aurora. 

 

Dropped back at the resort we were then taken to the beach bar where the flamboyant bar tender explained the Coco-Loco cocktail and the buy one get a free refill offer. This was my undoing. I was chatting to a very nice chap who also adopted the ‘when in Rome’ philosophy and as we downed the first one it didn’t seem that strong. The second one was stronger and then my drinking buddy managed to get a third one free, so not to be outdone……

 

In all honesty the rest of the day was a bit of a blur and I shall not make that mistake again 😂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 18 by Selbourne

[Ardennais]

9 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

 

Apologies for the delayed report. No internet problems, just a self inflicted issue that will become apparent as you read the report 😳😂

Day 46 - Saturday 17th February - Roatan, Honduras, Central America

 

At first glance, it didn’t look as though there would be much to see when we berthed. The whole area (Mahogany Bay) seemed to be trees with a few scattered buildings, but no town as such. We could see a beach resort but assumed that this was a hotel. Going ashore we were to be pleasantly surprised!

 

The cruise pier was very wheelchair friendly as it was just smooth concrete. There were smartly dressed ‘security’ personnel in white uniforms who were very welcoming. At the end of the pier was a modern air conditioned shop (like an airport duty free shop) and then this lead out to a wide pedestrian slope up to a cruise village. The security staff were on hand, even with a wheelchair, to offer assistance to anyone who might need it. The cruise village was very large with lots of shops and a bar, all well spaced and nicely landscaped. Again, fully pedestrianised, very wheelchair friendly and all the buildings were air conditioned. 

 

From the cruise village there was a wide concrete path leading to a private beach resort called Mahogany Beach. It’s private in that it’s for the sole use of cruise ship passengers, but it’s free. Judging by the number of sun loungers it can accommodate thousands, but as we were the only ship in the Aurora passengers barely touched the sides. It was lovely and, yet again, very wheelchair friendly. I even managed to get my wife onto the beach! We had a wander around, walked down a jetty which looks back across the resort and then sat in a beach front bar with a rum punch. There was even a cable car between the cruise village and the resort for those who didn’t fancy the short walk! We returned to the ship having had a very enjoyable morning in a lovely place. 

 

No time for lunch because I was booked on a tour - Snapshot of Roatan. This was a bit of an odd one. We were crammed in to one of those awful minibuses that they use in the Caribbean and first we were taken to a not terribly impressive viewpoint. Then the next stop was Archie’s Iguana sanctuary. That was quite a place. Hundreds of the things in all shapes and sizes freely roaming around. They are only caged up to a few years old to protect them, but once released they hang around as they know they will be fed by the visitors. Quite an experience. There was also an enclosure on the waterfront with absolutely ginormous fish in it that the guide fed, along with an amusing pelican who knew that the odd bit of food may come his way as well!

 

From there we went to a beach resort where over the course of a few hours quite a variety of things occurred. After a welcome iced tea we were taken along to watch a traditional tribal dance by some locals, and then shown how two food items, one savoury one sweet, were made from yukka (or similar sounding name) and coconut. Next a short boat trip into a mangrove reserve and then around a shipwreck, which also afforded good views of Aurora. 

 

Dropped back at the resort we were then taken to the beach bar where the flamboyant bar tender explained the Coco-Loco cocktail and the buy one get a free refill offer. This was my undoing. I was chatting to a very nice chap who also adopted the ‘when in Rome’ philosophy and as we downed the first one it didn’t seem that strong. The second one was stronger and then my drinking buddy managed to get a third one free, so not to be outdone……

 

In all honesty the rest of the day was a bit of a blur and I shall not make that mistake again 😂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great photos! Sounds like a very enjoyable day.

[July morning]

Selbourne, I enjoyed reading your report better late than never 😂

[david63]

23 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I shall not make that mistake again

I bet you do one day when you have forgotten this time😂

[Purdey16]

So happy you both had a fantastic time and your excursion in the afternoon sounds perfect to me 😂😂 something we will look into when we go in January next year 👍

[Kittyonions]

So pleased to hear you were both able to enjoy Roatan so much. So, now it’s a headache to go with the sore throat!!🤭

[mrsgoggins]

Apart from enjoying the read, I found it useful to note that Roatan uses those dreadful minibuses. We are due there next year, so a note has been made.
 

Thanks again, and I trust that your imbibing resulted in a good night’s sleep 🤭.

[Selbourne]

Just now, mrsgoggins said:

Apart from enjoying the read, I found it useful to note that Roatan uses those dreadful minibuses. We are due there next year, so a note has been made.
 

Thanks again, and I trust that your imbibing resulted in a good night’s sleep 🤭.

They are slightly different in that rather than the usual 1+2 formation, with a fold down seat in the middle (that cannot be used) they are 2+2 with an extremely narrow gap between them.

[Thedonkeycentrehalf]

On 2/16/2024 at 5:00 AM, Selbourne said:

 

It seems amazing that 3 weeks tomorrow we will be home. We have probably become a little institutionalised 😂. 

 

 

When I started reading this thread, our own cruise seemed a long way away but it is now less than a week before we fly out.  Reading this, I think you get home the day before we do which seems unreal.

 

I've really enjoyed your reports, Mrs DCH and I have been monitoring the menus to pick out what we might want to eat.  You have visited some of the places we will be visiting so your photos and reviews have also been really helpful to us..

 

Hoping your throat improves soon - I have made sure we have got some throat lozenges to take just in case!

[Selbourne]

Todays MDR menus

 

Edited February 18 by Selbourne

[david63]

Why on the menu do they have to put "Gravdlax of Salmon"? Gravdlax, or to be correct Gravlax is salmon.

[jh1809]

41 minutes ago, david63 said:

Why on the menu do they have to put "Gravdlax of Salmon"? Gravdlax, or to be correct Gravlax is salmon.

Perhaps they think that some of their diners won't know that? What did catch my attention from looking at the recommended wines is that they seem to think that Glenfiddich is a wine.

[Ranchi]

Thank goodness you didn’t have a fourth drink -a ‘Dorothy Parker’. 
 

Thoroughly enjoying the reports btw. 

 

 

Edited February 18 by Ranchi

[Selbourne]

 

Day 47 - Sunday 18th February - Belize

 

I hadn’t had the best nights sleep, undoubtedly due to the effects of the previous days excesses. I don’t drink very much alcohol as a rule, so the previous days intake was probably more than I’d usually consume in a month! For context, each ‘Coco-Loco’ cocktail had enough drink to fill an entire coconut. I had 3 of them and this was on top of a rum punch that I’d had in the morning and all of that was on a pretty empty stomach. Bits of yesterday have come back to me and I now recall that the bar tender also topped my 3rd coconut up with neat rum, even though it was already a strong one. You’d think at my age I’d know better🤢 😂

 

Belize was the destination today and it’s a tender port. Due to vast areas of coral the ship dropped anchor so far out that you could barely see land! The weather was quite poor (rain initially but cloudy and dull all day), the sea had a bit of movement to it and the tender operation was initially delayed as a result. 

 

I hate using tenders. When they are moving they are fine, but I don’t like sitting on them whilst they are moored against the ship waiting to be filled, going up and down. Worst of all, I hate it when returning and the ship isn’t ready to receive the tender, so you end up bobbing around with your stomach and contents going up and down. I’ve had some bad tender experiences in the past, particularly in Monaco. 

 

I was booked on an 11am scenic river cruise which necessitated going to the theatre at 1015 to get in the queue for the tender. Whilst I was looking forward to the river cruise, I was dreading the whole tender transfer (as I still wasn’t feeling 100%) so, in all honesty, I wasn’t too upset when there was an announcement to say that, due to the weather, a number of tours, including mine, had been cancelled. 

 

As the weather wasn’t great, my pre cruise notes suggested that Belize city wasn’t up to much and, to cap it all, my wife cannot use tenders so has to stay on the ship, I decided that I would stay on the ship with her. I received an email notification within an hour to say that my excursion had been refunded in full, which I thought was impressive. 

 

We’ve just had a totally relaxing day reading and resting which, on a cruise of this length,  is no bad thing. As we’d not had any breakfast we went for an early lunch and then later in the afternoon we went for a cuppa in Raffles. In the pre departure announcement the Captain mentioned that he’d come close to aborting the call due to 50mph winds and heavy rain first thing. Unlike our cancelled Key West visit, had he done so it would have been to our advantage as we could have claimed another £300 for a missed port, but I’m pleased for those who had an enjoyable day ashore that this wasn’t the case.

 

Dinner was a mixed bag. My starter and dessert were both very poor but I had chilli con carne for main which was good and was also a nice change from the usual MDR mains.  After dinner we went to the 10pm theatre show ‘Dusty & friends with Samantha Lomax’. Whilst she didn’t sound like Dusty Springfield, she has a good voice and the song choices were good. As with most cruise ship singers, the performance would be even better if they didn’t try to be funny between songs and just concentrated on what they are good at. Tomorrow is Costa Maya in Mexico. 

 

 

[david63]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

You’d think at my age I’d know better

Where's the fun in that?🤣😇

[pete14]

13 hours ago, david63 said:

Why on the menu do they have to put "Gravdlax of Salmon"? Gravdlax, or to be correct Gravlax is salmon.

One of my funniest dining moments occurred many years ago in a restaurant in the Lake District. Gravlax of salmon was on the menu as a starter and a more mature in years ‘posh’ lady had ordered it. When the waiter served it to her, she complained quite loudly and bitterly that she couldn’t eat it because it was not cooked. The waiter calmly assured her that Gravlax is cured salmon and shouldn’t be cooked. It was perfectly safe to eat. The lady was having none of this, saying in increasing levels of loudness, that she had eaten in some of the top restaurants in the country and the world and had never been served raw salmon in any of them. The waiter carefully explained again to her that Gravlax is never cooked but that he would happily replace it with another dish from the menu. She demanded the manager should be called and he arrived and explained that the waiter was correct. She failed to accept his assurances as well. Her poor husband seemed to be shrivelling up inside himself in embarrassment whilst this was happening.
 

Of course, we and everybody else, were in awe of this ladies greater knowledge and experience of the culinary world and couldn’t stop ourselves from listening in with increasing amusement. It did bring to mind the Fawlty Towers episode with the lady who was hard of hearing being shown into her room and complaining about the view, (Mrs. Richards?). Of course many people who subsequently ordered the Gravlax (but definitely not me because I wouldn’t dream of it🥴) checked with the waiter whether it was cooked or not before ordering it. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

 

Day 47 - Sunday 18th February - Belize

 

I hadn’t had the best nights sleep, undoubtedly due to the effects of the previous days excesses. I don’t drink very much alcohol as a rule, so the previous days intake was probably more than I’d usually consume in a month! For context, each ‘Coco-Loco’ cocktail had enough drink to fill an entire coconut. I had 3 of them and this was on top of a rum punch that I’d had in the morning and all of that was on a pretty empty stomach. Bits of yesterday have come back to me and I now recall that the bar tender also topped my 3rd coconut up with neat rum, even though it was already a strong one. You’d think at my age I’d know better🤢 😂

 

Belize was the destination today and it’s a tender port. Due to vast areas of coral the ship dropped anchor so far out that you could barely see land! The weather was quite poor (rain initially but cloudy and dull all day), the sea had a bit of movement to it and the tender operation was initially delayed as a result. 

 

I hate using tenders. When they are moving they are fine, but I don’t like sitting on them whilst they are moored against the ship waiting to be filled, going up and down. Worst of all, I hate it when returning and the ship isn’t ready to receive the tender, so you end up bobbing around with your stomach and contents going up and down. I’ve had some bad tender experiences in the past, particularly in Monaco. 

 

I was booked on an 11am scenic river cruise which necessitated going to the theatre at 1015 to get in the queue for the tender. Whilst I was looking forward to the river cruise, I was dreading the whole tender transfer (as I still wasn’t feeling 100%) so, in all honesty, I wasn’t too upset when there was an announcement to say that, due to the weather, a number of tours, including mine, had been cancelled. 

 

As the weather wasn’t great, my pre cruise notes suggested that Belize city wasn’t up to much and, to cap it all, my wife cannot use tenders so has to stay on the ship, I decided that I would stay on the ship with her. I received an email notification within an hour to say that my excursion had been refunded in full, which I thought was impressive. 

 

We’ve just had a totally relaxing day reading and resting which, on a cruise of this length,  is no bad thing. As we’d not had any breakfast we went for an early lunch and then later in the afternoon we went for a cuppa in Raffles. In the pre departure announcement the Captain mentioned that he’d come close to aborting the call due to 50mph winds and heavy rain first thing. Unlike our cancelled Key West visit, had he done so it would have been to our advantage as we could have claimed another £300 for a missed port, but I’m pleased for those who had an enjoyable day ashore that this wasn’t the case.

 

Dinner was a mixed bag. My starter and dessert were both very poor but I had chilli con carne for main which was good and was also a nice change from the usual MDR mains.  After dinner we went to the 10pm theatre show ‘Dusty & friends with Samantha Lomax’. Whilst she didn’t sound like Dusty Springfield, she has a good voice and the song choices were good. As with most cruise ship singers, the performance would be even better if they didn’t try to be funny between songs and just concentrated on what they are good at. Tomorrow is Costa Maya in Mexico. 

 

 

Costa Maya can be troublesome for ships to dock in if there are high winds. 
 

It’s also the only port I’ve been to where you can visibly hear and feel the waves crashing into the ship whilst still tied up!

 

You can get some great shots of the waves crashing into the ship!!! 

I’ve visited twice, and each time I’ve had the same experience! Good luck!!!!

 

[zap99]

20 hours ago, Kittyonions said:

So pleased to hear you were both able to enjoy Roatan so much. So, now it’s a headache to go with the sore throat!!🤭

3 cocktails and no mention of the throat. Perhaps that's the solution.🤣

[zap99]

17 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Todays MDR menus

 

Another nice menu. That'll do for me.

[zap99]

16 hours ago, david63 said:

Why on the menu do they have to put "Gravdlax of Salmon"? Gravdlax, or to be correct Gravlax is salmon.

Perhaps not everyone is smart.