Extra Day at Sea??

Day at Sea 2

I took this video when we woke up in the morning and then started feeling sick shortly after. How ironic I say "If this is the day anyone's going to get sick..."-Erin



Guest Blog post from Brad:

The morning started out with my wife throwing up. The boat was rocking and rolling. The waves were making banging and booming noises against the bow of the ship (we would later find out we weren't traveling fast enough and heading straight into the wind).



Even though she was not feeling too good, we made our way to the Trump Card room for the "Behind the Fun" Tour. They had pastries and coffee out but we didn't get to enjoy them because it only took a few minutes and Erin was puking again. I knew she was not going to be able to make it. She was a trooper and tried as far as the first stop, but the minute we were in an enclosed area, she was out of there.

The tour guide was a Human Resources guy and he was being shadowed by his new boss who had only been on the boat a few days and would be getting the full tour at the same time we were. They explained that we could not take pictures during the tour and placed everyone's cell phones and cameras in a small bag that the guide held onto. The tour started out slowly with our first stop was the Follie's Lounge Backstage. We met with the dance captain and he gave us the tour of the cool Vegas-style show. It was very tight quarters underneath the bow of the boat. We saw where they change their costumes and put their makeup on. Up next we went the kitchen (galley). It was the best part of tour, especially hearing about how they cook so many meals for so many people. The kitchen was really huge and had escalators up to the dining room. We were surrounded by amazing smells. I noticed that all the chefs were Indian, at least 99%. The Executive Chefs gave the tour of the galley, including food preparation and storage.



After leaving all the hundreds of chefs, the tour continued to all the other typical boat areas, ie laundry, waste, etc. Midway though the tour our guide received a call about a problem in the engine room. We were told the captain would let us know the situation when we got to the bridge but we would not be allowed to tour the engine room this time. The bridge is on the 8th floor, Panorama Deck, right near our room. All of the officers and captain on the Legend were Italian. We took some quick pictures with the captain.



The very arrogant captain only spoke to us for a few minutes and told us one engine would not come to full power. Major problem. The boat was not able to power though normal waves so the boat would rock a lot more, which explained why Erin was so sick that morning. The captain told us he would be making an public announcement about the situation later, and we left not knowing that the problem was so serious, that this was the beginning to our long voyage home.

I definitely would not recommend the tour for the price. We did get some gifts in the end; a bag, a hat, a lanyard for your keys, and a bar of soap carved into a swan that took the guy making it 30 minutes on each bar of soap (everyone in the tour got one). You also get a informational brochure including the recipe for the infamous Carnival Melting Cake, which I will share with you here.





We also got a tray of goodies delivered to our cabin from the galley.-Erin



They would not show us the crew quarters and when asked questions they were very vague. It was interesting to see the areas we did see, but for nearly 100 dollars per person, I was hoping for a more thorough tour. Erin was reading a book during the cruise called "Cruise Confidential" and we found out more details (all be the dirty ones) from that.

After the tour I luckily got a refund because my wife did not take the tour, but they did put up a fight. We spent the afternoon by the pool, which is where I found Erin trying to recover in the fresh air. She had made fun of me earlier in the week for buying a prescription strength motion sickness patch but now she was grateful I had bought extra and it was finally working for her. The refund was spent later anyway on the bingo games in the afternoon.



We also went to the photo gallery and Erin ended up buying the 9.99 scrapbook package of photos of the boat. Here is a video of what the water in the pool looked like today. It had gotten chilly and no one was around on any of the open decks.





We had a great evening at our last dinner, as usual too much food.









We said goodbye and extra tipped our waiters Raymundo and Alvin and decided to end the evening with the Legends show. It was entertaining some of the guest singers were great.



We walked the deck on the way back to the room and noticed the air had gotten cool. We had heard from our steward that the first two days and the last two days are the worst due to crossing the open ocean into rough winter winds. The last night on the boat ended the same way the first night began with me lying in bed wondering if I was going to puke from the rocking and rolling.

Isla Roatan

I'm writing this a few weeks later so I hope this review will do Roatan justice! Time gets away from me here with work and we were busy celebrating Trey's 3rd birthday this past weekend!

Isla Roatan, Honduras was a "walk off" port and we docked at Carnival's brand new port, Mahogany Bay. When we woke up in the morning we were eager to get off as soon as possible because we had booked a day at Sante Wellness Center and Spa. Our first view that morning when looking out the balcony was that of a rusted ship wreck right outside. Isla Roatan looked very peaceful and green (it was also 6 am their time, 7 am ours, so not much was going on).





Here is the ski lift going to the beach.



Just to preface, you are going to hear the words beautiful, amazing, incredible, and all variations often throughout this post as there is no other way to describe Isla Roatan, Sante, and the day we had there!

Mahogany Bay is so new it looked like a Disney pavilion. There were some bars and restaurants, and of course shopping. They even have a ski lift that transports people to their private beach located right there at the port. The first place you walk through looks like an airport duty free store, all white and lit up with plenty of liquor and designer bags (real ones here) for sale.







We bypassed all this and went straight to the large orange building at the end of the port to the right that is the walkway, the "forbidden" exit to the outside world. LOL. Angela from Sante had sent me very detailed instructions on hailing a cab and what the specific rate should be. We tried in the Mahogany Bay port taxi area first, the driver there told us it would be 60 dollars round trip for two of us. When told we heard it should be 40, he said, "but I am reliable, I will wait for you!" My thought was that he wasn't very reliable if he was trying to charge us an extra 20 dollars so we decided to follow Angela's plan B and trek up a short hill to the left. At first Brad and I weren't sure if we made the right decision, but as we crested the hill we saw a huge line of taxi drivers and private tour operators waiting right on the other side. It was literally an extra 5 minutes and saved us 20 dollars. Here are photos of that walk.







Our cab driver's name was Kenny and he spoke very good English. Per Angela's instructions, I asked him if he could call the number she provided for me on his cell phone. He did with no problems and I told Angela we were on our way! The drive to Parrot Tree Plantation where the boat for Sante picks you up was about 20-30 minutes. Kenny laughed at my Spanglish as I told him the few phases I knew (including swear words) and was pretty impressed I could for the most part understand him. It was hard for me to keep track of time because the island is so BEAUTIFUL. Cliffs and green jungle and blue ocean around every turn. We saw some shopping areas and school children. Here is a video I took out the cab window on the way back.



When we got to Parrot Tree Plantation we were amazed at the homes and the view.



We passed through a small guard gate and onto the marina, where we saw Leon, Angela's husband, waiting for us. I was surprised to discover Angela and her husband are originally from California! Leon worked out with Kenny what time he would bring us back and Kenny assured us he would be there waiting. After the 5 minute boat ride we arrived at their incredible home. Leon gave us a quick tour of the property. They literally make you feel like their house is your house (mi casa es su casa!!), and there are kayaks and snorkel equipment available for use. The house has mahogany stairs, accents, and floors along with red spanish tile throughout. Everywhere you turn there are hammocks, chairs, and pillows just waiting for you to make yourself at home and relax. Leon introduced us to Malides who would be doing our spa treatments. We were sad to find out Angela had not been feeling well and had headed to the mainland to see a doctor only because we hope she is doing better soon. She was more than accommodating beforehand and when I spoke to her on the phone that morning she had apologized to me for her absence but she left us in more than capable hands! The only change to our schedule was that we had booked a couples massage and would now be getting them separately, however, they refunded us some money for the difference in the price of the treatments. Brad headed in for his massage and I chatted with Leon for awhile and enjoyed a fresh baked muffin and some honey iced tea before heading out to the cabana to relax and read a magazine. There was a hot tub right on the water and a plunge pool up by the house. There were some beautiful parrots in cages and they have 2 cute dogs that Leon told me are normally in their little area during the day but they were so sweet and didn't bother me at all, just basking in the sun.











View from the hot tub platform.



Video of grounds at Sante. I hate my voice in videos. I'm so VALLEY. LOL. This should remind me not to talk next time I'm filming something.



After Brad was done with his massage, it was my turn! The treatment room is awesome and when you enter there is a massage table and full bathroom in the ground floor area. This is where Brad had his massage and the bathroom has everything available for you to shower or just freshen up after your treatment. After I changed, Malides lead me upstairs to another treatment room in the loft area where I had my massage and facial. It was amazing and felt like way more than an hour. I was so relaxed that I fell asleep during my facial! She also gave me a paraffin wax treatment on my hands. When it was done, I wandered outside to see what Brad was up too. I found him under the cabana with another couple, Carl and Amy. Carl and Amy were also Legend passengers and had just come out to use the property for the day to relax. Brad ended up snorkeling the reef with them while I was getting my treatments and said it was the best he had seen so far in all of our travels!







I was bummed I missed out but glad Brad wasn't bored while I was in heaven in the treatment room. We talked with Carl and Amy for a bit and then Leon called us in for lunch. It was delicious....garlic rubbed grilled shrimp with yellow rice and a salad with ice cold Chardonnay (complimentary because Angela was not there-very nice) and warm gooey chocolate cake for dessert.



We oohed and ahhed over the food and could not believe it was already time to go. That was the only thing bad about the day...not enough time!! Carnival makes this a short stop so they can get back to Tampa on time after a full day at sea. This is the only port we stopped at that I definitely want to go back to for a longer vacation, and that would definitely include Sante! The best part about Sante is the spa treatments are wonderful but the atmosphere/place seriously adds that much more to the day...it is a total experience.

Heading back to the dock with Leon and one of the doggies.



Kenny was waiting for us at the dock and gave us a little background on Roatan on the drive back.





We reached Mahogany Bay with about an hour to spare, so we looked in the shops, bought a Christmas ornament for the travel tree and headed back to the boat.



This night was elegant night again, so after a short stint at the pool we got cleaned up and went down to the Unicorn lido deck to meet Carl and Amy for some cocktails before dinner. I had brought a bottle of olive juice on in our non-alcohol stash and we enjoyed some dirty martinis and good conversation before heading off to dinner. Brad had shrimp cocktail and I tried escargot for the first time. I wasn't sure I could do the snails (even though I have tried about everything else there is-and enjoyed most of it!) but I heard they were good so I gave them a shot. They were piping hot and most of the flavor is the butter and garlic so how can you go wrong there? Brad also had a Ceasar Salad, some kind of fish (grouper maybe?) (shocker) and I had some fresh fruit and Chautebriand. Our waiter also brought us some prawns to share. We finished dinner up with Baked Alaska and that damn melting cake again! One bite is all you need but you cannot not order it!! It is insanely good.













After dinner we saw the New Orleans show in the Follies lounge and then continued onto Medusa's lair for the Michael Jackson tribute hour. It was fun dancing and watching others cut a rug but after a few drinks we were done for the night. It was definitely the best day on the cruise, thanks to my wonderful husband, Sante, and Carl and Amy for that!

Belize

When I woke up this morning at 6:30, the boat was rolling from side to side. Not super aggressively but strong enough I could feel the room tilting. We had an excursion this morning and had to tender off the boat so they warned us to be up early in order to get off on time. I put in an order for breakfast the night before (as simple as filling out a leave on your door form) to be delivered in between 7 and 7:30 and it arrived exactly at 7:20. Brad and I got ready and headed down to the Follies Lounge to get a number that would tell us what tender boat we would be allowed on. Our number was 17 but we only ended up waiting about 15-20 minutes. The tender in took about 15 minutes.





I am super disappointed to say that we did not even get out of the port area in Belize. Here is a photo of the gates that kept us in and a little bit of what was beyond. We met another couple on our snorkel tour that were on the Carnival Valor and when we got back they were thinking about taking a quick island tour with a cabbie and invited us along, but we were worried about the tender situation so we chickened out which I totally regret. I would have loved to see the true Belize :( not just the port area.



We met with Hammerhead's (Coral Breeze's local tour operator) and only had about 45 minutes before our boat was to leave for the snorkel trip, so we decided to check out the shops and grab a quick Bloody Mary. The shops in Belize really aren't very good, although they do sell tons of fake bags and luggage. If you are going there and you like a good deal on a knock off, bring your money...and don't be afraid to haggle a little bit! I bought this one.



Belize and Honduras are also known for their wood crafting, especially with Mahogany wood. We bought a cute carved wooden ornament for our "travel tree" that we put up at Christmas. The other thing they sell in Belize is drugs. Want some Retin-A for those wrinkles or your kid's acne? 12 dollars a tube! Need some painkillers? Percocet 25 for 50 dollars! How about Viagra? Or strange diet pills that are not available in the states? All here and all available without a prescription for a mere few US dollars per pill. Least to say, it looked pretty busy in there. We ended up making a stop in there as well, as an emergency. Brad started wearing contacts for this trip so he could go snorkeling. He has worn them on and off for years but because he has dry eyes he has always felt more comfortable with his glasses. In Cayman, he had stopped into a drugstore to get the motion sickness patches and also grabbed a bottle of (what he thought) were eye drops. So here we are in Belize, when he decides to use said eye drops. I was watching him and noticed when he squirted the bottle into his eye, the solution was white-not clear! It was not re-wetting drops but concentrated cleaner! I ran into the store and threw him a bottle of saline which he used as I went up to the register with the empty box to pay. After several minutes of flushing his eye out and swearing he was somewhat on the mend, other than a very red eye and his worry that he had done some long term damage. So just a note, always read your labels!! Especially when you buy something in another country that can be called something other than what you call it.





It was time to meet up with the tour! After not snorkeling in Cayman or Cozumel we were ready to get in the water. The boat we were on was called "Great White".





On our way out to the reef we passed a lot of strange sticks randomly sticking out of the water. Our guides explained to us that those were lobster trap markers. There were a lot of mangroves, like in the Keys. We passed a few private islands with houses on them and a golf course called Caye Chapel (pronounced "Key Chapel"), which we were told Tiger Woods plays at often, and that it is 500 dollars greens fees per person to play 18 and has it's own landing strip and hotel/casino.



Here is a video taken on the boat ride.



The skies were darkening and the ocean was getting a little rough, it looked like a storm might be coming in. Once at the reef (Hol Chan Marine Reserve), our boat was tethered to a buoy and another boat near by kept drifting closer and hitting our boat. The snorkelers that were already in the water had to not only concentrate on looking down to avoid hitting coral but also had to look around to avoid getting side swiped by a boat.

Once in the water, we saw a lot of coral and a lot of plant life, but not a whole ton of fish, which was disappointing. Our guide pointed out a few eels and dove deep to get them to come out of the rocks. We also got to hold and pass around a live Conch.



There were places were the water was so shallow you couldn't even move your fins and just had to wait for the current to drift you across so you would not bump into coral and ruin the reef. There were also a lot of people out in this area so our guides asked us to follow the person in front of you and stick together, so it wasn't a fee snorkel but more of a tour of the reef.





After about 45 minutes we headed back to the boat and headed to the second stop, shark and ray alley. They handed out water "pouches", which was fresh water in a packaged bag instead of a bottle to make sure everyone stayed hydrated. One of the guides chummed the water with some fish and we all hopped in. Some of the rays were huge and we got to touch a few as they swarmed around trying to get the fish. I went to Sting Ray City (Grand Cayman) in 2000 and while there were more rays there, these were much bigger and this was in a more secluded area, just our boat. I was bummed there were no nurse sharks...I saw one on our last trip to Key West and was looking forward to being a little braver this time. What I wasn't brave about was Barracuda. As soon as I heard that word I headed back to the boat. Brad of course followed it and took some pictures with the underwater camera.









BARRACUDA! Looks harmless, right?



When everyone was done with the Rays, we headed over to Caye Caulker for lunch and a little exploring. The excursion guide had told us 90 minutes but once we got there they gave us 45. We had declined the lunch so while everyone went off to eat, we headed off to check out the island and try to find some drinks or local food. The saying on this island is "If you move too fast, you'll get a ticket, Mon!" We soon found out how true that was!





We went into a few bars looking for beers. The first two, there was no one in them, the 3rd one was a beach side bar with swings that you sat in instead of bar stools but they didn't have any cold beer. No problem! We ordered drinks (how about something with rum?) and they didn't have any ice or mixers! We finally ended up at a little tortilla lunch hut where we waited around 20 minutes for the food. I was nervous about missing the boat so Brad sent me back while he continued to wait for the food. The sky got dark and the wind picked up. A few drops fell from the sky. One by one I saw everyone else come back and get on the boat. Where was my husband?



Finally in the distance I spotted him! 1 minute after the boat was supposed to leave he came sprinting up the beach (could have got a ticket-haha) with the bag of food and we enjoyed our lobster burrito and empanadas on the boat on our way back to Belize. We finally got our beer back at the port waiting for the tender. Belikin is made in Belize and tastes somewhat "micro-brew-ish" like a Great Lakes Dortmuder or possibly somewhat similar to a Bass Ale.



It was just what the doctor ordered and we headed back for naps and then onto dinner at the Legend steak house, the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece is like a Morton's or Ruth's Chris on crack. It is located in the top of the boat inside the whale tail. There are two floors for dining and a crystal staircase leads up to the restaurant. When you look down you can see all the way down to the bottom of the lobby, 9 floors down. Pretty cool, but even Brad walked down them pretty quickly to get off two levels down.





Here they are from below in the lobby.



The food was great, and we got to meet the head chef. We took our own wine and they did charge us the 14 dollar corking fee. Brad had tuna tartar, baked onion soup, a tableside made cesar salad, and a rib eye chop. I had beef carpaccio, lobster bisque, a tomato salad with gorgonzola, and surf and turf (4 oz lobster tail and 4 oz filet mignon). We ended the meal with a chocolate taster with 3 different chocolate mini dishes. We were more than stuffed and after a short walk out on the deck to enjoy the breeze and salt air, we basically headed to bed after that. The only thing I would have done differently regarding the steak house is eating a little earlier to enjoy the views and the sunset. We had a table facing the water both here and in the main dining room but every time we ate it was dark out, because it was always after 7:30. Brad and I both agreed if we wanted to splurge we would have ate in the steakhouse a couple of times this trip and if we cruised again I'm sure we will do that!



The tuna tartar was delicious and there was more than enough to share.



My beef carpaccio was good, but what really made the flavor was the shaved parmesan cheese on the top. They offered to add a little olive oil to the top which would have made it amazing, but it didn't need it so I declined.



The tomato salad with gorgonzola was good but way too much. I only ate two of the tomatoes but this would be something good to share! All of the tomatoes on the boat were nice and red and had good flavor, none of that hard waxy winter tomato we have in ohio right now.



Table side made ceasar salad. Brad had a couple ceasar salads this week and said they were all really good. This one was whole pieces of romaine whereas the ones in the dining room were more shredded. He said it was very fresh and crunchy. Everything we had this week was very fresh, especially the fruit and vegetables.



The french onion soup came in a crock and was piping hot! In fact, all of the food that was supposed to be hot was straight off the grill or out of the oven hot, just like you would expect from any 4-5 star restaurant.



The lobster bisque was poured into my bowl around a cold cream topped toasted bread round. The combination of the cold and the hot mixed together with the toasted bread croutons floating on the top was very good. I also didn't finish this! Saving room for my main dish!



The surf and turf was great! The filet was perfectly cooked (I asked for rare) and had amazing flavor and the lobster tail was grilled and was very firm, especially compared to the lobster tails in the main dining room, which I was glad we had before we had this masterpiece!



Brad had a huge ribeye chop (bone in). He said it was flavorful and perfect, one of the best he ever had.



The baked potato was a little dry but I liked the choice of toppings. It was a good split for us as Brad does not like sour cream so it was nice that all the toppings came on the side.



It was no melting cake, but the chocolate sampler was good. There was a peanut brittle sugar wafer thing on the top of one of the tasters that was delicious.



I finished the evening with a great cup of cappucino and a sidecar of frangelico. Perfection!