Sunday, December 3, 2017

Roatan, Honduras

November 25 - Sea Day

We had a relaxing day at sea. Spent some time by the pool and had lunch in the dining room. Royal Caribbean has a nice salad bar that you can have tossed as your main course or as an addition to your meal. No one explained it to the table but we managed. (that was a theme in the cruise that many things weren’t explained…they just expected that you knew) We got to know a few of the people at the table. Two of the men had been stationed in Panama. 
We played Bingo in the morning and did not win. I did win a dollar in a “crack it” card. 
On all days of the cruise there was always entertainment going on around the ship. They use the atrium for many singing groups and/or dancing. In general I would say that they did that better than on Pacific Princess. (quality and variety of entertainment not in the show lounge)
There seemed to be things to do to appeal to all ages about the ship. 
We all met for dinner and talked about our day and just catching up with each other. The show that night was our favorite of the week. Tony Tillman was a high energy feel good show of him singing and dancing. (all genres) He has played Sammy Davis in shows and a movie. He was definitely a “sing along” kind of show. Loved his Motown set. 
Tomorrow we visit Roatan!
Day 4 – Roatan, Honduras
This was our 3rd time here. Should have been 4th, but we had to miss the port once due to civil unrest over increased utility costs. No violence, just blocking of roads so you can’t get anywhere. Common practice in a lot of the Central American countries. We experienced it in Panama as well. 
We have done the island tour, iguana farm, zip-lining, Gumbalimba Nature Reserve, snorkeling in one good spot and one great spot. So, this time we spent the day at the great snorkel spot. 
I contacted Victor Bodden since we have used his services every time we have been here. http://www.boddentours.com/
Here are some photos from the ship at sail in:












 hard to see from this photo, but there are fish in the water- see photo below



We just wanted transportation to the beach to snorkel. Everyone in the group of 12 chose to do something with him here. His company is very flexible and if it’s possible they will do it. We had the driver and the van for the day. ($25 per person transportation and an extra $45 for those doing the zip-line) We had set up for 9 people to zip-line and 3 of to go to the beach. Unfortunately, Linda didn’t feel well and couldn’t come with us. When we stopped at the office to make the payment, they didn’t charge for her. That was very nice of them and we were pleased to refund the money collected to her. After the zip-line, Holly & Nick and Sarah & Rick joined us at the beach and our driver picked up Carol to go back to the port for shopping with Jim, Jennifer, Elaine and Norm. Then, the driver came back and hung out waiting until it was time for us to leave the beach. We needed to stop by Victor’s office to pay and from the ship it was a mini island tour.



After stopping at the office to pay we were taken to Bananarama Bar & Restaurant and we chose a spot to hang out and leave our stuff. If anyone wanted a beach lounger, they charge $10.00 for the day.





 we snorkeled out by the rocks in the distance

We headed out to the reef and we found the way to the backside much easier this time. Last time we were at a different area and it was further away to get back there. It really is some of the best snorkeling you can do from the beach. It was cloudy so not as pretty if the sun had been out and it was also cool and windy. 
Lots of healthy coral and huge schools of fish. We saw the largest Balloon fish we have ever seen. Probably the largest Trumpetfish as well. Just tons of beautiful fish. We stayed out quite a while and would have stayed longer, but we were both shivering. As we were getting out of the water Holly & Nick were there walking the beach.


























 
























Greg & I ordered nachos and some drinks. They let us use their outdoor showers to rinse off us and our gear. We walked the beach for a while and when all 6 of us were ready, our driver took us back to the port.
 back at Bananarama
 our nachos - yes, those are kidney beans....
 we watched a lady decorate this tree while we ate

 walking the beach





 back at the pier

We dropped our things in the cabin and went upstairs for the sail away. We waited and we waited. People were still strolling into the port like they weren’t late. Over an hour at this point. Someone down the rail watching shore said the ship changed the time to be in port. Here’s where we realize that Royal Caribbean dropped the ball in letting passengers know. Someone said it was announced at 6:30 in the morning. (the announcements don’t come into the room) The all aboard sign as you depart the ship hadn’t been changed. We arrived about a half an hour late so we thought maybe they were making that up. We think it was the confusion from the Captain on down on local time vs. ship time. It would have been nice to know as we could have spent another hour or so at the beach. Ah well….. At least this was the only port that we had time difference. (though, when the matre’d came around the dinner table he always said IF there is a time change stay on ship time. He didn’t seem to know when there was a change and when there wasn’t, just that we needed to be the ones responsible for doing the Google search to find out. 
At dinner we got caught up on how everyone liked their zip-lining and shopping. 
 Jim in the background - "just know that Jim was hurt"
 Nick & Holly
 Sarah & Nick

fancy napkins at the table next to ours
The show that night was David Brailey a singer and performer. After the high energy show last night this guy was “meh”.

Here is a link to the video that Greg made while snorkeling Roatan & Cozumel:
 https://youtu.be/s4cvtV2qhbg   (just hold Ctrl and click on the link)


Tomorrow, we have Cozumel!

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