Monkey Business
Coxen Hole, Roatan
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Morning
We woke up around 8:30AM but due to Honduras not doing
Daylight Savings time, it was actually 7:30AM. Tip- The Freestyle Daily mentioned
time change but it was never really announced by the Cruise Director’s staff.
In addition, it was not made clear that the ship’s time as the current location’s
time. In my opinion, I like the “stay on ship time” better than the 2-3 times
of changing clocks. Once we figured this out, we tried to go back to the sleep
but the sun was FINALLY shining and it was bright in our room due to our large
picture window. I loved this room but this did make me miss the inside cabins
of pitch black!
A morning view out our window!
We got up and dressed and went to breakfast at the Great
Outdoors on the aft of the ship. The food was good as usual and there were not
a lot of people, which I assume was because they all adjusted to the
time-change.
My morning view... Absolutely PERFECT!
Yummy Breakfast!
TIP- Coxen Hole, Roatan only has 1 pier for cruise ships. On
this day the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas and the Norwegian Pearl were in
port. Due to the much larger size of the Liberty of the Seas and the fact they
arrived around 8AM and we didn't arrive until 10AM, they got the pier which meant we had to tender into port.
However, this was not a typical 15-20 minute tender ride into the port like in
Belize City or Grand Cayman. This was less than .5 miles from the shore. We
noticed around 8AM at the pool deck that the tender tickets were being handed
out so we got in line around 8:20AM and got a ticket for group 8.
The pool deck area on this morning in port!
We then went to Deck 11 to check out the "Bridge Viewing Room". I have never seen anything like this on a cruise ship and it was beyond fascinating. We were able to see the captain and his assistants get ready to make the approach to Coxen Hole. We were also able to see beyond Coxen Hole and see Mahogany Bay, where the Carnival ships park. We were even able to see Vincent, the cruise director, make a few announcements. Tip- They usually close the windows at night so be sure to check this out during the day. Also, we enjoyed watching us come into port more than a traditional sea day with open seas.
The Captain and his team!
They are now looking at the area where we will drop anchor!
The Bridge Viewing Room on the NCL Pearl!
I love this sign! Don't tap on the glass or feed the officers!
Vincent making an announcement about tendering!
It was still early and the pool deck was empty so we laid out for a while with a morning drink or two. Fortunately, the sun was shining bright and it was HOT. That meant we needed to get out of the sun to avoid getting sunburn so we opted to go to O’Sheehan’s for the rest of the morning. We wanted to eat an early lunch since we had dinner reservations at Teppanyaki that evening. We had hoped to eat lunch around 10:30AM but O’Sheehan’s did not start serving lunch until 11:30AM so we enjoyed the music from the atrium while we waited and eventually went and enjoyed a nice cool breeze on deck before getting lunch.
A view from our cabin window once we dropped anchor!
We are ready for this day!
He LOVED O'Sheehan's!
We didn't expect much from the fajitas but they were GREAT!
Hello Liberty of the Seas! We will see you soon!
A view of Coxen Hole from O'Sheehan's Pub!
They are now looking at the area where we will drop anchor!
I love this sign! Don't tap on the glass or feed the officers!
Vincent making an announcement about tendering!
It was still early and the pool deck was empty so we laid out for a while with a morning drink or two. Fortunately, the sun was shining bright and it was HOT. That meant we needed to get out of the sun to avoid getting sunburn so we opted to go to O’Sheehan’s for the rest of the morning. We wanted to eat an early lunch since we had dinner reservations at Teppanyaki that evening. We had hoped to eat lunch around 10:30AM but O’Sheehan’s did not start serving lunch until 11:30AM so we enjoyed the music from the atrium while we waited and eventually went and enjoyed a nice cool breeze on deck before getting lunch.
Afternoon
Tip- At this point it was around noon and Vincent, the Cruise Director, was still calling for groups 12-14 to get off the ship. He started calling group 1 around 10:10AM if that gives you an idea of how it was taking to get passengers tendered into the port. The NCL Pearl was using lifeboats to tender back and forth and I wonder if that had something to do with the slow process.
We went back to O’Sheehan’s and tried out some of their lunch offerings. We enjoyed their chicken wings VERY much as well as their gourmet hot-dogs and fajitas. The service at O’Sheehan’s was always top notch and quick and today’s lunch was no different.
He LOVED O'Sheehan's!
We didn't expect much from the fajitas but they were GREAT!
Hello Liberty of the Seas! We will see you soon!
We finished lunch and then went to deck 4 mid-ship to board
the lifeboat tender into Coxen Hole. By this time most of the ship had gotten
off and some were even coming back on board after a morning spent in Roatan.
In fact, there were only 12 people on our tender ride. The ride itself took
about 7 minutes as it was just less than half a mile from the port. This ride
gave us an excellent view of the Liberty of the Seas of which we will be
sailing in June 2018… I cannot wait!
We are loaded up on our empty tender and ready to go!
I LOVE tender rides!
Traditional tender selfie!
The first part of our tender ride to Coxen Hole.
A view of the Norwegian Pearl from the Tender Boat.
Traditional tender selfie!
Once we arrived at the port we roamed around a little, just
checking it all out as we have been to Roatan MANY times but never to this port
of Coxen Hole. We meandered down to the kiosk area where Chris found a tour
guide that was offering a tour of the island and entrance to the monkey sanctuary
for only $40 per person. We talked him down to $35 per person and we were on
our way. Tip- You can bargain with these locals, just be mindful that this is their means of living.
I love the Caribbean locals who sing and entertain us as we get off the ship!
Our 1st glimpse of Coxen Hole, Roatan!
Caribbean taxi... They never get old!
Our taxi ride in Coxen Hole, Roatan!
Thank you Jesus for the blessings you have given me!
Caribbean taxi... They never get old!
Our taxi ride in Coxen Hole, Roatan!
Thank you Jesus for the blessings you have given me!
The driver was very good and knowledgeable about the island and its’
culture.
The tour started with driving to the highest point on the
island to get a view of the island and the ships in port. It was absolutely
GORGEOUS and we loved it.
Greetings from the highest point in Roatan!
The Norwegian Pearl anchored off the coast of Roatan!
The most beautiful view on the island!
Both ships in port... NCL Pearl and Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas!
This was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!
The Norwegian Pearl anchored off the coast of Roatan!
Both ships in port... NCL Pearl and Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas!
After that he took us around the nicer part of the island
where the “Americans live” as he said. These houses and apartments were
$200K-500K but looked about as nice as a $100K home here in America. The island
was much like Belize or Jamaica in the fact that it was a third world country
and very poor. The homes looked a lot nicer than those we have seen in Jamaica
in particular but it was VERY trashy. There was trash EVERYWHERE. I even asked “Do
they pick up the trash” and the driver responded with “I don’t know”. So in
other words… NO! I remember riding in the cab just praising God saying “Thank
you Jesus I was born in America”. These type of excursions are always very eye
opening.
One of the "private" schools on the island!
A public school on the island!
A public school on the island!
Some of the "American" houses.
Then we made it to the Monkey Sanctuary just as a massive
rain storm arrived. We got out of the car and was escorted by a local guide to
a monkey cage holding Pinky and CoCo. The guide said that the monkeys might be
scared because of the storm but they were still very alert and playful for us.
We were able to see White Face Capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, sloths and
other breeds of monkeys as well as dear, bunnies and rats. The landscape and
flowers were GORGEOUS and it even offered zip lining onsite. We stayed there
about an hour before heading down to the West side of the island to see the
beaches and gorgeous waters of Roatan.
Hello Pinky!
They really liked Chris!
This was such a unique experience.
This was such a COOL experience!
Hello CoCo!
The Spider Monkey!
The macaws and birds were so pretty and they would say "Hola" when you walked in the cage!
I hate birds but this was really neat!
We loved the sloths... They were SO LAZY!
It reminded us of "Zootopia" (Spoken like true parents).
They use the fresh coconuts on the island to feed the animals!
The flowers were in full bloom and were gorgeous!
The West Bay Beach area of Roatan... Supposedly the nicer area of the island!
The end of our taxi ride in Roatan!
They really liked Chris!
This was such a unique experience.
It reminded us of "Zootopia" (Spoken like true parents).
At the end of the tour, the driver returned us to the Coxen
Hole pier where we tipped him and went on our way exploring the rest of the
port area. We had no intentions of going on an excursion in this port but the
locals were offering great prices and the tour turned out to be very
informative. I would highly recommend the Monkey Sanctuary to anyone visiting
Roatan as it was a unique experience!
We got back on our tender boat back to the ship around 2PM
and immediately went to the pool and hot tub area. We had wanted to swim in the
pool but the rain storm made the water temperature almost unbearable so we
opted for the hot tub instead. We managed to get into one that was actually hot
and not overcrowded. We met a lovely couple from Indiana and talked to them for
nearly 2 hours.
Tip- This was the 1st time we had OUTSTANDING service by
the bar staff and met a new favorite bar waiter for the trip. He was fast and
efficient and even brought us special drinks just for us. Tip- We gave him a
little extra cash and he definitely worked harder for us. If you have an extra
$1-3 be sure to tip your waiter for better service.
I watched the Liberty of the Seas pull out of port and got a
great view of our upcoming aft balcony in June 2018 and then went and got ready
for our Japanese Hibachi dinner at Teppanyaki.
The Liberty of the Seas backing out of Coxen Hole.
We will see you in less than 100 days!
Goodbye Liberty of the Seas! See you soon!
As we went to our room we saw Vincent making a video and got a selfie!
We will see you in less than 100 days!
As we went to our room we saw Vincent making a video and got a selfie!
Evening
We had 6PM dinner reservations at Teppanyaki but first went
out to the promenade to enjoy a nice sunset and even got to watch them load the
lifeboat tenders back onto the ship while we were moving. It was pretty
fascinating!
We love sunsets on a cruise ship!
Loading the lifeboats back onto the ship... while we were moving!
We've seen a lot of cool stuff but this was fascinating!
It was a cloudy one but we got a sunset!
It was so cool!
It was a cloudy one but we got a sunset!
Dinner at Teppanyaki was OUTSTANDING. The food and service
were some of the best I have ever had on land or at sea. The Hibachi chef was
excellent and a great entertainer. The shrimp and filet mignon were literally
the best I have ever had and the fried rice was out of this world. We met 2
couples from Mississippi who also cruise a lot and enjoyed sharing our
experiences with them. I wish them good luck on future sailings.
The Teppanyaki menu
Tip- We were able to change up the entree options a little bit. For example, I was able to get the udon noodles AND the fried rice! The noodles... Not so good. The Fried Rice... easily the BEST I have ever had!
Tip- We were able to change up the entree options a little bit. For example, I was able to get the udon noodles AND the fried rice! The noodles... Not so good. The Fried Rice... easily the BEST I have ever had!
Tip- It is $24.95 but comes with a lovely frame and a commemorative set of chopsticks.
Cheers to 12 MORE years!
I love this design the chef made with the Fried Rice!
Perfect for celebrating our anniversary!
The dessert was... WEIRD!
After dinner we went to the Stardust Theater for the Deal or
No Deal game show. I used to love watching this show with Howie Mandel but let
me go ahead and tell you that Vincent, the Cruise Director, was no Howie
Mandel. He was not as entertaining and lacked a little bit of show business.
This is how the game worked for those not playing on the main stage!
TIP- On the last day we saw 2 people win $50 but that is the highest we saw. Not sure it is worth the $25 per card.
TIP- On the last day we saw 2 people win $50 but that is the highest we saw. Not sure it is worth the $25 per card.
Tip- The concept of this game was to buy a $25 game card and if NOT selected to
go onto stage and play, you were trying to make a match of your case and the
player's on stage case. If you made a certain amount of matches, you won certain
items. Basic winnings were “instant wins” (we never got a firm answer as to
what those really were), Free 8X10 photo ($24.95 value… which is the HIGHEST we
have ever seen a picture cost on board any ship) and $50 cash. The more matches
you made the more you won. We did not purchase a card but enjoyed watching the
show nonetheless.
We then went to O’Sheehan’s to try the nightly special of “Shrimp
Po-Boy”. We were expecting something amazing and got something that tasted like
it was from Luby’s Cafeteria... at best. This was one of the biggest let-downs of
the entire cruise.
Yeah if you know cajun food... you know THIS AIN'T IT!
The desserts at O'Sheehan's on the other hand were FABULOUS!
Finally, a cruise line has figured out how to do desserts right... SIMPLE!
TIP- We loved sitting at O'Sheehan's and listening to the live music from the Atrium!
The desserts at O'Sheehan's on the other hand were FABULOUS!
Finally, a cruise line has figured out how to do desserts right... SIMPLE!
TIP- We loved sitting at O'Sheehan's and listening to the live music from the Atrium!
We began to get tired from having stayed up late the
previous 2 nights and not getting lots of sleep so we called it an early night
at 11PM (which usually is a late night on a cruise for us) and went to bed.
It was an expected eventful day on one of our favorite
islands and ports in the Western Caribbean. Roatan never disappoints and today
was no different.
Thank you for following along and be sure to check back for
more daily posts.
Next Up- NCL Private Island in Belize… Harvest Caye
God is good… ALL the time!
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
Click on a link to see our past cruising adventures:
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
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