We are ready for a GREAT DAY!
Hello Roatan... It's been TOO long
(Since 2018 Breakaway)
The port day breakfast menu is SO MUCH better than Sea Day brunch in our opinion as it offers standards like pancakes and waffles without the fanciness of the Sea Day brunch. The service was fast and we were done within 30 minutes of sitting down.
The Carnival avocado toast... BEST THING EVER!
We planned on getting off the ship mid-morning to go to the free beach after all of the crowds had gotten off the ship. On Embarkation Day, we made reservations for a Spa Taster at 10AM. We were not sure what all this entailed but the add mentioned "free massage samples" so we were in. We had a bit to wait for our appointment so we tried out a 50th Birthday cocktail at the Atrium Bar.
The Carnival Vista atrium
We arrived at 10AM and then made our way to the spa and it was not crowded at all. We waited in the "Relaxation Room" and shortly after 10am, two therapists demonstrated 4-5 different types of massages the spa offered to us and 2 other couples. They then offered us a deal for a 75 minute full body massage for $169. This was a pretty good deal as we pay $89-109 on land for a 60 minute back massage. We declined but asked her to show us the Thalassotheropy pool as we are thinking about reserving that for our Breeze cruise in September for my birthday.
As she was showing us this area of the spa she offered an additional price reduction in the massage as she walked us back out to the exit of the spa. Once we got to the reservation area, I told the manager that I had received a coupon from Carnival for $50 a service in the spa. TIP- Be sure to enter your celebration info into your booking prior to getting on board. They will give you coupons of all types!
The manager then explained that she would honor that $50 off for the $169 even though they are not supposed to. So a full body massage for only $119? That is crazy! We decided to go ahead and do it and the manager even gave Chris the $50 off even though he did not have a coupon. I just couldn't believe they were being so generous... Until I looked around and noticed we were the ONLY ONES there. The manager said port days are "slow" and especially the first port day.
TIP- If you are into this type of thing, meander on up to the spa on port days and especially the FIRST port day. I would imagine that port days with tenders are busier so the FIRST port day is best. We have also learned that when BOTH sea days are at the FRONT of the itinerary, people are really eager to get off the ship on that first port. These are just observations but they have proved to be true in this case!
We each got a complete FULL body massage lasting 75 minutes for $238 TOTAL and they even put us both into the same room. This couples massage was incredible and unfortunately for my bank account, it will become a staple in our cruises moving forward. It was absolutely GLORIOUS!
I cannot believe we are doing this... SO EXCITING!
Couples massage room
The gratuities (the mandatory and additional we gave) pretty much took the $50 coupon back but it was still SO WORTH IT!
The dessert area at the back of the Lido buffet was quite impressive.
After lunch we went back to our cabin to get ready to get off the ship and go to the free beach in Mahogany Bay. TIP- Mahogany Bay offers a complete FREE beach just right off the ship. It is walkable or you can ride the "Chair Lift" for $12-15/ per person. We LOVE this beach and it even has a GREAT snorkeling area off the pier. You can rent chairs or clamshells and even floats and other play toys. It is PERFECT for families.
Hello dry land and hello Honduras
Once we got off the ship and made our way to the beach, we started looking for a place to sit our stuff down. We were only planning on staying for 2-3 hours at max, especially since it was already 1:30PM, so we didn't want to rent chairs. As we were looking around, a nice lady offered us her two chairs with umbrella RIGHT ON THE BEACH in the front row. Her and her husband even gave us the wristbands, which were not needed. They were SO NICE and friendly and we even saw them again later in the cruise! Thank you Kind Texans... We appreciate you!
I love this area RIGHT past the Pier entrance store!
The walkway to the Mahogany Beach
We lathered up with sunscreen and then got into the gorgeous waters of Mahogany Bay. TIP- We just got back from Panama City Beach, FL and I will admit that its crystal clear turquoise waters are in fact prettier than these Caribbean waters. I had heard that all my life but I can now attest that it IS TRUE! The emerald coast of Florida is hard to beat! But this beach did not disappoint and the Caribbean waters were just what we needed.
We love this port and this beach!
You can literally see the whole ship from the beach!
We spent about 2 hours at the beach, in the water and laying out before we made our way back to the port area to grab a few souvenirs before getting back on the ship around 4PM. All aboard time was 5:30pm so we were well ahead of the crowd but the lines were already getting long. We went back to the room to shower and change before going to the Havana Bar for afternoon drinks.
We love you Mahogany Bay
Selfie Time
Free photo prop on the walk to the beach!
A frequent cruiser next to us said he literally "dreams about these wings".
Ok Dude... That is a bit much but they were VERY GOOD!
We went back to our room to watch the sail away from the balcony. That is always one of my favorite parts of the having the balcony. The Carnival Breeze was the only ship at the Mahogany Bay pier but there was a Royal Caribbean ship at the Coxen Hole pier just a few miles to the west. We were not sure at the time but it was the Allure of the Seas. We have a thing about trying to get onto the ships we see in port. The Allure of the Seas will be coming to Galveston in November... I see a new booking coming up! We watched the sail away and enjoyed the cool breeze of the balcony before changing and getting ready for dinner and the evening entertainment.
We love being able to see this from our balcony!
Hello there Allure of the Seas... We hope to see you soon!
(February 2023... Let's do it)
A MaiTai on the balcony is just perfect!
All dressed up and ready for dinner and an evening aboard the Vista!
After getting ready for dinner we went to the sports bar on Deck 4 to wait for our late dinner seating. Neither of us were feeling very well for whatever reason but we went to dinner anyway. The nightly menu was not great but not terrible. However, the service from Ricky and his staff was AMAZING!
Bitter and Blanc is BACK... But only for the 50th Birthday Celebration!
This is my favorite cruise ship dessert EVER!
So much so... that I ordered TWO!
We were both feeling better by the end of the meal but so very stuffed and bloated from it all. We went back to the room to change clothes out of our dinner attire and into comfortable clothes but we fell asleep in the process. When we woke up... It was 12:30AM and missed ALL of the fun stuff for the night, including one of our favorites- the Love and Marriage Show. I guess our bodies had enough and just needed some rest.
It was an incredible day of Nirvana and stress relief accompanied by a gorgeous beach and scenery. We love Roatan and we enjoyed our spa day!
Up Next... Belize and the Vista to ourselves, well mostly!
God is Good... ALL THE TIME!
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- March 2019
The Norwegian Breakaway- November 2018
Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas- 2018
Carnival Legend- ALASKA- 2016
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