Aug. 15th Legend Family Cruise...with Photos

[AryMay]

Roatan continued...

 

I wish I could tell you all about the beach at Mahogany Bay…but I just got a glimpse of it from the ship and that was all. Our time in port was so short that we just didn’t have time to do our tour AND visit the beach. It is too bad that Carnival doesn’t extend the time in Roatan to allow for both. (Or maybe it is shorter by design so people will choose to not do tours and just stay at their beach?)

 

 

As soon as we docked we were able to get off the ship. The shops at Mahogany Bay remind me a lot of Puerta Maya in Cozumel…and rightly so since both were built by Carnival. We didn’t want to waste any of our day so we walked directly through the shopping area. Sister and DS2 waited in a covered area while the rest of us hiked up the hill. It was steep…but if you are in half way decent shape it is doable.

 

After reading many reviews, I had requested Ali as our guide for the day. When we reached the top of the hill there was a gal with a Victor Bodden sign and a walkie talkie. She informed us that Ali wasn’t available, so we would be spending the day with Francisco. She called him on the walkie-talkie and in just a short time he was there to pick us up in his van. I took one look at him and before he even told us I knew he was Victor’s brother! We piled in and Victor drove down to pick up the other two and we were on our way.

 

[OllieGator]

Thanks for reading! I envy you with a cruise to look forward to in the near future! Good luck on those flights...Delta sure managed to scatter our group of 7 all over the place! On our flight home, DH and I ended up in the VERY LAST ROW while DS3 & GF were at the very front! On both flights one person in our family ended up totally separate by themselves.

 

It would be so much nicer if we could fly from Sioux Falls, SD since we are less than an hour away. Instead our drive from Minneapolis takes as long as the flight to Florida!

 

Have you looked into Allegiant Air? They fly from Sioux Falls to Orlando (actually Sanford) twice a week. Good value!

[AryMay]

Have you looked into Allegiant Air? They fly from Sioux Falls to Orlando (actually Sanford) twice a week. Good value!

 

I have looked at Allegiant...but unless you cruise out of Port Canaveral flying into Orlando isn't convenient. Also since they don't have flights every day we would end up having to stay over another night or two and the cost of the hotel would eat up any savings.

 

I shouldn't complain about Delta. I diligently watched the fares and when I saw them drop I pounced...and got them for $241 round trip (total with taxes.) I continued to watch the price and NEVER saw the fares go that low again.

 

Another savings...I got a Delta Skymiles credit card this past summer. Card members get free checked luggage for themselves and any others on the same airline reservation.

 

Years ago we used to fly out of Sioux Falls. Fares were reasonable and you could get direct flights. Not anymore...now we prefer to drive the 3 1/2 hours to Minneapolis to get flights times that we like and at much lower prices.

[cmtom89]

I have looked at Allegiant...but unless you cruise out of Port Canaveral flying into Orlando isn't convenient.

 

Allegiant has flights in and out of PIE which is St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport....right across the bay from Tampa airport (about 10 road miles).

 

Have not looked at their schedule for your area so it may present the same issue as Orlando, but thought I would mention it as an option.

[AryMay]

Allegiant has flights in and out of PIE which is St. Petersburg/Clearwater airport....right across the bay from Tampa airport (about 10 road miles).

 

Have not looked at their schedule for your area so it may present the same issue as Orlando, but thought I would mention it as an option.

 

Unfortunately the only destinations from Sioux Falls, SD on Allegiant are Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Orlando and Phoenix. :(

 

But thanks anyway...this may be an option for someone else reading this post!

[CFitzRN]

We went with Victor's company too and absolutely loved it. Our driver's name was Cardy and he was a gentleman through and through. My kids' favorite time was at Victor's house with his animals.

[AryMay]

Roatan continued...

 

Rats…my last sentence of the previous post on Roatan should have said: We piled in and Francisco drove down to pick up the other two and we were on our way. (I mistakenly typed “Victor” instead.)

 

Disclaimer: I am sorting through photos taken by three different cameras and trying to remember what all we did in Roatan. I’ll try and remember the highlights…but probably won’t get things in order.

 

When booking the tour I emailed Victor the things we would like to do…see the island, buy vanilla (I was worried I might not get any in Cozumel), see his monkeys, visit a school and spend some time snorkeling on a beach. Francisco had this information but also told us he would be willing to take us wherever we wanted to go. The kids loved having our own private tour and I thought the $25/person cost was a good deal.

 

As we drove, Francisco told us lots about the island of Roatan. He was a native to the island and was able to answer all of the questions that “geography teacher DIL” could throw at him! It is striking to see the contrast in houses on the island…huge mansions to very humble homes.

 

Francisco said this was the home of one of the elected officials…

 

 

This mansion was for sale…the price had dropped but was still in the millions…just a “bit” over our budget!

 

 

More common were homes such as this…

 

 

We were curious why so many homes were built on stilts and Francisco said it wasn’t so much because of flooding…but to provide a cool place to be in the afternoons and to provide a place for drying laundry.

 

[AryMay]

Roatan continued...

 

DIL was especially looking forward to stopping at a school, but Francisco said most of the public school teachers were out on strike. I found this interesting. In 2004 my friend and I visited a school in Roatan (we are both teachers) and on the day we were there, the teachers had gathered the kids together to tell them they were going on strike the next day. Francisco explained that this is not unusual…when the government gets low on funds it just quits paying the teachers…and they go on strike. This happens multiple times each year…sometimes for as long as several weeks!

 

Driving to one of the highest points on the island gave us a gorgeous view of the ocean. Pictures don’t do it justice…the water was so many different colors of blues and turquoise.

 

 

This must be a frequent stopping spot for tours since there were several small stands set up where people were selling crafts, jewelry and cold drinks.

 

 

There were two boys there helping and they were more than eager to visit with us.

 

 

They said they were out of school because of the strike and had been off for 2 weeks. They pointed out the pier in Coxen Hole that Carnival used before building Mahogany Bay. In 2004 when we last visited the island this was just a concrete dock so I assume the new buildings must be shops built to attract cruiseship passengers?

 

 

My mind is a bit fuzzy here (what’s new?) but Francisco took us to a resort where he said we could use the rest rooms by the beach. We took time to walk around and it was lovely…but weird because no one was around. I believe he said a friend of his owned the place. (I could be totally wrong on that fact however!) The beach was on more of a lagoon with the ocean off in the distance.

 

 

[Eeyoregon]

 

 

Where exactly is this? It's beautiful! Would love to check it out while we are there...do you know if it's open to the public?

 

Thanks,

Gina

[AryMay]

Where exactly is this? It's beautiful! Would love to check it out while we are there...do you know if it's open to the public?

 

Thanks,

Gina

 

I checked with DIL and sister and neither one of them remember any details about this place except it is NOT the place that is owned by a friend of Francisco's.

 

I think there were condo's that could be rented but again all we did was use a restroom by the beach and walk around for a few minutes. There were some guys doing lawn work but otherwise it was pretty deserted!

 

Francisco took us to several different places where condos were being built and they are all sort of blended in my mind now. Francisco suggested we go through the inside of one of the condominiums at the place his friend owns, but we were more interested in seeing other things on the island so we declined.

[dane225]

Loving your review!!! Your underwater pics are fabulous!!! Thanks so much for sharing.:)

[AryMay]

We went with Victor's company too and absolutely loved it. Our driver's name was Cardy and he was a gentleman through and through. My kids' favorite time was at Victor's house with his animals.

 

We had a great time there as well...hopefully I'll get to that part tomorrow!

[ericrz]

GREAT review, loving this. Amazing photos.

 

We took a family cruise (10 of us!) on the Legend back in March, this is really taking me back to those memories. :)

[AryMay]

Ugghhhh...my apologies to those trying to follow this review...lots going on and it is hard to find time to sit down and write. We’ve had almost 6 inches of rain in the last 24 hours and things are...mmmm....a bit damp in my basement. :rolleyes: Good news? We now have waterfront property.

 

Roatan continued...

 

I was really obsessed with replenishing my vanilla supply on this cruise. I did pick up the liter bottle in Cozumel, but decided to do a little comparison shopping in Roatan. Francisco took us to a grocery store and helped us find the vanilla display…there were 2 brands. The half liter bottles were marked 23 lempira each. Thank goodness he was there to help us figure out the price in US dollars. I bought 3 of the half-liter bottles and the price was $4 total! Wow…that’s a LOT cheaper than in Cozumel. BUT…I have not yet used any of the Honduran vanilla so it may not be as good. We will see. Hopefully it is not too bad because I gave 2 of the 3 bottles away as gifts!

 

DS3 just graduated this past May with a degree in Marketing and had just started a position with Farleys & Sathers…a large candy company. (They own a lot of other companies as well…like Brachs.) What a surprise to walk in the grocery store in Roatan and right by the front door find a huge display of Sather’s candy! Here is the proud businessman…

 

 

As the afternoon went on, we just tooled around in Francisco’s van taking in all of the sights of the island…asking questions as we went…and learning lots! (DIL was in her heights of glory!)

 

 

Mangroves...

 

 

DH and DS1’s scuba dive was through Anthony’s Key Resort so Francisco stopped by for us to see the resort where they were diving…very nice!

 

[rmartin1286]

I love your review, it's so detailed! I was on the Legend in 2005 and it's great to see pictures of my favorite Carnival ship! Can't wait to read the rest!

[cmtom89]

"DS3 just graduated this past May with a degree in Marketing and had just started a position with Farleys & Sathers…a large candy company. (They own a lot of other companies as well…like Brachs.) What a surprise to walk in the grocery store in Roatan and right by the front door find a huge display of Sather’s candy!"

 

He should volunteer to be the employee who checks out these displays on a regular basis....you know, you need to make sure they are prominently displayed, prices are easy to find, etc. If he needs an assistant.....I would gladly volunteer my services. :D

[rokinrobin105]

I am loving the pics keep it comming

[Mike&Shell]

What an awesome review.... Thank so much for posting..

[IMANITA]

Cozumel continued...

 

 

 

 

 

AryMay I have to let you know that because of your beautiful underwater pictures, I just ordered the Canon D10. We tried a disposable underwater camera last time & the pictures were also disposable too! We are on the Legend on Oct 17 & are going to do a Discovery Dive, Snorkeling & Cave Tubing, so I hope the camera comes thru for me.

[mariamherrera]

What part of Minnestoa are you guys from? I'm originally from Worthington! I live in Seattle WA area now but grew up most of my life IN worthington! I knew you must be from some where near there when you said the nearest airport was out of Sioux falls! we are taking this exact same cruise and schedule in November so excited!

[azkcruizers]

I believe the place you may have stopped at with the lagoon and the bridge is the Parrot Tree Plantation. I haven't been there but was looking into it for our next stop in Roatan. Our tour guide Juan Carlos Rodriguez (who is absolutely fantastic!) told me about it and I came home and looked into it. If you search parrot tree plantation on the web you will find their website. Hold your mouse over vacations and select beach resort. Many pictures will come up. You can see the lagoon along with a gorgeous pool, etc. I have emailed with them and they charge $10 pp to use the facility for the day....drinks and food extra. I know there are kayaks for rent, but other than that I believe it is a quiet laid back place that not many cruisers use for the day. We are planning on going in February and I will post info on the Roatan board when I return.:)

[mes531]

Great review - really enjoying - can't wait - we go the 26th of Dec....did you do any tours of ruins???

[AryMay]

I believe the place you may have stopped at with the lagoon and the bridge is the Parrot Tree Plantation. I haven't been there but was looking into it for our next stop in Roatan. Our tour guide Juan Carlos Rodriguez (who is absolutely fantastic!) told me about it and I came home and looked into it. If you search parrot tree plantation on the web you will find their website. Hold your mouse over vacations and select beach resort. Many pictures will come up. You can see the lagoon along with a gorgeous pool, etc. I have emailed with them and they charge $10 pp to use the facility for the day....drinks and food extra. I know there are kayaks for rent, but other than that I believe it is a quiet laid back place that not many cruisers use for the day. We are planning on going in February and I will post info on the Roatan board when I return.:)

 

You are RIGHT! I did a search and Parrot Tree Plantation is the place where we stopped. I still don't know anymore about the place...except it was lovely!

 

Here is an aerial view that I found online of the lagoon.

 

 

In my search I also found another place that Francisco took us too...Keyhole Bay. It is still under construction and I think it was the place that Francisco said his friend was involved with. Francisco offered to stop and let us go through one of the condos, but we declined.

 

[AryMay]

What part of Minnestoa are you guys from? I'm originally from Worthington! I live in Seattle WA area now but grew up most of my life IN worthington! I knew you must be from some where near there when you said the nearest airport was out of Sioux falls! we are taking this exact same cruise and schedule in November so excited!

 

Yes...we do live in Worthington! I got behind in my review because last weekend was Turkey Day!

 

How fun that you are going on the Legend. I will try and get the rest of this review done soon...but if you have any questions let me know. I do have all of the Fun Times from the week.

[AryMay]

Great review - really enjoying - can't wait - we go the 26th of Dec....did you do any tours of ruins???

 

No we did not do any ruin tours. Three years ago we did a land based vacation in Akumal, Mexico and toured the ruins in Coba. Also DS2 & DIL went to Chichen Izta two years ago on their honeymoon so seeing ruins was not high on our list of what we wanted to do.

 

I do know that to see the ruins of Tulum when you are in Cozumel is a LONG day. It requires a ferry ride to the mainland and a lengthy bus ride from there. I am a big cheerleader for booking independent tours...but that is one tour I would definitely book through Carnival.

 

What a great way to spend your holidays...cruising on the Legend!