Live from the Sky Princess 11/20–12/4

[KLM3164]

Tabyana Beach on the island of Roatan. 

[chrysalis]

We had a mixed day today in Belize. Took the ship excursion to the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha....there was a lot of hurry up and wait.... waiting for fellow passengers who don't pay attention to the time, waiting for buses... listening to a tour guide who has control issues, and loves to constantly remind us that we should leave tips.

My lunch consisted of a chicken wing with a pile of rice/beans, and the rum punch was devoid of rum.

The riverboat cruise portion consisted of an entire bus load of people jammed into a speed boat, cheek to cheek....and running down the river at 30mph, slowing down occasionally if a bird, Croc or monkey was spotted.....and when something was spotted, a couple in front of us would always stand up and block the view of many of us.

Did I mention that we were reminded more about tipping? Sorry but that just drives me crazy.

For about $100 each, the 45 minutes at the ruins just doesn't cut it, not when the whole thing started at 7:45, and we arrived back at the ship about 4pm.

Okay.....rant over.

 

[iamaqt2]

6 minutes ago, chrysalis said:

We had a mixed day today in Belize. Took the ship excursion to the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha....there was a lot of hurry up and wait.... waiting for fellow passengers who don't pay attention to the time, waiting for buses... listening to a tour guide who has control issues, and loves to constantly remind us that we should leave tips.

My lunch consisted of a chicken wing with a pile of rice/beans, and the rum punch was devoid of rum.

The riverboat cruise portion consisted of an entire bus load of people jammed into a speed boat, cheek to cheek....and running down the river at 30mph, slowing down occasionally if a bird, Croc or monkey was spotted.....and when something was spotted, a couple in front of us would always stand up and block the view of many of us.

Did I mention that we were reminded more about tipping? Sorry but that just drives me crazy.

For about $100 each, the 45 minutes at the ruins just doesn't cut it, not when the whole thing started at 7:45, and we arrived back at the ship about 4pm.

Okay.....rant over.

 

Yikes... that whole day sounds like major cringe.

[phabric]

1 hour ago, chrysalis said:

We had a mixed day today in Belize. Took the ship excursion to the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha....there was a lot of hurry up and wait.... waiting for fellow passengers who don't pay attention to the time, waiting for buses... listening to a tour guide who has control issues, and loves to constantly remind us that we should leave tips.

My lunch consisted of a chicken wing with a pile of rice/beans, and the rum punch was devoid of rum.

The riverboat cruise portion consisted of an entire bus load of people jammed into a speed boat, cheek to cheek....and running down the river at 30mph, slowing down occasionally if a bird, Croc or monkey was spotted.....and when something was spotted, a couple in front of us would always stand up and block the view of many of us.

Did I mention that we were reminded more about tipping? Sorry but that just drives me crazy.

For about $100 each, the 45 minutes at the ruins just doesn't cut it, not when the whole thing started at 7:45, and we arrived back at the ship about 4pm.

Okay.....rant over.

 

Maybe mention at Shore Excursion Desk or Guest Services, that the excursion was not what you expected.

[Highwaydude]

10 hours ago, Corgidawgga said:

 

Please let me know how excursions were.   I will be boarding Dec. 11th and have not chosen one, yet.

 

Hope you are having a great cruise.

Greetings…we never booked any excursions at this port. We just took the taxi over around 11:30am and did some shopping and then had some drinks and chips n salsa and returned to the ship at 3pm. 

[Highwaydude]

Here’s some photos to get your taste buds watering 😎😎😎

[KLM3164]

We took a different tour to Altun Ha and had a good experience. Our tour was a scenic drive of Belize City and a tour of the ruins. We had a very good guide who didn’t mention tips until the end of the tour. She gave a good narration on the drive to the ruins. We spent over an hour at the ruins. My DH climbed to the tip of the tallest structure and I stayed at the bottom to take photos. We really enjoyed the tour and would recommend it. We’ve been to other Mayan ruins and this was the first time we’ve been allowed to climb  the ruins.

 

Our friends did a snorkel and beach trip to Rendezvous Caye and they said the snorkeling was really good. The only downside is that it took an hour to get there from the ship and an hour to get back.

 

Tomorrow is another beach day in Cozumel for the 4 of us.
 

Ciao for now!

[geoherb]

10 hours ago, chrysalis said:

We had a mixed day today in Belize. Took the ship excursion to the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha....there was a lot of hurry up and wait.... waiting for fellow passengers who don't pay attention to the time, waiting for buses... listening to a tour guide who has control issues, and loves to constantly remind us that we should leave tips.

 

 

 

I'll be there next week on the Caribbean Princess. Have you heard of any great excursions there? I have not booked anything, primarily because the ones that interested me start way too early in the day. I am taking snorkeling excursions in Cozumel and Costa Maya, so doing something different would interest me. Or I may just stay on the ship that day. I don't feel safe wandering about the city on my own.

[chrysalis]

1 hour ago, geoherb said:

 

I'll be there next week on the Caribbean Princess. Have you heard of any great excursions there? I have not booked anything, primarily because the ones that interested me start way too early in the day. I am taking snorkeling excursions in Cozumel and Costa Maya, so doing something different would interest me. Or I may just stay on the ship that day. I don't feel safe wandering about the city on my own.

Only ones I have heard of are mentioned in an above post..

.

[cltnccruisers]

13 hours ago, chrysalis said:

We had a mixed day today in Belize. Took the ship excursion to the Mayan ruins of Altun Ha....there was a lot of hurry up and wait.... waiting for fellow passengers who don't pay attention to the time, waiting for buses... listening to a tour guide who has control issues, and loves to constantly remind us that we should leave tips.

My lunch consisted of a chicken wing with a pile of rice/beans, and the rum punch was devoid of rum.

The riverboat cruise portion consisted of an entire bus load of people jammed into a speed boat, cheek to cheek....and running down the river at 30mph, slowing down occasionally if a bird, Croc or monkey was spotted.....and when something was spotted, a couple in front of us would always stand up and block the view of many of us.

Did I mention that we were reminded more about tipping? Sorry but that just drives me crazy.

For about $100 each, the 45 minutes at the ruins just doesn't cut it, not when the whole thing started at 7:45, and we arrived back at the ship about 4pm.

Okay.....rant over.

 

We did Altun Ha as well only it was by bus.  Both the bus guide and the site guide were excellent.  Very informative and answered every question put to them.  No idea if the answers were right or not, of course.  The only mention of tipping was by the site guide at the very end.  Both guides were good enough that they deserved the tips.  Ours took all day as well but it was well worth it.

[cltnccruisers]

11 hours ago, phabric said:

Maybe mention at Shore Excursion Desk or Guest Services, that the excursion was not what you expected.

We stopped at the Excursion Desk on the way to dinner last night to compliment them on both the Altun Ha and the botanical garden/chocolate making excursions.  Both were very well done and lots of fun.  Maybe the best excursions we've ever had.  A lot depends on the local company you draw.

[cltnccruisers]

9 hours ago, KLM3164 said:

We took a different tour to Altun Ha and had a good experience. Our tour was a scenic drive of Belize City and a tour of the ruins. We had a very good guide who didn’t mention tips until the end of the tour. She gave a good narration on the drive to the ruins. We spent over an hour at the ruins. My DH climbed to the tip of the tallest structure and I stayed at the bottom to take photos. We really enjoyed the tour and would recommend it. We’ve been to other Mayan ruins and this was the first time we’ve been allowed to climb  the ruins.

 

Our friends did a snorkel and beach trip to Rendezvous Caye and they said the snorkeling was really good. The only downside is that it took an hour to get there from the ship and an hour to get back.

 

Tomorrow is another beach day in Cozumel for the 4 of us.
 

Ciao for now!

I wonder if we were on the same excursion.  Bus guide was Mel and our site guide was Andrew.  Both were very enjoyable.

[KLM3164]

1 hour ago, cltnccruisers said:

I wonder if we were on the same excursion.  Bus guide was Mel and our site guide was Andrew.  Both were very enjoyable.

We were on the same bus as you with Mel as our guide. She was excellent! I don’t remember the name of our guide at the ruins. He was a short guy and he kept us in the sun when he was talking. I wondered off to find shade. We were in the second group of 15 to get off the bus.

[Dawniepoo]

On 11/21/2021 at 9:49 PM, chrysalis said:

Terrible dinner....no one at the table could cut their prime rib....waiter said it was our fault because we should not have ordered it "medium".

 

Was replaced with the smoked pork loin.... which was not pork loin but actually was ham. No one at the table could eat that either. 

 

Very disappointed with this dinner, we are sad to report.

 

This was my experience on the Regal a couple weeks ago. The meat was cut very thin and it was tough. It was the most disappointing meal I have had on Princess. 

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, KLM3164 said:

We were on the same bus as you with Mel as our guide. She was excellent! I don’t remember the name of our guide at the ruins. He was a short guy and he kept us in the sun when he was talking. I wondered off to find shade. We were in the second group of 15 to get off the bus.

must of been more than one bus ?  one of your fellow excursion quest either didn't get enough sleep the night before or drink enough beer the day of 🤣

[cltnccruisers]

1 hour ago, KLM3164 said:

We were on the same bus as you with Mel as our guide. She was excellent! I don’t remember the name of our guide at the ruins. He was a short guy and he kept us in the sun when he was talking. I wondered off to find shade. We were in the second group of 15 to get off the bus.

Our site guide was Andrew - short, stocky.  There didn't seem to be much shade once you got to the temple site.  While some of our group was climbing we took shelter under the plum tree.

[cltnccruisers]

46 minutes ago, Dawniepoo said:

 

This was my experience on the Regal a couple weeks ago. The meat was cut very thin and it was tough. It was the most disappointing meal I have had on Princess. 

I've found the MDR to be pretty underwhelming this trip.  Last night was the first good dinner I've had - beef wellington.  

[avonlady6390]

I did a ruins tour I think it was cozumel and they gave us umbrellas to use for Sun protection.

[Corgidawgga]

Ladies, a shopping question.

 

In the past, 
Princess has carried a fairly decent amount t of Channel make up.    Also, Clinique.   Is this still the case?

 

With Covid, I am wondering if shop items have been curtailed.   

 

Thanks!

[tococm]

What's up in the mdr menu's? Underwhelming? Is the spa / enclave open? Do you think a ship day vs roaton excursion?

[suzyed]

21 minutes ago, tococm said:

What's up in the mdr menu's? Underwhelming? Is the spa / enclave open? Do you think a ship day vs roaton excursion?

Can you explain what the Enclave is and how much it costs and when can it be booked, please?

[KLM3164]

@station10fd My duck from last week has a new friend! Thank you so much!!! Hope you enjoyed your cruise this week and have a great sailing next week.

[KLM3164]

5 hours ago, Corgidawgga said:

Ladies, a shopping question.

 

In the past, 
Princess has carried a fairly decent amount t of Channel make up.    Also, Clinique.   Is this still the case?

 

With Covid, I am wondering if shop items have been curtailed.   

 

Thanks!

They still have a shop onboard that sells skincare and makeup products. This isn’t a store I visit so I don’t know what brands they carry in the store. If I walk by it tomorrow I’ll take a peek inside and see if they have the brands you are asking about.

[KLM3164]

1 hour ago, tococm said:

What's up in the mdr menu's? Underwhelming? Is the spa / enclave open? Do you think a ship day vs roaton excursion?

Yes the spa/enclave is open from 8 am to 10 pm. 
 

For Roatan, I would highly recommend the shore excursion that goes to Gumbalimba Preservation Nature Park. It was the highlight of the trip for our group. Please see post #470 for additional information and photos.

[KLM3164]

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

Can you explain what the Enclave is and how much it costs and when can it be booked, please?

I’m unable to answer your questions as I’ve never used it or been in it. Perhaps someone who has used it on this cruise or another one can answer your questions.