Our arrival in Roatan was not scheduled until 10am, and I have to say that's a very pleasant time to start a day. We slept in, had breakfast in the DaVinci Dining Room, packed up our beach bags and still had time to be up in the open decks to watch our arrival. The long shoreline of the island of Roatan and the hills rising behind it were beautiful. The cruise ship pier at Mahagony Bay, where all Carnival Corp. vessels dock, requires ships to back into a relatively narrow bay. High winds can prevent ships from docking at all, and we were happy to see that today's weather was absolutely perfect...blue skies, lots of sun and not much wind.
The southeast coast of Roatan
As always happens when the ship arrives in a port mid-morning or later, passengers were lined up back to the Piazza to get off at either the mid-ship or forward gangways. The pier was quickly packed with disembarking passengers making their way through the Dufry duty free store (Mahogany Bay has perfected the "exit through the gift shop" practice, only here it is "enter through the gift shop...and the next gift shop...and the next). Getting to the significant point of this port- the beach- requires passing through multiple shopping opportunities and up and down a mild hill. It's about a 15-minute walk from the ship to the beach, but it can take up to 30 minutes if you're in the first wave of passengers disembarking when the ship is docked and cleared.
We had immediately disembarked the Emerald Princess in the hopes of getting lounge chairs (free) in the shade, and in the front row, if possible, and we were plenty early enough to get both. We were lucky that the Emerald Princess was the only ship at Mahogany Bay today; and there were plenty of loungers and space for everyone. I wasted no time at all in getting in that gorgeous blue water, again as clear and blue as anything we'd seen in French Polynesia, and with no waves to boot. Like in French Polynesia, a barrier reef surrounds the Mahogany Bay Area, which is actually on a small island off the coast of Roatan, which is a larger island off the coast of Honduras, known for its diving and snorkeling opportunities.
The sand was beautiful and the beach entrance very gradual because of the lack of waves. Though the ocean floor does get a little grassy further out, it is mostly sandy and pebble-free near the beach. I swam out to the beach boundary and along the buoy lines and only at the very edges of the swimming area was it over my head. I saw people snorkeling within the swimming area of the beach, but can't imagine they were seeing too much; however, I did swim right over a large lobster in the sea grass in about 5 feet of water. The water was so clear that I saw it without a mask.
With most couples, it's the man who encourages the woman to get in the water, and get her shoulders wet, telling her it won't seem so cold if she just takes the plunge. Not so with us. I dive into the water, equipped with our pool thermometer while G sits in a lounge chair and awaits my report. Today's water temp was the warmest we've seen so far in the Caribbean, still just barely 80F, and a far cry from the 84-86F we always saw in French Polynesia. However, the sun was so warm that it felt quite nice, and even G was happy with it.
Roatan combines the best of what we each like in a port day: G is happiest when he can walk, preferably up a hill, and I am happiest when I can be in the water. We spent nearly five hours swimming and soaking. I listened to an audiobook (Suzan, it's the book about Rosemary Kennedy) and G found people to talk to (picture it, Suzan and Greg) and happiness reigned. We packed up and returned to the ship (G discovered that the nature trail that wraps around the hill is a lot faster, and would be a great option when the walkway is crowded) about 3:30pm.
We were showered and dressed for dinner and in Skywalkers to watch sailaway. We were starving, and thrilled to see that not only was it Stilton night in the PES Lounge, it was Italian night with penne arribiata in the dining rooms. I ordered a new bottle of wine (a Chateau Rothschild Bordeaux) that was a perfect pairing and we watched a beautiful sunset right from our table. We hope that bodes well for our weather tomorrow in Cozumel...'cause we have plans!
Shockingly, at 7pm we found ourselves at the Princess Theater performance by country guitarist Ric Steel, a new entertainer for us. I love most music, but try to avoid opera and country. We sat in the 'just in case-iest" of the "just in case" seats, in the highest row, stage right in the theater. Actually, he was very good, and even sang several non-country songs to appeal to a wider audience. The Love Boat Disco Deck Party will be held starting at 10:15pm, and the weather on the open decks will be perfect for it...but we're not going to be able to stay up. We arrive in Cozumel, Mexico early tomorrow, at 7am, and are already packed for (shock!) another beach day.