Legend Excursions Report

[Name Of The Game]

Had a great time on the Legend last week. Here's a summary of what we did in each port.

 

 

Grand Cayman

 

This was our first stop and we had pre-arranged a trip with Captain Marvins. We, along with three male/female couples took a 10 minute narrated ride in an air conditioned van to a boat dock, where we boarded for a fast 25-minute ride. We arrived at the stingray sandbar, got out in four feet of water and were surrounded by dozens of friendly stingrays. We were provided squid if we wanted to feed them – the stingrays suction it out of your hand like a vacuum. The tops of the stingrays are rough while the bottoms are smooth and velvety. It was quite an awesome experience. After about 40 minutes there we took a short ride to a snorkeling location. We don’t like snorkeling but put on life jackets and went in the water. My mom was not comfortable, even hanging onto a rope. The life jacket apparently had her tipping either forward or back and she didn't like the water in her face. It was a nice fast ride back. We were looking forward to this excursion and found it to be an awesome experience.

 

Cozumel

 

We wandered past the shops at the pier and came upon the taxi area and took a ride to Carlos & Charlies Beach. Upon arrival we were informed that we would have to leave in two hours due to a private party. The water was beautiful and mom and I played catch for a while in the ocean. She then went and sat on a hammock, which was really like a swinging mattress, ordered a Sex on the Beach and relaxed. A lady approached and offered to give her a free five minute massage. That convinced her to buy 20 more minutes for $20.00 – much cheaper than on the ship! We have always felt that time goes slow on a beach. It was about 90 degrees and the heat wipes you out, so the two hours was enough for us. We got a taxi back, looked in a big shop and bought a few things. There were a couple outdoor restaurants there at the pier but we decided to eat the free, decent Mexican food back on the ship where it was air conditioned.

 

Belize

 

The tender only took 14 minutes going and 12 coming back. We went to Belize in 2000 and there were only tents set up with people selling merchandise. It is more developed now with shops, even a Diamonds International, and a couple of bar/restaurants. We stayed in this small area. There were no excursions we were interested in (zip lining, hiking in jungles, long canoe rides, etc) and it is dangerous to walk outside the gated area. We had printed “free drink” coupons online for a place called The Wet Lizard. You had to walk up a set of stairs so you sat outside up high where it was breezy watching the boats. I ordered a Dirty Banana and mom ordered “Lizard Piss” – something that tasted like pineapple. I also had some wings & fries while she got a seafood burrito which came with a lot of chips but no salsa. We stopped at a vendor selling colorful hand painted wooden earrings and mom saw a hot pink pair she liked. They started out at $15.00 and, without her saying anything, lowered it to $8.00. She had five singles in my pocket which she was prepared to pay and showed it to him. He said no so she said sorry and walked out. Not five steps later he called her back and accepted the $5.00. A boat was getting ready to go back to the ship so we got on it and enjoyed the fast ride.

 

Roatan, Honduras

 

Like Belize , we had stopped here in 2000 and found the port area more developed now. We had pre-booked a Roatan Highlights tour online. Us, along with a 60-ish couple, got in the air conditioned van and got a narrated tour. There was a downpour for a while. This island gets a lot of off and on rain and is very lush and green. We stopped at an iguana farm where there were a couple of swinging monkeys in cages that were fun to watch, as well as numerous iguanas walking around eating cabbage leaves. We were then brought to a beach that wasn’t as pretty since the sand was wet and not soft. She didn’t feel comfortable going in the water and leaving her purse on a chair, like in Cozumel , so she just sat while I got in the water. I played catch in the water with a couple of local boys. They asked us for a few dollars and we gave it to them. We tried to be discreet so we wouldn't be swarmed by everyone asking for money. As we were leaving we handed two small boxes of cereal that we had taken off the ship to a little boy. When we got back to the pier there were kids there trying to sell homemade bracelets for $2.00 each. They’re poor, cute and polite so you can’t help but want to help them. Mom bought three bracelets from different kids…unfortunately, we couldn’t accommodate them all.

We enjoyed each and every port day.

 

If you have any questions about this or the cruise itself, ask away.