Searching For Sunshine...Feb. 28 thru March 7 Photo Review

[pirate4me2]

 

We docked in Roatan at 10, and the excursion that we had chosen for today didn't meet until 11, so we were able to be a little lazy. DH and I got up at 9 and went in search of breakfast. I went for what was becoming my regular: burrito from Blue Iguana with a jalapeno tortilla, chicken sausage, Mexican scrambled eggs, cheese, hash brown potatoes, pico, and guacamole. From the salsa bar I always got some of the black bean and corn salsa...good stuff! :p

At 10:30 we went to the gangway, and guess what we were greeted with? Rain! :eek: We got off and walked in the rain to the duty free shopping area to meet our tour. The shower only lasted 15 minutes or so, and then the skies cleared and it was a gorgeous day.

Our excursion was Maya Key Private Island Retreat with Lunch. It started with a 10 minute bus ride to a ferry. We got to see a little bit of the countryside, and it looks like a pretty island! We boarded the ferry for our ride to the island. Wait, what is that I see? Another ship?

 

NCL Sun

[pirate4me2]

We were greeted on the dock by the workers on the island, who gave us a run down on where to find the activities for the day, restroom location, beach location, etc. We decided to rent a locker ($2) to store our items for the day. We changed, and then it was time to explore!

 

Stairs leading to pool area

 

Pool

 

We decided to forgo the pool and hit the beach. After all, we are on an island! The water was the perfect temperature, but VERY salty. Everyone was commenting on how salty it was.

 

At the end of the pier was a snorkeling area.

 

I don't know why, but I was intrigued by the shadows from the trees on the sand...

[pirate4me2]

Some kind of fruit on a tree...

 

 

 

Sunshine in the distance!

 

[mtsnd1900]

Great review! i keep looking for myself in the background of the pictures! Our group all thought is was a great ship, and would do it again.

[pirate4me2]

After exploring a little, DH and I decided to grab some beach chairs and soak in some sun a little. It was like heaven, the warm breeze, sound of waves...I may or may not have taken a nap. :p We decided to check out lunch, which was being served near the pool.

Our menu:

I cannot comment on the chicken, as I am a weirdo and can't eat meat off the bone. I am not a fan of fish but tried it, and it was good. I ate half a piece and gave the rest to DH. The beans and rice were delish, and the salad was decent. The banana chips were really good as well.

We let our lunch digest for a little while, and then decided to go see the animals. On this island they have an animal rehabilitation facility, and they have birds, monkeys, "kitties" (ocelots, cougars, jaguars), sea lions, and alligators.

 

 

[pirate4me2]

Sea Lion! We didn't realize it was feeding time, we were trying to figure out why he was so friendly!

 

 

I love this kitty. I kept going back hoping to see it awake. It was always asleep though. Typical kitty!

 

 

[pirate4me2]

We also did the monkey encounter, where you get to go in a cage with two baby monkeys, Stinky and Cocoa. I am somewhat afraid of monkeys, so it was kind of out of my comfort zone. They were friendly, and they jumped all over our shoulders and heads. The trainer gives you a bowl of food to hold and is there to help you if you need. It was a neat experience.

All too soon it was time to get dressed and go back to the ship. We were back on board at 4.

 

Dinner tonight started with potato soup (it was OK, but nothing great), and then the spinach and mushroom salad, which was good. Not as good as the steakhouse salad though. ;) For the entrée I just could not decide between the seafood Nerberg style (which was pretty good) or the vegetarian enchilada (YUM!!!) so I got both. :eek:

Tonight's entertainment was a comedy juggling show with a gentleman named Dana Tison. He was fantastic! Not only is he a good juggler, but he is funny and had the crowd in fits of laughter as well. I highly recommend attending his show!

Tonight we also pulled the trigger and booked a 6 day cruise on the Vista for January 8, 2017! I decided that the $75 OBC was a good enough incentive to go ahead and go it. While talking with the Future Cruise rep, I asked if there was any news on where Magic was headed since Breeze was moving to Texas. He said that Magic is headed to PC (yay!) and that the Sunshine is moving to...wait for it....wait...Charleston! He said it hasn't been announced yet and it is still in the works but that was the latest they have heard. Now we all know that rumors fly like crazy on the ships and it could be a load of bull, but I am hopeful. I would love a newer ship there, as that is my closest port to drive to. And if Sunshine was there, I can see myself cruising on her again for sure, especially if they added a few different itineraries.

OK, that is all for today. Tomorrow is Belize!

[pirate4me2]

 

 

 

[pirate4me2]

Today started early...3 a.m. to be exact. One of our neighbors apparently forgot her S&S card and came back to her stateroom drunker than a skunk and pounded on the door hollering for her roommate to open up. It lasted for about 10 minutes before her roomie finally let her in. Then they proceeded to have a gigglefest. Ugh. I am a very nice person, but don't mess with my sleep!

After falling back asleep, we got up at 7. We grabbed some breakfast, and then packed our bag for the port. This was our first time ever at a tender port, and I wanted to make sure we didn't forget anything! Sunscreen, check. Towels, check. Camera, yup. Insect repellent....you get the idea. We headed to the Liquid Lounge at 8:15 to get our tender sticker and ended up waiting until 9:30. I have to say, tendering is not as bad as I thought! The ride was 30 minutes or so, and then we met our excursion guide for the 1 hour bus ride into the jungle for our excursion...Hells Gates Rafting and Tubing with Lunch. Our guide on the bus was named Alfredo (yes, like the sauce!) and he shared history and facts on Belize for the ride. I ended up taking a nap to make up for my noisy neighbor waking me up earlier. :)

When we got to the river, we were given a life vest and a helmet, then boarded the bus for a 5 minute ride to the drop off point. We got our tubes, then went down some stairs to the river.

 

 

[pirate4me2]

We were split into groups of 8, but due to the size of our group DH and I ended up in a group of 4 with one other couple. DH got into his tube in the river first, and then I was up. Now, let me just tell ya'll, I am not a graceful person. At all. To get into the tube you had to gently sit back into the tube off a rock ledge. I may or may not have sat back a little too heavy and ended up flipping off the back of my tube into the water. Everyone laughed, and after making sure I was OK the guide and the other gentleman in the group helped me into the tube. The water felt great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MarcelLucSell]

Havana Bar snacks were free. We didn't try them but they looked good.

 

We got our fill at pasta bar and Mongolian Wok.

[pirate4me2]

We free floated for about 20 minutes, and as we went down the river our guide pointed out different trees and birds. It was very relaxing and fun. We got to a "beach" made out of stones and stopped for a snack break.

 

They tasted like Doritos

 

Another guide picked everyone fresh oranges! It was so good.

 

We were given the chance to swim here, the water in the river can reach depths of 45 feet and this was a deep spot for sure! We were then tied together with the rest of our group for the rapids portion of the adventure. We had maybe 3 or 4 sets of baby rapids that we went through...nothing too exciting, but still fun! This part of the tubing lasted for about 25 minutes, and then we reached the end of the adventure.

Lunch was included in this excursion, and it was very similar to yesterday's lunch. I again gave DH my chicken and I ate the coleslaw and the rice and beans. It was all delish!!

 

Lunch area

 

 

 

When everyone was done with lunch we all loaded back onto the bus for the hour long journey back to the tender. Alfredo again entertained us with information about his country. He was a good guide.

Once back on board the Sunshine, DH and I decided that since we were still in our swimming gear to hit the slides! There were almost no lines today. We did the racer slides, and the blue one really seems faster than the green one. We had a ball.

After we had our fair share of riding the slides we headed to the stateroom to change. Tonight in the Red Frog Pub they were having FrogFest, and we wanted to see what it was all about! The guitar soloist Brian, as well as the other guitar soloist Tsurita, the band Run for Cover, and other musicians from around the ship all got together to perform. It was INCREDIBLE. We debated on just skipping dinner to stay and listen, but the call from our bellies won and we reluctantly headed to the MDR.

Tonight our wait staff was on it! The service was really good, but to be honest I completely forgot what I ate for dinner except I know it ended with my favorite dessert...WCMC Mickey Mouse style (2 ice creams). The dining room staff danced to "Low" tonight and I joined in. Sorry to anyone who witnessed that, you are probably scarred for life...I am a horrible dancer!

After dinner we headed back to FrogFest. The Piano Bar was closed tonight, but that was Ok...we wanted to hear Brian sing some more! We stayed until really late, and then called it a day.

[pirate4me2]

Alright, that is it for tonight everyone. I will post more tomorrow night!

[pirate4me2]

Great review! i keep looking for myself in the background of the pictures! Our group all thought is was a great ship, and would do it again.

 

Haha I do the same thing when people do reviews when I have been on the ship! I would cruise her again too. There were a few misses, but overall the good well outweighed the bad!

[carolinagalcruise2011]

That would be awesome if Sunshine move to Charleston in the future. I haved sailed twice out of Charleston and loved the Fantasy but was ready for a different stops beside the Bahamas. Great review and looking forward to the rest.

[jimbo5544]

Nice review, keep it coming

[Crusin Karen]

On every single cruise, on every single island we go to....I take pictures of...shadows of the trees in the sand! :p SO PRETTY! I also lay on my lounge chair under palm trees and take pictures UP at them. Nice to look at when you are home and all you see is snow outside your window! ;)

[pirate4me2]

Sorry everyone, life got in the way last night and I wasn't able to post another segment. I will try and get some more posted tonight!

[K&P Luv2Cruise]

On the ferry ride back to the ship we got to see our fellow whale tales sail away. I love to see ships sail off. Now, funny story...every time DH and I are in port, we see the ship we are sailing on next. On our Breeze cruise we saw Liberty sail off the day before we did, and on our Liberty cruise we saw Splendor in Grand Turk and Sunshine in PC. On our upcoming Splendor cruise we will be in port with Pride. DH and I have been saying we want to sail Magic one day if she comes to PC (which was confirmed by a few employees on this sailing) and guess who happened to be in Coz with us?

 

 

 

Bye Magic, we will see you hopefully in 2017!

 

Now, on our Breeze cruise we also saw Glory, and we saw her again on our Liberty cruise. She also kept following us this time! I told DH that it's my old horse, who's name was Glory, that passed away 2 years ago telling me from Heaven that I need to sail on the ship with her name!

 

 

 

Back on board was at 5:30, and we were the last people to be getting back on. Our excursion boat was pulling up beside the ship at 5:30, and people were on their balconies calling to us and clapping. We all just laughed and waved. It was a Carnival excursion that ran late! We got onboard and DH and I decided to try out Cucina for dinner tonight. We went at 6:30 and didn't have a reservation, which was no problem. Let me just tell you this: if you are thinking of trying the Italian, DO IT! It's wonderful! I had the Risotto balls, which were kind of blah, but DH's meatballs were EXCELLENT. DH had the steak for his entrée, which was delicious. I wish I had ordered it, and I am not a big steak fan! I ordered the chicken parm, which was also delicious, and DH wished he had ordered my main course. Haha. Both entrees were huge. DH got the cannoli for his dessert, which was just OK, but my tiramisu was to die for. I mean, it was EXCELLENT. The chef also came by to see how dinner was, and he asked what desserts we had chosen. DH told him he had debated between the cannoli and the apple tart, and the chef told us to hang on and he gave us an apple tart to go! It was totally unexpected and not necessary, but it really put the experience over the top. Since we were both stuffed, we chose to have the apple tart for breakfast the next day. Guess what? It was incredible! It made a fantastic breakfast. :cool:

After dinner we went to the Red Frog Pub to hear live music. The guitar soloist named Brian is really, really, really good. I mean, he is super talented and can play anything. He played Taylor Swift, Darius Rucker, Jimmy Buffet, Johnny Cash, CCR, Beatles, Eagles, and a bunch more. He took requests and he always had a crowd, sometimes he even had dancing going on! The man can sing.

That wraps up our day in Cozumel. I will see you all tomorrow evening for Roatan!

 

Oh Stephanie, if it is the same Brian (sounds like it), he was on our Miracle repo cruise is March 2013, and he was absolutely awesome. He played alot in the Atrium and there was always a large crowd listening (and some dancing).

[MarcelLucSell]

This Brian? He rocked!!

[pirate4me2]

This Brian? He rocked!!

 

 

Yes!!! He's amazing! Anyone know his last name? I was going to look him up to see if he has any CDs. I know he had some onboard.

 

 

 

 

Oh Stephanie, if it is the same Brian (sounds like it), he was on our Miracle repo cruise is March 2013, and he was absolutely awesome. He played alot in the Atrium and there was always a large crowd listening (and some dancing).

 

He's incredible. It seemed like he played everything!

[SMSACE6]

I am still following your review, and enjoying the review and photos very much. It is making me think that after my upcoming eastern itinerary cruise, it will be time to revisit the western Caribbean, especially Roatan (Mahogany bay was not there yet, when I was there last), and I would love to get back to Belize again. Thanks so much for taking the time to post your review:)

 

And I also loved that photo of the shadows of palms in the sand. Great photos, that is a good camera.

[CookiePie]

I'm following along, excitedly anticipating Embarking on the Sunshine in a month! Great review so far!!!

[sjn911]

Lovely Review...thank you..Sarah

[pirate4me2]

Fun Times for Costa Maya...

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the marks...these were the activities we were planning to attend!

 

I was super duper excited to be going to Costa Maya for a kind of stupid reason...my dog's name is Maya, and I wanted to get an ornament for our Christmas tree with her name on it from there. I woke up when our wake up call came at about 6:56 and I was half wishing I could just crawl back in bed and sleep for a little while longer. For some reason I was just dog tired! Well, my wish came true a few minutes later, at about 7:00, when Wee Jimmy came over the PA system. I thought it was odd that the announcement was being broadcast into the cabins as well, and he didn't sound quite like his usual chipper self. Due to high winds, we would not be able to dock in Costa Maya today. Instead, we would be having a fun day at sea.