Roll Call - Carnival Glory 11/3/07

[ncboys]

Any other 'family' on board. We're both in our late 20's. Just curious if anyone else is going?

 

Doug & Louis

[Hartleydawg]

Hey guys,

 

My partner and I will be on the Glory a couple of weeks after you guys. Haven't found anyone else on my sailing yet. Never been on Carnival before, so I'm looking forward to comparing to RCCL and Celebrity. Also, never been to the Western Car either. Have heard mixed things about Belize. Any ideas of good things to see or do at port in the Western Car? Any homophobic places to be aware of. Thanks for your input.

 

FH

[ncboys]

Hey Hartleydawg,

 

This will be our 3rd time on Carnival. Overall we're pretty happy. I'm sure you'll have a great time. We're heading west too.

 

We go every year for our aniversary and always make sure Belize(Caye Caulker) is on the iteniary. It's one of the greatest places on earth and we'd never take a cruise without getting to visit. If you're heading west, you should stop on the island(Caye Caulker). It's unreal!

 

As far as homophobic ports, we've nevr had any issues. I wouldn't recommend holding hands or making out in Belize(or anywhere for that matter), but you should be fine. The only place I every heard of that was violently anti-gay was Jamica. For that reason, we have no intrest in going there. Not out of fear, but don't want to give them any of my hard earned money.

 

I'll try and keep his short, but here's an excerpt from my cruise diary from Belize last year:

 

Thursday, November 16th, 2006 – Caye Caulker, Belize

It’s been 53 weeks since we were here last, but we’re back. We thought this day would never get here but it has. We watched the ship pull in on the tv screen as we ate our usual breakfast in bed of smoked salmon, cream cheese and bagels. As always, the ship anchors about five or six miles offshore from Belize City because of the barrier reef, which runs along the entire length of the Belizean coast. After finishing breakfast, we got dressed and began to head down to the Ivanhoe Theater where the ship excursion groups were gathering. Normally we’re supposed to wait and get tender tickets but we just slipped in line with the ship’s excursion group and hopped aboard the first tender with no problems at all. Sure it’s a bit sneaky and marginally dishonest, but this is Belize. We simply didn’t have time to wait in line for an hour. We gotta go! Once on the tender we got a seat in the back. For the first time in over a year we saw the Belizean coastline again. We were so excited. About fifteen minutes later we were pulling into the harbor. It all looked the same as last time. It was like stepping into a time capsule. As we approached, the first thing I saw was the lighthouse, then the tourism village, and finally the Wet Lizard. We leaped from the boat, took a deep breath, looked at each other and smiled. We were back in Belize. After over a year of daydreaming, and wishing, we were finally back in Belize. No question about it. We are moving here as soon as we can afford a place on Caye Caulker. We love this place!!! First off, we went down to Diamonds International to pick up Louis’ charm bracelet. I think they actually opened a second store in the tourism center this year because I didn’t remember it from the previous year. Next we went to find Coral Breeze. Just like last year we met our representative below the Wet Lizard. Her name was Henni and she is the normal guide for the Stingray and Snorkel tour non Caye Caulker. I was disappointed that Ivar would not be our guide again this year(he was doing cave tubing this day) but Henni was great. It turns out she was born, raised, and to this day lives on Caye Caulker. I’m so jealous.

Louis and I knocked around the tourism village for a little over an hour and picked up essential supplies at the drug store. We stocked up on antibiotics(penicillin) since it does not require a prescription and it’s dirt cheap (100 pills for $15.00US) We also wandered through the shops and found a few things we wanted, but didn’t buy anything yet, so we wouldn’t have to carry it with us all day.

 

Finally we headed back to the Coral Breeze boat and boarded the little 10-passenger skiff. By this time it was starting to rain lightly in the harbor. Nor pouring, but light rain with dark clouds. I was starting to get concerned, but I didn’t let it bring me down. We headed off, out of the harbor, and into the open water, passing small islands of mangroves, until after about forty-five minutes we arrived at Caye Caulker. As soon as we passed Caye Chapel(the last Caye before Caye Caulker) the clouds parted and the sun shone down, revealing the bright blue sky. Only then were we able to see the rich aqua color of the water that we were so familiar with. It felt like home. It was beautiful.

 

Within minutes we were pulling up to the dock at the Paradise Hotel on Caye Caulker. Overall it looked just the same as last year. A few of the other docks in the area had been repaired since we were here last which was nice. Our driver, Mark, hopped out of the boat, turned in our lunch orders, and came back with ‘bait’ for the stingrays for later that afternoon. Once we were all back aboard, Henni passed out the snorkel gear, and we proceeded out to the coral gardens located about a mile directly out from the pier. Louis and I smiled the whole way out there. We knew what to expect. As soon as we arrived, Louis was the first one in the water even before the boat had dropped anchor. I quickly followed and jumped right in. The water was crystal clear and probably about 80 degrees. Nothing had changed thank goodness. Just as beautiful as the year before. Henni said we could swim around for a few minutes while she and the others got ready so we took full advantage and did exactly that. The tour itself was the exact same as last year which is what we wanted. That’s why we booked it again. The gardens are so beautiful. Thousands of fish of every color imaginable. Corals the size of cars which must have taken hundreds of years to reach that size. At one point Mark, our driver who was diving with us, pointed out a huge, green, moray eel in the corals. Fearlessly(and stupidly) I dove down to get a better look and take a picture. Obviously the eel didn’t appreciate my curiosity and lunged at me. Mark laughed, saying that in all the years he has done this, he has never seen an eel chase a diver. Guess I was just “lucky”. While snorkeling we saw a rare black and white Bahamian Grouper where are all but extinct in Belize. We also saw a lobster, and several colorful parrotfish.

After finishing up at the coral gardens, we got back in the boat and headed about 200 yards to the north and anchored in a grassy area about four feet deep. Within seconds we were surrounded by huge Caribbean blue sting rays and nurse sharks. Henni said that they come to the sound of the boat motors because they know that means food. As usual, Louis and I were again the first people in the water. The rays were huge. I think bigger than last year. There must have been thirty or so of them in the water all anxiously bumping into us wanting to be fed. They’re just like huge puppies and definitely aren’t shy about bumping into you to ask for a piece of food. I swam around for a few minutes before I saw the shark. Directly below the boat was the most enormous nurse shark I had ever seen in my life. This guy must have been six or seven feet long and as big around as a car tire. So… of course I swam down to him and petted him. Unlike all the other nurse sharks I have touched, this guy was very rough, like sandpaper. He was also a darker shade of brown than most. I hand few him a few pieces of squid before he started to swim off. I grabbed a hold of his fin and he actually pulled me for a while before I realized I was getting too far away from the boar and I let go. He didn’t seem to mind that I was catching a ride and just went on about his normal business. If he’s that big, he’s been coming here to be fed for a long time so he knows people are friendly. I filmed some great video of this. After about twenty minutes of playing with the rays and sharks, Henni blew her whistle, letting us all know that it was time to get back in the boat. Sadly, Louis and I swam to the boat and boarded knowing it would be a whole year before we got the chance to do this again.

Within a minute, we were back on Caye Caulker and walking up to the restaurant at the Paradise Motel. I ordered my favorite, Belizean Chicken and rice. Louis had a burrito. This year we ate as fast as we could so we would have more time to spend on the island. This was the first time we have ever had to actually explore the island itself. Last year we didn’t have the time. We briskly walked down front street exploring the shops. Note: There are only three streets on Caye Caulker: Front Street, Back Street, and Middle Street. Cant really get lost here. Louis bought a hand carved black manatee figure for about $20 BZ($10 US). And before we knew it was time to get back to the boat. I would have really liked to have gone to the split, but there wasn’t enough time. Next year we’ll get a cab(aka golf cart) to take us there. After getting the chance to look around, we know we definitely want to spend much more time here next year. We’re thinking about foregoing the cruise and just doing a week here instead. This place is primitive as can be. Sand streets, old run down(but with charm) buildings. All the houses and buildings are weathered pastel colors. It’s really quite beautiful. There are no cars here, only the occasional golf cart for transportation. We’re definitely coming back to do a week or two next year.

The trip back to Belize was bumpy and seemed to take forever. The three o-clock sun was really beating down on my face and by this time I was glad to be getting back to Belize City and find some shade or at least some sunscreen. Once back in the village, we went to buy all the things that we had seen before, but didn’t want to lug around all day. Now we were ready to buy. First and foremost on the shopping list were massive quantities of Marie Sharp’s Hot Sauce. I had purchased a 2 ounce bottle last year and have kicked myself every day since for not buying more last time. This year, I was prepared. Not only did I but multiple bottles, but I bought the large ten ounce bottles in numerous flavors. This should last me until next year. Oh who am I kidding? It’ll be all gone within a few months. This stuff is fantastic! Next on the shopping list was a hammock for Louis. He opted for a hammock chair rather than a full sized hammock concluding that we could hang the chair inside all year long. Other things on the list were a neat manatee shot glass, a Belkin Beer glass, and a handful of postcards.

It was now 4:15pm ship time and the last tender was at 4:30pm so we decided we had better hurry up and get aboard before we got left in Belize. Hmmmm… maybe we should have shopped some more. Getting left in Belize might be fun. By 4:30pm we were boarding the ship from our tender. Our stop over in Belize was complete. It was a great day!!!

The remainder of the day was rather anti-climatic. We both had gotten pretty sunburned and called it a day pretty soon after dinner. The girls were feeling much the same. They were also tired. They had been cave tubing all day. After dinner we went back to the room and went to bed where I sit writing this. Louis had been asleep here in the bed beside me for over an hour.

Here's some photos:

This is where you'll have lunch

You get to swim with these guys

The Coral Gardens

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If you haven't decided what to do in Belize yet, this is the only real choice! Google "Coral Breeze" and look for the Shary Ray Alley. It's somthing you'll remember all your life.

 

If you wanna see our pics from last years Western Iteniary interested, click here(many of the same ports).

 

And if you're really bored and want to read my diary from the week we were on the cruise, you can click here.

 

All the best,

 

Doug & Louis

[Hartleydawg]

Hey Doug & Louis,

 

Thanks for the information. I enjoyed reading your post. Sounds like a beautiful place. I will discuss it with my partner and see what he thinks. We are hoping to snorkel on day. I take it you guys believe that Belize has the best snorkeling on the Western Car itenary? Did you book through the ship or an independent excursion?

 

FH

[ncboys]

Yeah.... we're both Belizaholics. We're actually talking about buying propoerty down there for when we retire. We've snorkeled in Key West... Horrible(all the coral is dead), Cozumel(good), Cayman(snorkeled the Wreck of the Gamma - very good), Costa Maya(excellent), and Belize(breathtaking). But Belize has to be the best.

 

The Caye Caulker trip is via an independent tour company (Coral Breeze). They've got a good reputation. I would (and will) book with them again. 100% completely trustworthy. Here's a link to their site if you're interested. They also do Cave Tubing, and other tours if you're interested.

 

http://www.coralbreezetours.com/Belize/Caye/Caulker/cruise/snorkeling/current_category.15/Product.2/tours_add.html?t_product=2

 

 

Unfortunately, with Hurricane Dean, I don't know the status of the Glory's Western Iteniary anymore. From what i've been told by Carnival, next week(only) the Glory is swapping Progresso for Costa Maya, and Key West for Belize. So far thats only next week's schedule only. They haven't released anything past that date. Belize is supposedly ok, so I don't understand why they are cancelling that port. Costa Maya on the other hand..... well it's hard to go to a place that doesn't exist any more, so I completely understand rescheduling that one, but i'm bummed about Belize. We're gonna talk about it tonight, but I think we're gonna cancel if the do indeed cancel the Belize stop. That is the whole reason we're going this time. We'll probally just wait and reschedule our cruise for a time when we know Belize is back on the schedule. We'll see.

 

Doug

[Hartleydawg]

Hey guys,

 

Sorry to hear about your delima. Thanks for the link. I will check it out and pass it along to my partner for his thoughts/comments. I get the idea that Belize will be added back to itenaries after the next sailing of the Glory. I guess part of that will depend on what happens during the rest of hurricane season. I hope you get to go to Belize.

 

FH