Back from Miracle 11/07 - 11/14

[David Singleton]

Just a little strange Parrothead as not only does btyko have this very same room this week, my wife and I will be enjoying that room for our honeymoon cruise next week. It will be my first and her second (also Carnival) cruise.

As I will be getting married Saturday and flying from Nashville on Sunday, I will miss your Belize review. Just two questions: did you enjoy your cave tubing trip and did you use Marvin's Wet 'n Wild (we've already booked this excursion)?

I very much appreciate the pictures of our cabin! :) They were fantastic.

Oh, I think the ABC network is from Nashville. That will be nice for us to keep in touch with what's going on back home.

Thanks,
David

[ParrotHeadFL]

I was well into my Belize report when my computer crashed and my work was lost, so I had to start that segment of the report over again. That's why the delay. I can probably finish it this evening.

[ParrotHeadFL]

The last stop was Belize, which is further south than I had ever been in my life (it's south of Mexico and east of Guatemala). I realized, in looking at my report for Cozumel, that I made a mistake. I wrote, "This time, Carnival didn't bother giving out numbers for groups boarding the tenders. They just first took care of passengers who had booked excursions through the ship, then let the rest of us go. It wasn't a very long wait, as I recall." Well, obviously I wasn't talking about Cozumel because in the sentence right before that I had said that Cozumel has a dock and doesn't use tenders. I was in a bit of a fog when I wrote that! I was mixing up Cozumel and Belize.

So Belize requires tenders, and this time the ship parked a fairly long way from the mainland (as compared to Grand Cayman). The ride was somewhere around 15 minutes. I saw three tenders running at the time we got off the ship, but maybe there were others I didn't see. They were relatively big boats, with two decks for holding passengers. With that kind of distance between the ship and the mainland, you want to make as few trips as possible.

We got off the tender, and started looking for the folks running our excursion. We had booked a cave-tubing trip with X-Stream through Island Marketing ([url]www.belizecruiseexcursions.com[/url]). In our confirmation e-mail we had received from them, they gave us directions on how to find them (they're just a few steps from where the tenders drop you off) and even told us what they'd be wearing. It turns out that they spotted us before we spotted them, though. A guy approached us and asked if we were looking for X-Stream, and led us over to the meeting place.

The rest of our group--around 5 people, I think--was already there. So that put our total group size at around 7, plus our guide. Not too bad. The guy who had met us wasn't actually our guide; our guide hadn't arrived yet. So this guy collected our remaining balances (Island Marketing doesn't let you pay your full balance online in advance, which is kind of a pain) and gave us an overview as to what we could expect. Our guide then arrived, and we followed him out to his van.

The van was kind of beat up, but considering the environment this isn't surprising. The important thing is that the seatbelts worked (use them!) and the air conditioner worked. We all loaded up, and there was plenty of room for us and our gear. Everyone in the group was wearing flip flops or sandals, but my wife and I had brought old sneakers to change into. We had read here, and the confirmation e-mail from X-Stream advised us, that we should bring some old shoes that we could wear for the 45-minute hike and then throw away. Several people had also brought changes of clothes, although I hadn't because the shorts I swim in dry pretty fast.

So we hit the road, and started meandering through the crowded streets of Belize City. Boy, am I glad I wasn't driving! The roads are narrow, and packed with cars and people. Our guide talked to us about the country, and encouraged us to ask questions if we had any. We had been surprised to read in our Capers that English is the official languagae of Belize; I had assumed it would be Spanish, considering the country's location south of Mexico and east of Guatemala. Most of the residents in Belize City were black, and spoke English with an "island" accent. Our guide explained that Belize had been under British rule until the 1980s. We also noticed quite a few signs using Chinese Kanji characters, and lots of Chinese names and restaurants serving Chinese food. But the further inland we went, the mose Hispanic-looking people we saw and the more Spanish was spoken.

On the way out of town, we had to make a quick stop. It seems that our guides wife had locked herself out of the house, and need him to give her his key to get back in. Kind of funny! After that, we made it to the open highway and drove for quite some time. A few people in the van fell asleep, but I was more interested in seeing the Belizean countryside. We passed an interesting billboard reminding folks to drive safely. At the top of it, they had attached a truck that had been in a horrible accident on that stretch of highway. The billboard mentioned how many people had died in that accident. It looked pretty bad.

On the way, we passed a big bus full of people. Our guide told us that the bus was the ship's tour, and it made us glad that we had booked our excursion ourselves. Our small group was much more intimate, and allowed a lot more interaction with the guide. We also passed a police "checkpoint" where the police didn't seem to be checking much of anything--just waving people through. I'm not sure what the point was.

[ParrotHeadFL]

After driving for quite some time, we turned off onto an unpaved road for the final leg of our journey. I live in a rural area, and we have lots of unpaved roads here. But our unpaved roads are dirt and are graded to be smoth, but this road was nothing like that! It was "paved" with small rocks, and let me tell you this made for a ROUGH ride. It's a wonder vehicles don't just shake apart on the way down the road! Which reminds me... The "Service Engine Soon" light stayed lit on our van's dashboard the whole length of the trip. But it didn't seem to bother our driver, so I didn't stress too much about it. I had a vague fear that we would break down in the middle of nowhere and not make it back to the ship in time, but I was somewhat comforted by the fact that everyone else in the group was from the Miracle, too (she was apparently the only ship in Belize that day). At least we would all be in the same boat, so to speak!

After a fair amount of time on the rocky road, we finally reached our destination. On the way, we crossed a virtual river where the road was washed out; heavy rains had caused a decent torrent across the entire road. The van was able to plow through it with no problems, thankfully. We parked, and we all got out for a stretch. We were next to a small outdoor restaurant that we were told would be our source for lunch. We needed to place our orders prior to going down the river so that the food would be ready when we got back. Only three of us ordered meals, which surprised me. I had heard good things about the food here, and was anxious to try it! If we made good time, we'd eat at the restaurant. If time was short, we'd take it on the road with us. I got a kick out of watching the cook out back. He was cooking meat out on a grill, using a machete to handle it!

We were issued tubes and life jackets by our guide, and given packs of water to take on the trail. We started walking, with our guide periodically stopping to point out various plants and trees. As we approached the first cave on the trail, we were given lights on headbands to put on. The walk was interesting, and mildly strenuous. My wife and I were definitely glad we had brought our sneakers, and the folks with us in flip flops and sandals were slipping fairly regularly. At the start of the walk, you cross the river. There's a rope you hold on to in order to help get you across. There was a fair current, although the water wasn't overly deep.

Finally, it was time to put in the river. This required a little bit of dexterity, as you had to hold on to a rope and back down a small ledge to drop into your tube. The water was a bit chilly, but not as cold as the spring water in the Ichetucknee River where we go tubing here in north Florida. Just a short distance from where we put in was the first cave system. We went in, and towards the center of it turned out all of our lights (so you claustrophobic folks may want to think twice about this excursion). I thought I had read that you weren't really in total darkness in these caves--that you could always see daylight from one end or the other. But I couldn't see a thing when we had our lights out! Unfortunately, we had a very hard time understanding our guide's instructions and information due to the echoes of the caves.

The trip down the river was enjoyable, but more work than tubing down the Ichetucknee. Much of our time was spent going backwards, because it's easiest to paddle this way. We spent a fair amount of time paddling versus just floating, but I suppose this speed was necessary if we were to make it back to the ship on time. There are a few "waterfalls" you go down, in which the current picks up a bit. We're not talking anything too intense, though, and again the water wasn't very deep in most places. However, you need to be in fair shape to be able to steer your tube in a few spots or you'll end up somewhere you don't want to be. And I can't stress enough how important it is to keep your butt up and avoid scraping along the rocks in the very shallow areas. The rocks are smooth, but you can still hurt yourself if you bump them hard. My wife somehow managed to cut her hand at one point as we went down a fall.

I don't want to create the impression that this excursion is unsafe, because I don't think that's the case. But you do need to be in decent physical shape (although it's not necessary to be an athlete), and you need to be aware of the risks. You do spend 45 minutes trekking through the jungle, and there are a few things to watch out for there. Spiders, for example; they have some nasty breeds down there. I'm not sure where the nearest hospital to the river might be, but I can't imagine it's anywhere close. When I got my tube, I was fortunate to see a spider in it before it could get on me. I knocked it off and let it go its merry way.

Once we made it to the end of our stretch of river, we headed back to the van. Some folks headed to the restrooms to change clothes, but not me. A quick note on the bathrooms there... They're actually decent. The facility looked new. I didn't go in, so I'm basing this on what my wife said. She mentioned that oddly enough, there was a tip jar in the restroom. There was no attendant, so we're not sure who you were supposed to be tipping. Needless to say, she didn't leave one!

So, I mentioned earlier having worn some old sneakers to throw away after the trip down the river. I took them off and tossed them in the trash, without even thinking. Well, a couple of minutes later I see several locals with my shoes! They had fished them out of the trash, and were passing them around to see whose feet they would fit. So my recommendation to any of you who are planning on wearing old disposable shoes is to not throw them in the trash after you get done. Sit them by the trash can so anyone who might be interested can take them. Also, note that if you're interested you can buy water shoes right there at the restaurant. What's more, you can sell your used shoes to them for a couple of bucks when you're done.

We were short on time, so unfortunately we couldn't dine in the restaurant (I'll have pictures posted soon). We were given our meals in styrofoam containers to eat on the road. We all loaded up in the van, and hit the road back to Belize. Remember, though, that you've got a few miles to spend on Rocky Road before reaching the highway--so don't count on being able to eat right away. Once we were finally back on a smooth surface, it was time to break out the munchies! Lunch was BBQ chicken, rice & beans, slaw, garlic bread, a bit of plantain, and a big muffin. All was quite tasty (I didn't eat the slaw, though; I don't like slaw). There was also some sort of delicious fruity drink--mango something or other, I believe.

After a while, we were back in Belize City. The guy who had met us when we had first got off the ship met us again, and a cooler of fresh fruit came out. I can't recall what all there was, but it was quite a variety. Pinapple, I know for sure. I didn't eat anything myself, having just had a delicious and filling lunch. We all hung out and ate for a bit, then it was time to head back to the ship.

That's it for Belize. Next and last installment (which should be much shorter): Disembarkation and final thoughts.

[AlwaysReady2Go]

Thank you Parrothead - you have been very kind! Can you Belize your computer crashed at such a bad time! Ughhh - keep in mind your many fans are grateful for your hardwork - LOL

[robcool]

Thanks for starting to scan the Capers! I have been itching to get a copy!

[ParrotHeadFL]

[quote name='David Singleton']...my wife and I will be enjoying that room for our honeymoon cruise next week. It will be my first and her second (also Carnival) cruise.[/QUOTE]

I think you guys will love it. The pictures actually make it look a little bigger than it really is, but once you settle in you'll find it plenty spacious--and certainly much more spacious than nearly all of the other staterooms. And that balcony... Well, it really IS as big as it looks in the pictures!

[ParrotHeadFL]

I've finished posting all of my pictures. They're here:

[url]http://community.webshots.com/album/217758231qefkKY[/url]
[url]http://community.webshots.com/album/222135256YZxBCM[/url]

[Katlan]

Parrot ...

I've gotta tell ya ... your pictures are great - very cute couple!

And your review is wonderful !!! I am getting soooo excited - I can barely concentrate on the Holiday's :eek: .

I was wondering if you could give me some info on your Dolphin Swim in Cozumel? :confused: Like ... Did you book thru Carnival? If not, then who did you book thru? did you only do the Dolphin? or the Sea Lion too? We had planned to just got to Paradise Beach only, but after seeing your pictures and re-reading your review, I think it's something that DH & I will be interested in. Do you mind me asking how much? And there were pictures and/or video? how much were those? < sorry so many questions! >:o

I really appreciate all the time you have taken to write this review, post your pictures and scan the Capers. Thanks!

[serene56]

I didnt know Carnival offered a swim with dolphins. You could check out [url]www.cozumelinsider.com[/url] and checkout the Royal Swim. If thats full then try [url]http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/cozumel.asp-[/url] Be careful on what you book as there are swims and there are encounters. I have read lots of people be disappointed because they booked the encounter. Where you are only in the water but not really swimming. The web page will give you the stuff that each includes.
I see you are leaving soon- if this is something you want to do please check it out as soon as possible as this excursion sells out quickly.

[serene56]

Parrot: How many ships were in port with you in Cozumel? From reading that site I am seeing 8 ships in port on our day. WOWSERS>

I sent your pics to the people in my party--chaanabaab (?) looks awesome.

[ParrotHeadFL]

[quote name='Katlan']very cute couple![/QUOTE]

Aw, shucks!

:o

[QUOTE]I was wondering if you could give me some info on your Dolphin Swim in Cozumel? :confused: Like ... Did you book thru Carnival? If not, then who did you book thru? did you only do the Dolphin? or the Sea Lion too? We had planned to just got to Paradise Beach only, but after seeing your pictures and re-reading your review, I think it's something that DH & I will be interested in. Do you mind me asking how much? And there were pictures and/or video? how much were those?[/QUOTE]

We booked directly with Dolphin Discovery through their Web site. As others have said, you save a lot of money booking your own excursions and not going through the cruise line. I was a little nervous about this in the beginning, since it was my first cruise. But the more I read here, the more comfortable I got. And everything worked out just great.

We only did the dolphin swim, not the one with the sea lions. We did the Royal Swim, which was $125 per person (plus $12 per person to get into Chankanaab park, plus a taxi). Definitely worth the money, if you're interested in having the maximum amount of interaction with the dolphins. As has been mentioned, some people end up booking "encounters" that don't provide much interaction, and they come away disappointed. If you book the Royal Swim, you won't be disappointed!

We took our own pictures, and Dolphin Discovery also took pictures and made a video. Going into it, we had no plans of buying any of their stuff. But when we saw how good their pictures and video turned out, we bought them (not all of the pictures, but several). And we've not regretted it, because our own pictures didn't turn out as good as theirs.

We bought two big pictures for $24 each, two smaller ones for $5 each, and the video for $49.


John

[ParrotHeadFL]

[quote name='serene56']How many ships were in port with you in Cozumel?[/QUOTE]

You know, I'm not sure. There were several at dock with us, but as I recall there was another dock with more ships down the coast from us. I'd bet that on any given day, there are quite a few ships at port. But as I said in my review, Chankanaab didn't feel overly crowded to me. And if you walked down to the far end of the park, there was a stretch of beach that was completely deserted and offered just about all the privacy one could want.

[k9hndler]

You and your misses are a handsome couple. Thankyou for the pics and reviews. Top Notch!

[Katlan]

[quote name='ParrotHeadFL'] ... Dolphin Discovery also took pictures and made a video. Going into it, we had no plans of buying any of their stuff. But when we saw how good their pictures and video turned out, we bought them (not all of the pictures, but several). [/QUOTE]
Do they take credit cards or did you just bring extra $$ just incase? I'll go into it thinking I probably WILL buy their stuff (shhhh! don't tell DH that :rolleyes: ), but don't want to haul all that cash along. BUT, you did say that with the Royal swim you get a free locker - right? And I could use the travelers checks - hmmm...

Thanks for all your answers! You've made a lot of Miracle cruisers VERY thankful :o

[DoubleDee2]

If you go to Nick and Nora's on a non-formal night, do you need to be formal?

[ParrotHeadFL]

[quote name='Katlan']Do they take credit cards or did you just bring extra $$ just incase?[/QUOTE]

They accept major credit cards at the gift shop, which is where you buy the pictures and video. The prices are in dollars, but your receipt will be in pesos--so don't freak when they give it to you to sign.

[QUOTE]BUT, you did say that with the Royal swim you get a free locker - right?[/QUOTE]

Yep. Quite convenient.

We really weren't sure, this being our first cruise, how much cash we would need. We found that we didn't need as much as we had brought (although I'd rather have too much than too little). Most places accepted credit cards. The biggest expense requiring cash was paying the balance on our two excursions from Island Marketing (cave tubing in Belize and stingrays/snorkeling in Grand Cayman). I had made up envelopes for each port of call, and put exact change in them to pay for the expenses I knew I'd have (like the $12 per person fee to get into Chankanaab). On shore, my wife and I would each carry maybe $40-$60 for spending money. We rarely needed it, though.

[ParrotHeadFL]

[quote name='DoubleDee2']If you go to Nick and Nora's on a non-formal night, do you need to be formal?[/QUOTE]

Nick and Nora's actually doesn't require you to be very formal. Jackets are required for men, but they don't have to wear a full suit. I opted to, though, and didn't feel overdressed.

The dress at Nick and Nora's is the same regardless of whether or not it's a formal night in Baachus.

[nmarsh]

Parrothead: Thanks for your great review and for the Capers, I think I love you.

[MIKE01772roland]

Going on Miracle next Saturday so really enjoyed your photo's.

Two questions: What camera was you using and also didnt see anybody weraing DJ's on any of your pictures.

Thanks

Mike

[serene56]

Mike- what are DJ's?

[MIKE01772roland]

Hi

DJ's are Dinner Jackets.

[GoinCruisin]

Is there a difference between a dinner jacket and a suit jacket? :confused: Only saw pics of Parrot and DW, and he seemed to have several pics in a suit... So now I'm confused as to what a DJ is?

Great pics and great review! I knew you would have a great time!!! So glad you did! Thank you for sharing your review! I'm getting excited about cruising on her in February!!!!!

[serene56]

hmmm I canhonestly say I never saw a dinner jacket referred to as a DJ. See, I been posting here forever and i learned something new all the time.

Going Cruising-- there is a difference between a jacket that belongs to a suit and a jacket that can go with anything--yes even jeans.

[GoinCruisin]

LOL, I guess I have just never heard the term dinner jacket... I learn something new everyday! I know what a sport coat is, a suit jacket, etc... but I was just wondering if a DJ was something different...