Day 9 – Roatán, Honduras

Mahogany Bay on Roatán, Honduras was a lovely stop.  The bad news about Honduras is that it has the highest homicide rate in the world.  The good news is that Mahogany Bay is effectively a purpose-built cruise stop enclave on what is an island off the Honduran mainland.  Yes, it’s fairly sanitised and artificial, but there are times when that suits quite well.  There is room for two cruise ships to dock and space elsewhere for others.

There’s no free wifi but high speed Internet is offered for $5 an hour or $10 per day.  Compared to cruise ship rates, that’s very good value.  You leave the ship and have to go on to land via a rather nice shop and then you arrive in a paved area full of touristy shops which all seem to sell a variation on the same theme.

There are bars selling 355ml cans of (rather light, weak) beer for $4.75 and there’s food if you want it.  The ship was selling a chairlift ride between the shops and the beach for $10 whereas the price on shore is $14.  Exchange your ship’s tour ticket for a wristband and your $10 lasts all day.  There were queues at times and they do tend to stop the chairlift when people get on and off, so it is slow.  You don’t need it – you can easily walk between the two places.

The beach was lovely but very crowded.  With two ships in port, it was busy but the water was truly lovely – like a slightly cooler than usual bath and there was no ‘Oooh’ moment as you slipped into the water.

Elizabeth had a swim while I minded her things (lockers are available) and then we had a beer each.  After a full morning (we didn’t dock until 10am) we then went back to the ship for lunch.  After that we returned.  This time Graeme had a swim while Elizabeth minded his stuff.

The day did however start where yesterday had finished.  We ordered breakfast in our room and at least three things we had ordered didn’t arrive with the rest of our order.  They soon put that right but it was the first time we can remember that happening on any cruise line.

The evening was a repeat of the Love Boat deck party although it was much quieter than last week (different clientele this week).  We enjoyed watching the dancing and listening to the 70s music and, having seen a few bits of episodes of ‘The Love Boat’, felt a bit more informed.

The not so Xtreme Zipwire experience, according to one of the bar staff!

This must be serious if Graeme is swimming in the sea!