My husband and I decided to take this cruise for my Birthday, as well as our first anniversary. This was our 2nd cruise,  as we've only sailed with Carnival. We flew into Ft. Lauderdale on May 1st, stayed the night at a local Comfort Inn, and shuttled back to the airport on May 2nd to catch the Carnival connection. We were told that it would depart at 10:30 a.m.  The Carnival Representatives at the airport weren't very helpful with letting us know what was going on. We ended up boarding the bus at 1:00 p.m. and took the 35 minute ride to the port. Once we arrived, we saw a huge line that wasn't moving at all. We weren't allowed off the bus and we had a Carnival Rep come aboard to talk to us about what was going on. The ship that disembarked that morning had some passengers who had contracted the Norovirus, and they had to sanitize the ship and have it cleared with the Health Dept. before anyone could board. After waiting 45 minutes on the bus, they finally let us off to stand in line. One thing that upset me was that we weren't allowed off the bus, which meant we had to stand at the end of the line, even though we were technically there before most of the people. We were scheduled to set sail at 4:00 pm, but with the delay, we didn't sail until about 6:00 pm. Our room was very nice, very clean. The staff was extremely pleasant. Our Itinerary was originally suppose to be Ocho Rios Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. The whole reason we booked this particular cruise was because it was going to Cozumel. With the outbreak of H1N1, 3 days before the cruise, they re-routed us to Roatan Island, Honduras which we were happy with as we went to a beautiful beach there on our first cruise. Itinerary now went as follows: Sun- Day at SeaMon- Ocho Rios, JamaicaTues- Grand CaymanWed- Day at SeaThur- Roatan Island, HondurasFri- Day at SeaWednesday during our day at sea, My husband and I noticed that we were stopped in the middle of the ocean, and not really moving. A couple hours later, an announcement came across the intercom stating that due to a Civil Dispute in Roatan, we were being re-routed to Belize City, Belize. We've been there...not alot to do, not that great of a place.  I was upset at the fact that the only Beach day we booked was for Roatan, and by the time we went to book a beach day for Belize, they were already all sold out. Ocho Rios, JamaicaOnce we arrived, we were offered taxi rides left and right from people. We really wanted to go to Dunn's River Falls, but that's the only place we wanted to go...no other tours. We found someone who negotiated with us $20 per person which included a ride to and from the falls. We found another couple to join us. Our driver was 'Lambie' and she was fantastic. She stopped at a stand on the side of the road for us to purchase water shoes, dropped us off, and picked us up at the time we requested. It is cheaper to do Dunn's River on your own rather than with the Ship's excursion. I will say if you plan on going to Dunn's River Falls, Purchase a water camera. We left our digital camera in the locker, and regret it now as we didn't get any shots of us going up the falls. Sure, they have a couple guides that offer to hold your cameras for you and snap shots along the way, but just a heads up....They are carrying about 9 other camera that are banging together on their arms and they are hopping up the falls as well, so you are risking your camera being dropped in the water or damaged. Also, they do expect tips when all is done. Even our guide tracked us down in the locker line for a tip. As you exit the falls, make sure to put your 'blinders' on as there are tons of Shops that you have to go through to the parking lot. We seriously only had money for the Taxi, and yet people still pulled us into their shops 'just to have a look'. As a reminder, Nothing is free, no matter what they say. We had a gentleman who wanted to give my husband a wooden idol. He asked what my husband's name was and began to carve it into the idol. We told him we didn't have any money for it, but he kept telling us it was free. But then he started telling us how we had to have one for me too. We told him No, and gave back the idol with the name carved in it. It's almost like they do it to make you feel obligated to buy it. Margaritaville was a blast here!Grand CaymanWe explored the town on our own. We walked the streets, ate lunch at Pipino's Pizza (really good) and spent our Cinco de Mayo in Margaritaville and Senor Frogs.

Belize City, Belize

This day started out cloudy and the tender ride to the dock was very rough. Since we weren't able to book a beach excursion, we decided to go out on our own as we did on our previous trip to Belize. Lots of shops that sell the same things. We ventured out onto the streets and visited a coconut stand as we also did the prior year. The gentleman opened a coconut with a machete and pulled out a bottle of rum.  He asked us if we could do him a favor, pulled out $20, and asked us to go to the duty free liquor store and buy him Raspberry Vodka. He told us where to go and instructed us to put it in our backpack and hand it to him through the gate. We went on the mission, and after 2 stores, couldn't find what he needed. We returned to him with the money. He again asked us to go back and purchase any kind of alcohol that is fruity. We started back to the stores, but decided that this is not how we wanted to spend our vacation. We gave back his money and apologized. Later that day, once we were back on the docks with the other tourists and the duty free shops, we saw signs that stated 'It is highly illegal to purchase duty free items for the locals. Anyone caught doing so would be severely punished.' Read more