As we approached Roatan, we went through a very bad storm - sheets of pouring rain, lightning, wind, rough waves.  We expected our port stop to literally be a total washout.  The weather cleared a bit, the rain stopped, and we arrived on time.  The water was a muddy brown all around the island.  

We had booked a Zip and Dip Tour with South Shore Canopy Tours that included zip lining and beach time/snorkeling time at the West End beach.  By booking online in advance, the cost was $55/person.  I believe a simple zip line tour through the ship's shore excursions was about $75/person.  We left the ship and easily found the tour company.  There were 12 of us in a nice size van.  We were driven to South Shore Canopy zip line (I think it was about a 20 minute drive).  They had received 6" of rain (I believe in the storm we sailed through).  There was a lot of standing water in yards and underneath houses built on stilts.  The roads were in decent shape (we've been on rougher roads in the Caribbean).

We had four guides that outfitted us all with harnesses, clips, helmets, and sturdy garden-like gloves.  We had a brief lesson about how to zip line, and then we were off.  There were 13 segments - some longer or steeper than others.  The facility is built on a couple hills above a valley, so we zip lined our way down the valley.  The jungle was very lush and green.  Zip Lining is a blast.  Our guides were a lot of fun.  They took our cameras and took pictures of us coming and going.  I'm not sure how they kept the cameras straight, but we only have pictures of us so they did a great job.  At the end, we piled into a heavy duty off road-capable truck to drive up the steep hill back to our starting point.  

Normally we would have continued on to the beach, but ALL water activities were cancelled that day for everyone.  I had heard a lot about the beautiful water and the great snorkeling in Roatan, so was disappointed.  Hopefully we'll be able to return - on a better day.

At the Town Center port area, there were a few shops.  We browsed a bit, bought a couple shot glass souvenirs (to add to our collection), and then just headed back to the ship.  There is a town, Coxen Hole, but I think it's fairly small with limited attractions.  We're not really shoppers, so didn't have any need to venture further into town.

Overall, we enjoyed the stop - the zip lining was great.  Most Roatan activities seem to be water-related.  We love the water - swimming, snorkeling, scuba, kayaking, sailing, etc.  I would like to go back.

Roatan

As soon as we booked this cruise, I checked out the shore excursion options.  I was very excited to see a Tulum excursion.  I think Mayans and Mayan ruins are fascinating, but have never seen them.  Although Tulum is not the most spectacular Mayan site, it is accessible and may be my only chance to see Mayan ruins (would love to see Chitzen Itza someday).  It's a long way to Tulum involving a ferry ride and a bus ride, so we didn't want to try to arrange it on our own.  If we were delayed, we wanted to be booked on a ship shore excursion.  The tour was about 8 hours long.  We opted for the Tulum and Beach Break.  This tour was about 1.5 hours longer than the Tulum ruins alone, but we had a beach stop and buffet lunch.  The additional cost was only $10.

We boarded the ferry to the mainland right next to the cruise ship dock.  The ferry ride was about 40 minutes, I think.  I'd read that the ride could be quite rough, but it was fine.  Upon arriving at Playa del Carmen on the mainland, we found our way to the tour guide for our tour.  Our tour guide, Alejandro, led us to our tour bus a few blocks away.  The bus was a nice, modern, air conditioned motor coach, so we were very comfortable.  It's about 40 miles to Tulum.  The highway was modern and well marked.  Alejandro told us about the history of the area and the Mayans during the bus ride.  At the ruins, the parking area is about 1/2 mile from the ruins.  There is a pleasant shaded walk to the ruins or a shuttle trolley that costs $2/person round trip.  Alejandro wanted us all to stay together, so we all rode the shuttle.  We were all outfitted with headphones that picked up Alejandro's words.  It worked very well.  It felt like he was standing right next to me talking quietly.  He led us through the area of the ruins.  It was very interesting.  There are pathways, but you are not allowed to climb on any ruins.  We had about 30 minutes to wander on our own after Alejandro's guided tour.  The setting is beautiful on a bluff overlooking the sea.  There is a very nice beach area, also, open to the public.  After returning to the bus, we drove further south to the beach part of our day.  The buffet lunch was served in an open air restaurant that may have been part of the hotel/condos next door.  The entire area consisted of low rise resorts/hotels/restaurants strung along the road.  All were fairly small establishments.  Our lunch of Mexican foods was very good.  We had enough time for a quick swim in the ocean.  The drive back to the ferry was efficient.  There was a special ferry to take Millennium passengers back to our ship.  The ferry was larger than the morning ferry.  There was a top deck and an open area.  It was a perfect day to sit out on top and watch the sunset.  We arrived back at our ship about 6:30 p.m. - in time for the scheduled 6:45 p.m. departure.

I loved seeing the ruins at Tulum.  I would highly recommend it if you're interested in Mayan culture.  There are so many great options in Cozumel and the Playa del Carmen area.  I'm sure we could find many days worth of shore excursions to enjoy.  I hope to return soon.

I would have given a 5+ rating, but I wished we had more time.  This is obviously not a reflection on the tour, because we used just about every minute we were in port.

Nice cabin. Aft location - very little traffic down our hall.  Quiet.  Room was nice.  Balcony was nice with an unobstructed view.

It was a great location - easy to go a couple flights up to the Ocean Cafe, the pool, or the Cosmos lounge or a few flights down to the dining room, the theater, and other lounges.It was rated well in Trip Advisor and the price was great for a clean, comfortable hotel in a great location with nice amenities (complimentary beach chairs, pool, roof top lounge).

Celebrity Millennium Review

Enjoyable Second Cruise

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Concierge Class 3

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