SNAPPED FROM OUR BALCONY

I must have a balcony cabin when I cruise. These photos will tell you why. Each one was taken from the balcony of our cabin and show why a balcony is a must-have for me when cruising. I probably could have taken the same photo from one of the outside decks of the ships, but the intimacy of being on your own balcony makes it more special to me.

Belize: Our cruise ship was tendered off the coast of Belize City. I snapped this photo of the amazing turquoise water...it really is this color.

Honduras: We had already docked in Roatan; in the early morning sunrise from our balcony, we watched Carnival Glory turn 180 degrees and back into its place in front of our cruise ship.

Bahamas: As we sailed out of Nassau harbor, from our balcony we passed the lighthouse that greets visitors to Paradise Island with Atlantis in the distance.

Virgin Islands: On our last cruise we visited Charlotte Amalie for the first time. This was the view from our balcony.

St. Lucia: We also visited here last Spring for the first time. This view of the Castries Bay was captured from our balcony.

Puerto Rico: Leaving San Juan Harbor we sailed past Castillo San Felipe del Morro which we had actually toured earlier in the day. Standing on our balcony we were given a perfect view of the entire fortress and the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

Barbados: Prior to departing Bridgetown we watched the Jewel of the Seas sail off to its next port. We can't wait until we are in our balcony cabin on that ship in just a few weeks!

Thank you for visiting.

A Great Europe Trip Planner

All photos were taken by me. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

NEXT PORT: PIRATES, BIRDS AND MONKEYS

Sunrise the next day brought us to Isla Roatan which is an island about 80 miles off the mainland of Honduras.

At this port the ship would be docked...what you can't tell from the photo below is that the ship is coming into port...backwards!  How would you like to steer a 963-foot ship in reverse!

As in the previous ports the Carnival Glory would be joining us.  In this series of photos you can see how the Glory turned 180 degrees in order to reverse into the dock in front of us.

Our excursion on Isla Roatan was "Pirates, Birds and Monkeys of the Caribbean".  We traveled by bus to Gumbalimba Nature Park.  This was the only time we went past the main tourist area and saw where the locals lived.  Such poverty!  The average person living on this island makes $3,000 a year.  Their livelihoods depend entirely on the cruise ship tourist trade.  Our young tour guide was very knowledgeable about her island...

For the "Pirates" portion of the tour we explored Coxen's Cave and learned about the infamous pirate, Captain John Coxen...

Saw examples of his stolen treasures...

And saw an actual barnacle-covered cannon from his ship...

For the "Birds" portion of the tour we saw beautiful macaws just sitting freely in the trees...

But the fun was having one sitting on your shoulder...

For the "Monkeys" portion of the tour we saw where the Capuchin monkeys are free to roam...

Such a cute face!

But the personal encounters were so cool!

Gumbalimba Park is a beautiful botanical park with waterfalls...

Over 200 types of tropical plants...

Beautiful tropical flowers...

And the only home to the rare Black Iguana...

We really enjoyed our day at Mahogany Bay on Isla Roatan...

But when the ships sail away, it becomes a ghost town...

Gumbalimba Park is named after one of the native tree species in Honduras, the Gumbalimba Tree. This tree has a bright red, peeling, smooth bark and dark green leaves. For more information about Gumbalimba Park, visit http://www.gumbalimbapark.com/.

We only had a few hours on Isla Roatan, but we really enjoyed our visit to Gumbalimba Park. Our next port is Grand Cayman Island. Stay tuned for our snorkeling adventures with the stingrays.