After a wonderful day we arrived back at the room with this awaiting towel animal. The room guys were doing a great job at keeping us entertained and keeping the room up too. They were really pretty good guys and not simply looking for a better tip.

We talked about the next day in Belize and decided that we weren't going to go ashore at all. We were just going to hang out on the ship. That meant Deb could sleep in, one of her favorite hobbies, and I could walk the stairs a couple of times. Not to mention spend half the day starting the first update of the website which by this time you've already read.

I was up at daybreak the next morning and after going down for breakfast - smoked salmon, tomato's, a bit of cream cheese and capers - I was up to take some pictures. To the lower left you can see the yellow quarantine flag flying from the port spreader and the Belize flag flying from the starboard spreader.

To the lower right you can see the shuttle boats coming to pick up passengers. We had to anchor a pretty good distance offshore after winding through the passage in the reef. This was as close as we could get given the depths of water in the area.

In this picture you can see one of the shuttle vessels heading over to the starboard side. In addition, you can see the deck hand raising up the round ball on the forward mast. This ball indicates the vessel is at anchor and is a day shape required of vessels anchored during the daytime. There is more to the rule but I'll bet this is the first time almost everyone has seen this signal.

Overall, Deb and I had a great day aboard the ship. Enjoyed the entire time. Mike and Cheryl along with Shane and Tracy went ashore to wonder around. Belize isn't the safest place and they were approached by a guy who seemed very friendly. He was telling them he would take them to his shop they were ready to follow - then the police stopped them and told them the guy didn't have a shop and escorted them to a place for lunch. The police waited around up the street until they came out and ensured they got back to the "beaten path" and in a safer area. Overall, it didn't sound like a place Deb and I would have wanted to be running around anyway. If we ever go back, that would be a good day to be on a tour of some kind by the ship.... then again, we hate to be herded like cattle so I guess we would just stay on the ship.

Wednesday evening we were met by another towel animal.

Next morning we were in Isla Roatan.

Essentially, this is a private area with shops and a beach developed either by or for Carnival.

Above you can see about half of the shopping. The guys were there playing their music so I tipped them, sat down and listened for a bit of time then went over and paid a buck to get our passports stamped by the Chamber of Commerce. Below you can see the map of the island and the sign stating were we are.

Another little point of navigation - in the sign to the lower right, you see the 16° 19' N. This is the latitude and based on the fact that 1 degree of latitude = 60 nautical miles you can figure out that we are 19 x 60 or 1140 miles ,plus 19 more - or 1159 miles from the equator.

I always get a kick out of the Harley shops. Sure enough there were Harley riders in buying their obligatory official Harley clothing. Nothing like paying Harley so you can advertise for them.

OK, don't email about an American icon and it's all about a lifestyle, and all the other reasons to have a Harley. I get it really - of course I ride a scooter that says "Hardley Davidson" on the back in gold lettering that I had made up. But still, I get it - well sort of, the antique Honda scooter is pretty darn quite comparatively.

I had met the ships safety officer, lower right, on Monday evening too. He told me they were doing life raft drills to certify some new crew members. He also told me they were doing this at Roatan so I was prepared to get some pictures.

Believe it or not, it isn't easy to get into a life raft and everyone had to get in then out of the life raft. At times it was pretty comical and the Safety Officer had the right attitude and people were laughing at times. Still, after the sinking of a Tall ship yesterday in Hurricane Sandy 10-29-12, and only being able to save 12 of 14 crew who were in a life raft, you can see how important training really is.

Above you can see the ship and the beach.

To the left is a picture of our room. We had two chairs, a small table, and spent many wonderful hours on that balcony. Well worth the additional expense!

Deb had been watching and laughing at people get their picture taken with the shark that lives on the land. So she had to get her picture taken too. And here they are below.

This was a dug out canoe that I saw and wanted to give you a picture of. It was about 12 feet long and I'm sure was used at one time.

Below you have two different shots that show the entire development. We spent about 3 hours on shore wondering around and then went back to the ship for a late lunch.

This was a wreck on the other side of the ship where we docked.

Not that the ship really needed this guy but like everywhere else, there was a pilot aboard when we left and the pictures below showing them picking him back up from the ship.

I got the pictures from my visit to the bridge. They actually took a picture of our small group but I was able to take a picture of the picture so I could get one with the Captain and me. He really was a great guy and it was fun talking to him one-on-one. I need to write him a letter of appreciation and hopefully I will be able to sail with him again sometime.

I took the pictures below off of the projection screen in the forward show room where we were waiting on the tenders to go aboard at Grand Cayman. You can see the Captain, Deb, and me in the picture to the left. The picture to the right shows Deb and I talking and I was telling her how much fun it was talking to the Captain about Carnival and the Costa Concordia accident.

Here is a picture of Mike (closest), Cheryl, Shane (Mike's son), and Tracy as we head in to Grand Cayman. We couldn't anchor in the normal location because of the large seas from hurricane Sandy. So only half of the tenders could get around to take us off the ship. That meant it was slower getting off the ship and we had to pay a taxi fare to get to the town. Regardless, it was fun again walking around Grand Cayman

Below left you can see Deb

Lower right is our ship and you can't see an anchor chain. The reason is they had to hold the ship so the port side was into the wind creating a "lee" so the tenders could come and pick up us passengers. This was accomplished by using the Azipod motors/props at the stern of the ship which can turn 360 degrees along with the 3 thrusters on the bow. All were controlled by a computer and although I never got a straight answer about how close in feet it could hold us to the set-point, I'm thinking - based on observation - it was about 15-20 feet. It was pretty cool. At this angle, you can't see it but the anchor was deployed part way so it would be easy to drop if the positioning system failed. Again, cool.

And we arrived in town happy little cruisers. We walked down to a restaurant where Mike had lunch a year ago. Turns out Deb and I had come to the same place 15 years ago on a cruise we took on another ship.

The pictures below show the breakers on this side of the island. By the way, this is the side you normally anchor the cruise ships and they come ashore just to the right of where I'm taking the pictures. This is also the place where there is a very nice snorkeling area. No going in the water today however. I actually was patient and caught a few breakers for you.

Almost bought a hat - turned out it was $42 so that became a big "I don't need another hat."

There was a nice sculpture in the shopping area signifying the stingrays. They have a really cool snorkel here and you pet and feed the rays.

After dinner and more time at the Piano Bar along with listening to the Mo-Town review, then the show band playing some jazz and jamming it was time for bed. Another towel.

Saturday was a day at sea and as we headed north at 17-19 knots we caught back up with the winds. They were only 20 knots when we left Grand Cayman but increased to 35 knots by the time we were offshore at Tampa. Seas were back up to 6-8 feet but this all happened while the passengers slept so by the time they got up we were in Tampa Bay and everything was fine again.

Saturday evening it was another towel. and the last day of a great cruise.

I did take a ton of pictures for my class and here are a few of them Upper left is the Passenger instructions for emergencies. This is required by the Coast Guard and clearly something passengers should look over but nobody ever does then complains if something happens.

To the left is the hydrostatic release that releases the life rafts if the ship sinks.

Below left is a picture of one of the life rafts and you can see the steel that directs the life raft clear of the structure above it.

Below right is how to deploy the life raft.

We weren't at full capacity on the ship and you can see in the sign upper left how many people were to be placed in lifeboat 12.

To the upper right is a FLIR, this stand for Forward Looking Infared. It is night vision so they can find a person overboard at night. This one can rotate 360 degrees and look up or down. All controlled and monitored on the bridge.

To the lower left you can see the thrust of the two props.

Lower right shows you the small picture on shore showing the Captain where to dock. All he has to do is to line up the picture with the window under his feet it the control station that sticks out from the side of the bridge. When he has the picture below him, he is in the right place so the ship is docked perfectly.

This is a poor picture but is shows the Captain docking the ship. This is where he looks down to ensure he in the right place.

And we are back at Tampa

Waiting. Everyone waits for their number to be called so we can leave the ship in an orderly fashion.

Once your number is called you head back out through the lobby and stand in more lines.

Below right you can see Mike and Cheryl as they are getting off. Since Deb and I were on a different deck, we had to wait a bit longer.

We all hooked back up in the Garage waiting for the ground transportation to take us back to the hotel.

Mike was leading us home and everyone was a bit tired but not quite ready to leave. However, they kicked us off the ship. Yep, they said - no pay, no stay. We just figured we could stay another month or two. But then again, we hoped they would just say - Stay and they would pay for the wine and excursions..... NOPE.