Carnival Dream Port of Call: Mahogany Bay on Isla Roatan
Mahogany Bay is located on Isla Roatan, which is an island located 30 miles North of Honduras. It just happens to be a stop on a 7 Day Western Caribbean Cruise that the Carnival Dream currently travels. Once April 2014 rolls around, the Carnival Sunshine will take on this route.
We loved our time on board the Carnival Dream, but we really loved our time in Isla Roatan. This island was absolutely gorgeous! The other cool thing? Mahogany Bay is home to a beach area that is literally a hop, skip, and a jump from where the Carnival ships dock.
First of all, let me introduce you to Mahogany Bay. Of course there were several Carnival shops that we walked through to get into the center of the so called “local” shops. If you take a right turn soon after entering, you will head to the beach area. Here you can hop on a chair lift (for a daily fee) to take you to the beach area, or you can choose to walk the short (five minute) paved walk to the beach.
We opted to walk it. The paved walkway was very nice, beautiful and short! Now, if you really want to see how things look from above, I’d recommend taking the chair lift. Upon entering the actual beach area, you will need your Carnival Cruise card, otherwise it will cost you to enter this area.
The beach area here had hundreds of beach chairs, lockers and cabanas were available for rent, and just about anything you would need for a full day on the beach could be located in this area. The most unique feature of this whole beach area was how close we were to our cruise ship.
We had taken a taxi, on our own, in Cozumel and had no problems. Here in Isla Roatan when we went to find a taxi, we were not 100% sure on the communication between the potential taxi driver and ourselves. So, we opted to head back to the ship to book an excursion.
We opted to take an excursion to Gumbalina Park. We booked the excursion through Carnival, which I would recommend you do. If you opt to not book through Carnival, the cruise ship does not have to wait for you before the ship departs. So, if you are not comfortable with the situation at hand, do not venture out on your own in any port.
Gumbalina Park was about a 30 minute bus ride on the island. The bus ride itself was a great way to see the countryside. Local folks could be seen walking and bicycling on the shoulders of the road, which in my opinion, were about one foot wide. The views of the water were stunning as we journeyed to Gumbalina Park.
Gumbalina Park was colorful and even more stunning than we had imagined.
The monkeys, parakeets, and tropical vegetation were absolutely amazing.
We loved our tour of this park and would highly recommend this shore excursion for someone wanting to get a taste of Isla Roatan. And I will admit, it was hard to say goodbye to this beautiful island in the Western Caribbean.
We loved Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan and would have to say it was our favorite port on our cruise this past Fall onboard the Carnival Dream. Do you have a favorite port of call from any cruise adventures? If so, I’d love to hear about them.
SaraB
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