I missed it. It was yesterday. But, the sentiments are still there.
History:
As the story goes, the drink was actually named after a woman named Margarita. Dallas socialite Margarita Sames was known hosting fabulous parties. During a Christmas poolside party at her vacation home in Acapulco, Margarita once again initiated one of her favorite party games. The Dallas socialite would saunter behind the bar and craft new drinks for her guests to taste and rate.
During one particular holiday party, Margarita Sames blended together tequila, lime juice, and Cointreau. The new drink was a smash with her guests. The same drink was mixed time and again at lavish Dallas parties. When the drink made its way to Hollywood bashes, it was simply referred to as the Margarita.
Recipes:
Classic Margarita 2 oz Casa Noble Blanco Tequila 1 oz Cointreau 3/4 oz fresh lime juice salt optional Place all ingredients in a shaker. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh Ice or coupe. Salted Rim optional
Twist on a margarita Polka dot fizz by Lynnette Marrero 2oz blanco tequila 3/4 oz lime juice 1/2 oz honey syrup Perrier grapefruit Shake all ingredients except Perrier. Strain over fresh ice in a Collins glass. add Perrier grapefruit. Stir. Garnish with pink grapefruit slice.
A New Classic Rita Hayworth by Brian Miller 2 oz Pinapple and Sage infused Blanco Tequila 3/4 oz lime juice 3/4 oz Honey
While Ms. Sames original creation is still the popular choice most bars offer a wider selection that diverts from the old-fashioned lime and tequila recipe. Countless watering holes around the country are offering happy hour specials on Friday. The Blockheads[2] chain in New York City, however, offers a drink thats been compared to a margarita on steroids.
The Mexican Bulldog, which is popular elsewhere in the U.S. with a different namesake, is made with a simple recipe.
Take an ice cold Caronita and submerge it (neck first) into a frozen, delicious margarita, Blockheads website reads. Let the two get to know each other, and do not remove bottle from cup. Prepare to meet the bulldog.
Why Is Cinco De Mayo Always The Same Day As My Birthday? It’s really annoying!
View CommentAccording to most Spanish-to-English dictionaries, “Cinco de Mayo” roughly translates to “Who gives a crap about Keith’s birthday?” The holiday officially commemorates the victory of the Mexican army over French forces in the 1862 Battle of Puebla on (you guessed it) the 5th of May! If you want your birthday back, Keith, the best place to live would be Mexico, since Cinco de Mayo may be the only national holiday that is observed when people of an entirely different nation choose to go to ChiChi’s instead of Applebees for happy hour. Also known as “Mexican Independence Day” by drunk Americans who are wrong, this holiday is about as significant to Mexican culture as the human race is to the universe at large. While Mexico’s Independence Day is one of that country’s biggest national holidays, Cinco De Mayo exists primarily so that Americans can finish the barroom fistfights that got broken up by the police on St Patrick’s Day. In fact, there’s a good chance that more people in Mexico celebrate “Some Dude Named Keith’s Birthday” on May 5th than they do Cinco de Mayo. If you’re going to stay in America, Keith, you’d better get used to celebrating your birthday by drinking watered down margaritas until the ghosts of those brave Mexican soldiers of 1862 appear before you and say, “Gracias, Gringo, for sharing your birthday with the respectful recognition of our brave victory, and double-gracias for wearing that plastic novelty sombrero you threw up in earlier.” Feliz Cumpleanos, Keith.
View CommentPlanning A Trip To Jamaica … Any Recommendations? Thanks.? Thanks for dropping by to offer a few suggestions on my Trip. I’ll be based around the Montego Bay area (though I’m happy to travel for a worthwhile experience) and although I’m interested in any suggestions you may have, I am particularly focused on adventure activities. Any aditional information on diving, surfing, climbing, or potholing would be especially welcomed – though I’m egar to be intrduced to anything … absolutley anything … you personally rated as a highlight.
View CommentEr … ? In addintion I like food, women and history, but if you believe it’ll be a good thing for me to broaden my horizons, then let me know (better yet convince me). Thanks again.
Hey. Jamaica is beautiful. Things to try:
View Comment1. Climb Blue Mountain; Reich Falls;Eat Jerk Pork (Portland)
2. Climb Dunns River Falls (St. Ann)
3. Caribbean Surfing Competition- July 6-18 (Yallahs, St. Thomas)
4. Paul Bogle Statue- National Hero (St.Thomas)
5. Bob Marley Museum (Kingston)
6. Art: Barrignton Watson Museum; Institute Of Jamaica (Kingston)
7. Food: Cuddies(New Kingston)Shellfish-Hellshire, St,Catherine)
8. Swim with Dolphins (Dolphins Cove- Montego Bay)
9. Doctor’s Cave(Montego Bay) Green Grotto Cave (St. Ann)
10. Raving: Margarita Ville (Montego Bay); The Quad (New Kingston)
11. 5 Star Hotels: Holiday Inn; Half Moon (Montego Bay)
First Cruise To The Western Caribbean ADVICE PLEASE?!? This is my first cruise. I’m going with Royal Caribbean on the Western Caribbean cruise April 9th.Its ports are Key West, Cozumel, MX and Belize City.The ship is Enchantment of the Seas. Has anyone been on this cruise?Do you have any advice on what to bring, what to do, or just any advice at all?I like all kinds of things.
View CommentPerfect cruise. Wish I was going with you. Key West-I would just walk around and see the town. It’s rather quaint and the excursions there seem to be very expensive. But if you have money, I might take a tour excursion there but the town itself is so cute with hundreds of stores so you might just wander around.
Buy a pie and some limeade, eat some cronch fritters, walk the dock. They have tons of street vendors–selling pictures, painted christmas ornaments, performing acrobats and magicians. If you can, get a seat for the sunset. You can either be in a big group right on the pier or you can go back on your ship and have a drink, but Key West sunsets are amazing.
Cozumel is my favorite cruise destination. I could spend a week there. If you bring snorkel stuff with you, take a cab to the National Park. It’s called Chankanaab National Park. It’s just a few miles away from the port and has some of the best snorkeling on the isle. I took a shore excursion to the park (my husband left his snorkel stuff at home) and we did a clear bottom kayaking and snorkel tour, then had a margarita. thought it was the best shore excursion and had chairs right on the shoreline. it looked just like the Corona commercials.
Belize is a very poor area and if you can only afford to go on one shore excursion do it here. Near the port is like a flea market, and nothing much else. The area is so poor they swarm you when you get off the boat. I took a shore excursion to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins. They are the best preserved Mayan ruins so if you are going to see any of them, see these. It took the whole day to do it, as its on the border overlooking Guatemala and Honduras. But it was awesome.
Advice on what to bring: lots of one dollar bills. if you buy anything from Belize, it will be cheap and they won’t have change. Bring something with sleeves since you may get burned at the ruins (no shade). Underwater camera of course for snorkeling. Go to the art auction. Wait til the last day to go to the ship spa as often you can get good deals. Go to all the buffets and try to eat at more than just the dining room and Lido deck (there are probably 20 places to eat on the ship and I never make it to more than just the Lido deck for lunch). Is it your first cruise or just your first cruise to Western Caribbean? Email me if you have any questions on what to bring.
No real advice, just enjoy yourself. Relax. Tour the ship first thing. Book your shore excursions first thing or online. During those first few hours (if you can board at noon, between noon and 2), a lot of the best shore excursions will fill up so if there is a great one that you are really into book it first. You can always book other ones later if you want. Never be late–the ship will leave you.
I love this cruise and you will have a blast. Happy Cruising!
View CommentI’m Going To Las Vegas Next Week. What Are Your Recommendations For Shows To See And Things To Do?
View CommentShows
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/shows.cfm
Nightlife
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/part.cfm
Restaurnats & Buffets
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/eat.cfm
Activities & Attractions
http://www.vegas.com/attractions
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/activities.cfm
Public transportation – this one can save you a small fortune if you learn which to use and when. > especially the free hotel shuttles.
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/transportation.cfm
The best shows – IMO
Mystere – Treasure Island
“Ka” – MGM
“O” – Bellagio
Best inexpensive shows
Mac King – Harrah’s
Dirk Arthur – Tropicana
Best Shopping
Forum Shops at Caesars Palace >far and away the best
Miracle Mile – Planet Hollywood
Grand Canal Shoppes – Venetian
Fashion Show Mall
Bargain Shopping
Premium Outlet Mall – I-15 & Charleston
Primm Outlet Mall >free tours
Best of the free spectacles
Fountains of Bellagio
Fremont Street Experience
Masquerade Show in the Sky – Rio
Volcano/White Tigers – Mirage
Lion Habitat – MGM
Awesome view
Top of the Stratosphere Tower – Just before & after sunset
Top of the Eiffel Tower
Must see hotel/casino – in order
Caesars Palace
Venetian
Luxor
Bellagio
Wynn
Best “value” buffets
Main Street Station – L,D
Boulder Station – B,L,D
Orleans – L,D
Palace Station – B,L,D
Fremont Seafood Buffet – Sun/Tue/Fri
Fiesta Henderson – L
LV Hilton – D
Best buffets – Money no option
Sterling Brunch – Bally’s
Champaigne Brunch – Circus Circus
Bellagio – D
Wynn – D
Paris – B
My fav restaurants – for value
Pullman Grille – Main Street Station
Prime Rib Loft – Orleans
The Range – Harrah’s
Billy Bob’s – Sam’s Town
Fav brew pub
Triple 7 – Main Street Station – the $7 prime rib dinner(served after 4pm) is a heck of a deal >It says 8oz on the menu, don’t believe it, this is a huge piece of excellent prime rib. I eat this one all the time. Don’t order the “large” unless you’re an NFL lineman or have the appetite of one lol – $1 16 oz house brews after midnight
Best sports book – & it’s not even close
LV Hilton
Best place for inexpensive drinks
Casino Royale – $1 margaritas & Michelob
Slots-A-Fun – $1.25 primium beer & 1/2lb hot dogs
Best “low roller” gambling
for little nicke(.05c) video poker – The Las Vegas Hilton, 27 9/6 JOB machines in their sports book – 36 or so at the quarter level
Craps – Casino Royale – $3 with 20x odds or $5 with 100x odds >The Westin Casuarina has happy hour from 5p-10p on weekdays, and you can play craps for $1. This one is within easy walking distance, of the strip(East on Flamingo).
A nice place to play low limit table games is the Orleans –
Day trip
Grand Canyon – long day
Mt. Charleston – Toiyabe National Forest – only 35 miles North of LV –
That should keep you busy for a day or two.
~Jack~
View CommentPlanning A Trip To Jamaica … Any Recommendations? Thanks.? Thanks for dropping by to offer a few suggestions on my Trip. I’ll be based around the Montego Bay area (though I’m happy to travel for a worthwhile experience) and although I’m interested in any suggestions you may have, I am particularly focused on adventure activities. Any aditional information on diving, surfing, climbing, or potholing would be especially welcomed – though I’m egar to be intrduced to anything … absolutley anything … you personally rated as a highlight.
View CommentEr … ? In addintion I like food, women and history, but if you believe it’ll be a good thing for me to broaden my horizons, then let me know (better yet convince me). Thanks again.
Hey. Jamaica is beautiful. Things to try:
View Comment1. Climb Blue Mountain; Reich Falls;Eat Jerk Pork (Portland)
2. Climb Dunns River Falls (St. Ann)
3. Caribbean Surfing Competition- July 6-18 (Yallahs, St. Thomas)
4. Paul Bogle Statue- National Hero (St.Thomas)
5. Bob Marley Museum (Kingston)
6. Art: Barrignton Watson Museum; Institute Of Jamaica (Kingston)
7. Food: Cuddies(New Kingston)Shellfish-Hellshire, St,Catherine)
8. Swim with Dolphins (Dolphins Cove- Montego Bay)
9. Doctor’s Cave(Montego Bay) Green Grotto Cave (St. Ann)
10. Raving: Margarita Ville (Montego Bay); The Quad (New Kingston)
11. 5 Star Hotels: Holiday Inn; Half Moon (Montego Bay)
What Are Some Cheap Ways To Have Fun? I want to move out of the house in a couple of years and I am saving money for appliances, television sets, beds, bookshelves etc… so I don’t have a lot of money. I also want the best of everything: the best blender, the best cd player, the best computer etc… so that means I have even less.
View CommentThe library is a good idea. There are also dollar movie theaters. They are not a dollar anymore, but they are still cheap. If you are old enough, you can go to a bar and play pool. You can hang out there for several hours for just the price of a beer and several games of pool. Find one with a good happy hour and a cheap pool table. A lot of museums and zoos have one day per month when they are free, so look that up. You can hike or canoe at a state/national park. You can a place in the city with an excellent view, and take pictures of the sunset. Who knows, you may even enter a photo in a photo contest and win. As for wanting the best of everything, I understand. You want to have a really great place, and don’t want everything to look like it came from the Goodwill store. But what about other future goals? How is wanting to get the best of everything going to affect your future goals? After all, don’t you want some money left over? Don’t you want to invest? That is more important than the best blender. You can make smoothies and margaritas in a $20. blender just as well as you can in a $50. blender. I promise they will taste the same. Just think about it. Perhaps in the library you can look at some investment books. One thing you will see about people who are 50 and already retiring with over a million dollars in the bank is that they started saving and investing when they were young. They were very disciplined when it comes to this, and did not stray from their course. Don’t waste your youth on over priced blenders. You will regret it.
View CommentI’m Going To Las Vegas Next Week. What Are Your Recommendations For Shows To See And Things To Do?
View CommentShows
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/shows.cfm
Nightlife
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/part.cfm
Restaurnats & Buffets
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/eat.cfm
Activities & Attractions
http://www.vegas.com/attractions
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/activities.cfm
Public transportation – this one can save you a small fortune if you learn which to use and when. > especially the free hotel shuttles.
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/transportation.cfm
The best shows – IMO
Mystere – Treasure Island
“Ka” – MGM
“O” – Bellagio
Best inexpensive shows
Mac King – Harrah’s
Dirk Arthur – Tropicana
Best Shopping
Forum Shops at Caesars Palace >far and away the best
Miracle Mile – Planet Hollywood
Grand Canal Shoppes – Venetian
Fashion Show Mall
Bargain Shopping
Premium Outlet Mall – I-15 & Charleston
Primm Outlet Mall >free tours
Best of the free spectacles
Fountains of Bellagio
Fremont Street Experience
Masquerade Show in the Sky – Rio
Volcano/White Tigers – Mirage
Lion Habitat – MGM
Awesome view
Top of the Stratosphere Tower – Just before & after sunset
Top of the Eiffel Tower
Must see hotel/casino – in order
Caesars Palace
Venetian
Luxor
Bellagio
Wynn
Best “value” buffets
Main Street Station – L,D
Boulder Station – B,L,D
Orleans – L,D
Palace Station – B,L,D
Fremont Seafood Buffet – Sun/Tue/Fri
Fiesta Henderson – L
LV Hilton – D
Best buffets – Money no option
Sterling Brunch – Bally’s
Champaigne Brunch – Circus Circus
Bellagio – D
Wynn – D
Paris – B
My fav restaurants – for value
Pullman Grille – Main Street Station
Prime Rib Loft – Orleans
The Range – Harrah’s
Billy Bob’s – Sam’s Town
Fav brew pub
Triple 7 – Main Street Station – the $7 prime rib dinner(served after 4pm) is a heck of a deal >It says 8oz on the menu, don’t believe it, this is a huge piece of excellent prime rib. I eat this one all the time. Don’t order the “large” unless you’re an NFL lineman or have the appetite of one lol – $1 16 oz house brews after midnight
Best sports book – & it’s not even close
LV Hilton
Best place for inexpensive drinks
Casino Royale – $1 margaritas & Michelob
Slots-A-Fun – $1.25 primium beer & 1/2lb hot dogs
Best “low roller” gambling
for little nicke(.05c) video poker – The Las Vegas Hilton, 27 9/6 JOB machines in their sports book – 36 or so at the quarter level
Craps – Casino Royale – $3 with 20x odds or $5 with 100x odds >The Westin Casuarina has happy hour from 5p-10p on weekdays, and you can play craps for $1. This one is within easy walking distance, of the strip(East on Flamingo).
A nice place to play low limit table games is the Orleans –
Day trip
Grand Canyon – long day
Mt. Charleston – Toiyabe National Forest – only 35 miles North of LV –
That should keep you busy for a day or two.
~Jack~
View CommentFirst Cruise To The Western Caribbean ADVICE PLEASE?!? This is my first cruise. I’m going with Royal Caribbean on the Western Caribbean cruise April 9th.Its ports are Key West, Cozumel, MX and Belize City.The ship is Enchantment of the Seas. Has anyone been on this cruise?Do you have any advice on what to bring, what to do, or just any advice at all?I like all kinds of things.
View CommentPerfect cruise. Wish I was going with you. Key West-I would just walk around and see the town. It’s rather quaint and the excursions there seem to be very expensive. But if you have money, I might take a tour excursion there but the town itself is so cute with hundreds of stores so you might just wander around.
Buy a pie and some limeade, eat some cronch fritters, walk the dock. They have tons of street vendors–selling pictures, painted christmas ornaments, performing acrobats and magicians. If you can, get a seat for the sunset. You can either be in a big group right on the pier or you can go back on your ship and have a drink, but Key West sunsets are amazing.
Cozumel is my favorite cruise destination. I could spend a week there. If you bring snorkel stuff with you, take a cab to the National Park. It’s called Chankanaab National Park. It’s just a few miles away from the port and has some of the best snorkeling on the isle. I took a shore excursion to the park (my husband left his snorkel stuff at home) and we did a clear bottom kayaking and snorkel tour, then had a margarita. thought it was the best shore excursion and had chairs right on the shoreline. it looked just like the Corona commercials.
Belize is a very poor area and if you can only afford to go on one shore excursion do it here. Near the port is like a flea market, and nothing much else. The area is so poor they swarm you when you get off the boat. I took a shore excursion to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins. They are the best preserved Mayan ruins so if you are going to see any of them, see these. It took the whole day to do it, as its on the border overlooking Guatemala and Honduras. But it was awesome.
Advice on what to bring: lots of one dollar bills. if you buy anything from Belize, it will be cheap and they won’t have change. Bring something with sleeves since you may get burned at the ruins (no shade). Underwater camera of course for snorkeling. Go to the art auction. Wait til the last day to go to the ship spa as often you can get good deals. Go to all the buffets and try to eat at more than just the dining room and Lido deck (there are probably 20 places to eat on the ship and I never make it to more than just the Lido deck for lunch). Is it your first cruise or just your first cruise to Western Caribbean? Email me if you have any questions on what to bring.
No real advice, just enjoy yourself. Relax. Tour the ship first thing. Book your shore excursions first thing or online. During those first few hours (if you can board at noon, between noon and 2), a lot of the best shore excursions will fill up so if there is a great one that you are really into book it first. You can always book other ones later if you want. Never be late–the ship will leave you.
I love this cruise and you will have a blast. Happy Cruising!
View CommentWhy Is Cinco De Mayo Always The Same Day As My Birthday? It’s really annoying!
View CommentAccording to most Spanish-to-English dictionaries, “Cinco de Mayo” roughly translates to “Who gives a crap about Keith’s birthday?” The holiday officially commemorates the victory of the Mexican army over French forces in the 1862 Battle of Puebla on (you guessed it) the 5th of May! If you want your birthday back, Keith, the best place to live would be Mexico, since Cinco de Mayo may be the only national holiday that is observed when people of an entirely different nation choose to go to ChiChi’s instead of Applebees for happy hour. Also known as “Mexican Independence Day” by drunk Americans who are wrong, this holiday is about as significant to Mexican culture as the human race is to the universe at large. While Mexico’s Independence Day is one of that country’s biggest national holidays, Cinco De Mayo exists primarily so that Americans can finish the barroom fistfights that got broken up by the police on St Patrick’s Day. In fact, there’s a good chance that more people in Mexico celebrate “Some Dude Named Keith’s Birthday” on May 5th than they do Cinco de Mayo. If you’re going to stay in America, Keith, you’d better get used to celebrating your birthday by drinking watered down margaritas until the ghosts of those brave Mexican soldiers of 1862 appear before you and say, “Gracias, Gringo, for sharing your birthday with the respectful recognition of our brave victory, and double-gracias for wearing that plastic novelty sombrero you threw up in earlier.” Feliz Cumpleanos, Keith.
View CommentWhat Are Some Cheap Ways To Have Fun? I want to move out of the house in a couple of years and I am saving money for appliances, television sets, beds, bookshelves etc… so I don’t have a lot of money. I also want the best of everything: the best blender, the best cd player, the best computer etc… so that means I have even less.
View CommentThe library is a good idea. There are also dollar movie theaters. They are not a dollar anymore, but they are still cheap. If you are old enough, you can go to a bar and play pool. You can hang out there for several hours for just the price of a beer and several games of pool. Find one with a good happy hour and a cheap pool table. A lot of museums and zoos have one day per month when they are free, so look that up. You can hike or canoe at a state/national park. You can a place in the city with an excellent view, and take pictures of the sunset. Who knows, you may even enter a photo in a photo contest and win. As for wanting the best of everything, I understand. You want to have a really great place, and don’t want everything to look like it came from the Goodwill store. But what about other future goals? How is wanting to get the best of everything going to affect your future goals? After all, don’t you want some money left over? Don’t you want to invest? That is more important than the best blender. You can make smoothies and margaritas in a $20. blender just as well as you can in a $50. blender. I promise they will taste the same. Just think about it. Perhaps in the library you can look at some investment books. One thing you will see about people who are 50 and already retiring with over a million dollars in the bank is that they started saving and investing when they were young. They were very disciplined when it comes to this, and did not stray from their course. Don’t waste your youth on over priced blenders. You will regret it.
View CommentMy Family And I Are Traveling To Peru, And I Was Wondering What Food I Should Try While I Am There?
View CommentIf you are up to trying local foods… I will start with three beverages. One is a beer called Cusquena… it is like the bud light of Peru. The second is a Pisco Sour, which is a source of national pride. The drink is made of a liquor made in Peru along with other ingredients and could be compared to a margarita. They will be offered to you everywhere. Also… you must try Matte De Coca Hot Tea. It is a fantastic cure for altitude sickness and will be routinely offered to you if you are traveling to the highlands like Maccu Piccu or Cuzco. A common Peruvian dish is Guinea Pig. It is called Cuy. I am an American that lived in Peru for a while, and it took me a while to build up the nerve to eat it. To this day, Cuy continues to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands, where they are an important source of protein and a mainstay of Andean folk medicine. Hope this helps. I would be happy to answer any other questions.
View CommentMy Family And I Are Traveling To Peru, And I Was Wondering What Food I Should Try While I Am There?
View CommentIf you are up to trying local foods… I will start with three beverages. One is a beer called Cusquena… it is like the bud light of Peru. The second is a Pisco Sour, which is a source of national pride. The drink is made of a liquor made in Peru along with other ingredients and could be compared to a margarita. They will be offered to you everywhere. Also… you must try Matte De Coca Hot Tea. It is a fantastic cure for altitude sickness and will be routinely offered to you if you are traveling to the highlands like Maccu Piccu or Cuzco. A common Peruvian dish is Guinea Pig. It is called Cuy. I am an American that lived in Peru for a while, and it took me a while to build up the nerve to eat it. To this day, Cuy continues to be a major part of the diet in Peru and Bolivia, particularly in the Andes Mountains highlands, where they are an important source of protein and a mainstay of Andean folk medicine. Hope this helps. I would be happy to answer any other questions.
View CommentFirst Cruise To The Western Caribbean ADVICE PLEASE?!? This is my first cruise. I’m going with Royal Caribbean on the Western Caribbean cruise April 9th.Its ports are Key West, Cozumel, MX and Belize City.The ship is Enchantment of the Seas. Has anyone been on this cruise?Do you have any advice on what to bring, what to do, or just any advice at all?I like all kinds of things.
View CommentPerfect cruise. Wish I was going with you. Key West-I would just walk around and see the town. It’s rather quaint and the excursions there seem to be very expensive. But if you have money, I might take a tour excursion there but the town itself is so cute with hundreds of stores so you might just wander around.
Buy a pie and some limeade, eat some cronch fritters, walk the dock. They have tons of street vendors–selling pictures, painted christmas ornaments, performing acrobats and magicians. If you can, get a seat for the sunset. You can either be in a big group right on the pier or you can go back on your ship and have a drink, but Key West sunsets are amazing.
Cozumel is my favorite cruise destination. I could spend a week there. If you bring snorkel stuff with you, take a cab to the National Park. It’s called Chankanaab National Park. It’s just a few miles away from the port and has some of the best snorkeling on the isle. I took a shore excursion to the park (my husband left his snorkel stuff at home) and we did a clear bottom kayaking and snorkel tour, then had a margarita. thought it was the best shore excursion and had chairs right on the shoreline. it looked just like the Corona commercials.
Belize is a very poor area and if you can only afford to go on one shore excursion do it here. Near the port is like a flea market, and nothing much else. The area is so poor they swarm you when you get off the boat. I took a shore excursion to the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins. They are the best preserved Mayan ruins so if you are going to see any of them, see these. It took the whole day to do it, as its on the border overlooking Guatemala and Honduras. But it was awesome.
Advice on what to bring: lots of one dollar bills. if you buy anything from Belize, it will be cheap and they won’t have change. Bring something with sleeves since you may get burned at the ruins (no shade). Underwater camera of course for snorkeling. Go to the art auction. Wait til the last day to go to the ship spa as often you can get good deals. Go to all the buffets and try to eat at more than just the dining room and Lido deck (there are probably 20 places to eat on the ship and I never make it to more than just the Lido deck for lunch). Is it your first cruise or just your first cruise to Western Caribbean? Email me if you have any questions on what to bring.
No real advice, just enjoy yourself. Relax. Tour the ship first thing. Book your shore excursions first thing or online. During those first few hours (if you can board at noon, between noon and 2), a lot of the best shore excursions will fill up so if there is a great one that you are really into book it first. You can always book other ones later if you want. Never be late–the ship will leave you.
I love this cruise and you will have a blast. Happy Cruising!
View Comment