Another day, another port that we don’t like all that much. Belize has some wonderful places to visit, but Belize City is not one of them. It is like Detroit which, as a friend once put it: “You have to get out of the city to find something to do.”
Belize port shopping mall
Arrival of some tenders
We didn’t really want to take a long and expensive excursion in Belize, but did want to set foot in the country, so we went ashore and wandered the port area for a couple of hours. Jett left her wheelchair behind as we had to take a tender (or, if you prefer, ferry) to land and she didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting on and off a small boat with a wheelchair. However, we didn’t think we had that option with Sybil. She is unsteady everywhere and really needed to take the walker with her. So I took responsibility for getting the device on and off while staff assisted her. We made it, but were thankful for a calm day. If the water had been choppy she might not have been able to get to Belize.
Sybil and Christine waiting for lunch
So what did we do in the Belize City port area? Shop and eat, of course. I bought a nice T-shirt for my teen granddaughter and we all enjoyed a light lunch at a small Mexican BBQ place. We all shared orders of conch ceviche and nachos with BBQ chicken. Both very good. I also tried the local beer, Belikin. Also very good. And very cheap ($2).
Tasty local beer
I should mention that our trip to Belize City aboard the tender was assisted by another unexpected gift: priority boarding passes delivered to our cabins, courtesy of our mysterious (to me, anyway) benefactor. We didn’t have to wait in the long line to board the tender; we were ushered on immediately.
The harbor in Belize City
Boarding passes
After lunch we strolled along the waterfront for a bit, then we returned to the ship. Christine and I attended our second trivia contest in the pub and came in second. Then we got ready to attend the 6:15pm showing of the onboard Cirque de Soleil show. Which is were we received our next gift: an upgrade to front row center. If we had been any closer we would have had to wear costumes. Photography was banned in the theater but I did manage to sneak in one shot of the warmup act, a guitar and drum duo. Not a great photo, but it shows how front-and-center we were. I also got one shot of the theater on the way out showing the dynamic video wall behind the rotating stage.
Hors d’oeuvres
Warm-up act
The theater
The shower of gifts was not yet finished. When we arrived in the dining room at 8:30pm we were presented with a plate of hors d’oeuvres (including caviar and lox) and a complimentary bottle of prosecco. Unbelievable.
We ended the day with a brief stop at the casino (no luck at all, but only $40 lost) and another brief stop at the Skylight Lounge to listen to a jazz singer recommended by Christine. She was good and the pianist was excellent, but I was too tired to fully appreciate it.
Jazz singer