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Day 4: NCL Sun Belize City, Belize - November 27, 2007
Posted by: CruiseGuy on Dec 23, 2007 - 03:53 AM
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We woke up at around 8 AM as our excursion was at 9. Here's a tip- what we did was grab a few of those little chocolate milk and regular milk containers + other munchies from the Garden cafe to keep our energy as there was no lunch served on this particular excursion. Everyone gathered at the Four Seasons restaurant and awaited for their group to be called to leave the ship via tender boat. We left on the tender at around 9:10, and it took literally 20 minutes for the boat to reach shore. It wasn't like the tender wasn't going fast- for some reason our cruise ship had anchored way far away from shore. It was pouring rain so we quickly went from the dock to inside the tourist shopping center and formed a line to get on the tour bus at the other end of the building. We then went on a tour of Belize City- most of the buildings looked old and worn. There were many areas where you can see how flood had damaged homes. It was interesting to observe the influence Taiwan has on the city- a commemorative statue in the city celebrating the independence of Belize was actually built by Taiwanese art students.
After about 20 minutes in Belize City, the bus then headed towards the Mayan Ruins in Alta Hun. After almost an hour we arrived at the ruins and thankfully the rain had subsided. As we got off the bus our tour guide gave everyone a complimentary bottle of water which was nice. After a bathroom break everyone followed the guide to the main area where the ruins stood. In "section A" stood four large Mayan temple structures surrounded by lush jungle palms and plants. The tour guide explained that the buildings were primarily used for trading goods, and that as many as 20,000 Mayans resided here. Apparently they would set up huts above the now barren stone tops of the structures, and also the surrounding area. The area designated as "section B" was highlighted by an impressive 60-ft tall Mayan temple. We were able to climb up to the top via steps in the back of the structure, but we had to do it with great caution as the stairs were slippery. At the top we were treated to an impressive view of the entire Alta Hun Ruins area. Unfortunately we had to make haste- the bus had to go. So we pretty much had only about an hour total to explore Alta Hun. But the major downer was the constant blasting of the speaker phone of music & someone in the distance advertising cold beer for sale. I think the entire atmosphere and experience of the Altun Ha Mayan Ruins could have been better absorbed in serenity instead.
After the bus returned to Belize city we continued the city portion of the tour. We then ended up at the Smoky Mermaid restaurant near the dock where we were given a free ticket each for a free drink there. After sipping some nice tropical punch the bus took us back to to the tourist shopping center at the dock. We spent about an hour or so looking through the shops for souvenir, and finally settled on buying a small wooden ship that said "Belize" and a wooden picture frame with "Belize" on it. Interestingly, the owner of the craft shop was from Taiwan.
At around 3:45 we then boarded the next available tender boat back to the Norwegian Sun. We were eager to try the French specialty restaurant called "Le Bistro" so we made a reservation for 6 PM. It was just as well because there's a special 50% off cover charge promotion for reservations between 5:30 and 6:30. And here's our mini review of the Le Bistro French restaurant onboard the NCL Sun. It was truly a delight and completely worth the coverage charge to eat at the Le Bistro. For appetizer we devoured multiple orders of delicious, buttery escargot and seafood cocktail. We ordered free range chicken with Foie Gras, and Bouillabaisse. The chicken was so tender and flavorful. The Bouillabaisse was good but not quite the best French seafood soup we've tasted. The dessert was heavenly- the Crème brûlée was bar none the best creme brulee we've ever eaten- not too sweet and just so smooth and creamy. To top it off the service overall was absolutely wonderful. I heartily recommend anyone going on an NCL Cruise to try the "Le Bistro"- 5 out of 5 stars. Again this was worth the cover charge, which is something I can't say about the Ginza Sushi Bar from the night before.
After our wonderful meal we were treated to a great latin-style, high-energy dance show put on by the Jean Ann Ryan Company. The cast even stayed behind afterwards to talk to the guests, and we were able to take pictures with a pair of dancers we saw on TV before. It was a great ending to a fun-filled day.
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| Day 4: NCL Sun Belize City, Belize - November 27, 2007 | Log-in or register a new user account | 0 Reviews/Comments |
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