Five days into this 7-day Western Caribbean cruise, my fellow passengers and I are spending the day in Roatan, Honduras, at a Carnival-owned port called Mahogany Bay.
Opened in 2009, the port is designed as an exclusive destination for passengers cruising on several of the cruise lines under the Carnival umbrella. Built to accommodate two ships at a time, I’ve yet to visit when more than one is in port.
What to Expect at Mahogany Bay
The ship docks a few hundred feet away from the port entrance, requiring an obligatory walk through the Duty-Free store before reaching the main entrance plaza. Here, you’ll meet for shore excursions and find a marketplace with your typical tourist shops like Diamonds International, along with a building dedicated to local vendors selling souvenirs and crafts.
The main allure of Mahogany Bay is Mahogany Beach, where you can spend the day on the beach, enjoy drinks and food at various restaurants and bars, zip-line, or simply relax. There are plenty of free lounge chairs, with clamshells and more “prime location” chairs available to rent. If you’re looking for shade, there are several areas with plenty of it, so renting an umbrella isn’t necessary.
As of October 31, 2024, here are the rental prices at Mahogany Beach:
- Snorkel Mask and Fins – $20
- Float – $10
- Hydro Bike – $20 for 30 minutes, $30 for an hour
- Paddle Board – $16 for 30 minutes, $27 for an hour
- Fun Cat – $40 for 30 minutes, $46 for an hour
- Sea Clam – $60
- Clamshell – $30
- Sea Hammock – $34
- Aqua Cycle – $26 for 30 minutes, $46 for an hour
- Aqua Cycle Boat – $60 for 30 minutes, $80 for an hour
- 2 Passenger Paddle Boat – $26 for 30 minutes, $46 for an hour
- 4 Passenger Paddle Boat – $35 for 30 minutes, $61 for an hour
- Hobie Kayak – $30 for 30 minutes, $50 for 1 hour (2 passengers)
- Single Person Kayak – $19 for 30 minutes, $34 for 1 hour
- Double Person Kayak – $26 for 30 minutes, $46 for 1 hour
- Umbrella – $30
Although Mahogany Bay is Carnival-owned, food and beverages are not included in your cruise fare, so be prepared to pay out-of-pocket for anything you want to eat or drink.
To reach the beach, you can either take a scenic ride on a chair lift or follow a walking path. There’s a fee for the chair lift, but once you pay, you can ride it back and forth all day. The walk takes about 10 minutes from the entrance plaza to the beach.
There’s also a nature trail that leads to or from the beach, taking you along the shoreline with a few photo spots. However, it includes steep hills, rocky surfaces, and uneven pavement, so it’s not ideal for those with mobility issues.
Despite the 6,000 passengers from the Carnival Celebration visiting Mahogany Bay, it didn’t feel crowded at all. Plenty of beach chairs were available throughout the day, so finding a spot to relax was easy. However, it was very hot and humid!
Video Tour of Mahogany Bay
Join me in this video for a 10-minute walk around the entrance plaza and beach!
The all-aboard time was 4:30 pm, and we departed promptly at 5 pm. Some rain rolled in toward the end of the day, which essentially ushered everyone back to the ship, so there were no last-minute stragglers this time, unlike at our previous stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya.
Carnival Celebration Halloween Activities
Back onboard, Halloween festivities were in full swing. Scheduled activities included:
- Patch’s Family Pumpkin Hunt – A scavenger hunt to find 12 pumpkins scattered around the ship. Find them all for a chance to win a prize.
- Halloween Costume Contest
- Halloween Deck Party
- Special Halloween Photo Ops
- Halloween Nightclub for late-night dancing
Naturally, there were Halloween drink specials and plenty of people dressed up to celebrate the end of the spooky season.
Evening Activities
In addition to the Halloween festivities, the evening’s entertainment included stand-up comedians, movies under the stars on the Lido Deck, and Deal or No Deal in Grand Central, where a lucky contestant plays for cash or a free cruise while audience members buy cards to join in and potentially win some money.
Main Dining Room Menu – Day 5
Here’s what was on the menu in the main dining room for dinner:
Dinner in Bonsai Teppanyaki
I made a last-minute decision to dine again at the Teppanyaki restaurant, hoping for livelier tablemates than last time. Dinner at Bonsai Teppanyaki costs $46 per person and includes plenty of food. If you leave here hungry, you must have quite an appetite! The meal begins with two small pieces of fried tuna, pork belly, and your choice of miso soup or salad.
For the main course, you can choose from filet mignon, chicken, shrimp, lobster, salmon, fish, tofu, or a combination of two, served with fried rice and two pieces of shrimp. Due to a shellfish allergy at my table, the shrimp were not served.
Dessert, if you have room, consists of eight different sweet bites served in a bento box. Tonight, I passed on dessert as there was just so much food, and it was getting late.
After a quick nightcap in the Golden Jubilee lounge, I called it a night as we head back to Miami for a Sunday morning arrival. The next two days will be spent at sea, with sunny but windy weather expected as a storm brews in the Gulf of Mexico.
The ship has been rocking a bit with 6 to 8-foot waves and some higher swells, but nothing uncomfortable.
As always, thanks for following along!
FunTimes for Day 5:
Coming soon!
The Fun Times for October 31, 2024 can also be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.
Personal Day-By-Day Carnival Celebration Cruise Review: