Caribbean Princess: Vines Wine Bar

On the last night of our cruise, we went to the Vines Wine Bar.  It's one of my favorite places on this ship.  The layout and the seating arrangement is very welcoming during the day and in the evening.  It's a great place to have a meet up, read a book, or enjoy the delicious sweets from the International Cafe.  It's a nice place for people watching.

Vines Bar

Enjoyed the seating area here with the huge windows.  Well designed area and loved the wood trims they used.

The Vines seating area...one of the biggest Vines I've seen

The Tapas and Sushi prep area

Taking a peek into the prep area

One wine tasting offered paired different foods with the suggested wines

The wine tastings offered onboard

Wines beautifully displayed.  Behind the fancy doors...more wine!

Hogue wine on display

I just love the glow of this wine bottle....

I was able to get some pictures of the wine menu:

White wine list

Red wine list

Hubby was helping me with the setup for a photo op while I played with the exposure settings....

We ordered some wine...

The sushi was okay for the ship:

...and ordered the complimentary sushi to go with our wine

Vines is one of the many venues we enjoyed on the Caribbean Princess.  Did I mention that it's my favorite Princess ship?!

Pancho's Backyard in Cozumel

Pancho's Backyard is located in the Puerta Maya Pier in Cozumel.  It's one of three main dining establishments which also includes Tres Amigos and Fat Tuesdays.  Pancho's is located at the far end of the Puerta Maya Cruise Center.  Walk to the end of the pier (start of the shopping area) and veer left and walk towards Los Cinco Soles.  You will find the restaurant next door at the end of the building.

When we visited the Cozumel the first week of our cruise, we actually docked at the International Pier.  Our port itinerary changed (from Monday to Thursday) and since Puerta Maya was booked with other cruise ships, we ended up at the IP.

We wandered around IP, but did not find a good place to eat.  We headed out of the International Pier and made a right.  We walked for about a mile or two and came to the entrance of the Puerta Maya Cruise Center (the main dock/pier).  We headed into the PM Cruise Center and made a right to find Pancho's.

It was too pretty to sit inside....

Here's Pancho's menu:  

Beautiful artwork on display around the restaurant:

Pictures of the food:

The guacamole was delicious!

For us, Pancho's was the best restaurant when compared to Tres Amigos and Fat Tuesday.  The food was fresh and tasty.  We had a lovely view while dining outside:

After our early lunch, we walked past the tables and umbrellas and headed to a small beach area to lounge and relax in the shade.  In front of us was the Puerta Maya pier:  

To our right and in the distance was the International Pier where our cruise ship was docked:

A Note for Fellow Cruisers:

While we were window-shopping in Dufry's, I uncovered an interesting tidbit of information.  I saw a  small rum cake that I wanted to purchase.  I mentioned that we were on the Caribbean Princess.  I was told I couldn't purchase the cake in the Puerta Maya Cruise Center as our ship wasn't docked at this pier.  Really?  Yes!  I was told I had to go back to the International Pier (where our ship was docked) and make my purchase at the Dufry's there.  I didn't make a rum cake purchase that day.  For my fellow cruisers, if you happen to be visiting another pier where your ship is not docked...just be aware that certain items can't be purchased.

Also, if the two Carnival ships were not in port at Puerta Maya, that cruise center and pier would have been closed.

Comparing the Two Sea Days on a B2B...Friday

I wanted to do a special post of the last sea day of each cruise.  The first week we had cooler temperatures and windy conditions.  The second week we had warmer temperatures and a slight breeze.  

The way that each cruise week ended was dramatically different.   Here's what Friday, January17th looked like coming back into the Gulf:

We enjoyed some quality time on our balcony and the peacefulness of the sea.  

Here's what the Gulf looked like a week later on Friday, January 24th:

We were not able to spend any quality time on our balcony the last day at sea.  It was too chilly and windy with intermittent rain showers.  

Incredible, huh?

Mahogany Beach - Roatan, Honduras

There's a bunch of pictures I missed and have not posted.  I thought I would do a separate post on Mahogany Beach as Hubby and I spent some time here exploring.  Mahogany Beach is part of the Mahogany Bay Cruise Center where the cruise ships dock nearby.  This area is locally known as Dixon Cove.

The Mahogany Bay CC has several shops and a few eating/drinking establishments (e.g. Gelato, Coffee Shop, and Fat Tuesday).  Once you leave the pier and head right past the Fat Tuesday, follow the paved path that leads to the entrance of Mahogany Beach.  To the left is a white building called Dolphin Isle:

Dolphin Isle is a dolphin center where you can swim with the dolphins.  There are no signs from the path or any advertisements.  I only know about it because I saw this from the bridge that leads to Mahogany Beach:  

And curiosity led us to the Dolphin Isle building.  It does cost money to enter this facility.  Whether you swim or observe.  It's free to watch from the bridge.  So, I watched from the bridge...for free.  

Back to the beach.  At the entrance to the beach, you have to flash your cruise card to get in.  As you walk along the bridge, look to your left and you will see the dolphins.  Continue along and you will enter an enclosure that houses the beach shops and rest rooms.  Walk past through this facility and you're at the beach!

There three eating and drinking establishments on the beach:  Hurricane Hole, Playa Tortugas Chill 'n Grill, and the Hideaway Fishery.  Here's two of them advertising food:  

Hurricane Hole with their advertised BBQ

On the second week of our cruise we ate at the Hurricane Hole.  Their Caribbean Jerk Chicken was devine along with their rice and peas.  For $6.95, you can beat the price for home cooking!

We continued down the path for a bit and we ended up at the Cabanas:

From what I understand, the Cabanas can be rented for the day from the ship's excursion desk.  I took a peak inside one of them and it's basically a one room hut with air conditioning and comfy tropical furniture.  Outside one of the Cabanas, I saw this posted:  

We walked past the Cabanas and headed towards the beach front.  What a view!

There's a pier to the left which appears to be semi-private as in you have to get passed a guard to reach it.  This may be included in the price of the Cabana rental.

We turned around and headed back.  Here's a view of the Caribbean Princess from the beach:

Full size chess and checkers that can be played on the beach:

Having some fun along the way!

 Next year, we'll be back for some more Caribbean Jerk Chicken!  Can't wait!

The large gray rooftops are the eating and drinking establishments:

Beach view from the cruise ship:

Having some more fun in Mahogany Bay:

Caribbean Princess Galley Information

The Caribbean Princess has two main galleys one for each specialty restaurant.   There's also one fully equipped Lido Galley which produces the variety of offerings in the Horizon Court (buffet).

The food comes from all over the world.  Fine cheeses come from Italy, England, US, Scandinavia, and France.  Selected beef, fresh fruit and vegetables from California and Florida.  For each cruise, the ship's shopping list consists of 110 to 115 tons of food that's delivered to the ship.

There are storekeepers, butchers, and fish and vegetable preparation specialists use their skills to ensure that the proper items and amounts are prepared and transported to the galley on time.

In the galleys, teams of chefs, cooks, and pantrymen use their skills to turn the raw food into some beautiful and delicious meals.

Here are the different areas and their stats.  Enjoy!

Fish Preparations:  there are three butchers
- Avg amount of fish prepared daily:  1,700

Meat Preparation:  five butchers and three assistants slice and portion beef and poultry.  Team of twelve complete the preparation
- Avg amounts of meats cooked daily:
  -  Poultry:  1,400 lbs
  -  Beef:  1,700 lbs
  -  Pork/Pork Products:  1,400 lbs
  -  Veal:  300 lbs
  -  Lamb:  200 lbs

Garde Manger (cold kitchen):  eleven crew members work in this area
- Avg amount of salad served daily:  1,600 lbs
- Avg amount of shrimps used daily:  400 lbs
- Avg amount of mayonnaise used daily:  13 gallons
- Avg amount of sandwiches made daily:  1,500 each

Soups, Pastas, and Vegetables:  thirteen members of the galley crew work to prepare in this area
- Avg amount of pastas made daily:  500 lbs
- Avg amount of potatoes cooked daily:  2,700 lbs
- Avg amount of vegetables cooked daily:  2,500 lbs
- Avg amount of soups made daily:  550 gallons

Bakery:  ten bakers produce the following from scratch daily
- Sweet rolls
- Croissants
- Bread sticks
- Pizzas
- Bread rolls
- Vol-au-Vents
- Biscuits
- Avg amount of flour used daily:  1,500 lbs

Pastry shop:  thirteen people during the day and four during the night work in this area
- Avg amount of assorted pastries prepared daily:  6,000
- Avg amount of ice cream prepared daily:  100 gallons
- Avg amount of cakes and pies served daily:  300

Fruit and Cheese Pantry:  six members of the galley crew prepare in this area
- Avg amount of cheese used daily:  400 lbs
- Avg amount of fresh fruits served daily:  6,000 lbs

Coffee Pantry:  team of three keeps the automatic coffee and expresso machines working during the meal times
- Avg amount of coffee consumed daily:  470 gallons
- Avg amount of coffee cream consumed daily:  62 gallons
- Avg amount of sugar consumed daily:  400 lbs

Dishwashing:  fifty-seven people working continuously throughout the ship's galley pre-washing, sorting, and feeding a constant stream of china, glasses, silver, pots and pans into the dishwashing machines
- Avg amount of dishes washed daily:  70,000
- Avg amount of glasses washed daily:  21,500


Whew!  What do you think of these amazing stats?