Port Abort Roatan, Honduras
On the morning of Mar 17th we came into port at Roatan. This is an island off the mainland of Honduras. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
We had a lovely sunrise following us. The ship was gliding fairly slowly.
In the distance we can see the mainland on the port side.
The island appeared on our starbord side. Nice and lush!
We have an early excursion to Little French Cay for a snorkling trip, so we head up to the Terrace Cafe for a quick bite of breakfast. As the ship turns we think we’re about to anchor. But we don’t recall any mention of tendering at this port. We see the Royal Caribbean ship behind us – it appears to be at dock, or very close to the dock. But a pilot boat speeds toward us. Unusual – typically we would take the pilot on long before this point and he would get off once we are at dock.
We’re ready for snorkeling! I have my St Paddy’s Day green shirt on over my swim shirt.
Then the Captain comes over the PA system, informing us due to winds we cannot dock this morning. Roatan is cancelled. (You probably already guessed this from the title of this blog.)
This is odd because we’re sitting out on the terrace Cafe veranda having breakfast, and there is very little wind. What is the ship not telling us?
The ship heads out! Port aborted! Whirled!
So we have an open day. One of the other passengers, Rod, along with his wife, Merry, has asked us to help in making little ribbons for the passengers to show our support for Ukraine. We have eleven Ukrainian people working on this ship, including two in the Insignia Show Band and three in the Panache String Quartet! We are happy to help! So here is one of two sheets of ribbons I have made so far. These are drawn on watercolor paper, then painted with watercolors. Yes, we are allowed to not color within the lines on a project like this!
Once cut out they look like this!
Then I went one step further. I wanted to add some significance to the ribbon.
Our port of call, Roatan, was a bust. Too bad. But at least I feel like I accomplished something today! A lot of people are wearing the ribbons – taped to their ATW buttons, pinned to the hat or clothes, or taped to their stateroom doors!
Another group has been collecting donations from the passengers. They have raised over $11,000 to donate to Oceania’s selected program to assist the displaced children of Ukraine. We had a special show to recognize our Ukrainian crew members and let them know what the passengers have been doing to support Ukraine.
Next stop – Santo Tomas, Guatemala!
