Celebrity Infinity 2022: Mexico

The next port was Cozumel, a Mexican island just off the mainland. Here I paid $25 to rent a bike for the day. Here she is at a little stop I found off the main road. I sat here for a while and two people stopped me: One was Spanish and barely spoke English and she was asking me can she swim here... I said I don't know?! Then an American man called out to me "Hey, are you going to jump in a snorkel there?" and I said no, just enjoying the view :)

 

I ate this snack there which I found in a newsagent across the road.

Then I took a cycle through the jungle to a beach club called "Monkey Bar".

Monkey Bar doesn't have a beach but there are steps into the water and the snorkeling is pretty good. You can stay for as long as you like as long as you order some food or a drink or two at the restaurant.

I ordered coconut shrimp and loved them!!

It was a bit of a stormy day though and the weather kept turning. It rained pretty hard and I had to move inside.

Later I cycled back to port and met Brewer where we went for a drink and some snacks in Hooters. I'd never been to Hooters so was excited but it was a bit of a disappointment. No atmosphere and the wings weren't great. 

Our ship was docked next to MSC Seaside. MSC is known for having monster-sized ships but this isn't even one of their biggest!

When getting back on the Celebrity Infinity it's always a very calm affair. This time we had to walk through the MSC walkway also, it was a bit crazy there!

I love when doors on the ship are left open and I catch a glimpse at Crew areas...

For dinner we went to a specialty restaurant "Tuscan Grille" as Brewer was celebrating a big life event.

My view from our table was right into the pasta kitchen.

After bringing bread to the table the waiter asked if we wanted oil and fresh basil to dip. We definitely did... And he wasn't lying when he said the basil was fresh!

You can order as much as you want from the menu and after ordering the waiter said "Do you want antipasti also?" so I said "Sure"!

Antipasti Board:

Antipasti and Bread:

My starter was pork belly:

I continued my venture into eating seafood by trying lobster pasta (Lobster Rigatoni Alfredo):

All of our food: Antipasti, bread, pastas, steaks and sides! We ordered a lovely bottle of wine also but I can't remember the name.

After eating the meal I was too full for dessert... But the waiter said he'd arrange for it to be delivered to my room! So I ordered pistachio creme brulee.

After dinner we had a cocktail in the "Martini Bar". It's not really a martini bar: It just serves cocktails in a martini glass! They have lots of different types, I always order a blue drink on every vacation. I joke that it's "Blue Milk" from Star Wars. Nerd. This cocktail was tasty.

When I arrived to my room later that night my pistachio creme brulee was waiting for me so I ate it in bed to finish another amazing day.

Celebrity Infinity 2022: Belize

 

I had heard that Belize city was not the safest place to explore so we booked an excursion on the ship through Celebrity. The excursion was a snorkeling trip to the Belize's barrier reef (the second largest barrier reef in the world!) and a stop in Shark Ray Alley to swim with rays and nurse sharks.

We also had a stop on Caye Caulker on the way home for lunch.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics from the morning on the water. The snorkelling was great, we were split into groups and each group had a guide that took us on a swim through the reef. We saw lots of rays, fish and a huge Moray eel!

Then back on board we moved to an area known as Shark Ray Alley. The water was about 5 feet in depth and as soon as the boat docked rays and sharks started to arrive. The rays swam around us and rubbed up against your legs like cats! The sharks mainly ignored us: They were just here for the bait being thrown into the water for them. But one guide did take a shark and turn it upside down so we could touch it. The rays felt slimy lol.

After swimming we were taken to Caye Caulker where we ordered lunch at the Lazy Lizard and had a tiny amount of time to explore. I had researched the Lazy Lizard beforehand and wanted to try their famous "Green Lizard" drink. It was fun but wouldn't order it again.

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Caye Caulker is a long skinny island and "The Split" is where the North island is separated from the South island by a body of water. This was allegedly caused by a hurricane in the 1940s but I've also read that it's man made.

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After lunch we had a very short period of time to explore the island.We took a quick walk and I bought some Marie Sharps hot sauce in a local shop.

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After lunch the excursion was over and we were dropped back to the port. We spent the afternoon shopping in the secure port area and had a few drinks.The local beer is called Belkin and it was good!

Belize City is a tender port as the reef means it's not possible for the cruise ship to dock close to land. It was  a bit annoying having to catch the tender boat back to the ship: Especially because there isn't a time table, you just arrive and get on the tender and it leaves when it's full. We went to catch the last tender and thought we were slightly late but ended up sitting and waiting for around 20 minutes before we were taken back onboard Celebrity Silhouette. 

Once back on board we were straight back to the pool as usual. Brewer introduced me to the wonder of Patron shaken on ice. I feel very posh ordering it now!

Later that night I ordered Baby Guinness but the bartender hadn't heard of it. Once I explained the recipe he made them- In wine glasses! I was sipping this all night.