2015 Cruise - Roatan Disembarkation

The disembarkation areas of cruise ports are something to see - well-developed infrastructures built to do nothing but disgorge passengers so they can spend money.  In many places what they see upon reaching land is a venue very much like a Disney or Sea World park.  Beautiful and appealing.  However, once passengers leave the safety and security of its borders (sometimes reinforced by tall, thick walls) in a place like Freeport, Nassau or Belize City, a very different world envelopes them with the realities of deep poverty and, at times, crime.

Looking back from within such a venue in Roatan, the sheer size of the ship is startling.  How they park these leviathans so gently against the dock never ceases to amaze: