Cruise 2014 - Belize, River Cruise

A boat ride on those huge ships is, by itself, worth the money one pays for a cruise...just as, in my opinion, an airplane ride in one of those huge Boeing airliners is, by itself, worth the money one pays for the flight, never mind the destination.

But just as important a draw for us are the excursions that are available to cruise ship passengers.  These usually offer a wide variety of adventure and fun in faraway places and exotic lands.

Take this river boat ride.  We signed up to explore the Lamanai ruins of ancient Maya days, and knew we'd get there by river.  What we didn't know was that it was a LONG ways from where we boarded the river boats, and that to get there in time we had to go FAST.  The sheer speed under the expert pilotship of our guides was exhilarating.  And even at speeds of 45+ mph, with a few stops along the way to observe the wildlife, it took nearly a half hour to get there.  This boat ride alone made it worth the money we paid for the excursion.