Crowded Cozumel

[akowilm]

Visiting Cozumel in April on the Celebrity Constellation. On the last trip, we booked a snorkel/'private island' tour through the ship. While the snorkeling was good, the time spent on the boat was mostly listening to annoying repeated dance music and the crew reminding us CONSTANTLY to tip them. This trip, we are either going to book a private excursion or just go out on our own. We would like to snorkel, relax, enjoy good food and cocktails, etc. The only problem is that there are FIVE ships in port that day! Any suggestions on what/where/how without being in a constant crowd?? There are approx. 10 of us, and we are willing to spend around $80 per person. Thanks for the help!!

[JohninDC]

We booked a snorkel tour with Eagle Ray a few years ago and were very happy. More recently we just cab to the Money Bar (about a $10 cab ride for up to 4 in a cab ;)) and snorkel from the shore - great snorkeling, rental gear if you need it (we only bring our own mask/snorkel to save space/weight in our luggage), good facilities, good food/drinks, tours available, etc. Check it out! :)

[akowilm]

We booked a snorkel tour with Eagle Ray a few years ago and were very happy. More recently we just cab to the Money Bar (about a $10 cab ride for up to 4 in a cab ;)) and snorkel from the shore - great snorkeling, rental gear if you need it (we only bring our own mask/snorkel to save space/weight in our luggage), good facilities, good food/drinks, tours available, etc. Check it out! :)

 

 

Thanks, John! Money Bar was on my list of options, just hope it isn't crazy crowded! How many people on the Eagle Ray tour, approx.??

[caribsun]

My vote is also the Money Bar !

[JohninDC]

Smaller boat with about a dozen (but room for more). Money Bar tends not to get crowded becasue there is no beach (just a sandy area for sunning/relaxing) so no attraction for families/smaller kids.

 

Chankanaab is another spot to look at - the $20 admission fee keeps the crowds down! Nice beach area with a separate snorkel area, including some statues and things to explore in the water. Good food and drinks - you'll get more families here who go exploring after the dolphin and other shows/encounters.

 

If you really want to beat the crowds head to Nachi Cocom - limited to 100 guests per day, all inclusive, nice beach, small pool, great food/drinks/service and you can go snorkeling there for about an extra $35 per person (smaller boat, 2-3 snorkel spots).

 

Good luck! :)

[rrus517]

I would suggest going on the Cozumel Bar Hop

It is a private tour that takes you to the windward side of the island.

It is not sponsored by any cruise line. It’s about $60.00 per

The views are excellent for picture taking and you stop at 4 bars along the way for eats and drinks. Google it and see for yourself. I guarantee your group will love it. cozumelbarhop.com

[akowilm]

We have considered the bar hop. I think it would be a blast. We are mostly from the Carolina coast, so we normally have plenty of boating and beach time, but a few in our group are landlocked and really want to swim and snorkel. Is there time during or after the bar hop to enjoy some beach/snorkel time?

[wantocruisemore]

Fellow North Carolinian! We also get enough of the beach since our families have places on the coast. We LOVE to snorkel and have our own gear.

 

Last month we just took a cab to money bar ($9 each way) and chilled out at a table and ate, drank and snorkeled. We saw several boats come and go and various groups through the water. It was so much better to just DIY.

 

Snorkeling is not bad there but the reef is not quite as good as it was in Grand caymans. We still enjoyed it though and the food there is delicious.

[akowilm]

Fellow North Carolinian! We also get enough of the beach since our families have places on the coast. We LOVE to snorkel and have our own gear.

 

Last month we just took a cab to money bar ($9 each way) and chilled out at a table and ate, drank and snorkeled. We saw several boats come and go and various groups through the water. It was so much better to just DIY.

 

Snorkeling is not bad there but the reef is not quite as good as it was in Grand caymans. We still enjoyed it though and the food there is delicious.

 

Actually, that sounds about right! It would work for the foodies, the beer drinkers (all the husbands....)the land-locked that need to swim and me, who is going to need a good massage after planning a trip for 10 hard to please people!!!

[rrus517]

The Bar Hop is aprox 4 Hrs. You would have too much fun and I wouldn't suggest going under water after all that fun. you could go in the water on the hop if the rip tides are not too bad the day you would go. Bar Hop, Bar Hop, Bar Hop. If you haven't Googled it yet go to you tube and search it there, their are many nice vids of the tour

[sail7seas]

While it may sound extreme there will be five ships in Cozumel the day you are there, it really isn't. That is not an overwhelming number for Coz. We've been there with 10 or 11...... Now THAT was crowded! :)

 

They can well handle that number of ships even if Allure or Oasis is one of them.

 

Go and enjoy.

 

Edited October 19, 2013 by sail7seas

[mitsugirly]

We love snorkeling at Chankanaab. The place is just gorgeous and there's different things to do there as well. I have 2 reviews listed in my signature line if you are interested in finding out more about the place and it has TONS of pictures. We have been there when there were 7 or 8 ships in port and it didn't seem crowded to us. :)

[Rudyard]

There were five ships in port on one of our trips last year. On that one we did Chankanaab and some shopping downtown. We never felt like it was too crowded and even got a table right away when we went to eat lunch.

[OCruisers]

It is quite normal for Cozumel to have LOTS of ships in port Nov - April.

You'll be fine as far as the crowd part goes.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[realtorlady42]

We love snorkeling at Chankanaab. The place is just gorgeous and there's different things to do there as well. I have 2 reviews listed in my signature line if you are interested in finding out more about the place and it has TONS of pictures. We have been there when there were 7 or 8 ships in port and it didn't seem crowded to us. :)

 

Hey Mitsugirly. I am just reviewing our plans for our NOLA Jewel cruise in January. 2 of our days include things you recomended...Almaplena, and Chankanaab. Can't remeber if you did a Victor Bodden..but we have a private tour booked with him.

 

Here's my question: As I review our plans for Cozumel I am questioning our timeline for the afternoon.

We have an ATV tour booked for the morning.

It is to be done at 12:30 (assuming that means back at port for 12:30)

They said they would drop us off at Chakanaab on the way back since they go right by the gate (woo hoo save on the taxi and time)

Since it is about a 20 min taxi ride (I think that's what I remember reading..you can correct me) that means we should be there shortly after 12:00.

All aboard is 4:30 and since I won't want to wait until last minute, we will want to be back between 3:30 -4:00 so leaving the park at 3-3:30 to get a taxi back.

 

Two questions: 1. Is 3 hours enough time to make the entrance fee worth it? (we have the discount coupon..so it will be about $19.00 each x2)

2. Are the taxis waiting outside the gate? how readily available are they..do we need to plan a "wait" time for returning?

 

If the time is too tight to really enjoy the park, we will save it for another cruise, but if you think 3 hrs is enough we will go for it.

 

If it is not enough time, do you know of a beach close to port we could go to snorkel? Someone mentioned Sunset?

 

Thanks :-)

[mitsugirly]

Hey Mitsugirly. I am just reviewing our plans for our NOLA Jewel cruise in January. 2 of our days include things you recomended...Almaplena, and Chankanaab. Can't remeber if you did a Victor Bodden..but we have a private tour booked with him.

 

Yes, we have done Victor Bodden, but we didn't do a tour. We did the zip & dip (went to West Bay). We had a great day, but beware of the monkeys. They bit my daughter. :(

 

Here's my question: As I review our plans for Cozumel I am questioning our timeline for the afternoon.

We have an ATV tour booked for the morning.

It is to be done at 12:30 (assuming that means back at port for 12:30)

They said they would drop us off at Chakanaab on the way back since they go right by the gate (woo hoo save on the taxi and time)

Since it is about a 20 min taxi ride (I think that's what I remember reading..you can correct me) that means we should be there shortly after 12:00.

 

Each time it has been about a 15 minute ride to the port.

 

All aboard is 4:30 and since I won't want to wait until last minute, we will want to be back between 3:30 -4:00 so leaving the park at 3-3:30 to get a taxi back.

 

Two questions: 1. Is 3 hours enough time to make the entrance fee worth it? (we have the discount coupon..so it will be about $19.00 each x2)

2. Are the taxis waiting outside the gate? how readily available are they..do we need to plan a "wait" time for returning?

 

No wait time. There is a parking lot right there on the side of Chankanaab and there is always a guy standing at the entrance that has a walkie talkie to the cabs. As soon as you are ready, he calls one and they drive over. Never a wait.

 

If the time is too tight to really enjoy the park, we will save it for another cruise, but if you think 3 hrs is enough we will go for it.

 

If it is not enough time, do you know of a beach close to port we could go to snorkel? Someone mentioned Sunset?

 

Thanks :-)

 

Hmm, only you can decide if 3 hours is a good amount of time for the price you'll have to pay. I would say we have done it (our first time) kinda... because we did one of the dolphin and manatee swims (but we were there at the park), so that took up a bunch of our time and we still enjoyed the entire park that time. I would of course prefer to spend an entire day there (which we did the 2nd time around), but it's just so beautiful...knowing me, I probably would do it. But, that's just me. It has such awesome snorkeling and that's really what I went there for.

 

Another good place for snorkeling (although not a National Park and it's small) would be to go on down the road to The Money Bar. They are supposed to have awesome snorkeling just like Chankanaab. It doesn't cost to get in and they just want you to purchase food and drinks. I haven't been there, but have done a lot of research on it.

 

Here's a thread that we were talking about Chankanaab vs the Money Bar. I gave a bunch of pictures in that thread if you are interested in checking it out. People have also mentioned going to a place called Sunset, which is close to the pier (also within the thread). :)

[realtorlady42]

Thanks M.

DH and I discussed it tonight...I THINK we are going to save it for when we sail on the Pearl in April (not booked yet waiting for price drop) and go for the Day.

I saw that thread you mentioned and posted a couple of questions there regarding a good beach on the South Shore. I looked at Sunset on the map, but it is on the other side of the Pier so to save time (and taxi fare) we will go on one of the beaches where our ATV tour can drop us off on the way back to the pier...which is pretty much all the other beaches lol.

 

I need one that you can walk into as my DH is a non swimmer so I am researching a couple of those. He likes to "puddle" but can't be over his head.

On that note I was really pleased to see that the park has the little bay we can go to and he can puddle around and hangout on the beach and people watch while I explore.

[mitsugirly]

Thanks M.

DH and I discussed it tonight...I THINK we are going to save it for when we sail on the Pearl in April (not booked yet waiting for price drop) and go for the Day.

I saw that thread you mentioned and posted a couple of questions there regarding a good beach on the South Shore. I looked at Sunset on the map, but it is on the other side of the Pier so to save time (and taxi fare) we will go on one of the beaches where our ATV tour can drop us off on the way back to the pier...which is pretty much all the other beaches lol.

 

I need one that you can walk into as my DH is a non swimmer so I am researching a couple of those. He likes to "puddle" but can't be over his head.

On that note I was really pleased to see that the park has the little bay we can go to and he can puddle around and hangout on the beach and people watch while I explore.

 

I think it's a wise decision to save Chank for a full day while on the Pearl. :D

 

He should like the cove area. It sounds like it will suit him well. :)

[Mcshells]

Just wondering how you know how many ships are in port the same day you are?

 

I would love to know that!

[realtorlady42]

Just wondering how you know how many ships are in port the same day you are?

 

I would love to know that!

 

I asked the same thing yesterday :)

HEre is a link that was given to me..I book marked it for all future cruises and ports ..very useful!

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/

[Lovefuninthesun]

There will be 6 ships in port when we are in Cozumel on November 12!:eek:

I have never been there when there are so many ships -- have seen 6 ships in St Thomas and Grand Cayman, but not in Cozumel.

[kruisecat]

There will be 6 ships in port when we are in Cozumel on November 12!:eek:

I have never been there when there are so many ships -- have seen 6 ships in St Thomas and Grand Cayman, but not in Cozumel.

 

 

And that is why we booked Nachi! When you posted that a while back on the roll call I made sure I reserved our 2 spots :p

[realtorlady42]

does anyone know how many loungers/tables there are at Money Bar?

Edited November 23, 2013 by realtorlady42