Paradise 11/1+everything to know Fantasy class ships inc pics of all cabin classes

[Florings]

Thank you for clarifying that!  Now I'm happy!!

[tweety33]

Wow! Thank you for such a great detailed review, with all the menus & fun times & photos. This is just what I was looking for & you covered it all. I am now pumped up for my April cruise on the Paradise. Thank you!

[cruisenk]

Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge!  We were on the Horizon in September and enjoyed those delicious cakes.  I forgot how much I enjoyed them until I saw your pictures!  

[Florings]

Yes, I want those cakes!  Less than 4 weeks and I will be trying them out!!

[MLJS]

So I wanted to talk about the port destinations.

 

Cozumel - This is one of my favorite places to visit.

 

In Cozumel, there are three piers for the cruise ships.  They include Punta Langosta, the International Pier (SSA) and Puerta Maya.   Punta Langosta is located in the downtown area.  The International Pier and Puerta Maya are located to the south with their own shopping areas.  have docked at all three piers while on Carnival ships, but the last few have been at Puerta Maya.  Carnival tries to get all it's ships at the same pier in order to be able to exchange supplies and for entertainers such as the comedians to change ships.

 

I have been to Cozumel when there were as many as 10 ships in port.  Those coming in last had to tender into port.  

 

A good place to help you plan is: http://ports.cruisett.com/

Here you can check the number of passengers in port on a specific day and which ships.  I use this to determine if I need to book an excursion or not.  It can also help you choose when to cruise and when not to.
 

[MLJS]

Cozumel along with Cancun and Playa del Carmen do not participate in daylight savings time.  So their time stays the same.  This started several years ago.

 

From the start of daylight savings time (March-April) until (October-November) Cozumel is on CENTARL TIME

 

During the Winter Months (Oct/Nov) until (March/April) Cozumel is on EASTERN TIME

 

 

Always remember the ship's time stays on the same time as the port you depart from.  So if you depart from Tampa (Eastern time zone) in April and arrive in Cozumel at noon, it is actually 11am in Cozumel.  Always make sure your phones are set to not change to the new time zone or you may become very confused while ashore.

 

 

[MLJS]

**just a side note....I am just beginning to get back on my computer. In early December I slipped on black ice and hit my head really hard. The result was a diagnosis of BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) and I am just now starting to be able to get around without everything spinning. So I hope to add more soon

[MLJS]

Arriving into Cozumel where the water is always beautiful.  The day I took these pictures, it was overcast and rainy

[MLJS]

Here are some of the different boats for excursions departing from the pier 

[MLJS]

My favorite place to go is Nachi Cocom.  A private all inclusive beach club that limits the number of people there to 130 people.  The cost is $55 for adults, $39 for children 12-15 and $19 for kids 3-11.  Kids under 3 are free.  The taxi ride is $17 each way for a group of 4.

 

The drinks are usually really good.  The food is always fantastic.  You get an appetizer, meal and dessert.  We have found this to be plenty of food.

 

There is a pool and swim up bar along with a large covered central area.  Each group gets chairs under a palapa or palm tree.  I usually rent a foam mat for $7 to use in the water and on my chair.  My husband had an hour massage for $30 which he said was excellent.  You can also rent kayaks and Paddle boards or take a snorkeling trip.

 

You do need to book ahead of time and most taxis will not take you if you have not preregistered.

[MLJS]

One trip, we walked out to the taxi stand and were able to get a private tour of the island.  The opposite side of the island is quite rocky and you cannot swim there.  Our guide took us all around the island.  Here are some pictures from the far side of the island:

[MLJS]

Paradise Beach is a nice alternative.  It is a public beach available for $3 admissions fee and they ask that you buy $10 in food and drink.  They have a nice pool and lots of beach chairs available.  For an additional $18 each you can get a pass that gives you access to the inflatables, kayaks, paddle boards and snorkeling gear. The biggest draw back I have is that it can get really crowded.

 

They have started with an all inclusive package for $63 but it only included beer and some alcoholic drinks.  It does not include the fun pass to the toys.  That is an additional $14.

 

Like Nachi Cocom, free Wi-fi is available.

[MLJS]

Last November, the forecast had been for rain and an overcast day in Cozumel, which it was, so we decided to walk the 3 miles to the downtown area and have lunch at Senior Frogs. 

 

Along ng the way, a local stopped us and asked if “we could be actors for an hour”   He explained that if we listed to a talk at the Royal Holiday vacation club, he got $10. He also offered us to Cozumel tote bags, two blankets, two t-shirts & two bottles of tequila (which turned out to be really good. We were expecting cheap stuff). Since we were not in any hurry, we decided why not. Help the guy out. 

 

We toured the place, which was nice, but it was definitely a full on hard press sale. We saw 5 different people trying to close the deal, including the top guy, who just “coincidently” was getting on the elavatoe at the same time we were. He offered to give us the membership for “free”. Sorry, nothing is free and the maintainer fee was high and discounts were not that great

 

You can see the resort from the ship. Here are some pictures from the pool area too

[MLJS]

 Senior Frogs is located in the downtown shopping area near the  Punta Langosta pier. My husband had been there years ago and wanted to create better memories there.  We were some of the first ones in for lunch. There was singing and dancing and free shots and shot girls walking around offerering 5 shots for $10. The tequila shots were cheap tequila which my husband said were “nasty” as he drank both shots they gave us.  It was very loud and noisy and definitely not a place for kids. The shot girls do not wear a lot of clothes and get very frisky when they give shots. The drinks were good and the food was okay.  There while goal is to get you drunk and the evenings are definitely a big party spot

Edited January 25, 2019 by MLJS

[MLJS]

Cozumel is one of the best places to scuba dive in the world.  I don’t dive but know several instructors that do and they all say this is one of their favorite. There are tons of good dive companies, most of the located along the main road. Carnival does offer dive packages but you will get a much better deal booking directly with a dive company. 

 

Just a side note.....if you have never dived or your certificate is out of date, you will need to be certified. You can take online classes and then do dives locally before you go and check with the dive shop about final certification.  I met someone years ago that thought they could just show up and dive. They were so disappointed when they were turned away

 

you can also snorkel and see a bunch of the reefs. 

[MLJS]

I found one more picture of the pool at Paradise Beach

[MLJS]

Chankanaab National Park is another great destination.  I visited there once in March and it was not crowded at all.  The water was beautiful and full of fish

 

We found a coupon online for discounted admission.  Admission is $21 per adult and $14 per child.  They offer beach access, along with chairs, umbrellas, life guard, and places to eat.  You can get massages or enjoy a hammock while the kids can play on a playground. There are places to snorkel and dive with easy access-equipment can be rented there.  The also provide HANDICAP WHEELCHAIRS for those needing them.

 

In addition the dolphins, manatees and sea lions.  If you would like to swim with them, you can purchase those encounters and they include entrance into the park.

[MLJS]

You can also go to mainland Mexico and visit Playa Del Carmen, The Mayan Ruins or Cancun.  These trips I would schedule through Carnival or through a reputable tour company.  We used Eventure tours and they were fantastic. http://edventuretours.mx/  It is owned by an American and you can customize your trip.  We visited Tulun, snorkeled in the Cenotes, swam with sea turtles, ate at a wonderful little restraint and then snorkeled at Yal-ku lagoon.  I will post pictures below with more information about each spot.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by MLJS

[MLJS]

We visited Tulum.  It was early in the morning and it was HOT!  Make sure you have good walking shoes and water.  A tour guide can help make the experience memorable.

 

I have been to a number of Mayan Ruins over the years in Mexico and Guatemala.  Most of them are underwhelming to say the least.  The Ruins at Tulun are my favorite with the ocean right there.  You will also encounter some wild life around

 

 

[MLJS]

The Cenotes are a bunch of underground caves through this region that you can dive or snorkel through.  We took a trip snorkeling.  It was very interesting seeing the different cave formations from the water.  My youngest did not like the snorkel gear, so he just swam along with us

[MLJS]

The other family that was in our group had to go ziplining.  While they were doing that, my kids were jumping off a rock into a cove 

[MLJS]

Next we went to Akumal bay to swim with the turtles.  Our guide took us out there and he free dove to get us some good pictures

[MLJS]

A few more picture at Akumal bay 

[MLJS]

We ate lunch at La Buena Vida. It was really good.  They have some tables that are in the tree tops too along with a pool, hammocks and swings

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by MLJS

[MLJS]

Our final visit was to Yal-ku Lagoon, an inlet where ocean and fresh water mix full of all types of colorful fish