Everyone tells me on my next cruise make sure we don't go to Cozumel?

[AZbeachboy]

As you can see most people on here like coz. We have been there twice and will return again at the end of the month. Once we went shopping and the other time snorkeling at the state park beach. Myan history was at the park and they we enjoyed the beach.

 

We grabed a cab, paid the admission to the park, rented snorkel gear had something to eat, watched the dolphin encounters and still only spent about $25.00 each. The beach is good but snorkeling was different becasue the beach does not go to the water. Their is a rock retaining wall and the water is deep immediatley. We saw bigger fish that we have on other snorkeling trips. The have submurged some articafts to spy and they do have sucba training in the area. Their is no coral in that area. We did see a Barracuta and some doephins there and a school of large fish that we did not know what they were all lined up.

 

When shopping we went deep into the neighborhoods. Many people did not speak English but all were friendly and smiling. We felt safe all the time.

 

Go and enjoy your time there and do what makes you happy.

[jmo1]

IMHO, the main attraction at Cozumel is what's underwater around the island. The visability is truely unbelievable underwater. Cozumel is known as one of the best dive places in the world. I just returned from some awesome snorkeling there.

[sanditoes4]

Our first cruise stopped at Haiti, Grand Cayman, Jamacia and Cozumel. By far hands down the best stop was Cozumel!!!! It was the best day we had!!! We were there about 3-4 months after the hurricane, and I was shocked at how put together the island was!!! Yes some places you could see were a total mess, but man for having a hurricane sit on top of the island for so many hours, it looked pretty dang good to me!!!

 

We did horseback riding, deep sea fishing and PB!!! We had a terrific day and I am so excited that my up coming cruise is also stopping here, I already have my day planned out and I have 3 months to wait yet!!! I am going snorkeling this time!!

 

I say double check with your friend, and YES get off the ship at this stop!!!!

[SMN]

We've been to Coz three times, once before Wilma, but most recently April and August 2006. Had a great time at SF Beach in April and in August did a semi-sub tour, went shopping and ate at Casa Denis. We'd love to be back again. Don't stay on the ship. SMN

[Cahira]

We loved Coz and will be returning in December. Our last trip we hired a taxi and went round the island, great thing about this is you can make the tour as long or short as you wish.

[pba20493]

They are probably the same people that say Dont go on this cruiseline when they have never been on any of the ships. Dont belive them.

 

Coz is a very nice place to go.

 

 

Tim

[JCLNJ]

How crowded will the beaches be if there are 5 ships in port? Has anyone ever gone to Dzul Ha? We were thinking of going there to do some snorkeling.

[LHP]

I LOVE Cozumel.

 

It is definately my favorite port. You can hop off the ship and grab a taxi to anywhere without a care. The people are fabulous. I have always felt very safe. Paradise Beach always has an excellent spot to relax in a clean, fun but not to crazy environment. (and they are adding a pool by the end of next year!!!)

 

There is CarlosNCharlies and Senor Frogs if you want some "free" entertainment. The water is safe to drink at the major resorts.

 

The snorkeling is good. Fishing is great. What else could anyone want?

[samtig]

We've been to Cozumel 5 times, once after Wilma in Dec., and have 2 more cruises scheduled with stops in Cozumel. Can't imagine why anyone wouldn't enjoy it unless they just didn't know where to go & what to do. It's a very tourist friendly place, safe, with lots to see & do. We've been to Tulum twice & it was wonderful. Most beautiful beach I've seen. We now go to a beach, usually Paradise Beach, then back to town to Panchos Backyard for margueritas & then shop. The people of Cozumel have really worked hard to clean up & rebuild after Wilma. It's a great place to visit!

[StCroixCruiser]

See if you can get your friends to tell you what it was about Cozumel that they don't like. I've been there half a dozen times for a week to ten days of SCUBA diving in addition to a one-day stop over on a cruise ship a year ago and am now about to go back again on a cruise ship. Cozumel is one of the ports I specifically looked for when scheduling those two cruises.

 

One thing that springs to mind to possibly explain your friends' advice is that they may be the type of cruise passengers who only want to go shopping in ports and they aren't into SCUBA or snorkeling, which is the main attraction of the island. The SCUBA is truly world class. That is also true of Belize, so I wasn't surprised to hear in another post that someone hadn't cared for Belize since it didn't sound like they had gone there to go diving. There is far less shopping on Cozumel that you would find in the diamond districts of St. Thomas and St. Martin. However, you can certainly get the requisite t-shirts and sarongs and carved whale bone nick nacks that are available in all cruise ports.

 

A Western Caribbean itinerary that includes a combination of islands from: Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Belize & Roatan will be tops on the list of what SCUBA divers would look for. People who prefer to shop heavily in every port often choose the Eastern Caribbean Itinerary with St. Thomas (which I personally HATE) and St. Martin.

 

The Western Caribbean ports also get lots of thumbs up from the "party people" on cruise ships who are looking for booze cruises and pub crawls. I can remember (barely) some crazy nights at Carlos and Charlie's in Cozumel, that's for sure!

 

I enjoy visiting them all... but it's sure nice to come home to St. Croix at the end. While we have some tourism, this island is mostly a place where people live and have a good time with family and friends. The year around sunshine and temperatures in the 80's are always pleasant.

[Melmo]

Boy this post generated a lot of discussion. I too am a Cozumel LOVER! I've been there 5 times. The only time it was a little disappointing is the land trip it rained the entire time. That could happen any where. The good times are endless! I can't wait to return in January! The hardest part is picking one day's worth of activities, lol! The people are so nice and the beaches are amazing!

[Stillfloatin']

I LOVE Cozumel and can't wait to go back this March. If you're looking for a great beach day with snorkeling, kayaking, good food, lockers, a pool, massage, and bar and best of all, no big cruise ship crowds, I suggest PlayaUvas. Lot's of great reviews so we decided to give it a try ourselves. Check it out: http://www.playauvas.com/

[Island Annie]

Fu~N~Sun,

 

If you stay on board your ship in Coz tou'll DEFINITELY regret it.

 

Yes, Coz suffered a lot of damage in 2005 when Wilma came through but they've been working nearly around the clock to repair everything and are once again fully operational. (with maybe just a few exceptions who weren't able to get their supplies for some reason).

 

If a pretty beach and casual shopping are top on your priority list, you will LOVE Cozumel. I can highly recommend Paradise Beach as one of the "prettiest" beaches in coz. They also have 2 bars there. 1 larger open-air bar located at beach level & near their restaurant, and a smaller bar located directly on the beach just a few steps away. (both were quiet "lively" the day I was there. The Terrace Restaurant is a GREAT place for lunch if you want to maximize your "beach time", have lunch & then go shopping. It overlooks the entire beach, has GREAT food & service and offers a great view for photos. (menu is shown on their website)

 

Entrance to PB is free, and includes use of their chaise lounge chairs, and umbrellas. You can also purchase a optional wristband for (I think$9) which will give you use of all their water toys (floating trampoline, climbing iceburg & floating mats). They also provide shower/changing rooms & very clean restrooms,and offer beach massages, henna tattos, and hammocks for relaxing under a swaying palm if you care to take a short nap after your massage. ahhhh, now THIS is my idea of "Paradise".

 

When you're ready to leave there are taxis readily available at the main entrance to take you to the shopping area which is located very near to where your ships pier or tender pier is. There are TONS of stores there selling Cozumel Tshirts, sandals & flip flops.

 

Here is the website for Paradise Beach. It will give you a better idea of exactly what it's like there.

 

Enjoy!

 

Island Annie

 

http://www.paradise-beach-cozumel.com

[AZbeachboy]

Ive bet a lot of people have had fun in Coz since this thread died

[samtig]

Sure have, we've been 2 more times since I posted on this thread. Again, had a fantastic time. Paradise Beach is great as are the Cozumel restaurants.

[sharecruises]

:)My wife and I were there on a cruise in July 2005 and we are going again next January. Cozumel was FUN and CHEAP. We took a taxi to Dzul Ha Beach club and had the area all to ourselves for a couple of hours. We rented snorkling gear and lockers from the club. The snorkeling there is great and we were there long before all the snorkel excursions showed up. We had a couple of beers and some nachos and probably spent a total of $20 at the club (including snorkel gear). This area is a snorkel area not a "lay on the beach" area, so, about noon we got a cab to paradise beach. It's free to go in and they showed us to a couple beach chairs and an umbrella. Since it's free you should order food, which we did. I think we got more drinks and nachos and just enjoyed the clean beach and sun. We paid about $8 each for wristbands to use the beach toys and really enjoyed that. When we got tired of the beach we got a taxi back to the dock area and shopped for a while. We did all that for about $70 for the two of us, including taxi's. By all means get off the boat!

 

 

Thanks but your info is from 2005 ...Paradise Beach now is not "free" but requires a $10 per person food/drink fee, including kids. The wristbands are now $9. The $10 per person is reasonable and fair..but required. People should know this ahead of time to avoid confusion

[sharecruises]

Maybe your friends who did not like Cozumel were there right after Wilma..and had to tender in. I had read some older reviews that were pretty bad, mostly due to the confused tendering situation, before any of the piers were rebuilt.

 

South Florida looked pretty bad for some time after Wilma too...and gettting around here was a pain, many street lights down, some with only one dangling light, "temporary" light kiosks at some intersections, worse traffic, many things closed

 

however, things rebuild and apparently Cozumel has done a good job. My heart goes out to them..Wilma was bad for us but they had the storm SIT on them for 60 (*40?) hours straight....I look forward to visiting there in May.

 

*PS...I also loved Jamaica

[kenf333]

Thanks but your info is from 2005 ...Paradise Beach now is not "free" but requires a $10 per person food/drink fee, including kids. The wristbands are now $9. The $10 per person is reasonable and fair..but required. People should know this ahead of time to avoid confusion

I think most understand this... Kinda like beating a dead horse as usual:D

[sharecruises]

I think most understand this... Kinda like beating a dead horse as usual:D

 

 

If MOST understood this, they would not make out of date posts would they?? I don't see any harm in updating the info....as I stated the $10 is very reasonable...it is the contiuous "free chairs" that leads to confusion.

 

Actually I find the BEST info on ports etc is the newest info, the "just returned">> I have opinions and reviews of my excursions from last year but things may have changed...my older reviews would be totally worthless, one of the places I went to in the late 90's is no longer even on the roster of ports anymore (St Croix)...

 

History is fun to read, but the best and most current info is what I prefer to look for.

[ggprincess2004]

My DH and I enjoy Cozumel very much. It did suffer a lot of damage from the hurricanes in 2005, but has recovered in part. We were there in October of 2006 and again in Jan 2007. We really enjoy the port. We are fond of Chankanaab park, and the Royal Dolphin swim.

When we were in port in Jan 2007 there were 7 or 8 ships in port at the same time. The place was very crowded - perhaps because of the shopping and beaches. Also, the people are very friendly there.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!:D

[kenf333]

If MOST understood this, they would not make out of date posts would they?? I don't see any harm in updating the info....as I stated the $10 is very reasonable...it is the contiuous "free chairs" that leads to confusion.

 

Actually I find the BEST info on ports etc is the newest info, the "just returned">> I have opinions and reviews of my excursions from last year but things may have changed...my older reviews would be totally worthless, one of the places I went to in the late 90's is no longer even on the roster of ports anymore (St Croix)...

 

History is fun to read, but the best and most current info is what I prefer to look for.

 

Out of date?

Um when were you there, and you need to stop!!!!!:D

[sharecruises]

Out of date?

Um when were you there, and you need to stop!!!!!:D

 

Yes...out of date...the poster was there in 2005, and gave erroneous info, out of date....the price of the wristband went up and they do enforce the $10 per person, kids too, policy...new reviews clearly show that

 

why do I need to stop?? You seem to only post/promote/push about one beach club, no other ports, nothing but cozumel. I find that very odd.

That is why I asked if you work for them. As someone said, you are the "go to" guy when Tom is on vacation. So I guess I was right.

 

There is a difference between "attraction" and "promotion".

 

I had a good time in Grand Cayman and Jamaica last year but i don't feel any need to hang out on those boards....my info is out of date anyhow

just as info from 2005 is out of date for Cozumel. In fact, most pre Wilma reviews are pretty much irrelevant to the current situation and prices/places from what I can see. My opinon of course

 

Please stop following me around. I stay out of the thread about Paradise Beach

[JoeTx]

Out of date?

Um when were you there, and you need to stop!!!!!:D

 

Kenf, would you PLEASE stop quoting that women, I've added her to my Ignore List, so I don't have to read her posts, but your defeating that cause her stuff shows up in your quoted posts

[kenf333]

Kenf, would you PLEASE stop quoting that women, I've added her to my Ignore List, so I don't have to read her posts, but your defeating that cause her stuff shows up in your quoted posts

 

Sorry Joe, I'm done with all of that... I promise no more quotes of that nature....:D

[zuscruiserz]

You two men seem very rude.

 

I, for one, am looking for a new beach area in Cozumel because our favorite snorkelling one, Corona beach, was all but wiped out by Wilma. I do appreciate all the information supplied on this site by everyone here, but am getting tired of all the back-biting going on by one or two particular people just because someone else prefers a different beach experience.

 

I was leaning toward Paradise Beach as our Cozumel stop in August, but am now reconsidering Playa Uvas as it may meet our desires nicely (somewhat because of the nasty remarks that have been made - if these are the types of people on PB, I think I'll take my family, and my money, elsewhere). I am still up in the air about this, and need to know the costs of ALL THINGS as there will be four of us this time, and we all want to have a great time.

 

So, please stop the snide remarks, and get back to the reason for the ports of call board - to INFORM those who want to have the best experience possible.

 

Thank you, and good night :rolleyes: .