Anyone heard of "Passion Island"?

[lgbteacher]

I booked the Twister with only 4 people in my booking. We knew there would be at least 11 people in our group but we did not all book together.

[mom2girls]

I only booked with 2 of us in our group.

[CarribbeanTina271]

The other posters are correct, you can book the Twister with any amount of people.

and Momof2, I would check with your cruiseline to see if the Belize will be skipped.. Hopefully for you by the time you go everything will be taken care of, I don't think Belize was a direct hit for the Tropical Storm. Have a safe trip

[CarribbeanTina271]

Mom, I have a correction, the tropical storm did hit belize, but I would still check with the cruiseline to see if you will be going there or not. Good luck and have a fun and safe trip.

and oh yea, we should be getting some reviews in the next day or so....woohooo

Tina

[letsgocruz1]

Carrie really took care of us!!! :) We were aboard the Glory and due to tropical storm and extreme flooding, Carnival made the call to skip Belize and head back to Cozumel on Wednesday instead. This was on Tues evening.

 

So I immediately contacted Carrie via email and asked her to set something up for us for the next day. She responded within minutes and after a couple of emails, we had the whole day planned!!

 

She told me to meet with Melizza at the pier (we met in front of Carlos and Charlies at 10 am). When I introduced myself to Melizza, she was ready for us, and had my name right there on her clipboard. She told me that we could either wait for the Twister boat to come back or go on and head out via taxi/boat. It being hot, and my dd, age 7, being cranky, we decided to go ahead to the island via taxi. Melizza had us in a taxi within 30 seconds.

 

Let me tell you this, the road is in much better shape!! Still a bit bumpy w/a few holes but nothing like before. They have been working on it just like Carrie said!! After arriving at the small pier, we were greeted by Leo, our tour guide, who road the boat over with us. This was just a small boat, but went plenty fast. We were on PI within minutes! They really had it together.

 

While going over on the boat, Leo told us all about the island...the facilities, food, drinks, kids activities, etc. Once there, he quickly showed us around and asked us if we needed anything.

 

We found some chairs in the shade and walked around and checked out the island. My dh just had an appendectomy, so he found a hammock and lounged there most of the day.

 

The food was good. It consisted of delicious BBQ chicken, fish, rice, assorted fruits, bread, salad, pico de gallo (sp), nachos, guacamole, and donuts. (I've probably left something out). Anyway, its all you can eat and Leo told us to eat 4 or 5 times if we felt like it!! They have Pepsi brand fountain drinks and ice cold water. The open bar was margaritas, rum punch, s*x on the beach, and two other drinks (cant think of what they were right now). (no frozen drinks)

 

There is a water trampoline to jump on, and the water to get to it was a bit rough that day due to 4 days of rain. My kids really wanted to go out to it. So Leo put on his swimming trunks, put life jackets on them, and swam them out to the trampoline. And he stayed out there until they were finished playing! He doted on them, that's for sure!! Normally getting to the trampoline isn't an issue, it was just all the rain. He said the island had been closed for 3 or 4 days previously because of it. (all the other kids swam out on their own...mine were wimpy, lol and I am a worrywart!)

 

They also had a small playground area, a regular trampoline, and Fischer Price four wheelers for the little ones. Leo hosted a water balloon game later in the afternoon that we all enjoyed. My dd and her partner were the winners and he gave her a plastic beaded necklace for a prize.

 

At one point, Leo announced that it was time for all of the Carnival Glory cruisers to leave. He came around to us and told us that since we were booked privately, that the announcement didn't pertain to us. Instead, we were invited to spend as much time as we wanted. We stayed about 2 hrs longer than the others. He just asked that we let him know about 20 mins before we were ready to leave so that he could have the taxi waiting on us.

 

We played in the water, lounged in the chairs, and spent time in the hammocks. It was a great day!

 

When it was time to go, Leo rode back w/us in the boat to make sure that the taxi was there. It was waiting and we were driven back into town and dropped off at the pier (she also offered to drop us downtown for shopping)

 

My family and I had an awesome day at PI. It was our own little piece of heaven! It was a beautiful day and the island looked great.

 

So my advice is to book w/Carrie as she will take care of you. They really have their ducks in a row now and our day was flawless!!!

[KimS.]

What a great review! Can't wait until we go in Feb. Carrie told us we could get frozen drinks (pina coladas etc) for 4.00, they did have Coronoa's (or other brands of beer) didn't they on the open bar? Facilities were nice? Glad to hear you could back as many times as you wanted to the buffet, the guys in our group like to snack!

Glad to hear that you had a great time and wonderful memories!

[letsgocruz1]

What a great review! Can't wait until we go in Feb. Carrie told us we could get frozen drinks (pina coladas etc) for 4.00, they did have Coronoa's (or other brands of beer) didn't they on the open bar? Facilities were nice? Glad to hear you could back as many times as you wanted to the buffet, the guys in our group like to snack!

Glad to hear that you had a great time and wonderful memories!

 

Yes I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that they had beer on the open bar. I don't drink beer and dh doesn't like Mexican beer so neither of us tried any, and I'm not sure of the brands. There were lots of signs for Lager XX (I think that's right...) I didn't ask the price of frozen drinks but they do have a pay bar. I'm sure Carrie would not lead you astray.

 

Yes the facilities were VERY nice and VERY clean. The bathrooms were spotless, and if they don't gross me out, that's saying something as I am very picky! The buffet area is well kept too.

 

If your guys like to snack, they'll love it. We went back serveral times that day.

 

Go and have a great time! Let us know all about it.

[CarribbeanTina271]

Awesome review Kristi!! I am so jealous that you got to go again and without me ;) ... I really glad DH got to relax, it needed that after having surgery. And by the sounds of Leo helping, it really made your day lots better. Was the guac as good as the first time, yum, I could a big bowl full right now:D

And 2 stops in Cozumel WOW, what an awesome cruise!! and oh yea I am glad that you are back, you were missed very much!!

Tina

[letsgocruz1]

Awesome review Kristi!! I am so jealous that you got to go again and without me ;) ... I really glad DH got to relax, it needed that after having surgery. And by the sounds of Leo helping, it really made your day lots better. Was the guac as good as the first time, yum, I could a big bowl full right now:D

And 2 stops in Cozumel WOW, what an awesome cruise!! and oh yea I am glad that you are back, you were missed very much!!

Tina

 

Awww, thanks, I missed you too. Yep, the guac was great. I had two servings of it. I was thrilled that we got to go back to Coz again, and that Carrie was able to help me out on such short notice.

[MississippiMom]

CaribbeanTina271 -

 

Thank you for taking the time to post a quick review.

 

Can you tell me more about the experience your children had, since we will be traveling with our 14, 7 and 6 year olds with us? What did they eat? Drink? Did you feel comfortable letting your children run around on their own? Was it laid out in a way that you could pretty much see everywhere that they might have been?

 

Did you leave tips for anyone on PI?

[mom2girls]

letsgocruz: Thank you sooo much for posting your review. I will be going on Wednesday, so I'm very glad I checked your review out before heading out to the port. We'll be leaving the hotel in about 30 minutes! :D

[MississippiMom]

CaribbeanTina271 -

 

Thank you for taking the time to post a quick review.

 

Can you tell me more about the experience your children had, since we will be traveling with our 14, 7 and 6 year olds with us? What did they eat? Drink? Did you feel comfortable letting your children run around on their own? Was it laid out in a way that you could pretty much see everywhere that they might have been?

 

Did you leave tips for anyone on PI?

 

Sorry, that was supposed to be to LetsGoCruz1.

[letsgocruz1]

CaribbeanTina271 -

 

Thank you for taking the time to post a quick review.

 

Can you tell me more about the experience your children had, since we will be traveling with our 14, 7 and 6 year olds with us? What did they eat? Drink? Did you feel comfortable letting your children run around on their own? Was it laid out in a way that you could pretty much see everywhere that they might have been?

 

Did you leave tips for anyone on PI?

 

Hi Miss.Mom,

 

My kids are 11 and 7 and I "sorta" let them do their own thing. The island is big and spread out so I gave them their boundaries. We sat in an area that they could easily go and get their own drinks and I could see them. You'll be able to see them pretty far off as it's all flat, but it is a big place so just set your boundaries and they'll be fine.

 

They drank soda and some type of punch. I think its the punch that they use to make the rum punch.

 

DS loved the BBQ chicken and he is an especially picky eater. He basically has 3 foods that he eats so I was very surprised when he wolfed down 4 chicken legs! My dd loved the fruit (watermelon and pineapple were her favs) and they both liked the nachos (plain! of course) When I was there back in April, they had some type of a Mexican cookie that was delicious. This time they had cinammon donuts; so the desserts must vary.

 

My 11 yo pretty much was content to build sandcastles. He's creative and that's his thing. Dd wanted to be in the water most of the time, or walk on the beach. They both loved the water balloon toss and I even participated. Leo made everybody feel like a winner. It was so much fun!

 

Yes, I did tip. There was a tip box at the buffet and by the bar. I just put a few dollars in. I also gave Leo a nice tip at the end of the day. Probably too much but I felt like he earned it.

 

I hope this helps answer all of your questions. Let me know if you need any more info!

[MississippiMom]

Hi Miss.Mom,

 

My kids are 11 and 7 and I "sorta" let them do their own thing. The island is big and spread out so I gave them their boundaries. We sat in an area that they could easily go and get their own drinks and I could see them. You'll be able to see them pretty far off as it's all flat, but it is a big place so just set your boundaries and they'll be fine.

 

They drank soda and some type of punch. I think its the punch that they use to make the rum punch.

 

DS loved the BBQ chicken and he is an especially picky eater. He basically has 3 foods that he eats so I was very surprised when he wolfed down 4 chicken legs! My dd loved the fruit (watermelon and pineapple were her favs) and they both liked the nachos (plain! of course) When I was there back in April, they had some type of a Mexican cookie that was delicious. This time they had cinammon donuts; so the desserts must vary.

 

My 11 yo pretty much was content to build sandcastles. He's creative and that's his thing. Dd wanted to be in the water most of the time, or walk on the beach. They both loved the water balloon toss and I even participated. Leo made everybody feel like a winner. It was so much fun!

 

Yes, I did tip. There was a tip box at the buffet and by the bar. I just put a few dollars in. I also gave Leo a nice tip at the end of the day. Probably too much but I felt like he earned it.

 

I hope this helps answer all of your questions. Let me know if you need any more info!

 

Thank you so much for giving me this kind of detail. It sounds like our three kids should have no problem at all having a wonderful time on Passion Island. I am so glad that I went ahead and booked it.

[CarribbeanTina271]

Letsgo, you are making me so hungry just reading what you said about all the good food on PI, yum, I don't eat chicken legs here but back in April when we were there, I ate several of them, they were so yummy!! I could so go for some of the buffet.. LOL

we saw the balloon toss back in April but did not participate, it did look to be lots of fun.

Can't wait to read more reviews..

And Miss Mom, I have no doubt that your children and yourself will have a blast at PI. Have a great trip and eat lots!!

[letsgocruz1]

Thank you so much for giving me this kind of detail. It sounds like our three kids should have no problem at all having a wonderful time on Passion Island. I am so glad that I went ahead and booked it.

 

Hey, I just noticed you are sailing on the Inspiration. Girl, your kids are going to LOVE the Water Works Area!! My kids loved the Glory and also the 7 nights (versus the 5 on Inspiration), but they sorely missed Water Works. Now we can't decide whether to do another 7 nighter or go w/the 5 nighter so that they can have the fun water slides.

 

Sigh...decisions decisions, lol What stress!

[MississippiMom]

Hey, I just noticed you are sailing on the Inspiration. Girl, your kids are going to LOVE the Water Works Area!! My kids loved the Glory and also the 7 nights (versus the 5 on Inspiration), but they sorely missed Water Works. Now we can't decide whether to do another 7 nighter or go w/the 5 nighter so that they can have the fun water slides.

 

Sigh...decisions decisions, lol What stress!

 

We will be driving to our port, and had every intention of booking a cruise out of New Orleans, which is less than six hours away. Then, I started researching the different ships, and we just had to get on one with the "Evolutions of Fun." We'll be in the car twice as long, but it will be worth it just for the kids to get to play in the Water Works area. Plus, by complete coincidence, Inspiration was the first ship that my DH and I cruised on together, so it does have some sentimental value. (Inspriration is the ship that got him hooked on cruising. :cool:)

 

We cruise in 24 days!!!! I can't wait to report back about our fabulous time.

[letsgocruz1]

We will be driving to our port, and had every intention of booking a cruise out of New Orleans, which is less than six hours away. Then, I started researching the different ships, and we just had to get on one with the "Evolutions of Fun." We'll be in the car twice as long, but it will be worth it just for the kids to get to play in the Water Works area. Plus, by complete coincidence, Inspiration was the first ship that my DH and I cruised on together, so it does have some sentimental value. (Inspriration is the ship that got him hooked on cruising. :cool:)

 

We cruise in 24 days!!!! I can't wait to report back about our fabulous time.

 

Oh, it'll be worth the extra hours in the car. They will have a blast and you can can kick back in a lounger and relax while they play. The sundeck up there by the slides is huge and you won't have to fight for a chair. I think you'll enjoy seeing all of the new changes since the last time you were on the Inspiration.

 

Dont forget to give us a review of the ship AND your day at PI. Have fun!

[CaribbeanKim]

Hola!

 

I can't even begin to describe how wonderful our day at Passion Island turned out to be! A special "Thank You" goes out to kenf333 for turning me on to tourcozumel and Carrie for this tour!!

 

We did the "Twister to Passion Island" excursion and booked through Carrie. I booked this tour months before our cruise and was immediately impressed by the professional & courteous attention I received from Carrie, who answered every email immediately & thoroughly. I received email confirmations and payment receipts which I made copies of and took along with us on the cruise. We were told to meet Meliza across from the pier at 9:30am.

 

When our shipped docked, we immediately proceeded to make our way to meet Meliza and the rest of our group. You have to walk to the end of the pier and then go up the escalator to cross the street. This is a large shopping area and is very clean and well kept. We stopped in one shop to get a pair of sunglasses but didn't when we saw that they were 150.00 (forgetting that prices are marked in pesos instead of USD - they actually would've been 15.00USD). Once we walked through the shopping area and back down the escalator to ground level again, we easily found Meliza standing in front of Carlos & Charlie's as agreed. That's when we found out that we didn't have to be there for almost another hour. (Mexico has an hour time difference - our 10am is their 9am) We were told to go ahead and shop or just hang around until 11am and then we would take a short walk to the pier where we would board the Twister to begin our tour. We sat at a nice table at the HardRock Cafe (next to Carlos & Charlie's) and had a few drinks and had fun people watching while we waited for 11am to roll around.

 

 

There were men dressed in costumes that looked like statues, and it was so funny to watch them reach out to grab a startled tourist as they walked by. Women were dressed in traditional costumes and danced or took photos with tourists too. There are all kinds of shops in this area and this would be a good place to go just before you head back to the ship if you don't want to have to carry packages with you all day long while you're on your tour.

 

11 o'clock finally arrived and we met with everyone else in our group and walked about 2 blocks to the pier where we received our life vests and boarded the Twister. Our Guides on the Twister were Ricardo and PePe and I would highly recommend them to anyone else - they were the BEST! They were very informative about what to expect while on the Twister, and facts about Cozumel and Passion Island. Soon, we were on our way around the northern tip of Cozumel and about 20 minutes later, we were in the lagoon between Cozumel and Passion Island...where we were going "to have some fun". We had a fabulous time racing through the water and doing 360's and then decided it was time to head to the island. As we pulled up to the pier, Ricardo introduced us to our "Island Host" for the day, Manuel.

 

Manuel greeted us and we followed him as he showed us the many amenities that are available on the island for our use. We passed the restrooms (which were meticulously well-kept), a few small vendor's huts, a kiddie play-area, and some outdoor shower areas, then he pointed out the massage tent, water trampoline, beach volleyball, palapas, hammocks, and chaises...and then made our way to the open bar & food. The food was delicious and "All You Can Eat" - the drinks were better than we expected (not weak at all)!! We didn't try the beer, but I can tell you...the drinks were really good & plentiful!

 

 

 

 

There was a water balloon toss game going on when we finally made it down to the beach to get some loungers, so we didn't join in - but had lots of fun watching. The water was clear and inviting, and since it turned out to be a gorgeous, sunny day - we were in the water before long. The water was so clear that you could see fish swimming all around you...which is a good thing, cuz those little white fish are hungry and will nip at you! After a little while in the water, I decided to lay out and get some more sun while the kids ate (again) and explored the area a little more.

 

My DH wanted to get me a massage on the beach, but we met up with some friends we had met on our Roll Call and spent the next couple of hours under a palapa drinking, laughing and getting to know each other. We were having such a good time that we hadn't noticed how quickly the time flew by, and before we knew it...it was time to get ready to reboard the Twister for our trip back to the ship. I wish I had had more time to walk around and get some really great photos of the island. There was a lady that walked around with photos of you arriving at the island and on the Twister...and we bought one of the photos of us on the Twister for $10.

 

 

Once we were all vested up and strapped in for our return ride, we raced through the lagoon area (doing 360's again) for awhile and then started back toards Cozumel and our ship. We were having so much fun that Ricardo even did a few 360's right in front of the ship when we arrived back at the pier, and then he dropped us off at the pier next to the ship.

 

We had a fabulous time and would not hesitate to do this excursion again! I can't wait to visit Cozumel again soon so we can go back to Passion Island!!

[letsgocruz1]

Kim, thank you for posting your review. I enjoyed the pics. We were there the same day. I tried to figure out who you were but never did! I'm glad you had a great day. We seen the Twister boat and it looked like so much fun!

[CarribbeanTina271]

Thanks Kim for the great review, I love the pics!! Make me wanna be there right now!! Glad you and your group had fun.

Tina

[CaribbeanKim]

Kim, thank you for posting your review. I enjoyed the pics. We were there the same day. I tried to figure out who you were but never did! I'm glad you had a great day. We seen the Twister boat and it looked like so much fun!

*********************************************************

For the first half of our stay there, I was either eating or in the water. We found a nice large palapa next to the massage tent and spent a couple of hours there with some other friends we made on our Roll Call, enjoying each others company and some really good stiff drinks. ;)

 

I was the one in the dark green one piece and my DD had on a white mono-kini...my DH was the big, loud, funny red-head and my DS is his carbon copy (almost - he was the pink one). Sorry we missed each other - it would've been nice to meet you. I hope your day there was as much fun as ours was.

[kenf333]

*********************************************************

For the first half of our stay there, I was either eating or in the water. We found a nice large palapa next to the massage tent and spent a couple of hours there with some other friends we made on our Roll Call, enjoying each others company and some really good stiff drinks. ;)

 

I was the one in the dark green one piece and my DD had on a white mono-kini...my DH was the big, loud, funny red-head and my DS is his carbon copy (almost - he was the pink one). Sorry we missed each other - it would've been nice to meet you. I hope your day there was as much fun as ours was.

 

Kim thanks for taking the time for the review, I love the pictures!!!

[letsgocruz1]

aren't you in Cozumel this week? Post a review of PI when you get the chance please. :)

[podroma7]

Ok, I have a couple of questions about Passion Island. We've never been to Cozumel but I have heard so many great things about Passion Island that we are very seriously thinking of booking an excursion there in Dec. We like the idea of playing it safe and booking through the ship (Navigator) but I've been reading several posts about booking it outside the ship and how great they are so we aren't sure what to do.

 

Here are my questions:

1. Is this Carrie (from tour cozumel dot net) the same person at the beginning of this thread as Caroline (AKA "lolita" in this thread) that worked Passion Island before the hurricane? (I read this entire thread because we are that serious about booking a trip to PI)
   
2. Has anyone done this trip through Royal Caribbean? (it is listed as the Passion Island Escape) Almost everyone in this thread seems to be from a Carnival ship. If so, I would like to hear your recent experiences riding the bus to the ferry (that takes you to PI) and if the amout of time on the island is sufficient.
   
3. Is the Royal Caribbean Passion Island Escape excursion run by tour cozumel dot net? RC's site has the same pictures in it's description of this excursion as the tour cozumel dot net site. I just wonder if it would easier to book it through tour cozumel dot net and stay as long as we want (instead of the mandatory 5 hours for this excursion through RC).
   
4. We want to take in some shopping while we're in Cozumel, if we book through tour cozumel dot net or Royal Caribbean will there be enough time before or after to hit up some of the shopping downtown or near the dock?

Any help that any of you can give would be much appreciated....

 

 

 

Thanks in advance!