COzumel--here we come!

[Samdel]

Hi Fellow Liberty Sept. 1 cruisers,

Received a letter from my TA today stating that we will be going to Cozumel instead of Costa Maya.

 

Any suggestions for shore excursions? We've been to Tulum.

 

See you all on Saturday!!

Kim & Les 3 days to go!!!

[WillCruz4Food]

Take a taxi to Carlos and Charlies. If you have not been, you will love it...

 

That is, assuming you enjoy a party, and assuming you enjoy having fun.

[jode]

do we dock in Cozumel on Sept 3? Does anyone know that and if possible which dock Carnival will use.

 

We are also trying to plan our day - shopping/beach/both !

[mzloolue]

Chankanaab?

[Smileeface]

I've been in Cozumel twice, both times at Chankanaab Park. The first time in 2003 we did the snorkling and sea lion show. The sea lion show was TERRIBLE and I am a very easy person to please. The park was beautiful though and the snorkling was amazing for a novice snorkler. We were just there again in June 2007 and the snorkling was very different. The park is still very pretty although not as lush, but still a great place to spend the day. You can tell that Hurricane Wilma really changed the ocean floor though. I would not recommend it for the snorkling at this point. BUT, this time we did the Royal Dolphin Swim there, 7 of us, and it was soooo much fun! I bought pictures and the video (really spent $$$) and it was great! We live in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area and have been to Orlando's Discovery Cove, swimming with the dolphins there. This was so much better! Booked it online direct through Dolphin Discovery--no problems. You get the best swim (Royal Dolphin Swim) for less than what the cruise ship offers for the intermediate one (Dolphin Adventure). At least this was the case with RCCL. You can see their cancellation policy if (online) you go through the booking process all the way without the final confirmation. I know of someone on Cruise Critic who booked directly with them, got sick w/ Norovirus on the ship, could not make the booking, and was reimbursed by Dolphin Discovery even though this was not spelled out in the policy. If this type of thing appeals to you, it was well worth it. We had a blast. Sorry, but I won't be online much as I was just checking out something for a friend now. We got to pet, kiss, dance with, go for a 2 dolphin ride holding on to their fins and got pushed out of the water by our feet (2 dolphins)--much easier than I ever thought. Youngest one in our group was 11. It was really alot of fun. Cab ride from the pier to the park was very easy, about $10-12 roundtrip (? I forget for sure, sorry). But it was very easy, and surprisingly they speak english quite well (and I'm of cuban descent, able to speak spanish!). Very nice people. They rely so much on tourism for their income and Hurricane Wilma really hurt them. They seemed eager to please. If you do a search for Dolphin Discovery on "Royal Caribbean" and/or "Cozumel" sites here on Cruise Critic you may find some of my postings if you need more info. Hope this helps! Hope you have a blast on your cruise!

Smileeface

[lrizit]

How long are you there?

 

I loved Paradise Beach...followed by, as the other poster suggested, Carlos and Charlies. :)

[smashley]

Hey Smileeface, how long did the Royal Dolphin Swim last? This sounds like it would be a blast, I'm really interested!

[gail811]

Royal Swim is about 45 minutes to an hour in the water; but.....before that is a film, fitting a life jacket, and afterwards watching the video and purchasing pictures. Worth every minute and every dollar spent! I would say to count on two hours total. Keep in mind that Cozumel is on central time and the ship stays on Eastern time. Cab ride there is about $12 for up to four. If you go to http://www.dolphindiscovery.com and book you can free park entry. The park is a great place to spend the day afterwards too. We met up with our guys at Paradise Beach when we were done. Here is a picture of my son doing the Royal Swim.

 

 

[sandt]

We love the "Deluxe Sail, Snorkel & Beach Party" aboard the 65 ft catamaran. They take guests snorkeling, then to a beach with complimentary beer, margaritas and soda. Volleyball, sea kayaks and beach floats, all included. Line dancing on the way back. The catamaran and beach crew are great. A fun excursion!

[go noles]

We'll be with you on the Liberty. Have heard good things about Nachi Cocum beach club so have booked that. We don't have the kids this trip, Nachi Cocum looks to be a bit more sedate.

[LuvsTheCaribbean]

Paradise Beach and then Carlos and Charlie's and at the old pier Fat Tuesday's ... Oh what memories!! :D Definitely recommend both ... In that order ...

 

Unfortunately from the pictures I've been it looks like Fat Tuesday's was replaced by Carlos and Charlie's 1/2 or something like that - post Hurricane ...

 

The shot girls at Carlos and Charlie's are pretty persuasive ... Plus the darn yard glasses @ both places ... Fun times! :p

 

In any case, it just makes the crawl much shorter back to the ship! :cool:

 

In all seriousness though, if you're not a big drinker/party person; which I wasn't until in that environment ... Paradise Beach isn't a big party place - it's just the bars.

 

Paradise Beach had a water trampoline, a (air) mountain climbing in the water, canoe's, I think snorkel equipment. And there was people not to far from there jet skiing. Plus, the food was great and the drinks we're good. Good prices - got a lot of foot to share for cheap. And plenty of sun; but also shade in case you need to cool off. I highly recommend it!

 

Have a good trip!

[MamaParrotHead]

We had a lot of fun. I also second the food and drinks being both tasty and VERY reasonable (in a place where, at Margaritaville, a beer costs over $8!). We enjoyed Cozumel SO much, in fact, that we're going to book our next cruise partially based on the itinerary that takes us back there.