Weather in September Holiday

[danitydazzle]

Me and my husband will be cruising from New Orleans..this will be our first cruise...we love the water sports...is the water warm enough to snorkel and swim.....is it safe to rent a car and do our own sightseeing? which location playa del carmen or cozumel? the reviews i have been reading indicate there is not much to do in playa del carmen...so what do u do? help is appreciated.

[NewCruzer1]

Cozumel and PdC are in the tropics. The worst day in the tropics is warm enough to swim and snorkel. However, late summer/early fall IS peak hurricane season in that part of the Caribbean, but that's really pretty much luck-of-the-draw anytime. As long as New Orleans itself isn't in the line of fire on embarkation day, you'll wind up somewhere.
We'll be on the last (before moving to Mobile) 5-day Holiday cruise out of New Orleans in October, but plan to leave worrying over the weather to higher authorities.
Executive Car Rental ([url]www.executive.com.mx[/url]) has a location at Calica port, though it's not on their website's list of locations. Just email Jaime. We plan to drive south, either to Tulum or Puerto Aventuras (or somewhere in between -- we'll have a car, so why plan?), where the beach and services are available, but less crowded. Buy full coverage insurance -- Mexico doesn't honor U.S. auto insurance, and you have to pay for any damages in full before you leave.
In fact, we're also renting a car on Cozumel, and heading to the less crowded east side of the island, after snorkeling at Dzul Ha and lobster on the beach at one of the beach clubs/beaches.
Both are as safe as virtually any other tourist area you'd visit -- just use common sense.

[cruzzza]

I cruised in September once out of Galveston to Calica and Cozumel. The weather was hot and the water was great. Cozumel is more for sightseeing, and Playa/Calica is great for a day trip to an eco-park. We went to Xcaret and loved it, but there are others, too. I'm not the car rental type, I'd rather grab a cab and go. The ships tour in Calica was actually just as cheap as doing Xcaret on our own (surprisingly) and with unlimited bus rides to and from the ship. If you want to explore in a car, I'd do it in Cozumel - there are beach clubs you could stop at along your drive - but they will all cost $. If I were you, I'd pick a beach club and just get a cab & go. Or spend the day sightseeing in town. You don't have a lot of time in any one port, so don't try to do it all, focus on one or two fun things. JMHO

[Cotton]

[b][color=darkslategray]In a word - [size=4][color=red]HOT[/color]! [/size][size=2]My last three cruises to the Western Caribbean have been in September. HotHotHot. However, once in the water, it's pure heaven, perfect temperatures. [/size][/color][/b]

[b][color=#2f4f4f]Go to the Port-of-Call board for info on Cozumel and Playa delCarmen. Lots of info at the Coz board, not so much at PdC.[/color][/b]