Do we take our own beach towels for excursions?

[amcess721]

Or do they have towels on the ship that you can take off with you? Just trying to figure out how/what to pack and beach towels take up a LOT of space...

 

Thanks!

[Baitman19]

Or do they have towels on the ship that you can take off with you? Just trying to figure out how/what to pack and beach towels take up a LOT of space...

 

Thanks!

 

Everyone gets beach towels. Just bring them back and leave them in your bathroom and they will be replaced each day.

 

Hope this helps

[ecclectic-eccentric]

The only reason that I'm going to go ahead and find room for our beach towels is that I would hate to somehow lose (or have stolen) our ship towels which have a hefty price tag. We've got a beach break booked in Cozumel, not through NCL, so I'm taking along a couple towels and leaving the NCL ones in my cabin. Just something to consider...

 

ee

[OldBaldGuy]

we took our ship towels and had no problem. in fact, we had three people in our cabin, by the end of the cruse we somehow had six towels.

 

ps...sorry for the lack of caps, just had shoulder surgery, typing one handed is enough of a hassle, i'm not going to mess with caps...

[fin]

Just make sure own do not look like theirs.

[*Wink*]

We've got a beach break booked in Cozumel, not through NCL...

ee

 

Sorry to hijack.. Hey ee.. do you mind telling me which beach break you're doing? We've done the Nachi Cocum(sp?) and it was a great day. Just curious.

 

Bald Guy.. Hope you're feeling better soon.

 

While I'm at it.. Go Chiefs! LOL

 

Back to your regular scheduled programming.. :D

[raudacruise]

We took the NCL beach towels with us to Chakanaab in Cozumel last week - no problem. Of course we also made sure one of us was alway near our stuff at all times, not just because of the towels (credit card/cash main worry). We had enough time for both us to snorkel as we wished and actually doing it separately allowed us to point out where to/not to go.

 

MaryBeth also went snorkeling in Belize and took the towel. It was brought back to the room but for some reason the cabin steward picked it up but forgot to replace it. No problem, got it back immediately.

 

I would call the towels sort of intermediate size. Now the towels in the bathroom were gigantic - wonder would have happened if we walked off with one of those instead ;).

[Leafpeeper]

Ships always provide beach towels but we prefer to pack our own lightweight towels because they are not as heavy and we don't have to worry if we were to forget them. Some cruiselines charge alot of money if you lose your beach towel. We just don't like them because they are so heavy.

[amy feigen-pilott]

First... we have brought our NCL towels with us in the past. If they are still the same, they are blue and white striped.

 

George.... how was your trip to Chakanaab? Any issue with cabs? timing? I have been through the Cozumel board but no specific info there.

[raudacruise]

First... we have brought our NCL towels with us in the past. If they are still the same, they are blue and white striped.

 

George.... how was your trip to Chakanaab? Any issue with cabs? timing? I have been through the Cozumel board but no specific info there.

 

Still blue and white. And we had no problems with cabs. We were at the Punta Longosa (or something like that) terminal. You did have to walk through the all the shops to finally get to the taxi stand but it wasn't too bad.

 

10 bucks each way for the cab. You could probably squeeze 4 people in (one in front and 3 in back). Plenty of cabs at the park.

 

My only diss on the park was the steps going into/out of the water for snorkeling. Out was OK (jump in). Getting out was a not that good.

 

Lets put it this way, they only go down to the water (and stopped about 1 1/2 foot up). Getting back up was a major effort. I did spy a ladder that was probably an easy swim on the way out. Otherwise, the first "steps" getting out the water were slimy (OK algae) rocks which made things rather interesting. I almost stepped on a fish getting out.

 

There is also a nature area and some facimile Mayan things in the park. We spent some time walking around (and drying out) before getting the cab back.

 

The web site for Chakanaab is:

 

http://www.cozumelparks.com/

 

You can get a discount there. If you are going to snorkel you might want to look at the combo packages. They made it sound like you need to sign up for the combos but that's not the case. But if you just want the $2 park admission discount you do need to do that in advance. We did the T-Shirt/2-1 drink/Snorkle combo and felt it was worth the money. We also got some food while we were there (conch in garlic sauce - watch out for the salsa, HOT).

[SPMorrissey]

Or do they have towels on the ship that you can take off with you? Just trying to figure out how/what to pack and beach towels take up a LOT of space...

 

Thanks!

Nothing says tourist like those striped towels and if you lose it NCL will charge $25.

[terrymtex01]

Now the towels in the bathroom were gigantic - wonder would have happened if we walked off with one of those instead ;).

 

OMG.. are those not the biggest bathtowels you have ever seen? They go beyond even being bath sheets. To me they are bath blankets.. LOL.. Honestly they are so huge and heavy it was kind of hard to dry off with them in a way. Got to say I loved them though.

[Dukegirl5577]

We took the NCL beach towels with us to Chakanaab in Cozumel last week - no problem. Of course we also made sure one of us was alway near our stuff at all times, not just because of the towels (credit card/cash main worry).

That's why lockers are a wonderful thing. Both of us can snorkel at the same time, and we don't need to worry about non-waterproof camera and towels (DH's bathing suit came with a waterproof pouch for money that attaches into the suit).

[Fishbait17]

Nothing says tourist like those striped towels and if you lose it NCL will charge $25.

 

LMAO, that's exactly what I was thinking. We bring our own towels because we have found we are treated better with "non-tourist" towels at many places, like Nachi Cocum. We live near the beach and have dozens of beach towels, but I have 8 specific, very lightweight towels that I reserve for travel (from Target). I picked up the habit from numerous trips to North Shore Hawaii - it's a pastime there to people watch, especially groups with perfectly matching hotel towels and brand new or rented surfboards. I know it sounds awful, but it is very entertaining.

 

Robin

[OldBaldGuy]

"...Nothing says tourist like those striped towels..."

 

no matter where you are, i suspect that the locals can spot you as a tourist, striped towel or not. you are their bread and butter...

[terrymtex01]

"...Nothing says tourist like those striped towels..."

 

no matter where you are, i suspect that the locals can spot you as a tourist, striped towel or not. you are their bread and butter...

 

I SO agree with that. Plus it never bothers me to look like a tourist because I AM a tourist. LOL

[Toyz711]

i was worried about the wind, the day we were at nachi cocom...there was a breeze. didn't want the ship's towels to blow away. got a couple of cheap beach towels at a winter sale. it was worth the $2.99 a towel to avoid the $25 charge for losing the NCL towels. BUT we drove down, to the ship, and had plenty of luggage space.

[ecclectic-eccentric]

Sorry to hijack.. Hey ee.. do you mind telling me which beach break you're doing? We've done the Nachi Cocum(sp?) and it was a great day. Just curious.

 

Bald Guy.. Hope you're feeling better soon.

 

While I'm at it.. Go Chiefs! LOL

 

Back to your regular scheduled programming.. :D

 

AWinkler,

 

We're going to Nachi Cocum, too. From what I've read on the Cozumel forum, it's almost too good to be true. No crowds, all you can eat/drink, and everyone who's posted practically glows when they're talking about it. I can hardly wait! I feel half guilty about not doing something historical/cultural, but I am in SERIOUS need of some pure R&R, and Nachi Cocum sounds like just the ticket! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, too. I've come to respect your opinion (among others) on this forum.

 

ee

[InTheCruisingYearsOfLife]

The question: When straying from the safety of the mother ship, to take your own towel, or the ship's towel? Answer: in which towel would you rather wrap your fate?

 

To wit:

 

Douglas Adams wrote himself in The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

 

"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitch hiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very, very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

 

"More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have 'lost'. What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with."

 

 

And adding a personal touch, about three months ago as we cruised back into San Francisco at the dawning of what must have been the clearest, most beautiful day I've seen in that area for forty years, DW and I put genuine NCL beach towels atop the chaise lounges on the lanai of our bow mini-suite. Atop that went comforter from the bed, and inside this warm sandwich we climbed in to be the ham and Swiss.

 

Morning twilight brightened as we pedalled in under the Golden Gate. Since the ashes of both my parents were sprinkled into these waters eight and twelve years ago, I had a wee chat with them as well, while DW was awash in her own enthrallment of the lovely end of our eleven day cruise, and the lovely beginning of Next Things back on terra ferma.

 

If it hadn't been for those towels, the chaises would have been cold, damp, drafty, and unused. Saved by a towel, fer sher.

[terrymtex01]

AWinkler,

 

We're going to Nachi Cocum, too. From what I've read on the Cozumel forum, it's almost too good to be true. No crowds, all you can eat/drink, and everyone who's posted practically glows when they're talking about it. I can hardly wait! I feel half guilty about not doing something historical/cultural, but I am in SERIOUS need of some pure R&R, and Nachi Cocum sounds like just the ticket! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it, too. I've come to respect your opinion (among others) on this forum.

 

ee

We were at N.C. a month ago or so and it is very nice. The staff was extremely helpful. Only one thing I wanted to comment on from what you just posted.. You said all you can eat and that isn't true.. or it wasn't when we were there a month ago. They give you a menu and you can choose one appet., one soup or salad and one main course and I think one dessert. Other than that you do have to pay. It does include all the free drinks though.

 

It is an older facility and showing it's age, but it is clean (including their bathrooms) and like I say, you can not get a better staff.

[*Wink*]

Thanks, ee.. sweet of you to say.

 

We did indeed love it there. It was our main excursion for that cruise. On our 1st NCL cruise, we'd booked it, but the ship was unable to dock in Cozumel. Getting our deposit back was quick and painless.

I know that Terry said when he and Doug were there that the seaweed was terrible. We didn't have that (january) so I'm hoping you don't either.

You'll love the pool and all the people you meet, and the ocean water is so wonderful. We found a big shell (conch?) while we were swimming. If you're into snorkeling, you'll have to go out on their boat, because there's nothing to see near the beach. We didn't, but we had fun snorkeling around the beach area anyway.

One thing I do want to warn you about is the flies we encountered that swarmed when our food was delivered to our chairs. I heard it wasn't much better in the restaurant area which is not enclosed. I advise you to bring some bug spray for the air, not you, just in case. If we had, it would have eliminated that problem. The sand fleas were a little active too, so bug spray for you wouldn't hurt.

Hope you like good tequila!

A.

[*Wink*]

InTheCruisingYearsOfLife, I sure enjoyed your post. Thanks.

[Toyz711]

We were at N.C. a month ago or so and it is very nice. The staff was extremely helpful. Only one thing I wanted to comment on from what you just posted.. You said all you can eat and that isn't true.. or it wasn't when we were there a month ago. They give you a menu and you can choose one appet., one soup or salad and one main course and I think one dessert. Other than that you do have to pay. It does include all the free drinks though.

 

It is an older facility and showing it's age, but it is clean (including their bathrooms) and like I say, you can not get a better staff.

 

 

but with the size of the portions, it was "all you can eat" for us!! in fact, we never ordered our 2nd entree or any dessert. :eek: DH orders the nachos and they were great...big enough for the 2 of us, then i orders the chicken fried tacos...different, but i really liked them. later, DH tried the grilled shrimp...after that we couldn't eat for the rest of the day.

yes, in real life, nachi allows one app/ one entree and one dessert per person, with the all-inclusive pay. i think they explain it as a 3 course meal, thank goodness you can break it up and order through out the day.

[watchdiva]

We take our own towels on excursions - I'd rather lose one of my own towels than one of NCL's!

[terrymtex01]

but with the size of the portions, it was "all you can eat" for us!! in fact, we never ordered our 2nd entree or any dessert. :eek: DH orders the nachos and they were great...big enough for the 2 of us, then i orders the chicken fried tacos...different, but i really liked them. later, DH tried the grilled shrimp...after that we couldn't eat for the rest of the day.

yes, in real life, nachi allows one app/ one entree and one dessert per person, with the all-inclusive pay. i think they explain it as a 3 course meal, thank goodness you can break it up and order through out the day.

 

Oh yes.. the portions are HUGE. And their guac is the best I think I have ever had. I could have made a complete pig of myself with it..LOL