Our Day In Cozumel

[jgmpuma]

The following is part of my review of our 4/18/09 Fantasy cruise.

 

COZUMEL: BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, LET’S DO IT AGAIN: A few cruises ago, we discovered the east side of Cozumel, and have headed there ever since. We are not beach people. I am very fair-skinned and can burn under a full moon, so we pretty much just kick back and enjoy the views/food/drinks. In the past, we had rented a car of some sort, the last one being a stick-shift VW Beetle with iffy brakes. I never could find reverse, and we had to push it out of a couple of parking spots. Our routine in the past had been to bar-hop along the coast and stop for lunch at Chen Rio or Coconuts, but in my old age I am getting a little nervous about encountering the policia with a few cervezas under my belt, so we flipped a coin and cabbed it to Coconuts.

 

We made a deal with the cab driver to drop us off at Coconuts, return in two hours and take us downtown, for $60.00. Again, we didn’t try to drive any hard bargains (he started at $80), but I could drink all of that great Mexican beer I wanted and not have to worry about driving. The cab ride was a little hairy. Once you get out of town it is a clear shot across the island, and they fly.

 

For those of you who haven’t seen it, the east side of Cozumel is sparsely populated, with no electricity or running water. The beaches are beautiful and nearly empty. There are a few restaurants and several beachfront bars. There are a lot of laid-back tourists, but few cruise passengers.

 

Coconuts is on the highest point in Cozumel, about forty feet up, on a bluff overlooking a spectacular beach. It is touristy, but not overly so. We had chips and (very hot) salsa, guacamole to cool the fire from the salsa, shrimp ceviche, and grilled grouper, all excellent. With drinks, the bill was about $40. The cab driver showed up on schedule. In my fractured Spanish I had been trying to insure his return by offering to pay half the fare when he dropped us off and the other half when he picked us up. “Senor, please do not complicate things” had been his response. We didn’t have to pay him until he dropped us off downtown.

 

We were hoping to buy some authentic Mexican art (no velvet, please). Like just about all of the cab drivers in Mexico, our cab driver had a cousin with the finest merchandise, including art, in Cozumel, but his idea of art and ours turned out to be a lot different. We started exploring the back streets and there were a few shops that looked promising, but it was siesta time and most of them were closed, so no Mexican art.

 

Back at the pier in time for my wife to indulge her shopping jones while I enjoyed another beer. The shop keepers are fairly aggressive, but that didn’t bother us.

 

At both Progreso and Cozumel I bought a six-pack of the local beer, and had no problems bringing it back on board.

[martinchem]

I usually bring back a 6 pack too.

[Life without whine]

OK - y'all brought back 6 packs - were they taken & stored for you or were you allowed to bring them on board to enjoy in the room - Carnival Liberty is our trip

[BethLuvsCruisin]

OK - y'all brought back 6 packs - were they taken & stored for you or were you allowed to bring them on board to enjoy in the room - Carnival Liberty is our trip

 

Looks like they must not have read your post yet....I'll be in Cozumel next week and will see what I can find out and post back for you. I don't know that I'll buy beer, but have CC friends that I'm sure will.

[Bunkie103]

Gotta try that beer thing too!

[BethLuvsCruisin]

Okay, if you have one open, you can take it in, but any extras were taken at the security check point and given to you the last night of the cruise.

[NutsAboutGolf]

OK - y'all brought back 6 packs - were they taken & stored for you or were you allowed to bring them on board to enjoy in the room - Carnival Liberty is our trip

 

Just got off the Liberty a week ago. They XRay your belongings; I had a bottle of liquor in my backpack. Security told me to turn in my alcohol at the alcohol and towel desk. The desk was about 50 feet away and again, it was bend...I turned mine in, yet I wonder if I just bypassed the desk if any one was enforcing anything. You get it back the last night of the cruise if you turn it in.