Last stop, Cozumel, Mexico



We booked the Talum Mayan Ruins tour here. This is a very long trip, with a ferry first then a long 60 minute bus ride. Our guide talked the entire way on the bus, very interesting stuff, but I did nap aliitle here. After walking some more into the ruins, we seemed to be stuck with our guide still talking and giving us information. They only let us go on our way with about 30 minutes to walk around and take pictures, then back to the bus and more talking. More walking back to the ferry and then back to the ship after they had dropped us off 3 miles from the ship. We did a little shopping and took a taxi back to the ship, which cost us $7.00.
Photo courtesy of Hony>


We went swimming with the dolphins at Chankanaab park. If you have never done this before you must try it. It was the highlight of my vacation. I booked it with Dolphin Discovery because the ship didn't offer what I wanted. We did the push and pull excursion, it cost about 135.00 per person. With the excursion you also got free admission to the park. They had a pool and places to eat and even bars. You could also rent snorke equipment if you wanted to do that. The park was nice and clean, the people were friendly and helpful. When we got back to the port we did some shopping and stopped by Senor Frogs for a drink and a shot. I will be returning to Mexico very soon. Mexico was my favorite port.

Photo courtesy of Angel>


We picked the RCI - Excursion "Deluxe Beach Break" which took us to the Playa Mia resort a 15 minute bus ride from the cruise port. I was pretty underwhelmed by the experience. The Beach was ok, a little rocky, but barren for snorkeling. This one is a little more kid friendly with the water trampoline and floating iceberg for climbing. The trampoline had a hole in it that could get somebody injured and my weight vs upper body strength isn't right for the iceberg. The water ride on toys made this a decent place for kids, but I'll look elsewhere next time in Cozumel. The provided buffet was dissapointing to me. It looked like a lot of the food had been sitting out for awhile. (wilted lettuce, lots of flies) Other cruise critic members have recommended Paradise beach in Cozumel, I'll try that one next time.


We arrived at Cozumel, eager to do some snorkeling. We went to a beach called the Money Bar. The snorkeling from the beach was OK. The beach had a restaurant area with chairs, tables and umbrellas. There was a very small sandy area which was enclosed by a small cement wall. It had chairs to relax on when we were not in the water. The bathrooms were very clean. There was no charge or pressure to purchase anything to use the facilities. The water was a bit on the choppy side while we were there. The weather was gorgeous: warm and sunny with a nice breeze. The cervezas were nice and cold. We took taxis to and from the beach. The fare was $8.00. We did do a little shopping at the port upon our return.

Photo courtesy of Jhealy


We reserved the "Deluxe Beach Break" from RCI and it took us to the Playa Mia resort. Freedom was docked at Cozumel, so it made getting off the ship easy and the people running the excursions were very organized and it wasn't long before we were on a bus to the resort. We met up with two other cruise critic couples who were on a different excursion at the same location. As far as the facilities go, I was a little disapointed with Playa Mia. There were some good water toys for the kids, though the water trampoline had a dangerous hole in it. The food available at the buffet looked like it had sat our a long time and looked unappealing (wilted lettuce) The beach was ok, a little rocky. Since then I have had a couple other resort recommendations for Cozumel and will probably go off the RCI board when we return in April 09


The Cozumel Cooking was a blast! First we took a short comfortable bus ride to Playa Mia resort. We strolled throught the resort to the restaurant area where we were asked to take a seat, have a drink and wait a few minutes. We were them escorted to the new cooking building and shown our work stations. Luis was our Master Chef and I recognized him from three years ago when he was an assistant Chef. He has since travelled to France and studied cooking. He is fun, knowlegable and cute! Luis asked us "What's the first thing you do before starting to cook?" We said "Wash you hands." He said, "No get your drinks!" Luis then introduced our bar man who never let our drinks get anywhere near empty. We washed and started cooking our dessert, main course and appetizer. We learned how to use a tortilla press and about native spices. We made a rice pudding wafer dessert and chicken or fish with a mango sauce. We laughed alot and enjoyed the dinner afterward. This excursion is alot of fun and I'd recommend it to everyone!

Prudy and Chef Luis



Cozumel was Ricky's favorite port. We started out by riding a Catamaran to a reef to snorkel in the open water. The guides were very professional & ensure that everyone was having a great time. After snorkeling, the Catamaran sailed to a private beach. Everyone was in good spirits as there was unlimited bottles of beer & margaritas being served. After, the beach break & retuning to the port, we then took a cab to eat at a local restaurant for authentic Mexican food. The food was fantastic & was serenaded by a Mariachi band. After all of the drinks & a full belly, we somehow did a little shopping before we were driven back to the port.

Debbie and Ricky kicking back.


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