I’m going a 4 day to cruise to Cozumel later this week, (Carnival) Any experience, suggestions warnings?
A suggestion: take a larger bag than you had planned so that I can fit into it.
A warning: when you unzip the bag, this girl is going to party!
Have a great trip!
Be sure to tell the Captain to watch out for ice bergs. :D:D Have a good trip.
Even if you’re not a diver, rent some snorkeling gear. If you rent an underwater camera, too, remember that the effective range of the flash is about 4 feet.
Most important thing to remember: Have fun.
Damn, Sue, beat me to it. Take me with you!!!
I went to Cozumel, Jamaica, and Grand Cayman on the Carnival Destiny last December. What ship will you be on? Carnival will provide everything and I assure you that you will be entertained. Casino, swimming, tons of food, Dance Club, Magicians, Dancers, yeah… we even watched Titanic on the ship. (Even the people that clean your room will fold your towels in cute little shapes (sumo wrestler, swan)).
The one thing I will tell you to take… Dramamine.(sp?) You will probably get seasick. The boat is huge but you can still feel a slight movement…which is all it takes to make you barf.
Oh… Yikes… I think the Cozumel Margaritas are a little bit stronger than the ordinary. I was 18 and legally able to drink over there, I took one sip and stopped. My parents and their friends however kept drinking. lol… I about never got them back on the ship.
Have Fun!!!
Love those margaritas
I watched the Poseidon Adventure, so my advice is:
When the boat rolls over follow Gene Hackman.
I watched the Poseidon Adventure last night, so my advice is:
When the boat rolls over follow Gene Hackman.
If you’re into the water sports thing…
I second ricepad’s comment, but would say to bring snorkeling gear - saves the hassle/time of renting, and it’s relatively inexpensive. Cozumel is at the northern edge of the second-longest reef system in the world, and when we were last there about 4 yrs ago the snorkeling and diving were great.
How long will you be in Cozumel? If you think you might be into the SCUBA thing, and have the time, you can usually get a “resort course”, where they’ll teach you the basics in the morning, and take you on a shallow dive (40 -50 ft) in the afternoon. That’s how I got turned on to diving (but don’t be like me and spend the whole time fixated on my gauge with an occasional brief glance at the sea life).
Diving is great, I’d really encourage you to try it. In two weeks I’m off to Little Cayman, and I just can’t wait!!
Have fun, Bon Voyage
Shaky Jake
First - find out what time your ship leaves. They will leave without you if you’re not back in time!!!
OK - now that that is out of the way…
I went to Cozumel for a week of diving 2-3 years ago, and stopped for the day about a year ago when on a cruise. You can finds lots of info about the island at http://www.islacozumel.net/
I’m assuming that you will dock in the morning, be on the island all day, and leave that evening.
If you’re there to dive/snorkel:
Consider bring your own mask/fins/snorkel if you have them. The ship’s equipment will be a bit on the wimpy side, and who knows what the last guy using that snorkel was infected with.
Cozumel has a current flowing south to north between the island and the mainland. You won’t be able to swim against it. Johnny Weismuller or Mark Spitz wouldn’t be able to, either. The diving & snorkeling here is drift diving. You jump in, drift on the current, and the boat drifts with you. When you’re almost out of air, you come up, get back on the boat, and wait for the rest of the people to do so. There is a snorkeling-only park south of town (and south of the cruise ship dock). I don’t remember the name of it. It’s supposed to be nice, but I haven’t been there.
Consider booking your diving ahead of time at one of the shops listed on tht web page above. This will save you some money, but not a huge amount. It probably will save you from being on a cattle-boat trip, though, with 80 other people who have never seen salt water before. We dove with Apple’s Dive Paradise, but I don’t see them on the web page any more. Maybe the owner retired. Find out where the dive shop is located, when the dive boat leaves, how many dive masters (guides) will be on the boat and in the water with you, and if they’re close to the cruise ship dock. There will be lots of taxis to take you to the shops when you dock, and will take you anywhere. But a dive shop closer to the cruise ship dock is a cheaper and quicker ride.
Taxi drivers in Cozumel all think that Indy race car drivers are too old and slow to drive in Cozumel. Take your dramamine before you leave your cabin if you get car-sick.
If you’re going for the shopping:
You can bargain with most of the vendors, and bring the price down. Maybe not a huge amount, but have fun trying. Most of the shopping is downtown around the square, a short taxi ride away. Carlos 'n Charlie’s is supposed to be the hot place to go, but I thought it was too damned loud and crowded and expensive. Ernesto’s Fajita Factory was much better, IMHO. Your tastes may be different. There are many, many little restaurants to choose from - even McDonalds and KFC.
Prices drop as you go in off the waterfront to the back streets. Don’t go more than 3-4 blocks back, though, as the stores thin out pretty quick into residential areas. Some of them are pretty seedy, too.
Many of the stores, restaurants, etc, will NOT look like something you’re used to back home. Don’t let that bother you. I didn’t have a bad meal there all week, and didn’t have any problems. I even drank the water with no after effects. You might want to grab some bottled water, though. Watch for a couple of little mom and pop grocery stores as you come into the downtown area, or bring one from the ship.
Bring sunglasses, sun screen, and a hat, and use all of them. The sun was fierce there in April. August will be worse.
If you want to phone home, find out now from your long distance provider or phone company how to do so. A 2 minute call from the ship cost us $20. You will find long distance stations on shore, but I don’t know the costs. I bet it’s cheaper to plan ahead, though.
Oh, there was an internet cafe in town when I was there, if you need your SDMB fix. Let us know how the trip is if you do!
I am planning on snorkeling. Fair swimmer, better floater, I was wondering how I was going to take underwater pictures. glad to know I can rent an underwater camera.I was considering buying a disposable and putting it in a couple of zip-loc baggies. Definitely don’t want to risk ruining my new camera. speaking of pictures. Are film prices really high like in all touristy places? I’m thinking of packing about a dozen extra rolls and maybe selling them back to my family when they run out;)
I am white bread white usually so I’ve been going to the tanning bed for a month. Now I’m the color of lightly buttered toast. I hope it’s enough to keep me from getting burnt. I’ll be taking the spf 30 with me just in case.
Cindi
There are disposable waterproof cameras on the market. Look at the local K-mart or department store. They say they’re good to about 12 feet. I’ve taken one to 30 feet without having it flood. However, at that depth, the pressure was enough to trip the shutter when I advanced the film. For snorkeling, though, it should be fine in Cozumel.
I don’t remember - I brought all my film with me. Good luck selling it back to families or friends, or save it for Christmas.
Please go see the ruins at Tulum and Xel-Ha while you are in Cozumel. (I took a Carnival cruise to Key West and Cozumel; I assume you are taking the same trip or one similar.)
Tulum isn’t as big as Chichen Itza (Can Cun), but it is right on the beach and you can climb all over the ruins, then go swimming afterwards.
Xel-Ha is another area with ruins, but it is also a snorkeling place. You snorkel in and out of caves where there are ruins, and get to see the fishies, too. It’s also neat because it’s a layer of fresh water over saltwater, so you don’t need a life preserver; you just float.
Those disposable plastic underwater cameras are fine, they work on land, too. The color won’t be true when you get the pictures developed, though: everything comes out green underwater.