JasonMason

I just did this excursion in December and would probably echo what the others have said in a few areas:

1. Getting there is a challenge, especially if you, or in my case, your companion suffers from motion sickness. We got off the Independence to find the ferry bouncing around like a rubber duck in a hot tub. Since they could only board one person at a time as it took three grown men to hold the gangway in place, you sit on this small boat for quite some time before it takes off. I am not prone to motion sickness, but this was rough even on me.

2. Once you are off the ferry, you are quickly herded through the port and "mall" area to your bus or tour van. They provide a paper bag lunch, but neither of us ate it. I will say that our tour guide was very engaging and did a great job of keeping everyone entertained... However, it takes several hours to reach the site once your vehicle departs, and isn't a terribly pleasant ride (IMO).

3. The site is amazing. Generally I am cruiser that prefers to sit by the pool and enjoy an empty ship while in port (especially Cozumel), but this was the first cruise for the person I took with me, so I wanted to give him the full experience and this was the excursion he chose. There were a lot of people, and the peddlers were even worse than those you encounter in the port (especially with the jaguar call - those who have been know exactly what I'm talking about ;)) But, the pyramid, site and ruins were absolutely amazing to see and I am super happy we had the opportunity to experience it.

4. Going back to the ship... By the same logic of "what goes up, must come down", you will have a 2 hour bus ride and hour long ferry trip back to Cozumel. I will also add that the weather in Cozumel on the day we visited was not super good, so this probably contributed negatively to the ferry experience... If you go in prepared for that, you should be okay. I had my companion take his motion sickness pills a half hour before we got back to the ferry and he still was having trouble on the trip back.

Overall: It was a great experience I am so glad we got to share. Would I recommend this excursion, yes. Based on the total travel time, DEFINITELY book it through Royal so that if (heaven forbid) anything should happen that delays your return to the ship, they won't leave you behind! Also, take your motion sickness pills before you even get off the ship in case you sit on the ferry for a while like we did, and bring extras! Once we got back to the Indy we both pretty much just crashed.

All that being said, prepare to be off the ship and on your feet for the entire day! I don't think I would necessarily do it again, but I'm glad I did it once!

Long winded, but I hope it helps! Have a great vacation!!!

Hi all! I imagine this question has been asked somewhere in here already, and I'm sure if I looked hard enough I could find my answer, but I'm hoping to pick the brains of those of you who have recently cruised on Anthem out of Cape Liberty....

I am looking at cruising on Anthem in October of next year and I'm hoping that someone can make a recommendation for a hotel for the night before departure that offers parking for the week and a shuttle to the port?

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

I did some research, if you look at page 2 of the Royal Caribbean Guest Conduct Policy it does mention that reserving deck chairs is not allowed. The link to this policy, for anyone who may want to look it over is here: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/Guest_Conduct_Policy.pdf

Have a great trip