bguppies

There are paved walking areas and I know the very first cabana has a sidewalk to it. (The rest would be a hike through sand to access) Getting on the tenders with my DW's walker is a PIA. I'm not sure how they would do a scooter, but hopefully someone with firsthand experience will chime in for you. If the person just wants to walk around and not access the beach area, it might be an OK day. But the best part of Half Moon Cay is the gorgeous sand and water there. Not alot of other thing to do there.

That is exactly our concern. Why I'm doing my best to ascertain what the conditions will be like the first week of December. If we were just getting off the ship and walking to the end of the pier and conditions were bad it would be one thing. (this is with one of us with a walker) But getting off the ship walking the long pier, then walking through the entire pier area and out to a cab or ride to Maya Chan or Almaplena, then ride into town or out to a resort then finding out that the conditions are bad would kill the whole day. Thanks for chiming in.

I assume Puerto Maya since this was posted on the Carnival board. (before I 'd wager it got moved to the Cozumel board)

Next time pack the cooler with clothes and check it.n Empty it as soon as it arrives at your cabin and have your steward fill it throughout the cruise. I've gotten the same cooler on every cruise for the past 15 years this way.

What are you looking for in a "Private Cabana" experience? Waiters waiting only on your cabana. An enclosed Cabana versus loungers under your own Palapa or umbrella. Cozumel has every type of beach club, experience available. Quiet, relaxing AI like Nachi Cocum. (due to capping the amount of people per day) More of a party atmosphere with AI or PAYG like Mr. Sanchos. Kind of right between the two at Paradise beach. AI with lots for kids to do at Playa Mia. And dozens of other places running the gamut. Knowing exactly what you want in your Private Cabana experience would help folks in here guide you in finding your best day. I've done private cabanas on Half Moon Cay many times, which was nothing like I saw on cabana days on Coco Cay.

If the location of a vacation is going to stress you out, then clearly it won't be much of a vacation.

As a kid, I would have loved what I've seen in videos of Margaritaviile, right by the port. Its not AI though. Lazy river. big pool.

What is involved in the exclusive cabana experience to you? I've rented a cabana on Half Moon Cay many times. But you get a cabana, some chairs, drinks and snacks. No service staff etc. If you are just looking for an AI with a couple of loungers with limited crowds, I've been looking into Almaplena and Maya Chan. We always get that in Cozumel by going to Nachi Cocum.

Do you visit Baltimore? As a transplanted Baltimoron, I'm curious.

I wish more people thought like your wife or ShakyBeef so we wouldn't have 4 ships in port in Costa Maya and 8 ships in port in Cozumel when we go in December. I would prefer 1-2 in Costa Maya and 4-5 in Cozumel.

What shows? I don't see any listed. Does anybody have a link to some article that people seem to be talking about?

You need to specify if it can be a beach with AI or PAYG only. I always find Mahahual at the Costa Maya port, better for just wandering down the main drag and getting a cheap massage at any beach club there. So if you are htting Costa Maya also, keep that in mind. For AI in Cozumel, I highly recommend Nachi Cocum. (be back there for the 5th or 6th time in 2 months.) Best if you want a quiet, relaxing day. If you want more of a party atmosphere, Mr. Sanchos or Paradise Beach are better choices.

OK last week on the Sunshine we had two movies a day. One at 7PM and the other at 10-10:30PM Jurassic World Dominion, Sonic 2, Elvis and Fantastic Beast -Dumbledore were early movies. Morbius (twice), the Batman and the Unbearable talent.... were the late movies. The only one we wanted to see was Jurassic World, but dinner ran late the first night and it was half over by the time we got up there. Everything else was mostly stuff that has been streaming for months already. (Morbius on Netflix, Elvis, Fantastic Beasts, the Batman all have been on HBO for many months.)

Junkanoo is the closest free beach, but I don't know about walking it with two 4 year olds. No fake cruise port free beach like at Grand Turk or other cruiseline created stops. Maybe you get lucky and get switched to Half Moon Cay or Bimini which both have free beaches at the end of the pier or a tender ride over.

Found tons of reviews/replys about other ships. Curious what features the Sunshine has to offer.

We are cruising to Costa Maya in early December. I've been before and toured the beach clubs on the Malecon. Wasn't too thrilled with how tightly packed the places were, how small the beaches were and the water quality. (not just the seaweed) Started watching videos on youtube to see what has changed since the shuitdown. Jamies', the Krazy Lobster, etc. (all the recommended places) None seemed to fit what we enjoy. Relaxation, gorgeous water and beach area, no crowds. Saw alot of videos on Maya Chan which looked nice, relaxation and crowdwise, but the water quality looked the same as the clubs along the Malecon. Could only find a couple of videos of Almaplena and none that are recent. But it looks like it has everything we enjoy, is there. The beach and the water at Almplena seemed much nicer than Maya Chan and definitely no crowds. Was hoping somebody that has been in the past year could give us a recent review and explain about how to get there. We tried e-mailing them for clarification about the free transportation to get there, but I assume through a language issue, could not get a straight answer from them. (in multiple e-mails) Do they have a van that runs to their faciliity to pick up guests or do you just catch a random cab at the pier and they reimburse you or the cabbie? How long is the drive there and back to the pier? (tough to tell by google maps) With 4 ships (including one of RC's megaboats) in port that day, I definitely don't think anywhere on the Malecon or the pier area would be a good choice that day. If we were the only ship there that day, I'd probably just stay at the pier pool all day and save the hassle, as we have the heaven that is Nachi Cocum already booked for two days earlier. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give.