skittl1321

I bet the ship still smells better than that Carnival one stuck for days did...even with the fun Noro gives off....

 

And yes I've had Noro.....so much...fun (good for cruise food baby elimination)

I think I'd rather deal with going to the bathroom in a plastic bag in the trash can than deal with having Noro- especially if the other people in my cabin have Noro as well. Multiple people quarantined with only one toilet sounds like hell.

That said- I think the media overplays this thing. There were A LOT of people on that ship who did not get sick. (I do wonder how the rest of the vacation went for them, so not saying it was fun- but it probably wasn't awful...I'd be washing my hands every twenty seconds.)

Fins would definitely help, but we didn't bother with them and we had a fabulous time snorkeling.

Do you get a discount for multiple interactions? It seems like if you do more than one in a day you are kind of overpaying- since it includes admission.

I did the Manatee encounter (amazing!) and the $59 was an especially great deal because it included the $20 park admission. But if you pay that park admission with the dolphin swim, then it kinda seems overpriced...

Just a warning. We went down the steps and swam out to the floating platform. Grandson got there ahead of me and was startled when he saw several barracuda swimming around him. He got out of the water fast. Later a group with a guide came up and guide said the barracuda would not bother you, so we got back in the water and had a great time.

Wow- a barracuda would be a rare sighting. Your Grandson is very lucky to have seen one!

If you want more than a few minutes, you have to book the $59 manatee interaction.

All the dolphin/manatee combined interactions only include a few minutes with the manatees.

and seemed to be headed for the wall at breakneck speed! However, they let me go in time (I was about to jump off anyway), and I didn't come close to hitting the wall.

I noticed this watching the Dolphin encounters- it seems like they get REALLY close to those walls.

- should we put swim suits on before we leave the ship, or is there a place once we get to the dolphins? I'm really not looking forward to slogging around in wet swim suits afterwards.

 

There are nice changing areas. You can change there if you want.

Was there recently and no issues at all.

And no, they ask that you don't even use regular sunscreen before the dolphin encounters so I don't think they'd want you using a product like that.

Get ALL the insurance. Don't assume your credit card will cover it if it normally has the rental insurances in the states. Rental cars are cheap, and the insurance typically doubles the price- still not too expensive.

If you are in an accident you are often required to pay all damages before the police will let you leave- this may include replacement salary for the injured person. Tourists are almost always determined to be at fault.

Drive very carefully- keep in mind some red lights are just 'suggestions' so really make sure you look before crossing through a green light. Expect taxi's to pass you on one lane roads, very closely- and tailgate like crazy if they can't pass. Watch carefully for eradict moped drivers.

I'd be very happy if I got a CD with 139 photos (like the prior poster) for 900 pesos (about $70?).

I think they price per person in your group. This was for a single person, not a family or couple.

No, we very definitely pre-booked and pre-paid for the Manatee encounter package; we had different color wristbands from the people who booked just the dolphin portion.

 

Apparently, we were short changed. Luckily, my kids don't come on this website, so they won't know how disappointed they should be.

That's really sad :(

Was it awhile ago? Maybe the manatees couldn't do it yet? I do know I had to do the hug/kiss/handshake with Angel, because Quixote and the other one whose name I forgot weren't able to do that part, so I assume they don't know how.

Why do they not want Carnival guests?

Because they have a contract with Carnival and it is a violation of that contract to serve Carnival guests on their own; the contract says they must book through Carnival.

We did the dolphin/manatee, by the way, but there were no photos with the manatees, as they stay submerged and therefore not a meaningful photo op.

The manatees were trained to come out of the water for pictures for the manatee encounter. They hold their head up for the kiss and handshake, and also hold their tail up for the hug.

Here is one of mine:

This was an unposed photo- they are also out of the water a bit (this was when I had papaya to give them...)

My cost was 900 pesos for the CD. It had 139 photos on it.

ha, kinda, but really more trying to avoid paying for two people to do the swim when only one really wants to (birthday present)...

If you are in the first 'pen' they will be able to see you fine, and take pictures- many people were. Second 'pen' they can see you, but likely can't take any pictures. Further than that, well, they'll be able to watch the dolphins in the big area swimming, but they won't be able to see you.

My husband skipped the manatee swim when I did it. He said he could tell I was in the water :) but that was about it. He just sat and watched the dolphins swim while I did my thing. No need to pay for 2 if only 1 wants to participate. Keep in mind though, the park price is $21 just for entrance, so if you are doing the lowest priced swim, it's really not that much more, since it includes entry. (If you are doing a higher priced one, then this isn't as much of a 'deal' for the more reluctant person.)

I have a family of 4, do they do photo packages? I'm not looking to spend more than $150/175 in pictures

 

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They do photo packages- not sure what the price for 4 is, but for 1 it was 900 pesos ($72ish). The price goes up the more people there are on the disc. Individual photos were $37.

I sent them an e mail and twice got failure notice, but I am pretty sure they are still in business.

Definitely still in business.

Not sure about the wifi though, or why their website contact doesn't work.

Maybe try their facebook? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Money-bar/170121269673680

I'm not much of an email checker on vacation- but Money Bar is a fabulous place for a relaxing day.

When in Cozumel if we do not have pesos, we try to use our credit card as much as possible. The "on the spot" exchange rate for things quoted in pesos is 10:1- easy to do math with, terrible value. Even our cards that charge a small percentage we do better to pay with a CC. AND most places charge in dollars, so there isn't a transaction fee at all. We saved quite a bit of money this way. We have seen no fraud on the cards we used our multiple trips to Mexico (we have had fraud on cards that have never been out of the country...)

My bank exchanges pesos free, so we like to get just a few. The 10:1 exchange really rips you off.

But US dollars are happily taken in any of the locations you named.

We are going to be in Cozumel in a couple of weeks with our 15 month old daughter. I kind of want to make this a beach stop. I originally thought about AI at Mr. Sanchos but I don't know that its worth it because I do not see myself really drinking because of my daughter and watching her. DH would drink but I think it would probably be cheaper just to buy him drinks. I do like the idea of a pool and beach but not enough to pay extra for an AI.

Mr. Sanchos can be done pay-as-you-go.

IIRC, El Cid does not have a beach entry, though they do have a sand area.

We saw hummingbirds in Cozumel in December. I don't know if they are there in April- I also don't know if there is a 'place' you can see them, just keep looking at flowery bushes!

Cozumel is a very easy port to do on your own. It isn't necessary to book a ships tour.

Were you in more then 4 photo's? Are the other photos of the people you don't know?

I was the only person in the water the whole time. All 139 photos are of me. More than 4 of them are good (maybe 15 I picked out to put in a scrapbook, after that it seemed repetitive)- it was just there were 4 I really wanted.

Next March will be in the INTERNATIONAL dock on the Grandeur OTS. I use a power wheelchair and would like to stay around the dock. Last time we were there, we visited the shopping area around the dock and were able to move well in my chair.

I understand ACROSS THE MAIN ROAD from that dock (International) there is a shopping mall with some new stores and a couple of restaurants ... Any information will be greatly appreciated.

 

Rebeca and Herb ;) :confused:

You should start a new thread. Most people who open this thread will be looking for, or prepared with, information about Money Bar- which is not in the port area.

Sorry I cannot help you, as I've never been at the International pier.

Hows the actual snorkeling at Money bar? If it's good then i agree that it's the better deal.

Like I said, many snorkel boats use the Dzul-Ha reef that Money Bar is on as one of their stops, so it is a good stop.

Very similar to Chankanaab if you are willing to swim a bit further out (wear a bright rashguard or something similar as there is some boat traffic- but it is all snorkel boats, so I found they are generally aware of snorkelers), slightly lighter but worthwhile close to shore. It is not a beach entry, the rocky entry (there are two sets of stairs and a pier with ladder) attracts the fish, not like a sandy spot with very few wish. There is a current, so you either have to start up current and prepare to drift or pay attention to how far away you are getting.

We greatly enjoyed our day at Money Bar. I only snorkeled Chankanaab because we were there for Manatees.

Chankanaab is the best snorkeling I've done. The catch is it is $21 per person entry fee, plus the cab ride ($13 each way up to 4 people, IIRC). There is a wonderful snorkel area, a decent "beach" area, tons of shaded chairs, a decent restaurant, beautiful gardens, animal exhibits and upsells like Dolphin swims or zip lining.

However, my money goes to Money Bar. The cab ride is $8 each way up to 4 people, and they let you use their facilities, beach chairs (though no true beach, just sandy area) for free. It is polite to buy a drink or snack, but they are very reasonably priced (we did 4 smoothies and a plate of nachos for $25.) Lots of the snorkel tours actually drop off at Money Bar as one of their stops.

Chankanaab has a sign saying life jackets (nor snorkel vests, I saw people wearing them but could never figure out where they got them) are manadatory- and they will give you a free one in exchange for an ID, but when we asked they said they just recommended them and didn't require us to wear them. Both locations will rent you gear.

The prices I have seen posted at the piers were already in dollars :confused: - about $16+tip to get to PB for up to 4 in a cab. I have never bothered to change dollars into pesos in Coz, and only did so in Cancun so that we could catch a public bus.

Well, that makes it easy to not bother with the exchange rate. The signs at various places around town are in pesos- and you'll see where the dollar rates come from: it's 10:1. Those signs don't change when the dollar/peso exchange changes.

For a single day trip, it probably isn't worth bothering using Pesos unless you have lots of other Mexican stops or plan on taking taxis many times during the day. For a week trip that we just completed we found it greatly worth our while to exchange money.

And we've learned to cobble together meals of french fries

Can they ensure they have not fried in the same oil as an animal product? If he's worried about sugar, I would think this would be a big concern as well.

To the OP: when we talked with Carnival's special needs department they said they can guarantee vegetarian meals, but they do not guarantee vegan meals. So "cobble together" may be the best a vegan can do. But i'd guess many vegans are pretty used to that when eating out with non-vegans.

I've been in Cozumel with people who have driven in rental cars, but the traffic patterns there are so crazy -I- would NOT want to be driving my own car.

If I wanted to snorkel, I'd head to Chankanaab or Money Bar in a cab.

Where does the 3 reef snorkel go? We saw lots of snorkel boats drop off at Money Bar (Dzul-Ha reef), which seems a bit of a waste since you can get there for like $8. When I was scuba diving Paradise Reef we noticed tons of snorkelers overhead, and that also seemed a bit of a waste, because the reef is a good 20 feet below you, so you are only observing from a distance (even though the visibility is good), unless you're a great free diver. Me personally, I'd rather be just above the coral and among the fish.