c-leg5

Good choices. Agree with @crewsweeper, given that you have good port hours I would probably choose Maya Chan or Hayhu first. Not sure about ranking those along the Malecon, location and facilities are similar - for me it would mainly come down to ambiance and budget required. With kids that age I wouldn’t discount time at the port itself with aviary, pools, voladores, dancing and dolphins.

Very strange. As I said seems like a serious retrograde step considering all the problems they had at the old terminal. The zig-zag Disneyland type ramp they created provided a much smoother wheel friendly exit although I understand some wouldn’t like the distance involved. There was always the elevator for those that needed it.

All beaches in Mexico are public to put down a towel but you will need to make purchases if you want to use any facilities, tables, chairs, loungers restrooms. there are plenty of beach bars where you can PAYG but many beaches on Cozumel are rocky. Those with prime real estate are generally taken by the big beach clubs which now encourage AI or hotels where you can purchase day passes. some of the smaller ones without the “bells and whistles” of the bigger clubs now have a cover charge usually credited towards food and drink. Check out Buccanos or Playa Palancar. Plenty of beach bars with loungers on man made sandy areas but not a true beach. Best beaches are on the east coast PAYG but you will need to have a driver stay with you or at least have a reliable method of return. Also no ocean swimming due to currents and riptides. Check out Playa Bonita, Chen Rio, el Pescador. If you have never been and it isn’t sargassum season well worth a trip round the island beach hopping.

I haven’t been to the new terminal yet but plenty of experience with the old terminal through the years. I haven’t heard anyone mention this before but given the inordinate number of self assist cruisers at Galveston this seems a retrograde step if you have to use an escalator again after the extensive renovations at the old terminal and the considerable improvements that they made.

Nearest beach is in Mahahual 5-10 minute taxi ride. Beach clubs are shoulder-to-shoulder along the same bay. Other beach clubs out of town at various individual locations. Multiple threads describing availability and recommendations if you scroll down this board a page or two. Take a look and come back if you have any questions about specific locations.

The price is per person. It is a shuttle bus.

I think you need to understand they are a broker site that operates throughout the Caribbean. The tours are as good as the tour operators they sub-contract to, which often times can be someone you could have booked independently. That said, we have used them without any problems in other locations. You need to consider them as administrators. My biggest problem with brokers is their descriptions and photos are often inaccurate and it is difficult sometimes to get details from them, if you want to know something specific.

Thanks for that link. I don’t do FB personally and friends hadn’t found that one. I had written and got prompt replies and copy of online menu which they sent but no prices. When I questioned they said exchange rate was 18:1. As I say it’s been a while Since we were there but those prices do seem high and don’t feel like arguing the added tax so will probably give it a miss unfortunately.

There is a pool at the port now - someone else would need to answer how suitable it is for that age. You always need to check if swim diapers are allowed at public and hotel pools. We always took the excursion to Maya Key (through the cruise line) with a child of that age - convenient 5 minute boat ride directly from the pier. There is a pool, beach, snorkeling and animals to view. Otherwise we would take our own car seat as you never can guarantee a rental will be the right size. You can also never guarantee on the islands there will be working seatbelts that aren’t cut.

+1 only closed on Mondays as far as I know.

Well that’s the thing with TA you can never tell! I always treat TA reviews with scepticism. However I find it strange no reviews on here, FB forums or Cozumel local forum (although they are certainly very anti-cruisers and from what I can tell Aviomar, which I think runs cruise tours, seems to include it as part of their tours). It’s been over a year since I was in Cozumel and reviews seem to be last 18 months. Location certainly looks nice although I like to have a pool. Looks like time for another fact finding mission - time for another independent bar hop with my local driver to try some new places!

Any of the regularly recommended tour operators can provide a private tour for your party to cover those options just for your party under their “freestyle” tours. I suggest you contact some and ask for their terms and conditions regarding payments and deposits. Tours on Roatan are generally priced very similar from different operators. Most have a pool of drivers that work for them so your “tour” is much more dependent on which driver is allocated to you on the day, rather than which company you actually book through, despite some people claiming they always use company A or B. Your driver will stay with you for the day. I am not sure why you think most snorkeling is from a boat in Roatan - most people go West Bay and snorkel from the beach. Several locations to choose from on this beach and several in depth descriptions on this board. The coral is very near the surface and requires care. We find the beach very busy and vendors can be a problem for some if you are trying to relax on the beach.

Lol, so I see but how many are real? The place looks quite nice and I am surprised no reviews on here.

Has anyone tried this beach club? Any reviews? Are there a lot of tour groups?

I am not sure when you last went - there have been multiple renovations and additions over the years from the original development of Costa Maya in early 2000’s? I assume you mean since the additional pool and flow rider, added recently? I actually like the current cosmetic appearance of the port compared to past versions. It is a very commercialized port area that we would previously pass through as fast as we could (not an easy feat given the extremely long pier and the design of the circuitous route to the exit) but for us the character of mahahual (local town outside port) has changed significantly since cruising resumed. Local government or businesses have become greedy and now we would spend a couple of hours in the overpriced port area for a walk and drink/snack and return to the ship for the rest of the day, something we would never have done pre-Covid. it doesn’t help in our case the most of our recent scheduled port stops have been short, which seems to be a common factor with ships visiting Costa Maya. With longer stops visits to the ruins and authentic local lunch are popular. There are some out of town beach clubs which are good out of sargassum season. There are fishing, snorkeling, diving excursions..

I always pre book through ToursPlaza because I have used them for many years. Other people have others they will recommend or you can find several taxi driver phone # recommended on TripAdvisor Cozumel local forum. if you know where you want to go and simply want a driver for a few hours, usually minimum 3-4, you can negotiate at the pier. There will be a board with prices listed for tour or you can go outside pier dispatch area and probably get a better price negotiating on the street especially if you speak Spanish.

Yes AI is all-inclusive. Many bars in Costa Maya have taken that approach or they sell minimum charge packages, at various levels, to be used towards food and drinks, and include a lounger. Krazy Lobster is one of the few places that is still PAYG. It has taken over several smaller bars to extend its ocean front and is now the major beach bar in the central location. It has a menu online on its website. It is typical tourist beach club prices and standards -not budget but not super high. That was correct fare last time we were there. I don’t think Mahahual has become too popular. I think it had a much more lively vibe pre-Covid and in its attempts to recover it has become greedy. IMO prices are over-inflated generally for the facilities that are offered in this location.

I have never been on Virgin so I have no idea of what levels of service/class of cabins exist but are you comparing like-with-like? Otherwise not really a valid comparison.

We have done several resort passes and the bar hop. we always check the prices directly with the hotels and with at least one broker and have booked both ways depending on the hotel and what is offered. I have never used resort for the day as their up charge is usually (not always) more expensive.

Correct.

Yes they do. Sometimes you are lucky but it isn’t something I would rely on. We usually have pesos anyway but you can always give it a try.

Yes this is an apt description of what is served and subjective, as with all things culinary, as to whether they are better. Probably an acquired taste for the real thing which wouldn’t be universally accepted. As an aside since you seem to be an aficionado of Indian cuisine, I buy my dry peas at an Indian deli now to produce a reasonable dish - something I would have thought Royal could also do given all the lentils they purchase, if they wanted.

Sounds like normal policy.

Unless they have changed the type of pea they used to use they were OK but no where near authentic

To add to above. East coast not at its best when sargassum present.