Sandyrella

I have been loving your review since the beginning and feel so sad that it is coming to an end. Your beautiful pictures and highly entertaining narrative have kept me captivated. We are sailing this beautiful ship in two weeks and this has just added to our excitement. Thank-you for taking so much time to indulge us and for letting us live this cruise vicariously through your eyes.

I'm off to read your Emerald review for 3 reasons:

1. We sailed on the Emerald and can't wait to see your pictures of this gorgeous ship

2. We did almost the same itinerary on Celebrity Equinox last June so hoping to see beautiful pictures of some of the amazing place we visited

3. You create such amazing reviews, I will no doubt be entertained.

I'm trying to get my hubby to read one of your Alaskan reviews. Maybe it will finally convince him that we have to go there one day [emoji4]

Here is a review I posted in October. We would highly recommend this tour company!!

We did a dune buggy tour on October 2nd with cozumelbuggy.com Although we agreed to share a buggy, we happened to be the only two on the tour. Awesome...we got a private tour

Hernan and Omar met us at the designated place, the Cozumel Hotel & Resort, where we finalized the payment and paperwork. (you must sign an insurance release). They then led us to the buggy in a parking lot adjacent to the hotel where they instructed us on the rules of the road, how to get into and out of the buggy (there are no doors), and a general idea of what the tour was going to consist of. While we were there, Omar asked for my camera and took a bunch of pics of DH and I in the vehicle, standing up, sitting down. etc.

We left the parking lot, following behind the lead vehicle holding our wonderful guides. They brought us almost all the way downtown before we turned down a road that would bring us to a "highway" that goes to the other side of the island. Once on the other side, the scenery became spectacular. There are big waves and rocks on that side...it was just beautiful. Just when I thought that I would love to stop for a photo op...we stopped for a photo op. Omar took our camera once again and took pictures of us in the dune buggy with the wonderful scenery behind us.

We continued along the way for a while before we stopped at El Pescador for a break. It's a great restaurant right on the beach. We could have gone in the water but we chose to just take some more pictures (courtesy of Omar once again ) and then have a seat at the restaurant to order some pico de gallo with chips and a sangria to refresh ourselves. It's a great spot, the pico de gallo and sangria were spot on, the staff extremely efficient and polite and bonus....the bathrooms were impeccable . I know that doesn't mean much to some but after the bathrooms we used in Costa Maya, this is a big plus. I think we stayed at this restaurant for about an hour before we continued on our way.

The next stop was El Cedral, a quaint historic Mayan village which had a small Mayan temple in the center. Hernan spoke to us about the culture and the history along with explaining many of the traditions. Being part Mayan, he still partakes in these traditions so he gave us his first hand knowledge with great enthusiasm. He then brought us on a tour of a tiny typical Mayan home/museum ending up in a typical Mayan kitchen where there was a Mayan women making fresh tortillas. Hernan taught us how to ask for a tortilla or two (or three) with the fixings. It was amazing! Our biggest regret was that we forgot to leave a tip.

From the house we were brought across the street to the village square. There were some shops and stands where we did a bit of shopping...I bought some pure vanilla and a silver pendant. Both were negotiable...

After we walked through the square, with a stop at the temple, complete with a history lesson and a photo op (loved it!) we were brought to the tequila museum where we had a private "tour" and tasting on the making of pure, organic tequila. Although there was no pressure to buy any, we did purchase a bottle of 7 year old tequila. Take it from me when I say that I DO NOT like tequila, or what I thought was tequila. What I tasted was smooth as silk and did not give me that icky face and shiver down my spine. It was not cheap so we will be saving it for a special occasion

Once we came out of the museum we got back in the buggies for the final drive back to the hotel. At the hotel, we were brought across the street for the snorkeling part of this excursion. (I should mention that the beach is across the street from the hotel but is accessed by an underground walkway) I was quite impressed with the beach area although it is currently under repair for improvements. I don't snorkel so my DH basically had a private snorkelling tour let by Omar. He said it was amazing! Meanwhile, Hernan stayed behind with me at the beach where we had a wonderful conversation about how he came to Cozumel, what my life in Canada was like, etc. He also took some very nice pictures of me to add to the photo album.

After the snorkeling, we were brought back to the hotel where we sat down for lunch. This hotel is for the most part, an all inclusive so we were brought to the pool restaurant where we could have eaten as much as we wanted. Food choices went from tacos, rice, veggies, salad to french fries and pizza. Well, we can have pizza any time so we went for a couple of tacos...when in Mexico.... We were also allowed a free non-alcoholic beverage to go with our meal.

Once the meal was over, I believe we could have stayed at the hotel for swimming, etc., but we chose to go back to the cruise ship terminal to browse the shops. Hernan helped us get a taxi...these guys were the ultimate guides from beginning to end. I cannot say enough!

Overall, we absolutely LOVED this tour. This was our 4th time to Cozumel and all we had ever seen outside of the port area, downtown and Paradise Beach. This time we were determined to see more of the island, and we did. Having a private tour made it all the more amazing.

In the end, I have two regrets...

1. We forgot to tip the very sweet Mayan woman in El Cedral. She deserved something for her delicious tortillas, etc.

2. We didn't get a picture of our awesome guides.

If you are looking for a well-rounded tour of the island complete with a great lesson in the wonderful Mayan heritage, then I fully recommend this tour.

We booked an apartment in Barcelona for 2 nights post cruise for my family of 5. It's close to La Ramblas and at $473.00 Canadian $ it cost a lot less than 2 hotel rooms. We booked through airbnb.com. I have 4 apartments booked for our upcoming trip. London, Venice, Rome and Barcelona. I'll let you know how it works out

I think you just sold me on this. I'm looking for local tours like this in my ports in December.

 

Thank you for this fine review.

Thank-you outbackpaul! I think it would be a great choice if you want a little bit of everything in your tour. :)

We did a dune buggy tour on October 2nd with cozumelbuggy.com Although we agreed to share a buggy, we happened to be the only two on the tour. Awesome...we got a private tour :cool:

Hernan and Omar met us at the designated place, the Cozumel Hotel & Resort, where we finalized the payment and paperwork. (you must sign an insurance release). They then led us to the buggy in a parking lot adjacent to the hotel where they instructed us on the rules of the road, how to get into and out of the buggy (there are no doors), and a general idea of what the tour was going to consist of. While we were there, Omar asked for my camera and took a bunch of pics of DH and I in the vehicle, standing up, sitting down. etc.

We left the parking lot, following behind the lead vehicle holding our wonderful guides. They brought us almost all the way downtown before we turned down a road that would bring us to a "highway" that goes to the other side of the island. Once on the other side, the scenery became spectacular. There are big waves and rocks on that side...it was just beautiful. Just when I thought that I would love to stop for a photo op...we stopped for a photo op. Omar took our camera once again and took pictures of us in the dune buggy with the wonderful scenery behind us.

We continued along the way for a while before we stopped at El Pescador for a break. It's a great restaurant right on the beach. We could have gone in the water but we chose to just take some more pictures (courtesy of Omar once again ) and then have a seat at the restaurant to order some pico de gallo with chips and a sangria to refresh ourselves. It's a great spot, the pico de gallo and sangria were spot on, the staff extremely efficient and polite and bonus....the bathrooms were impeccable :rolleyes:. I know that doesn't mean much to some but after the bathrooms we used in Costa Maya, this is a big plus. I think we stayed at this restaurant for about an hour before we continued on our way.

The next stop was El Cedral, a quaint historic Mayan village which had a small Mayan temple in the center. Hernan spoke to us about the culture and the history along with explaining many of the traditions. Being part Mayan, he still partakes in these traditions so he gave us his first hand knowledge with great enthusiasm. He then brought us on a tour of a tiny typical Mayan home/museum ending up in a typical Mayan kitchen where there was a Mayan women making fresh tortillas. Hernan taught us how to ask for a tortilla or two (or three) with the fixings. It was amazing! Our biggest regret was that we forgot to leave a tip.

From the house we were brought across the street to the village square. There were some shops and stands where we did a bit of shopping...I bought some pure vanilla and a silver pendant. Both were negotiable...

After we walked through the square, with a stop a stop at the temple, complete with a history lesson and a photo op (loved it!) we were brought to the tequila museum where we had a private "tour" and tasting on the making of pure, organic tequila. Although there was no pressure to buy any, we did purchase a bottle of 7 year old tequila. Take it from me when I say that I DO NOT like tequila:eek:, or what I thought was tequila. What I tasted was smooth as silk and did not give me that icky face and shiver down my spine. It was not cheap so we will be saving it for a special occasion :p

Once we came out of the museum we got back in the buggies for the final drive back to the hotel. At the hotel, we were brought across the street for the snorkeling part of this excursion. (I should mention that the beach is across the street from the hotel but is access by an underground walkway) I was quite impressed with the beach area although it is currently under repair for improvements. I don't snorkel so my DH basically had a private snorkelling tour let by Omar. He said it was amazing! Meanwhile, Hernan stayed behind with me at the beach where we had a wonderful conversation about how he came to Cozumel, what my life in Canada was like, etc. He also took some very nice pictures of me to add to the photo album.

After the snorkeling, we were brought back to the hotel where we sat down for lunch. This hotel is for the most part, an all inclusive so we were brought to the pool restaurant where we could have eaten as long as we wanted. Food choices went from tacos, rice, veggies, salad to french fries and pizza. Well, we can have pizza any time so we went for a couple of tacos...when in Mexico.... We were also allowed a free non-alcoholic beverage to go with our meal.

Once the meal was over, I believe we could have stayed at the hotel for swimming, etc., but we chose to go back to the cruise ship terminal to browse the shops. Hernan helped us get a taxi...these guys were the ultimate guides from beginning to end. I cannot say enough!

Overall, we absolutely LOVED this tour. This was our 4th time to Cozumel and all we had ever seen outside of the port area was downtown and Paradise Beach. This time we were determined to see more of the island, and we did. Having a private tour made it all the more amazing.

In the end, I have two regrets...

1. We forgot to tip the very sweet Mayan woman in El Cedral. She deserved something for her delicious tortillas, etc.

2. We didn't get a picture of our awesome guides. :(

If you are looking for a well-rounded tour of the island complete with a great lesson in the wonderful Mayan heritage, then I fully recommend this tour.

We just got off this morning and all the walk off groups were seated in one of the dining rooms waiting for their number to be called. They was no check what-so-ever & if you left with an earlier number it really didn't matter. We were only seated 75 feet from the chekout station & we walked out by ourselves when they called the group letter.

We were on the same cruise and never even made it to the dining room to wait for our number. I went to the internet cafe to check on my kids one last time before we left and as we were leaving there, we saw that there was nobody getting off the ship so we just walked off. No problem....:)

No, but we've done both the X-rails buggy and the dune buggys through shoretrips dot com and loved them both! Awesome trips!

What beach club do they bring you back to at the end of the trip?

Also, if we are only two, do we have to be in a dune buggy with 2 more? DH not getting to drive would be a deal breaker for us :rolleyes:

We did this tour through Carnival about 6 years ago and loved it. We were one of the first tours of the day so when we arrrived it wasn't too busy. We had a great guide leading us up the Falls. He had us singing Hot Hot Hot, etc. So much fun! The downside, as someone else pointed out, is the village at the top that they direct you through on your way out. The vendors are SO agressive and can turn a little nasty if you don't want to pay for their "gift" to you or if you try to return it. This part left a very bad taste in my mouth. We found out later that there is a path that goes around the shops where we could have avoided being hassled.

Dolphins Cove was really nice. We were able to take pictures of the dolphins and their interaction with the guests. I don't remember any other animals but we did have a snack and a drink. There were also some shops hear but even when we were browsing, they did not bother us at all. Because we were on an early excursion, we made it back to the port in time to spend a couple of our at Margaritaville and do some shopping in that area as well. Again, no bother...the only place where we felt harassed was at the Falls. With that said, we would absolutely do this tour again, but just try to slip out the back of the Falls.:rolleyes:

Enjoy!:)

While I'm sure it does happen that some people get their forgotten items back, it seems for the most part that it is very unlikely...here's why....

On our Dawn cruise on March 2, we could not close the bottom drawer in the cabinet. It kept springing open. I kept telling DH that I thought something was blocking it and sure enough, after some investigation, we discovered two ladies blouses, very dressy and possibly expensive. Not knowing what else to do with them, I brought them down to guest services and explained that I had found them and was turning them in, in case the owner contacted NCL inquiring about them. The guest services rep looked at me like I had mud on my face, almost with a look of disdain as if to say, you're kidding me. I put the clothes on the counter and she reluctantly took them from me. I then asked her if she wanted my cabin number in case the owner specified what cabin she left her clothes in. The rep. said, ok sure in a tone that seemed to suggest that it wouldn't make a difference. I have absolutely no confidence in the fact that if the owner of the clothes contacted NCL, she would ever see those clothes again.

If we find wine in any of the ports, can we bring it on board and pay the corkage fee or does this only apply at the initial embarkation?

Thanks,

Sandy

Can anyone tell me if the vendors on the island are really, really aggressive? I know that they will be pushy but is it manageable? We had a slightly unpleasant experience in Jamaica once so we proceed with caution now. :)

Thanks BeachBumMama! I really appreciate you responding so fast. Our itinerary is from NY to Florida and Bahamas but we have also done Western Caribbean so what ever one you think is best for this trip, feel free to add your $0.02. To be honest after reading some other reviews (on Amazon) I was leaning towards After Midnight but I am certainly open to any suggestions.

Yes, we are really looking forward to our Owner's Suite. Like I mentioned (and you can see) the itinerary is mediocre. We have been to these places before with the exception of the private island. Also, we are travelling during Spring Break so I'm sure there will be a lot of 18-25 year olds have a great time on deck (not that I mind but I don't want to have to hunt down a deck chair). We had a balcony last year and it was a great respite later in the day after watching the action around the pool.

As far as Little Miss Sunshine, I can't find a book anywhere at the online book

stores. I'm thinking that it was an original screenplay. My daughter is also 14 and likes "The Clique" books. Also, the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series (I also read them just to see...was quite entertained) has a new book that just came out called Forever in Blue (The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood). Lastly, the Shopaholic books are also good for 14 year old girls. Good, clean entertainment. Actually anything my Sophie Kinsella....

Thanks for your help!

Sandy

I hope you come back sooner than the last time. I am facinated by Alisa Allan's cruise novels. I have never heard of her. Just wondering which one was your favorite.

mamamo65...Thanks for the review of A Salty Piece of Land. In the end it just didn't intrigue me enough.

So far I have James Patterson packed for our upcoming cruise but would like to throw in a second as our itinerary is mediocre AND we got an upsell to an Owner's Suite on NCL so I suspect I will be spending more time on my own balcony (less distractions)

I'm leaving in a month.... :)

Sandy

Has anyone read "A Salty Piece of Land" by Jimmy Buffett? Just wondering what kind of book it is...mystery, drama, comedy....?

I read Skinny Dip on last years cruise and loved it...very apropos when reading it on a cruise ship. I actually saw 4-5 others also reading it...

I want to find another appropriate fast read for our up-coming cruise in March. Any suggestions? I've read all of Janet Evanovichs and many James Patterson. I like light fluff when I'm travelling...too many distractions for a "heavy" book.

Thanks,

Sandy

Have any of you Janet Evanovich fans read any of her "Full" Series? I was just online looking for the release of her next Plum novel and came across the info that there is another series out there that she writes with Charlotte Hughes.

I want a really light, fluffy book or two to bring on our March cruise and thought that Janet would fit the bill.

Thanks,

Sandy

Moongoddess....my vote for Ranger would have to be Benjanmin Bratt!

I'm also a huge fan of both Janet Evanovich (of Stephanie Plum fame) and Sophie Kinsella (Shopoholic, etc.). I used to love really deep, serious books but find that with 3 children, my level of concentration has somewhat deteriorated so now I just read a lot of what I call fluff...and I LOVE it.

Another series that is VERY easy to read amongst the distractions on a cruise are by Anne Brashares...The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. There are now 3 out.

Dare I say that my 12 yo DD was reading them and out of curiosity of what exactly was the type of book she was into now (ok I was screening!) I started reading the first one and was really surprised that I enjoyed it. It brought me back (way back :)) to my teenage years. The first movie is coming out in June.

There is another "cruise" book that I read years ago written by Carol Higgins Clark (daughter of women suspense writer Mary Higgins Clark). It was a light mystery which takes place on a cruise ship. It's called Decked.

Sandy