Cozumel Amazing Race Excursion?

[ashlelee]

Has anyone done the Amazing Race Excursion in Cozumel??

[ERTHDOG]

NO, but please tell me more, sounds interesting:D

 

dave

[Irishlinny]

2 ladies on our last Legend cruise did it and had a good time. I would have them comment on it but they aren't on Cruise Critic:rolleyes: I guess you get a clue to someplace in the downtown area, where you get another clue of where to go next, etc. The team that gets there first wins......

[happylady]

I was so excited when I saw this excursion a few months ago. I love the amazing race, but then I read the restrictions. The maximum age is 55. Bummer, my DH is 57 and I'm 53. :(

[jclinard]

I've done it. It's fun, but bring water.

[sixgun8]

me and my wife did it two years ago when they called it the Race fantastique. It was a BLAST. We had so much fun. If you love the amazing race TV show, then you will enjoy doing this excursion. You will get to see a part of Cozumel that a lot of people don't see. You do a LOT of walking, so bring comfortable shoes, but it's not that physically strenuous. And you can be as competitive or relaxed as you want to be. We took second, because of a last second miscalculation. If you think you are ahead and can coast, you are wrong. there is one step in the race where they calculate TIME lapse and it can come back and bite you in the end.

[happylady]

You do a LOT of walking, so bring comfortable shoes, but it's not that physically strenuous. And you can be as competitive or relaxed as you want to be.

 

I guess they figure us old people can't walk that much!!! :D:rolleyes::eek:

[travlngrl1996]

How long does this excursion last? What is the price information to participate? Sounds like a lot of fun.

[sawz]

My sister and I wanted to try this also . She will be 60 and is in great shape . How can they tell you your too old ? We might just try it and lie about her age !! Do you think they really care ?

[happylady]

My sister and I wanted to try this also . She will be 60 and is in great shape . How can they tell you your too old ? We might just try it and lie about her age !! Do you think they really care ?

 

It's probably a liability type thing. :(

[jerry20001]

I don't think they care about the age nor would there be any liabilty issues in Mexico. I have heard that it starts or has some swimming to get a clue and most of the rest is involved with "running" around. I have seen people many times and they seem to enjoy it. It does cover ground outside the tourist area that most don't get to see. The longer you take, the more you see and experience & you might be the real winners.

 

Age and treachery will often triumph over youthful energy. Cheat, I'm sure a friendly taxi driver would be thrilled to help with the hunt. It can be brutally hot in the summer time, but I don't know of any reason age should be a restriction. They'd probably be happy to take your money.

[sawz]

That is what I thought too. We don't go until Oct. 3rd on the Valor . We have lots of time to decide what we want to do . Anyone have some good ideas ?This will be are third time in Cozumel and the race sounded fun :rolleyes:

[rnvattes]

My friend and I will be sailing next week (12/7-11) and we'll be doing this while in Coz. When we get back, I'll let you know what we thought! After reading the thread here I'm even more excited; we are both BIG fans of the show and I'm thrilled to hear how much fun it is!!!

[sawz]

I hope you have a great time ! Please let us know all about the race . My sister and I love the show !We would love to try it also. Let us know if they have the over 55 rule .

[bobmacliberty]

Is this a Carnival excursion or a local one? My family loves The Amazing Race but we're cruising on Royal Caribbean.

[happylady]

I was so excited when I saw this excursion a few months ago. I love the amazing race, but then I read the restrictions. The maximum age is 55. Bummer, my DH is 57 and I'm 53. :(

 

I could swear that I saw 55 as the maximum!! I just looked at the excursion description and it only states that one person has to be able to swim in the ocean!! Well, I for one am very happy to say "I was wrong!!" Yeah!!

 

 

Is this a Carnival excursion or a local one? My family loves The Amazing Race but we're cruising on Royal Caribbean.

Also, I was looking around and googled the company. Back in 2007 one of the owners posted on trip advisors that they were exclusive to Carnival. You may want to contact them directly and ask if the policy has changed in the last two years.

[jpg1747]

I just did this excursion. I'm 60 and I had absolutely no problem. It involves around 2 hours of walking around, so wear appropriate shoes. It was great fun. As a solo, they paired me up with 2 very nice ladies who wanted to go at the same speed that I did. We went on the boat part with several other teams and we all agreed that only one person needed to get in the water and share the clue with the rest of us because the water was a bit rough. The lunch at the end was very good. Some of us chose not to bus back to the pier but to stay and shop. We shared a taxi back to the pier for $7 total.

[BananaKetchup]

What time does the excursion start? how long does it last approx? The carnival website says 3-4 hours. Cozumel has a lot to offer, we would love to do the amazing race, but don’t want to spend the entire day doing the race.

[Tennessee Rose]

In the amazing race excursion, exactly what is involved with being in the water? I don't (can't!) swim and am afraid of being in the water so need to know if there are any water activities involved in this. Can anyone estimate the number of miles you would be walking? What's the prize for winning, if any? Thanks!

[Sauce713]

I didn't want to start a new thread but thought I'd give a little review of my experience doing the "Amazing Race Cozumel."

 

It was almost the most fun thing we did, but a few things made it the most disappointing. It does take you to a couple of interesting places off the beaten path, but most of it takes place amongst the touristy shops, or crowded with other racers. But, we really enjoyed most of those parts. Just don't think you're going to spend the whole time running around and seeing "local" parts of the town. In part this is because Cozumel is nearly completely a tourist economy.

 

The less fun was that the map and clues have an problem such that a mistake on one clue that is easy to make (and confirmed to be a regular occurrence by the organizers) can cause you to make a 20 plus block round trip away from the area of the race and to locations that are marked on the map but do not exist. This would be fine if it was a two block walk to find out that you didn't understand the right clue, but this lead to an hour of extra walking. A minor fix that the organizers are considering would eliminate this issue. Of course, this was the only part of our walk that got us in to interesting parts of town.

 

Then there is the "snorkeling" part. As I've seen mentioned by others, this part is a problem. The expectation is for you to jump in water with a strong current and do a surface dive to a depth of over 20 feet to get a clue. This was an impossible task for all but very fit people who are very comfortable with deep surface diving. While I struggled with the current and tried to figure out how to get myself down to the clue, my wife was given the clue on the boat. This basically meant that the challenge here was for one person to get wet, tired, and uncomfortable for the rest of the race. A young boy who did this portion for his family ended up with pretty severe chafing from completing this race in his wet, salty, swimsuit. This part would have been great if the clue was something that could be seen snorkeling at the surface.

 

Had either of these things gone differently, then this excursion would have been very fun. As it was, it appeared that most people had a very enjoyable time, though I wasn't the only one who ended up at least a little disappointed. However, a couple of minor changes would take this excursion from being fun for most people, to being great for everyone.

 

Sauce

[sumgem]

In the amazing race excursion, exactly what is involved with being in the water? I don't (can't!) swim and am afraid of being in the water so need to know if there are any water activities involved in this. Can anyone estimate the number of miles you would be walking? What's the prize for winning, if any? Thanks!

 

 

Only one person per team has to get into the water so you should be okay to not get into the water at all. Even if you sign up for the excursion solo they will place you on a team. I am not sure how many miles the walking is.... but it is doable. You are free to take your time if you wish. The prize for winning are T-shirts with the race name on them and winner on the front "pocket" area. T-shirts that do not say winner are available for purchase. 2nd and 3rd place won shot glasses and key chains. Anything else? I saw someone else posted about how long it takes.... that totally depends on how fast or slow the slowest team is. The race ends at a small restaurant and then an awards ceremony is done after all teams arrive.

[Mr. Finney]

I too know this is kind of an old thread, but I gotta put in my $.02. We did this excursion back in September, and it was the most fun thing we have ever done on a cruise! It was miserably hot but we ran almost the entire race, and even running we got to see parts of Cozumel we never would have ventured into before. The next time we go there we won't have any reservations about exploring the place more. Do it, you'll have a blast!

[JHarry]

Can someone who is handicapped participate? My wife is in a powerchair and cannot walk but really wants to participate in this. We know that she wont be able to do much but she really wants to do it.

[sumgem]

Can someone who is handicapped participate? My wife is in a powerchair and cannot walk but really wants to participate in this. We know that she wont be able to do much but she really wants to do it.

 

I think it MAY be possible. I will give you my thoughts... There is a museum that you must enter for clues that had stairs to get in. I do not recall if they had a ramp for entry or not. If not, I am thinking maybe someone else could run in and do that portion if she didn't mind waiting outside...? The only other part I can think of that she would not be able to do is to get into the boat to do the snorkeling portion but only one person has to do that so once again she could wait on the dock if she doesn't mind. I would call the Carnival or better yet email the people who run the excursion (if you can get contact info) and ask. I hope she gets to do it and that you guys have a great time!

[Mr. Finney]

If I'm not mistaken, the starting point is also upstairs in one of the shopping areas. From what I recall, dowtown Cozumel isn't the most wheelchair-friendly place, but if she wants to do it and doesn't mind letting you do a lot of the "tasks", then I say go for it!