Very extensive 9/11 Spirit Review

[gelo7]

Very nicely done.

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for sharing your review, all of your tips and all of your wonderful pictures... :)

 

Very nicely done.

 

Thank you both.

[cruiser1955a]

Re: the video of your little one giggling while being tickled by tickled by fishies.......Priceless !!

[mitsugirly]

Re: the video of your little one giggling while being tickled by tickled by fishies.......Priceless !!

 

I know, I'm so glad that I came up out of the water with the camera at the time I did in order to catch it. I was so happy when I got home and watched it. :)

[gypsydeb]

Was wondering if the hot tubs are hot? On my last cruise(not norweigen) they were cold. Wonderful review by the way cant wait to go and see new refurbished ship 6 days and counting.:)

[mitsugirly]

Was wondering if the hot tubs are hot? On my last cruise(not norweigen) they were cold. Wonderful review by the way cant wait to go and see new refurbished ship 6 days and counting.:)

 

Yes, all 5 of them were really hot! :D

[gypsydeb]

:D WOW five of them and HOT I can't wait. Only 5 more days:)

[mitsugirly]

:D WOW five of them and HOT I can't wait. Only 5 more days:)

 

It gets better (well it did for us)...we never found them very crowded either (in the evening which is the only time we went to the hot tubs) and we usually got one by ourselves. :D

[life.is.good]

I'm sorry if I missed it, can you list the link to the tubing company you used? Were they good at communicating with you prior to the cruise? I am pregnant and want to see if it is an excursion I can do or if I can go to just take pictures. You review is SO helpful. I appreciate it. It helps with the anxiety I have about our first NCL cruise and first time to all the ports, except Cozumel.

[mitsugirly]

I'm sorry if I missed it, can you list the link to the tubing company you used? Were they good at communicating with you prior to the cruise? I am pregnant and want to see if it is an excursion I can do or if I can go to just take pictures. You review is SO helpful. I appreciate it. It helps with the anxiety I have about our first NCL cruise and first time to all the ports, except Cozumel.

 

We are not allowed to actually list the company here (I think), which is why everyone on here just uses .bz or .com or whatever. Just do a search on goolge for cave tubing and put the .bz at the end. ;)

 

I don't know their rules about the pregnancy, but it's not really something you can just go and take pictures. You have to hike in the rain forest (crossing the actual river that you will end up at) and back in the forest again until you get all the way up stream where they start the tubing. Then you tube down the lazy type river into caves and such and end up back where you started at the crossing of the river. So, you wouldn't really be able to go alone and not tube to just take pictures. You can't just walk along side of the tubers or anything...a majority of the time is spent in the caves too, where you, on the outside, would not be able to see anything at all. :)

[life.is.good]

We are not allowed to actually list the company here (I think), which is why everyone on here just uses .bz or .com or whatever. Just do a search on goolge for cave tubing and put the .bz at the end. ;)

 

I don't know their rules about the pregnancy, but it's not really something you can just go and take pictures. You have to hike in the rain forest (crossing the actual river that you will end up at) and back in the forest again until you get all the way up stream where they start the tubing. Then you tube down the lazy type river into caves and such and end up back where you started at the crossing of the river. So, you wouldn't really be able to go alone and not tube to just take pictures. You can't just walk along side of the tubers or anything...a majority of the time is spent in the caves too, where you, on the outside, would not be able to see anything at all. :)

 

I see, sorry I'm pretty new to things still. But thank you, I was able to find what I was looking for. Your review was very helpful! We are going to the Western Caribbean in December on the Spirit and I'm getting very excited!

[jljlinda]

MAYA CHAN, COSTA MAYA

 

 

It was a wonderful day and I highly recommend Maya Chan for a relaxing beach day catered to you in style, good food, friendly people, and more than enough activities to keep you busy if you want. Otherwise, relaxing under the papala works just as good. (A lot of people got the massages and loved it).

 

http://www.costamayabeachresort.com/

 

mitsugirly,

What was the cost for a massage? In the "fishing village" the cost for a massage is typically $20 for an hour which is far beyond a bargain!! Thanks!

[mitsugirly]

I see, sorry I'm pretty new to things still. But thank you, I was able to find what I was looking for. Your review was very helpful! We are going to the Western Caribbean in December on the Spirit and I'm getting very excited!

 

You will have a blast! Have a good time. :)

 

mitsugirly,

What was the cost for a massage? In the "fishing village" the cost for a massage is typically $20 for an hour which is far beyond a bargain!! Thanks!

 

We did not get massages, but a lot of people did. For some reason I'm thinking maybe $25?? But I may be wrong.

[Mom2B&Z]

Thanks for directing me here, it's so nice to hear from someone doing the same ports with a small child!

A few more child-related questions for you:

1. Despite the bugs, would you do Maya Chan again? How far was the taxi ride from port and was it easy to get a taxi with 3 point seatbelts? Was there enough for little ones to do without going in the water? (My two love to play in the sand, is this a good place?)

2. In Cozumel, if you just want to use the beach (not do an encounter) can you just take a cab there, or do you need to reserve ahead of time? (We're thinking of playing it by ear at this port.)

3. In Roatan with Victor, did you request a vehicle for the 3 of you? I have a reservation with him right now and the email says we'll be by ourselves. Do you have to go see the monkeys? (My two boys will not be amused by this...nor will my DH!) I specifically asked to see the resorts around the island, as we're thinking of doing a land-based vacation there in a year or two, so hopefully we can get to do this.

Thanks for your thoughts!

(PS Ironically, my first name is also Kim and I work in health care ;)

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for directing me here' date=' it's so nice to hear from someone doing the same ports with a small child!

A few more child-related questions for you:

1. Despite the bugs, would you do Maya Chan again? How far was the taxi ride from port and was it easy to get a taxi with 3 point seatbelts? Was there enough for little ones to do without going in the water? (My two love to play in the sand, is this a good place?)

 

Yes, definitely. Just so you know, the bug problem wasn't a Maya Chan problem, it was a Costa Maya problem...right from the beginning at the port we were ate up. Of course a lot of factors go into this...the weather prior to our arrival (rain) and of course the season (which is bug season). So depending on when you go, you probably won't have this problem with bugs.

 

We did not go in a taxi. Maya Chan is an AI, they provide all of the transportation, which was by bus=no seat belts. On the ride home, all you have to do is let Mark know that you will have a little one with you and he will provide a child seat for the taxi ride back. :D

 

Marks staff will provide plenty of sand toys for them to play with. They were sitting under our papalya when we arrived. Tons of sand toys, buckets, shovels and such. She loved them (even though I had bought her some, now I'll know next time not to bother bringing them). My little one also enjoyed riding on my lap in the blow up chairs they have for the water. She also snorkeled with us and enjoyed the glass bottom canoe ride too.

 

2. In Cozumel, if you just want to use the beach (not do an encounter) can you just take a cab there, or do you need to reserve ahead of time? (We're thinking of playing it by ear at this port.)

 

Yes, just grab a cab there (that's what you have to do anyhow. A ride there is not included with the dolphin encounter. However, if you are not doing one of the dolphin, seal or manatee swims, you do have to pay to get into Chankanaab ($21 and there is a $2 off coupon online). If I was to go to Cozumel again, I would go back to Chankanaab IN A HEARTBEAT! I wouldn't think twice about paying the admission price there, it's just that beautiful.

 

3. In Roatan with Victor, did you request a vehicle for the 3 of you? I have a reservation with him right now and the email says we'll be by ourselves. Do you have to go see the monkeys? (My two boys will not be amused by this...nor will my DH!) I specifically asked to see the resorts around the island, as we're thinking of doing a land-based vacation there in a year or two, so hopefully we can get to do this.

Thanks for your thoughts!

(PS Ironically, my first name is also Kim and I work in health care ;)

 

We did the zip and dip tour with him. So, we were in a van with a bunch of people, not just ourselves. No, you do not have to go see the monkeys. They are in cages, so if you did go (like with a group) you wouldn't have to worry about going in with them. They do have other animals in cages, deer, squirrels, birds and so on.

 

It sounds to me like you have a private tour scheduled, so I'm thinking that I've read they pretty much do what you want to do and go where you want to go. My tour (since it was the zip and dip) was pretty much a planned tour by them. :)

 

And hello Kim in the health care field too. hehe :D

[Kingcake]

Very nice review. In your ship reviews, one stuck out from our trip last April 4, 2011. The DIRTY WINDOWS. I posted this complaint when we returned from the Spirit. Almost every window was covered with salt. Several times while being in Galaxy of Stars viewing area the windows were Horrible. I was telling another pasenger that it wouldn't take 15 minutes a couple of times a day to clean, at least these windows. There is a walk area to go out to clean them. I know it would be much harder to clean windows at raffles on 10th floor, and other areas. Maybe your review may get some action.

:(Sorry for the bad weather in Roatan. Roatan water is to Die for.:)

 

I agree about the windows. Our balcony doors and the glass on the balcony were filthy the whole cruise and I never saw anyone cleaning them. The only windows that seemed to be clean were the ones in the Centrum.

[danbo597]

Ok, this is going to be a long one. Lots of details here. We really enjoyed our visit to Belize.

 

BELIZE CITY, BELIZE

 

We decided to book with cave tubing .bz for this port. This was the one and only port I was truly petrified of going to because of the tendering. I have not had to tender since the 80’s and 90’s when cruising and I don’t remember it to be a very pleasant experience.

 

However…. It was a breeze. I was worried over nothing trust me. We ate breakfast and sat up on deck waiting for them to announce when we should go get our tickets. When they did, we went down to deck 7 and there really weren’t a lot of people there. When it was time to hand out the tickets, they told everyone to form a line to “his right”. We did…however, others that were waiting on the other side decided to form their own line. The guy with the tickets laughed and ask why there were two lines and ask if we knew how to follow directions. LOL He went ahead and handed out the tickets taking turns back and forth between the lines. No problem. We ended up with tender #1.

 

We sat outside and waited for them to load the first two tenders with 1) the suite guest and 2) the people with NCL tours. Then we were called. It was about a 20 minute ride to the pier. They did tell us that the water we were in was only about 5-6 deep, which is why the Spirit has to dock so far out.

 

 

I’m going to start with the ONE AND ONLY complaint that we had about .bz in the beginning of this. We were taken to our van, then was told to stand outside (in blazing 92 degree weather I might add) while the rest of our people got there. This is the first time that this has ever happened to us whether it be taking a taxi/bus and waiting for it to fill up, to taking a scheduled tour. They usually have the vehicle running and cooled for the guest to get in and wait. Everyone was sweating and it was pouring off my husband’s head to where he finally said something to the driver asking why we couldn’t be sitting down in the van in a/c. The guy said the other guide (that had just walked back to the port to see if the others were coming) had the keys now. They did provide us with cold water to drink while waiting.

 

Ok, next problem…now I know why we weren’t waiting in the van/bus…the a/c SUCKED!! We had several elderly people in our van and they kept asking “is this all the colder you’re a/c is going to get?”. They replied it would get better once they got on the freeway…no, it didn’t. But we all made it and didn’t pass out of dehydration or heat exhaustion, no worries. ;o) We had a tour guy JUNIOR who sat toward the back in front of us. He ended up being our person “tube tour guy” THANK GOODNESS! He was the absolute best and told us so much about the island. We could not get enough. Seriously, this guy was the most informative person ever and knew everything. He could answer any question you could throw at him.

 

I will try to remember some of the interesting facts, but there were SO MANY, I know I’ll forget most. Belize was having Independence Day there and celebrating that from September 10th to I think he said the 23rd??? But it’s a LONG celebration. He showed us the graveyards on the way. It appears as if the bodies are buried above ground with the stones, however, religion is big in Belize and they believe that you can only dig 3 feet down and you have to go 3 feet above. The body is to be buried in the middle. They have to face a certain way with the heads all the same way. I believe it was the sunrise up over the feet and sunset behind the head (please forgive me if it’s the other way around). He joked that he was going to go against all odds and be buried opposite to shake things up. LOL He was hilarious.

 

He showed us a mining mountain that looked like a Giant laying down, you could see the head, nose, mouth and body. He explained that everyone there lives within their means and live conservatively using and having only what they need. We witness ladies in the rivers washing clothes, clothes hanging dry outside at houses. He explained those that had washers, they were located outside of the home. He showed us the richest mans house that lived there, which happened to be a guy from New Hampshire, I believe. He explained that the population was so small there that there was no crime because everyone knows everyone. They unite and help each other out. The richer (the doctors, lawyers and so on) people lived in the city, the average to poor lived outside of the city.

 

My husband is a skater, so they talked “skate” talk for a while and he was telling him about skating there and where you would find the skate park at (in the ghetto on the south side).

 

He talked about his family and children. He was born in Belize, but his family had moved to the US when he was young for several years (for some reason, I’m thinking age 6-12ish). So, he could relate to ANYTHING we talked about and actually told us about his recent visit back to the US and how a “camera took his photo and issued him a ticket for speeding…a CAMERA” LOL

 

There were no stop signs or street lights (I think he said they have maybe a total of 4 there) and that there was no speed limit. I ask about the police pulling people over for things, he said the only thing they are looking for were people smuggling any American cigarettes and several other things.

 

 

The taxes there are so high that it made buying things so expensive, but yet it was the one place (unlike most of the islands) that you could actually purchase your land and have a title like here in the US. He said most places, like Costa Maya and so on, people actually lease their property (and do so on like a 99 year basis), so if you wanted to get rid of it, you really just had to walk away from it, unless you have it in your lease that it could later be transferred. He said you could get an acre for $500-$1000 and it was pretty cheap, but hard to purchase.

 

He talked about the protected areas and how no one was allowed to build, hunt, or remove anything from that area, but they were very helpful with drying up rain and during hurricanes for protection.

 

He spoke about the cashew trees and showed us some along the way. I LOVE cashews and now have a better understanding for why they cost SO DARN MUCH!! For each nut on the tree, you get the fruit, 1 nut inside, and 1 seed only. So you can only imagine how many it takes just to make a bag of cashews! Of course I already knew about the seed inside and when burning it, the smoke is toxic. He talked about their cashew wine and how tasty it was…he would give us a taste when we were done with the trip. Then told us about all the things they use on the island to make wine out of.

 

So, I know I’ve missed a lot, but maybe other things will come to me later. There’s still a lot more during the actual cave tubing. ;o)

 

 

We arrived at the site where everyone arrives at for the tubing tours (all companies). It was beautiful and big. We gathered our equipment and off we went on our “15 minute hike”….sorry, it’s way longer than that and we joked with Junior about it. We ended up doing 2 caves, which he said is the most they do and most companies only do 1. I inquired about the 3 caves because I’ve read from many people that they do 3. He said people use to consider it 3 caves, but in order for it to be considered a different cave, there has to be a certain amount of opening, which they didn’t have with one of the caves, so they changed it to call it 2 caves instead of 3 (but it was still the same that people are referring to as 3 and you know this because the trail ends).

 

Along the walk, we were shown a tree that when you cut it open, the ink inside of it is used to make money. We seen the HUGE vines (tarzan vines) hanging and he informed us that if you were to cut it open, there is a water supply in it that would keep you hydrated if you were stranded in the rain forest. There was another plant that we got to eat. At first you don’t taste it, then it’s like a burst of water and makes your mouth water. Another source of hydration when you are hiking.

 

Along the walk, we were shown a tree that when you cut it open, the ink inside of it is used to make money. We seen the HUGE vines (tarzan vines) hanging and he informed us that if you were to cut it open, there is a water supply in it that would keep you hydrated if you were stranded in the rain forest. There was another plant that we got to eat. At first you don’t taste it, then it’s like a burst of water and makes your mouth water. Another source of hydration when you are hiking.

 

Ok, here comes the fun part. We stop at a tree with a huge hive like thing on it…termites. Yep, we all ate them. My daughter looked at me like we were nuts for eating something that was crawling around on daddy’s hand. But, she did it. They tasted like mint. Junior said you could survive for about 2 days on these as a food source out there. I’ll keep that in mind. ;-)

 

 

Then came the tarantula…they coaxed him out of his house and passed him around for everyone to hold that wanted to. My daughter wanted to hold it, so we told her under no circumstance was she allowed to move if it moved. It started on her hand and then moved up her arm to her shoulder. She didn’t budge. I’m now thinking my daughter is such a daredevil. First zip lining, eating bugs, now holding spiders. Whew. She has guts for a 3 year old. I’m now hoping she doesn’t think it’s ok to go around eating plants, crawling bugs and playing with spiders. Hmmm

 

 

There had been a lot of rain over the last several days, so they said the water was a little higher and rougher than normal and it had actually been closed the day prior and they would not let anyone tube that day. But things were ok for us today. We came to the river and there is a rope to hold on to and cross. But no one had any problems. They took my little one over and put her down in the running water to let her play for a minute then took her over to the side to wait on us. She loved it. Then back to hiking we went.

 

 

Junior told us how that area had been known to have Jaguars in it and I believe there were 6 living in the area. He encountered them only once during a night tour.

 

When we finally made it to the area for tubing, they put us in our tubes and Junior took just us 3 with him. He said he wanted to be responsible for the child. They are certified in just about everything from rescue, cpr and so on for safety. We were very happy we ended up with him. HERE COMES THE BAD; MY FRICKEN CAMERA BATTERY DIED. GACK! I was so upset!!! Just my luck. We did not witness most of the tour guides from several other companies giving the details about the cave, bats and everything else you could think of the way Junior did. I noticed at one point another companies people were listening to him. Junior showed us where the lady that drown doing the excursion with .com happened and I can understand if you are floating along, not tied together, how that could be any issue at this particular spot. He said he was 3 minutes behind her and had he been there, he could have saved her. It was a traumatic day for everyone, including him. I can only imagine.

 

There were only a few areas that were a little rapid, but nothing to be scared of and he kept us in control at all times. He worked his butt off pulling us and paddling us around in areas. Those tubing guys must have the strongest arms. I can only imagine how hard it is to pull around the limit of 8 people. Whew. We felt safe with him at all times.

 

The caves did have one area that was dark and he told us to all turn off our lights so that we can see that we actually can’t see. LOL However, there are so many other tours both in front and in back of us, that we could see their lights on from a distance. Nothing scary at all. There were opening here and there in the caves. We seen fruit bats, vampire bats, and the bats that eat insects only. It was a great experience.

 

After returning from tubing, we all piled in the HOT van and headed to the place to eat. We had chicken, rice, cole slaw and rum punch. It was the best ever. Yes, I had 2 plates and could have had more even though I was full. Junior let us try the cashew wine…of course we loved it and had to purchase some to take home. It’s chillen in the fridge now just waiting for us to open it.

 

We arrived at the port around (in plenty enough time to shop and look around) and it seemed like the place was packed at this point. People were everywhere trying to coax you into buying something or getting your hair braided. It was their one last attempt to get to you as you made it up the stairs and past the security with your ship ID because then, they were not allowed to bother you. Once inside, it was like a shopping mall and you could shop at your own leisure.

 

We arrived at the port around (in plenty enough time to shop and look around) and it seemed like the place was packed at this point. People were everywhere trying to coax you into buying something or getting your hair braided. It was their one last attempt to get to you as you made it up the stairs and past the security with your ship ID because then, they were not allowed to bother you. Once inside, it was like a shopping mall and you could shop at your own leisure.

 

This is the man right here…request him!

 

A link to more pictures:

 

Great review! We just booked with .bz I hope our kids have as much fun as your daughter did! :cool:

[mitsugirly]

Great review! We just booked with .bz I hope our kids have as much fun as your daughter did! :cool:

 

It was a blast and she enjoyed every minute of it...even the termite tasting and the tarantula holding. :p She still talks about the "big spider".

[srobins]

Hi - thanks for the awesome review! I am getting ready to book a cave tubing trip for our family for December and it is between this company and one other. Can you tell me how many you had in your group? We are most interested in a private tour with just our family (9 of us), and I am also concerned about eating at someone's house versus eating at a restaurant.

 

Thanks,

Sherryl

[mitsugirly]

Hi - thanks for the awesome review! I am getting ready to book a cave tubing trip for our family for December and it is between this company and one other. Can you tell me how many you had in your group? We are most interested in a private tour with just our family (9 of us), and I am also concerned about eating at someone's house versus eating at a restaurant.

 

Thanks,

Sherryl

 

There was 3 in our group with him. Just me, my husband, and our 3 year old.

 

The place where you eat is like an open air restaurant (even though I believe that he lives there on the property from what I'm told, but we never seen the house itself), but it's like a restaurant. It's covered and has tons of tables and a little area where they sell things. It's nothing at all like you are eating at or in someone's house. I had a few pictures of the place.

 

This is it from the outside (I was standing in the parking lot)

 

 

 

Inside the building

 

 

 

 

No worries. :)

[magroo]

MAYA CHAN, COSTA MAYA

 

 

What a day. It was a little cloudy here and there and it didn’t start to sprinkle until we were on our way back to the ship and then stopped before we arrived at the port (typical Caribbean weather). I’m sorry to say that we missed Mark, because he had to fly home due to family illness (which we were aware of prior to the cruise), but still missed meeting him. Not to worry though, Zak and David was an EXCELLENT host.

 

 

We had a wonderful day. Our palapa was HUGE and situated back in a little secluded area equipped with 4 chairs, a hammock, and a bed. WOW. It was wonderful! The food was beyond excellent…couldn’t get enough even after getting full I wanted to keep going. The appetizers were served shortly after arrival with chips and salsa and guacamole salsa. It was so yummy!!! Chicken, fish and steak tacos were so good.

 

 

 

 

Zak took us out snorkeling shortly after finishing our appetizers. If you are an avid snorkeler, this is not going to impress you. I heard that they had rain prior to us being there, so the water was a little stirred up and they wouldn’t be taking us out to the reef in the canoes. But that was ok, we were prepared to have a great day no matter what. So Zak gathered everyone to do a tour out from the beach area and in a U shape. Even though there really wasn’t any coral and very few fish, we did come across a star fish (which was my goal to find on this cruise since I haven’t had any luck on any previous cruises-but thought I would find one at West Bay-which I didn’t due to visibility) and we all got to hold it while he gave us the description of the starfish (it’s eyes, mouth and so on). Then on the way back in we ran across a cute little sting ray, which we got to hold as well. It looked like some leopard type of sting ray. They did provide all the snorkeling equipment that you need and the snorkel tubes are brand new in the bag and yours to keep when you are done snorkeling.

 

Is that a fish I spotted?? :eek:

 

 

Others went canoeing right after returning from the snorkeling, but I smelled food and that was our priority at the moment LOL. We decided to forego the canoe trip, but later we took a “short” trip out and back, just to say we did it.

 

Others played sand golf (and it seem like they had a blast) but we hung out in the sand building castles, taking pictures, finding some crabs and having some drinks. We did manage to take our picture in front of the web cam they had there (and from what I’ve read, some cc members seen my little one playing in the sand) hehe.

 

There are private little shower stalls with wood around them and the water runs off onto the land. They try to collect all the rain water they can to conserve on water, which was really neat.

 

It was a wonderful day and I highly recommend Maya Chan for a relaxing beach day catered to you in style, good food, friendly people, and more than enough activities to keep you busy if you want. Otherwise, relaxing under the papala works just as good. (A lot of people got the massages and loved it).

 

The ONLY issues we had with our visit and has NOTHING to do with Maya Chan was the mosquitos were TERRIBLE!! We were bitten from head to toe. This started the minute that we got off the ship and was at the port waiting for our van. I had purchased some cactus pear juice something or other (recommended on here by cc members) that was supposed to be 1) a bug repellant and 2) sun screen protection…I’m here to tell you that it DOES NOT work for bugs. Sorry. Maya Chan does have tons of bug spray for you to use, but I here to tell you that if there is 1 mm of it missing on your skin, they will find it!

 

The other issue was all the sea grass. Of course this is natural to the area and the more rain, the more sea grass. This is not something that Maya Chan can do anything about. They did a wonderful job of keeping it cleaned up on the beach and the beach raked and even had someone out in the water gathering some in a canoe. But, step one foot in the water on the sand and everything was completely stirred up and just looked nasty. It didn’t stop the fun, but it’s not the picture perfect “Caribbean blue waters” that you would imagine.

 

For the price they charge and everything that is included…you can’t beat this place!

 

http://www.costamayabeachresort.com/

 

 

Thanks for this review. We're doing Maya Chan, too. Was there a rep at the port to direct you? The cost included the taxi ride, doesn't it? If not, how much should we plan to pay for the taxi ride?

[mitsugirly]

Thanks for this review. We're doing Maya Chan, too. Was there a rep at the port to direct you? The cost included the taxi ride, doesn't it? If not, how much should we plan to pay for the taxi ride?

 

Yes as soon as you go outside the port, they will pick you up. There are different tours and people leaving for different places, so you just tell any of the guides out there where you are going and they will tell you what bus to get on. Your transportation is included in the price. You get on a huge bus (like a Greyhound bus) to go there with everyone that is visiting there that day. On the way back, they will put you and your family in a taxi to come back to the port whenever you would like. (Cost also included).

 

One you pay for the reservation, there is nothing more you have to plan for other than tips that go in a jar at the bar or if you want a massage. Those are the only extra cost you will encounter. All the snorkel equipment is free to use, the canoes, the snorkeling tour, bikes, food and drinks (regular and alcoholic). You can't go wrong for such a great price. :) (Oh and free internet to check in back home...and of course take a picture of you standing in front of their webcam to show everyone back home. hehe)

[magroo]

Yes as soon as you go outside the port, they will pick you up. There are different tours and people leaving for different places, so you just tell any of the guides out there where you are going and they will tell you what bus to get on. Your transportation is included in the price. You get on a huge bus (like a Greyhound bus) to go there with everyone that is visiting there that day. On the way back, they will put you and your family in a taxi to come back to the port whenever you would like. (Cost also included).

 

One you pay for the reservation, there is nothing more you have to plan for other than tips that go in a jar at the bar or if you want a massage. Those are the only extra cost you will encounter. All the snorkel equipment is free to use, the canoes, the snorkeling tour, bikes, food and drinks (regular and alcoholic). You can't go wrong for such a great price. :) (Oh and free internet to check in back home...and of course take a picture of you standing in front of their webcam to show everyone back home. hehe)

 

Awesome!! Thanks so much for the info. I'm getting so excited. just a little over a month for me.:D

[mitsugirly]

Awesome!! Thanks so much for the info. I'm getting so excited. just a little over a month for me.:D

 

You're welcome and have a wonderful trip! :)

[kitsVA]

Perfect review for us to be excited to be there in few days. Was confused between this and Cozumel Palace All-Inclusive Resort Day Pass which also seems to have a decent shore snorkeling beach.

 

COZUMEL, MEXICO

 

We decided to do the Dolphin Encounter at Chankanaab (because of our little one) but also knew that we wanted to do some snorkeling and had heard that the snorkeling here was AWESOME.

 

I’ll start this review with the Chankanaab portion first, because that is what we did first. The Dolphin Encounter price included admission to Chankanaab, so we didn’t have to pay the $21.00 admission price (which after going there, I would more than be willing to pay the admission price). There is a discount coupon online for $2.00 off admission if you are going there and not doing a dolphin, manatee or sea lion swim.

 

http://www.cozumelinsider.com/images/specials/ChankanaabCoupon.pdf

 

The port at this place is…well LONG and winding in order to get out. You have to walk around and up and down and back and forth and….well you get the picture, just to get out of here. You are passing every darn shop wanting to sell you something along the way. Make note that on the way back, it’s more like a straight shot and up the escalator and you are there. Of course I conclude this is a selling tactic to get you to buy things there because it forces you to go by all of them.

 

We caught a cab and the driver told us it would be $12 to Chankanaab. Now I know, because I do extensive research prior to going anywhere, that it was supposed to be a $10 ride. However, I did know that RC Allure and a Carnival ship was docked on down (toward the way we would be traveling, and I knew exactly where we would be going because I “walked the streets” in that entire area on google earth to familiarize myself with it before hand LOL) and thought, well maybe it’s because they are docked closer and the $10 taxi fee was cheaper there. WRONG, on the way home, we found out it was a $10 ride back. So, yea, I was scammed $2. No big deal I guess.

 

We arrived and immediately knew this was going to be good. The entrance and huge “hut” you walk under was beautiful. Waterfalls, beautifully decorated and several shops. We immediately went to the left (after passing the falls on the left that say Chankanaab)ßalso, if you need to use the restrooms when you enter, they are located UNDER the falls in the “cave”. ;o)

 

To the left was a really neat path that takes you to different sculptures and replicas of Mayan Ruins. It was in a rain forest type setting and absolutely stunning IMO. We ran across several lizards/salamanders along the way and a big Iguana sunbathing on the roof of the “sacrifice hut”.

 

 

 

 

At the exit of the walk, we came out and found the small beach area, that people have mentioned here on cc before, that has nice calm waters with a gentle slope walking in. It’s the “kiddie” area people say. We decided not to stay there and walk over to the bigger beach area to look around first.

 

 

The beach was GORGEOUS! Of course it’s not a beach that you walk right into the water. There is a wall all the way around it and you must walk down steps OR rocks, depending where you enter at, to get into the water.

 

We headed to the big snorkeling shack to see about renting equipment. It was $10pp for the mask, snorkel tube and fins. They did have snorkel vest, however, you had to pay $5 to rent them and they flat out told us that you could get them for free and the small shack right before them. So, we walked over to the small shack (which only had life vest, the kind you blow up=real snorkeling vest) and they just required your picture ID. Only 1 ID needed for everyone in your group. People have mentioned that they run out of these quickly, however, they seem to have plenty that day and as I mentioned, there were 3 ships there…including ALLURE!

 

 

We were ready for some snorkeling and put our things at one of the MANY shade hut/papaya’s they had along the beach. One of the locals told us that the water is calmer more to the right (while facing the beach) than to the left. So, we headed down that way. There were a lot of places along there to enter (maybe 7 or 8???). Immediately there were fish EVERYWHERE….WOW. What a beautiful site! Some places had metal steps to walk into the water (then dropped off at the last step) and others just had huge rocks placed as steps. They are slippery, so be careful. I would walk down far enough to get my fins on then pretty much dive in to keep from walking on the steps. We start toward the right and worked our way toward the left. I could not believe how clear the water was and just how many different types of fish we seen all by the areas along the shore line entrances. You could just swim up and down there and see tons without even going out.

 

 

There are several statues that are placed deeper out in the water. My husband swam out there later in the day to take pictures. I stayed back with our little one because at that point, she had snorkeling herself out and just wanted to play in the sand. We started to head out that way at one point, then I saw how deep it was getting and the water was getting colder and turned back because of her. Facing the beach, to the left far out is a person statue standing real tall. To the far right and far out were several other small statues. There were a lot of scuba divers out there, which made my husband very jealous and he wanted to scuba after that. Now, I don’t know how things work in Mexico, but we were told that we could scuba right then and there and the person at the rental hut can “certify us on the spot”. Hmmm, anyone know anything about this? Doesn’t sound too safe to me.

 

We did run a tab with one of the waiters going up and down the beach taking orders. I thought that was nice that they allowed you to do that. The banana daiquiris were AMAZING! Alcoholic drinks (mixed) were $6.00 and soda was $2.00.

 

We decided that we wanted to go check out the lagoon there and we decided to turn out snorkeling vest in (for fear of walking away and someone taking them) so we played it safe. We started walking and then discovered the lagoon is RIGHT BEHIND the beach area where we were sitting. Duh! I thought is was a far distance away from the snorkeling area for some reason. I thought I had seen a map of Chankanaab and it looked like it wasn’t close by. Wrong.

 

 

The lagoon was amazingly beautiful! We walked all the way around it taking pictures. There were several iguanas (black in color) laying around here and there. I had seen pictures of some orange iguanas and had hoped to find one….no luck. :( We did notice someone along the side with a pool like skimmer taking the leaves and such off the top of the water around the edges. They must hire someone to care for the lagoon to keep it so beautiful.

 

Then back to the snorkeling we went for a little longer. We had scheduled our dolphin swim for 1pm (but there was a mix up, which I’ll go into in my Dolphin review) so we decided to turn in our equipment and start walking toward the dolphin area. On the way back, I finally ran into several green iguanas (had a little bit of orange on them). I don’t know a lot about iguanas, so maybe they start black, turn green, then orange as they mature and get older??? Or maybe they are just a different species all together?

 

Whenever we decide to revisit Cozumel…this place will be a priority on our list. We loved it that much! Last year we loved Sapphire Beach at St Thomas on the east Caribbean, now we’ve found our little slice of heaven for the western Caribbean as well. We did not want to ever leave!!!!

 

A link to all my pictures...TONS of snorkeling pictures...the good ones. ;o)