Our Fabulous Vacation: My Liberty of the Seas Photo Review

[yj2cute]

Really enjoying your review. Love all the pictures. Thanks for including the curtain in the Theater. It is really beautiful. My favorite is on the Explorer.

Speaking of the Explorer, all Jersey girls(I'm a former Jersey girl) should take a cruise on the Explorer. It is wonderful to just drive to Bayonne and get right on the ship.

We have never been on the Liberty but have 21 days on her in October. Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

 

I love that idea! A Jersey girl Explorer cruise! We could do a quick Bermuda run! I'm in! :D

 

Chrystal, as promised, a detailed, picture packed review. Love it!

Edited March 16, 2012 by yj2cute

[Host Faith]

El Arco: this arch was the main entrance to the ruins. The guide said the road leading to this arch was several miles long. People would walk for a day, then camp at night to rest, and do this a couple times to reach the arch and this site.

 

 

 



 

Our guide gave us each one of these flowers:

 

 

[Host Faith]

 



 



 

[Host Faith]

Some more photos around the ruins. They're not very big, but I think it's worth spending an hour or so here:

 

 



 



 

 



 

 



 

 

[Host Faith]

 

 



 

On our way back, we noticed the most beautiful butterfly. Can you see it? ;)

 

[yj2cute]

Chrystal, we had Alberto as our driver when we visited Coz in Jan. Isn't he adorable? I, too, was impressed with his English. Your tour is pretty much identical to ours. The walking around San Gervasio was treacherous, though. Definitely wear good rubber-soled shoes anyone planning a trip there. No flip flops!

[njoyndride]

Chrystal - I'm really enjoying your review, the three of you are beautiful and know how to have a fab time! I love it! Can't wait for Mr. Sanchos...one of my favorite places and our go to place most times we visit Cozumel.

[Host Faith]

So we made our way to the exit and paid our guide. We did a little shopping there. I got my Mom some pure vanilla for $12 (a popular purchase in Cozumel), in the jewelry and artwork shop. There was this very raunchy T-shirt shop that we visited, since Rae's Mom loves a great shirt as a souvenir. I was so excited when I looked up and saw lots of luchador masks. For those of you not familiar with these, they're masks that Mexican wrestlers wear when in the ring. Here are some examples. My husband and I always crack jokes from the film Nacho Libre, so I KNEW he would be so happy to have one. Rae and I were cracking up since the two of us and our husbands watched the movie together.

 

One thing I learned about Coz is if you're okay walking away from someone when they give you a price...the price comes down pretty quickly, lol! I wasn't even planning to haggle, but whenever I walked away from an item, the seller came back with a lower price.

 

I said that to say, I asked for the price of the mask, and it was $15. I decided to walk around the shop a little more to decide if I wanted to get the mask, and the shop owner said, Ok I'll give it to you for $10. SOLD! :D

 

By the way, Wes was so happy when he got the mask. He's actually following this review so perhaps we can convince him to let me post the pic of him in the mask? :p:):D

[Host Faith]

Chrystal, we had Alberto as our driver when we visited Coz in Jan. Isn't he adorable? I, too, was impressed with his English. Your tour is pretty much identical to ours. The walking around San Gervasio was treacherous, though. Definitely wear good rubber-soled shoes anyone planning a trip there. No flip flops!

 

Yes Alberto was awesome! Yeah walking around the ruins could be tricky at times. Luckily my sandals had really good soles. They got me through El Morro Fort in San Juan twice. I wouldn't wear flimsy $2 flip flops there though! :eek:

 

Chrystal - I'm really enjoying your review, the three of you are beautiful and know how to have a fab time! I love it! Can't wait for Mr. Sanchos...one of my favorite places and our go to place most times we visit Cozumel.

 

Thank you! Mr. Sanchos was heavenly. Can't wait to post the pics!

[Host Faith]

Because of the length of time in San Gervasio, we had to decide whether to head straight to Mr. Sancho's, or hire Alberto for another hour. I'm so glad we decided to remain with him one more hour. Our next stop was Hacienda Antigua, the tequila tour on the island. So. Much. Fun! I'm glad we didn't skip this one. I think it was less than a 10 minute ride away if I recall correctly.

 

 

This man came out and shouted, "Welcome to the tequilaaaaa!!!! Yeeeeaaaaah!!" Accent and all. And he jumped right into my photo. It was hilarious!

 

[Keri's Cruisin']

Because of the length of time in San Gervasio, we had to decide whether to head straight to Mr. Sancho's, or hire Alberto for another hour. I'm so glad we decided to remain with him one more hour. Our next stop was Hacienda Antigua, the tequila tour on the island. So. Much. Fun! I'm glad we didn't skip this one. I think it was less than a 10 minute ride away if I recall correctly.

 

 

 

This man came out and shouted, "Welcome to the tequilaaaaa!!!! Yeeeeaaaaah!!" Accent and all. And he jumped right into my photo. It was hilarious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just spent a week in Cozumel in January and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this island....We too did the ruins and the tequila factory and the Tequila Guy in your picture is a total hoot! We had an absolute blast there drinking all kinds of different flavors of tequila. I had never had the "good stuff" before and now I know...There clearly is a difference in the quality! I bought the Coffee flavored tequila and put it in my coffee in the evening as an after dinner drink...So Smooth! :D

[Host Faith]

So the price normally listed for the tour and tasting is $14 per person, but they had us pay $10 per person. I don't know if they say that to everyone, or if it was just a special of the day, so budget to bring $14 pp. ;)

 

We were led to this beautiful open-air restaurant to the left, where three ice-cold margaritas were waiting for us. That was the best I've ever had! Perfectly smooth, sweet, and tart at the same time. It was delicious. There was a beautiful breeze, we sat here for about 10 minutes or so and relaxed while we enjoyed our drinks.

 



 



 



 

[Host Faith]

Hilarious!

 

 



 

 

[Host Faith]

This is when we met Francisco, our tour guide for the day. There were the three of us and a Canadian couple on the tour. We were, again, some of the first people there, so we had the property pretty much to ourselves. Loved it!

 

Francisco had a wonderful personality, and was a great teacher. He's actually a lawyer in Mexico City who comes out to Cozumel often to do these tours. We were able to take our unfinished margaritas with us.

 

He led us to the agave plants on the property to show us that good tequila comes from blue agave. You can see it behind him.

 

He also showed us a map of where the blue agave can be found. It's not found on Cozumel, but they planted a few here so we could see the real plants. The tequila is made in Mexico and shipped here to Cozumel.

 

 

 

Something cool we learned is that if someone tries to sell you tequila with the worm in the bottle, that's not real tequila. That's mescal, made from a green agave plant. You should look at the back of the bottle; if it doesn't say made from 100% agave, it's not authentic. Tequila must come from a certain place in Mexico, just like real champagne has to come from a certain location in France. Luckily, we were in the right place for real tequila!

[stephanie1]

Wow! I have never continued to enjoy a review like yours. Amazing. looks like you had great weather. When I was there in November, after Thanksgiving cruise on Liberty it was windy and a bit chilly. I am looking forward to your Mr. Sanchos pics. It was a little chilly on the beach the day I went and not that many people, but after a few margaritas and all you can eat - who notices the weather? I will definitely return there when I go back on in November again. Did you guys taste the coconut ice cream? The waiter brought me 2 scoops and it was awesome.

 

By the way, I never thought about getting a driver in Cozumel. Can I ask you what it costs per hour? Thanks

Edited March 16, 2012 by stephanie1

[Host Faith]

I just spent a week in Cozumel in January and LOVE' date=' LOVE, LOVE this island....We too did the ruins and the tequila factory and the Tequila Guy in your picture is a total hoot! We had an absolute blast there drinking all kinds of different flavors of tequila. I had never had the "good stuff" before and now I know...There clearly is a difference in the quality! I bought the Coffee flavored tequila and put it in my coffee in the evening as an after dinner drink...So Smooth! :D[/quote']

 

Oh wow, how was your week in Coz? Where did you stay? I'm asking because Rae, Crystal, and I fell in LOVE with Cozumel and want to consider staying there for a land vacation someday. Any recommendations?

 

The tequila guy was so funny! I was impressed with the real tequila. It's smooth and goes down so nicely. I didn't think to get the coffee-flavored one, that would have been so good. Oh well, we're going back sometime this year, so now I know what else to buy :)

[Host Faith]

Wow! I have never continued to enjoy a review like yours. Amazing. looks like you had great weather. When I was there in November, after Thanksgiving cruise on Liberty it was windy and a bit chilly. I am looking forward to your Mr. Sanchos pics. It was a little chilly on the beach the day I went and not that many people, but after a few margaritas and all you can eat - who notices the weather? I will definitely return there when I go back on in November again. Did you guys taste the coconut ice cream? The waiter brought me 2 scoops and it was awesome.

 

By the way, I never thought about getting a driver in Cozumel. Can I ask you what it costs per hour? Thanks

 

Hi Stephanie! So happy you enjoyed the photos! Yes we had wonderful weather. I was a little concerned that it wouldn't be warm enough because it was March. Silly me! :D The sun was strong and hot. Just perfect.

 

Aww man, we missed the coconut ice cream! :( Oh well....back to Mr. Sancho's we'll go!

 

The driver cost $95 for the first three hours, then $25 per hour after that.

[Host Faith]

When I sat to take a picture, Francisco jumped right into the photo and said, "Today, I am a lucky man." ROFL...

 

 

 



 

 





 

[Host Faith]

He quickly led us through the tequila-making process. He was short and to the point, and explained, "I know you want to get to the fun part, right?! Glug-Glug-Glug, right??!! Hahaa!!" In spite of the speed of the tour, it was very informative and interesting.

 

 

 





 

 



 



 

That pineapple-looking part at the base of the plant is what's used to make the tequila.

 

[Host Faith]

Time to taste the tequila!

 

Francisco had bottles of tequila waiting with pumps, and small cups for tasting. He gave us about 3-5 squirts of each. We tried 6 different varieties. Our favorite was light blue...actually it was the one used in our margaritas. We each got a bottle of that one, for $12.

 

 



 



 



 

These were pretty cool souvenirs. Each strand had all 6 varieties we tried. Crystal bought one of these.

 

Edited March 16, 2012 by Host Faith

[anaivali]

Amazing photos! You have to visit Chichen Itza and Uxmal, I assure you that you are hallucinating! They are the most impressive archaeological sites I've seen! I'm from the land of Tequila (Jalisco) lol.

 

A question as Rae took his hat? in the suitcase? I have one like it and I will not take the cruise because don't know how to pack it!:D

[SICruiseGirlNYC]

Loving your reviews!!!

[Host Faith]

As we made our purchases, we noticed that the crowds were arriving. Lots of tours in groups of about 20. I would have been frustrated trying to hear everything if I got stuck at the back of the line. It pays to do your research, and book a private tour so you can really enjoy every second of the tour. Since we're not comfortable driving outside the USA, I think we'll hire a driver whenever we're in Cozumel from now on. :)

 

We said goodbye to Francisco, and made our way to the exit. We came upon a couple dressed up in traditional Mexican gear, who offered visitors the chance to take a photo for tips. We all took one and tipped them.

 

 

The man asked Rae if she would like a Mexican husband. He looked heartbroken when she said she was already married, lol!

 

 

 

 



 

[Host Faith]

Amazing photos! You have to visit Chichen Itza and Uxmal, I assure you that you are hallucinating! They are the most impressive archaeological sites I've seen! I'm from the land of Tequila (Jalisco) lol.

 

A question as Rae took his hat? in the suitcase? I have one like it and I will not take the cruise because don't know how to pack it!:D

 

Thank you so much! Yay for Jalisco! :D

 

I think Rae laid her hat flat at the bottom of her suitcase. It was pretty flexible, so as soon as we got into the room, she took it out and it was fine. Happy packing!

 

Loving your reviews!!!

Thank you! :)

[Brooke_743]

Honestly....I could not have asked for a more perfect day than we had in Cozumel.

 

I was pretty worried about this port stop because we only had one port of call for the entire cruise. We really wanted to see the island, have a bright, sunny day, and be able to enjoy a white-sand beach and sparkling blue water. I wasn't asking for much, right? :rolleyes::p

 

After hours on Cruise Critic and Tripadvisor, I decided to split the day into two separate trips. We hired a driver for the day, to take us to the San Gervasio Ruins, Tequila Tasting, and some leisurely driving, then asked to be dropped off at Mr. Sancho's all-inclusive for the rest of the day. We would take our own taxi back to the ship. For the sake of simplicity, I calculated the price of the entire day, split it into threes, and gave the ladies one price that covered everything we were to see.

 

Booking the driver for the day was a quick and simple process. I filled out the online form, and received a confirmation within a day. I paid the deposit with no issues, and received confirmation that Alberto was to be our driver. I actually emailed them a couple times to tweak our itinerary as I researched more and more, and they were patient, kind, and willing to assist in any way they could. It was a pleasure to work with them. I plan to book with them again when Wes and I sail the Allure this year.

 

 

Thank you for the link. This might be just what I was looking for! We are going to be on Allure in May and Cozumel is one of our stops. I was thinking of Nachi Cocom but wanted a little more of the Island that that. :)