Shopping at Mega store

[ZoeyVictoria]

I have been to Cozumel many times and especially enjoy Paradise Beach, but have been looking for new things to do.  I understand the Mega store is about a ten-minute walk from the Punta Langosta pier, and thought it would be fun.  I am normally not a shopper, I order online whenever possible and head straight to what is on my list other times, so this would be a different experience for me.  Has anyone been to Mega and will share their experience or tips?

[crewsweeper]

Looking for something in particular?  Outside of booze and vanilla, most of Mega's products are similar to going to a large grocery here.  If you're at Punta Langosta, you are a short walk from the plaza and the main shopping areas in town.  More variety, assuming you can hold off the kiosk vendors.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I started a list which includes vanilla, cookies/other snacks (might be fun to select something based on the picture on the wrapping), fishing tackle, and cosmetics.  I love sundresses and hope to find maxi dresses or summer tops.  And we plan to have lunch there.  Just looking forward to the general experience (escalator for shopping carts, converting from pesos, different products, the walk from the ship).

[davy jones]

We went to Mega out of curiosity.  It is a large store similar to Target or WalMart. It is definitely not touristy.  It is a place where the locals shop.  Crew members go there to stock up on things.  Prices are in pesos, but they post the conversion rate for payment in dollars.  We did not see vanilla there, but the liquor prices were better than the tourist shops in town.  I can't speak to selection.  If you need some basics, it is worth the short walk.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I don’t really need anything, just think it would be fun.  I have been to Cozumel 16 times and need something different to do.  We will be at MayaChan the previous day, but if I still feel like I want a beach experience, I will go to that tiny beach area close to the pier later in the afternoon.

[Rheba]

We spent a morning at Mega and throughly enjoyed it. It was a fun non-touristy thing to do and we enjoyed looking at all the similar yet different offerings. We sat down and had a snack and a Coke Light (which tasted a bit different from our regular Diet Coke). It was a memorable day, but we’re easy to please. 😁

[airlink diva]

I love their pastries!  A must stop I will go and pick out two or three along with some coffee and just relax.  Yes I can get coffee and pastries on the ship, but cheaper and better.

The do have some liquor that's either not on the ship or in the port shops and often cheaper.  I will grab a certain brand that I like there.

Also if you need some items like tampons ( came rather early), toothpaste, etc. a lot cheaper than the ship.

Like others stated, it's not a tourist stop, rather just a part of local Cozumel.  

 

[c-leg5]

On 6/14/2019 at 11:23 AM, ZoeyVictoria said:

I don’t really need anything, just think it would be fun.  I have been to Cozumel 16 times and need something different to do.  We will be at MayaChan the previous day, but if I still feel like I want a beach experience, I will go to that tiny beach area close to the pier later in the afternoon.

 

If you are going to Mega, Jeanies or No Name Bar (usually a favorite but they were playing weird music last time !) would be a fun place for a drink and a lounger.

 

El Mercado is a fun non- touristy place to shop but requires more walking.

Edited June 16, 2019 by c-leg5

[richstowe]

On 6/16/2019 at 5:40 PM, airlink diva said:

I love their pastries!  A must stop I will go and pick out two or three along with some coffee and just relax.  Yes I can get coffee and pastries on the ship, but cheaper and better.

The do have some liquor that's either not on the ship or in the port shops and often cheaper.  I will grab a certain brand that I like there.

Also if you need some items like tampons ( came rather early), toothpaste, etc. a lot cheaper than the ship.

Like others stated, it's not a tourist stop, rather just a part of local Cozumel.  

 

Yup great pastries . I bought multiple cookies in tins which were a great gift . Beautiful and tasty. Also interesting liquor brands not available at home at great prices . 

For American's if you don't have a prescription health plan and possibly even if you do , take advantage of common generic drugs at a very small % of the cost in the USA . There is a huge range of drugs from statin's to synthroid  to the little blue pill . 😁 

I'd say a 5 minute walk .

[scpirate]

On 6/14/2019 at 12:02 PM, davy jones said:

We went to Mega out of curiosity.  It is a large store similar to Target or WalMart. It is definitely not touristy.  It is a place where the locals shop.  Crew members go there to stock up on things.  Prices are in pesos, but they post the conversion rate for payment in dollars.  We did not see vanilla there, but the liquor prices were better than the tourist shops in town.  I can't speak to selection.  If you need some basics, it is worth the short walk.

Every time we go they only have a few small bottles of vanilla.we wind up buying it on the street.my wife says it's all been good so far.she bakes a lot of cakes.we buy 6 of the bigger bottles.

[ZoeyVictoria]

Update:  We did go to Mega, and it was a bit disappointing.  We were at the International pier and it was very hot, so we took a taxi (2.5 miles from the ship to the store).  It was interesting and fun to an extent, but overall the items stocked just weren’t anything we wanted to purchase.  The “name brand” cosmetics were the usual Wal Mart brands (Revlon, Cover Girl, etc.), but I was hoping for more expensive brands.  I looked for sundresses or tops, but most things were made of very cheap fabric and the majority was an American brand, Cherokee.  My SO tried on a tropical shirt in his normal size, XL, and it did not meet in the front by 5 inches.  I did purchase a box of cookies based on the picture on the box.  We joke that it is a $22 box of cookies - $20 for transportation and $2 for the cookies.

 

It appears that many people in Cozumel could use some math lessons.  We emerged from the port and asked an employee about walking to Mega.  He responded that it was two miles and taxis were only $8.  We walked a bit further and asked again, since the direction he indicated was opposite of what we thought.  That person said it was four miles, it would take us forty minutes, and taxis were only $8.  Finally, for some unknown/dumb reason, I asked the “crossing guard”, who replied that it was six miles, would take us an hour, and taxis were only $8.  We headed back to the taxi stand at that point and were told the taxi would be $16!  Once we objected, it became $8.  

 

The exchange rate was clearly posted in Mega, 18.67 pesos per dollar.  We went to one of many registers with our box of cookies, which were marked $35, and told the clerk we wanted to pay in U.S. dollars.  She pretended to use a calculator, though not really pressing any numbers, and told us it would be $3.  When we questioned that, she suddenly found a magic button on the cash register that said the cookies were $1.98.

 

We had reservations for Maya Chan in Cost Maya, but the Captain reversed the order of ports because of wind conditions and Maya Chan was closed on the day we were actually there.  A lot of reviews indicated “misunderstandings” about prices with employees at the beach resorts in Mahahual regarding both admission and drinks, and we just weren’t up to having to argue again, so we stayed at the port.  We ordered quesadillas ($14 and $16) and one bottled Coke each for lunch.  When we were ready to leave, we were told the bill was $50.  We doubted the Cokes were $10 each, so we questioned the amount, and it was then $39.

 

We had a great time on this cruise and found the above incidents to be somewhat funny.  It was a good lesson, though, in being prepared and watching out for oneself.

 

 

[#1TravelMom]

We were just there last week.  We were surprised at the bread selection.  Huge selection, but all out in the open in "bins" - no wrappers.  People were carrying it in their arms or just putting it in the cart.  My daughter likes to buy new candy for she and her friends to try.  You do need to watch cashiers.  They will round the exchange rate down to $18.  

 

Off topic, but since you mentioned wanting to do something different - We have volunteered 4 times at the Humane Society.  We were surprised how clean it is.  They need people to play with the dogs - take them for walks, bathe puppies, etc.  My daughter loves it!  They have employees, but solely rely on volunteers to take the dogs out of the kennel.  The dogs are super excited the minute they see the leashes.

[CozGurl]

I love Mega! We like to get candy, cookies, booze (if we're staying on the island). Even things like chips that are just in Spanish. Silly and fun for us.

 

I wish I had read this before you went because I could have told you that they wouldn't have anything special in make up or clothing that you couldn't get at Wal-Mart. 

 

The last few times we've been to Mexico we pay with a credit card wherever we can. That way we don't have to worry about being ripped off on the exchange rate. Of course you need a card with no international transaction fees. 

 

[melissa84]

We liked Mega but we are pretty easygoing. It’s a good place to pick up incidentals for cheaper than the ship (sunsceeen, bandaids, etc). They have a pharmacy but unless you need Rx stuff (or forgot something) the prices are similar to home.

 

We bought a canvas bag for about $8 and some hats for about $4, and quite a bit of candy and small snacks. 

 

It it was a good stop if you are over there but I don’t know that I would make a special trip. 

[nascarcruiser]

All Mega is, is Cozumel's version of Walmart.   We go there when we are staying on the island for things we don't want to bring when we fly that would add weight to the luggage