Paradise Beach-a review....August 4,2004

[KatieRT]

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I am wary of posting this because, i don't know if we just hit pardise beach on a bad day or not, but we were not impressed.

 

We didn't arrive to Cozumel until 1000am. It was nice to sleep in and catch up on our sleep. We got of the boat at 1030 and headed to Paradise Beach. We took a taxi-van( 5 of us) it cost us 14.00. We gave the driver a 20.00 and told him to keep the change. He was nice and talked alot.

 

Paradise beach was short of Paradise. The chairs,umbrellas and service was nice! The actually beach was very rocky and full of sea weed. I was NOT impressed. I have never been to Mexico, so I don't know if this is the norm. We have only been to the white sands of clear water of the Southern Caribbean. Once you swam out so far, the water clear. The kids enjoyed the rock-climining iceberg. It got a little rowdy at times, but the kids did have alot of fun with it. The water tramploine was falling apart and my 10 yr old got a pretty deep cut on his leg from the ladder. My kids play on a water tramploine exactly like this at friends of ours Houseboat in a local lake. So, the water tramploine was not a big hit with my kids.Plus, later in the day, a group of adults took over the tramp and basically turned it into a floating raft!The beach mats(floatable ) were great! I used one most of the day! The kids did take the Kayaks(free) out and enjoyed those. My 10 yr old rented a proprelled "tiger-shark" for 15.00 for 30 minutes. It worked 50% of the time, my husband took it back to get a new one, and the guy working the stand didn't understand English and couldn't get the concept that it didn't work. We never got a new one. My daughter got her hair braided just the front half way- for 20.00. Then when she got finished, the girl informed me it was 500 extra for the beads! Whatever!!!!! Cassie loved it and I guess that is all the mattered!

 

We did the banana boat at Pardise , 10.00 each per person for 15 minutes. It was alot of fun!

 

Prices at Paradise are fair. We had 2 frozen marguritias, 2 mexican beers, nacho's supreme, burrito dinner, a pizza, and a kids quesidia meal for 61.00. I gave our server a 12.00 tip, he did an excellent job!

 

Our taxi driver on the way back, was a little scarier. They put all 5 of in a hatchback car. With my 12 yr old daugher, in the "trunk". He drove like a maniac and had the longest nails i have seen on males or Females. He spoke little English, or at least he acted like he didn't understand what My husband was asking him. Our fare back was 16.00(interesting, since it was a smaller car with No air conditioning ). I gave him a 20.00 bill, and thanked God we got there all in one piece!

 

I am unsure if we will ever go back, mostly because of the beach conditions. I would definately bring water shoes to protect my feet from the rocky conditions. I think the sea weed might be a "timing" problem. But it was pretty gross!

[jonestown90]

Thanks for the review. I am sure Paradise Beach Tom will be online shortly to address your issues. He seems to be a very nice guy and from the previous posts that I have read, I know the ladder has been repaired on the water trampoline and replaced with new springs. I am so sorry to hear you didn't have a day in Paradise, but sounds like the children did. We are leaving out this Saturday on Celebration from Galveston and will still spend the day at Paradise Beach on Monday and get some Miniature Golf in.

 

~Bon Voyage~

 

Carnival Fantasy 05/97

Carnival Celebration 08/04

[Dagnabit]

We were there on Aug 5, and the only complaint we had was with regard to the water trampoline. Several members in my party got cuts on their legs because of the rusty bottom of the ladder. :mad: So I'm glad to hear that its been replaced. Everything else was fantastic. :)

[HOSKI]

Thank you for your honest review. It seems lately that this port of call board is just an advertisment for PB. Cozumel is a great port and has lots of nice beaches and things to do. Glad you shared your experience.

[Cozumel_Tom]

KatieRT...you can´t be too wary about posting this, ´cause this is the 2nd time I´ve seen it ;);)! Anyway, posted my reply in the other thread!

 

HOSKI...I guess there´s a reason people post so much about us!

[ljrfrm]

For what it's worth - we didn't have any issues with rocks or seaweed. Maybe the rock thing is where you enter the water.....but we brought water shoes and never needed to use them. Also, didn't see any seaweed. But, I know that changes depending on wind.....probably all the beaches had seaweed that day.

 

Wish we were back there is Paradise!

[Lemk85]

We will be in Cozumel from 6am to 3pm next week and have booked the dolphim swim for 10AM at Chankanaab. Is it reasonable to be able to hit PB early in the am and then head to the dolphim swim for 10am, and then if time permits head back to PB? With all the reviews I've read, I really do not want to miss PB, but the kids want to do the dolphin swim. I'm afraid that if we do not see PB early, we may be delayed with the dolphins and miss PB entirely.

 

How about transportation from PB to Chankanaab and back? Are there taxis available at each place? How far is PB from Chankanaab?

 

Thanks for any info, and we look forward to meeting Tom next week!

 

Mike

[NinaCO]

If it was me, I'd probably just spend the day at Chankanaab. But, I'm very into not rushing on a cruise if it can be helped, and don't try to fit as much into the day as possible. Think I read that PB opens at 9:00, but you can show up earlier.

 

I've done the Dolphin Swim, and you'll want to get there a short time before it starts to check in, get the gear, and stash your stuff in a locker. After the swim, they play the video, which you'll want to watch. Then, there's a bit of a wait to purchase photos and/or the video. I'd figure a total of 2 hours for the swim. Probably won't take that long, but it did end up taking longer than I'd anticipated.

 

There's no problem getting a taxi at Chankanaab.

[lisacas1]

Jonestown90 -

 

Please be sure to report back with the Paradise Beach conditions when you come back! I'll be going to Cozumel for Labor Day weekend.

 

Happy Sailing!

 

Lisa

[juliejcs]

I agree with Katie. I have been to Passion Island, XCaret and Chankanaab before going to Paradise Beach. I went with a group of ladies back in June. I was responsible for picking our excursion. I really felt bad for picking Paradise Beach because of the condition of the water. At the other places I have gone to the water was beautiful. But, at Paradise the water reminded me of our Gulf water back home. There was a group from up north that was very upset with the water conditions also. We both had read on Cruise Critic how great it was.

 

We did meet Tom and he was very nice. The free items were great, as were the bathrooms. Our food was cold, but the people were very nice. In all fairness I think the water conditions are due to the sand. All the other places I had gone to were mostly rocky. So all in all if you are looking for clear blue water, this may not be the place to go. But, the service was very good and clean.

[cruisemates2]

juliejcs I have read so many posts talking about how great Paradise Beach is and how beautiful it is, but, now I,m not so sure what to do. We will be in Cozumel in November and had planned to go there because of all the great reviews. But, we will have two grandchildren with us, ages five and seven. We were wanting clear water and sandy beach. Where should we go if we do not go to Paradise Beach? Any help would be appreciated.

[cruisinqt]

We went to Chankanaab recently and weren't very impressed with it.:( There was very little beach area where you could just walk in. Most of the time you had to go down steps to enter the water. I felt like it was more of a place to snorkel than anything. And my kids wanted to play in the water and build sandcastle's. That's why we're going to give Paradise Beach a try this time. :) I think the problem isn't as much that the beach isn't nice as it is that people are reading these boards and going with VERY high expectations. The way people talk about Paradise beach, you should be expecting absolute perfection, and that isn't likely to happen anywhere. :rolleyes: I'm not surprised to find that people are feeling a little let down. No beach can be that perfect. Plus, this is hurricane season and several places have been hit by hurricanes. I imagine the bad weather conditions are causing rough seas with seaweed and rocks washing up on shore everywhere, not just at Paradise Beach. I am curious to see some of the new threads reviewing Paradise in the future, when the bad weather conditions subside and things go back to normal.

[cruisemates2]

Cruisingqt

 

You made some very good points. Perhaps we should keep reading the posts on furture visits and see what people think of Paradise Beach. We have been to cozumel many times and we have never tried the beaches, so, we are looking forward to trying them this time. Thanks for the comments.

[Cozumel_Tom]

OK folks, let's be logical....if there is an onshore wind, which happens every once in a while, that means that the wind will create waves, and those waves will break on shore, which will stir up the sand. Throw in some seaweed that has been blown in on the wind and PRESTO! The normally clear, turquoise water that you've read about in older posts, will be less than picture perfect.

Let's put it this way; if I visited your hometown on a day during a sanitation workers strike, should I go back home thinking that Anyville, USA constantly had garbage piled up in the streets? Cruisers just get a snapshot for a few hours of any particular port. Weather is not static. Normally, the west side of the island (our side) is protected by the prevalent eastern winds, but sometimes the wind changes, and beach conditions change for ALL the western shore, not just us! Thanx for listening:)

[bluesaab22]

Hey Paradise_Tom...

Thanks for your comment. My friend and I will be visiting PB on 9/8/04. We're excited to check it all out and hopefully we'll catch you around.

 

:) Joanne

[charyoung]

Hi! We went to paradise beach on 8/9 and had a great time! The mats are fantastic! Trampoline was not in the water, but several kids were on the iceberg. Beer was cold and food was great. Service was superb! Met Paradise Beach Tom and he was very likable. Daughter parasailed and was very delighted. Very good beach day!

[Cozumel_Tom]

bluesaab22...glad you'll be visiting us, I know you'll have a good time, but unfortunately I'll be on vacation in Sept :(. (I'll be thinking of you though!)

 

Charyoung...thanx for posting your comments, it was nice meeting you and i'm glad you enjoyed your day with us! (Trampoline's springs have been changed out now!)

[bluesaab22]

Bummer about missing you P-B Tom... hope you have a great vacation.... :)

[deedee290]

Just out of curisoty when someone deals with Paradise Beach every day, where does he vacation, the snow belt?????

[Cozumel_Tom]

bluesaab22...thank you, I'll try to have as much fun as possible!

 

deedee290...we're starting off with 5 days in Vegas (can anybody get me tickets to Cirque de Soleil :) my wife and I love those shows!!) then about 10 days touring the west coast, SanFran, Napa Valley, LA etc. We're gonna be real tourists!!

After that, we'll be back to Cozumel for a day, and then catch a flight to Buenas Aires, Argentina where everything is incredibly cheap. After 2 weeks there, we'll be back and hopefully recharged to take on the upcoming high season!

[Jojiboy]

Hey PB Tom, hope you and your wife have a great vacation, you certainly deserve it! Looks like you'll be spending some time in my neck of the woods. I work in San Francisco and live in the East Bay area, let me know if you need some info on the city or Northern California in general. It was a pleasure meeting you last week at PB.

 

Jojiboy

[Cozumel_Tom]

Thanx! We`re actually gonna make base camp at a friends house near Sacramento...we`ll pick his brain for info!! Nice meeting you as well, hope you had a great day with us!

[Jojiboy]

No problem. Say hi to Arnie the governor while you're there. Yes, we had a fabulous time at PB. It was a highlight of our trip and we plan to return there again sometime in the future. My wife especially loved the massage, says it was the best she's ever had.