Voyager of the Seas: Day 6, Cozumel
15 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in cruising, travel Tags: Carlos and Charles', Chen Rio Beach, Cozumel, Derek Lewis five-minute party, Jaital, Margaritaville, Mr. Sanchos Beach, Paradise Beach, Passion Island, San Francisco Beach
My boys in Cozumel
The dawn of day 6 marks the last of our ports stops for this cruise, and on this day we would be stopping in Cozumel, Mexico. I have grown to love Mexico, especially the Yucatan Peninsula over the years as we have traveled there. We have never gone with a tour in Cozumel. We have always just gone to one of the beaches like San Francisco Beach, Paradise Beach, or Mr. Sanchos. Once we even went over to the “wild side” to Chen Rio. This time we chose to go to Passion Island and I booked it through Jaital, the same company I booked our zipline excursion with in Jamaica. Jaital is only the booking company, and they book you with the staff of Passion Island who take care of getting you to the island. We were very excited about seeing a different part of Cozumel and relaxing on this very private and secluded beach.
According to the reservation we were suppose to meet in front of Carlos ‘n Charles’ half an hour before the tour start time, which was 9:30. After our normal morning trip to the buffet we grabbed our beach bags and headed for the pier. Because we were docked at the International pier we had to take a cab to the Punta Langosta shopping center where Carlos ‘n Charles’ was located. We arrived right at 9:00 and did not see anyone yet so we hung out for a while thinking they were just running a little behind. By 9:20 I was starting to get a little worried and thinking maybe I should call someone. I had the number for Jaital, but that was for their office in the US. I was really starting to panic when at 9:30 Fatima with Passion Island came around the corner. Phew! Disaster avoided. She took our voucher for the tour and said we would take a taxi out to the dock where we would meet the boat, and there we would pay our balance of $160. I asked to make sure we could put it on our Visa and she said, “No, only cash.”
Now here is where I have to back up a little. When we were deciding about how much money to bring with us off the ship we knew the tour voucher said we could pay our balance with cash or credit card. Passion Island is an all-inclusive beach club so we knew we wouldn’t need much money there, only cash for tips. We decided to pay our balance with the card so we weren’t carry around a lot of money.
I showed Fatima on our voucher where it said we could pay with a credit card and that is how we needed to do it because we did not have enough cash with us thinking we would be able to do it with our card. She told us there was no way to charge the card and if I needed to get more cash I could use the cash machine located just behind us.
Okay, so I was already irritated that we stood there for half an hour when apparently that was not necessary. Now I was starting to get irate. I told her I was not going to get cash out of the machine with my credit card because that would cost a fee, and I would essentially be paying more for the tour than originally agreed upon, so she needed to figure out how to charge my card. Looking back on it, I realize it was not her or Passion Island’s fault, but rather Jaital’s fault for the miscommunication, and I maybe could have handled it a bit differently, although I’m not sure how. At this point, she got on her phone and we started rummaging through our bags to see how much money we could come up with. She came back from her phone call with the same answer…. cash only. About that time we discovered my 10-year-old son had brought his wallet along. Believe it or not, the money in his wallet combined with the little we brought off the ship was enough to pay our balance and ensure we had enough cab fare to get back to the ship, but nobody was going to be getting any tips.
Our first steps on Passion Island
Once that formality was finally taken care of, we were on our way. We rode in a cab down a very bumpy road to meet the boat that took us on the 10-minute ride to the island. I was quite ready for a cocktail at this point so once we reached the island and were greeted and told all about the amenities, we headed to the beach, found our spot and ordered drinks. We all took some time to relax and enjoy the beach for a while before venturing out. It was not crowded at all. It almost felt deserted, which added to the relaxation of the day.
There were many things to enjoy on Passion Island. My sons and husband played soccer on the beach with a couple of guys that worked on the island. They also had a volleyball court set up. When we arrived, the activity staff had some sort of game they were playing with our fellow beach goers, and they did that periodically throughout the day. For the shoppers, there were a few little shops with all kinds of wares to suit your fancy. When it was time for lunch there was a buffet of Mahi Mahi, chicken, rice, beans, and much more. It was not the best I’ve had, but it was enough to hit the spot that afternoon. The thing we enjoyed the most was the water trampolines and icebergs. We played on those until it was time to head back across the water and toward the ship.
Derek Lewis from the Pig and Whistle had given us coupons for free margaritas from Margaritaville so we stopped there for a couple of drinks before getting back on the ship. They also had toys in the water to play on so I had to give those a try as well. But, alas our time in Cozumel was coming to an end, so we made our way back to the pier and back on to the ship.
Braden and I teeter-totering.
Back on board, we dropped our stuff at our room and headed up to the pool deck to soak up a bit more of that Mexican sun. There was a DJ playing at the pool and before we knew it we were dancing and splashing around the pool as we sailed away from Cozumel.
Bustin’ some moves!
That night’s dinner was the second and last formal night so we headed down to get ready for dinner. Tonight we eat lobster!! We chatted with our table mates about their day of snorkeling and all the exciting stuff we all did. The after-dinner show started late that evening and I knew I wouldn’t make it through the whole thing, so we headed out to have a drink before turning in for the night. We wanted to listen to the piano player in the Schooner bar but he was off that night, so we ended up where we usually did, laughing at Derek Lewis’s antics in the pub.
The last formal night of the cruise.
The next day was our last and it would be a sea day. I love ending a cruise with a good, sunny, warm sea day; this one did not disappoint!
Voyager of the Seas: Grand Cayman
25 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in cruising, Royal Caribbean, travel Tags: brain coral, Calico Jack's, coral, Grand Cayman, reef, Seven Mile Beach, snorkeling, The Quest, Tiki Beach
Thanks for following my review of our cruise on the Voyager of the Seas. I hope you are enjoying it and getting a lot of good information from it.
Seven Mile Beach
Grand Cayman was our second port stop and one we were also looking forward to for some time hanging out on Seven Mile beach and snorkeling. Unfortunately, you have to tender into the port in Grand Cayman. I am very surprised that the cruise lines have not tried to get a pier built here yet as it has always been a very popular stop. The tenders started at 7 a.m., but we were on vacation and had no interest at being up that early. We headed up to breakfast around 9 and were on the tender and on our way to the beach by 10. We grabbed a cab that took us to the public beach access area for $5 per person. I had found a site that showed where there were good snorkeling areas just off the shore. I wanted to go somewhere where we could hang out on the beach and get some snorkeling in as well. Right next to the public beach is Calico Jack’s where you can get food and drinks (albeit quite pricey) and rent a snorkel and mask. You can also rent chairs and umbrellas if you want, but we just sat on our towels for free. If you need to get out of the sun for a bit, there are trees and some shelters at the public beach.
Our rented mask and snorkel
We found our spot to sit on the beach, which was a bit crowded as there were five ships in port that day, and I went over to rent the snorkel and mask. It was only $10 for the whole day so I got two sets to share between the four of us knowing that I would probably be doing most of the snorkeling. The lady there said to walk down the beach about five minutes to where Tiki Beach is and the reef is just off the beach. With my water proof camera and snorkel gear in hand, I headed down the beach while Steve and the boys played in the water a bit.
I am sure Grand Cayman has a lot of great snorkeling, but for being just off the beach and easily accessed I was quite impressed with this reef. It lies about 50 yards from the shore and the water at its deepest is only about six feet. You can easily identify where the reef is because the waves break over the top of it at several spots. It was awesome to see all the colorful fish swimming in and out of the reef as if in an aquarium. As I marveled at the coral formations, I noticed brain coral, something that absolutely fascinates me. I started snapping pictures of things just hoping I was getting what I was seeing. Steve and the boys joined me for a short while, but then headed back down the beach. I think I enjoy snorkeling a lot more than they do. I stayed and snorkeled for a while longer, swimming up and down each side and over it on several occasions trying to capture with my camera this beautiful underwater world. I decided to take some video of it before heading back down the beach thinking that maybe I would have a better chance at catching a glimpse of some of the fish with my camera. Check it out. Sorry about the quality. I didn’t have the setting right on the camera.
The local brew.
I decided I should probably head back down to Steve and the boys so they didn’t think I had drowned, and I had remembered that Steve was getting a bucket of beers so I had drinks waiting for me. My oldest son had asked earlier in the day about renting a jet ski and, not wanting to pay $75 dollars for a half an hour, we did not concede to that request. He apparently got his wish granted in a way as when I got back from snorkeling he was on the back of the jet ski pulling the banana boat ride. Steve said the guy had asked if Rease could be his spotter since the guy who was supposed to be doing it didn’t show up. He got to go out with them three times and seemed to be almost as content with the ride as with renting it himself.
A bucket o' beers.
I sat and enjoyed my drink while soaking up the sun for a bit while the boys and Steve played in the water and chatted with the people around us. The people who had been sitting next to us had left and were done with their raft they had rented, so I took it out in the water and soaked up some more sun. The water in Grand Cayman is so clear and calm. It was almost like floating in a pool. It was so enjoyable and relaxing, but seeing the ships in the background as I gazed down the beach, I was reminded that it was just about time to head back. After Steve and the boys had a snack from Calico Jack’s we packed everything up and headed back to the pier.
We had about an hour before sailaway time, but as we arrived back at the port area we knew it was going to take at least that long to get back on the ship. There were lines everywhere of people trying to get on a tender for the five ships. We learned that there were only four tenders servicing all the ships in port making getting back on the ship a very long process. We finally got on the last tender and on the ship right at sailaway time, so we were about half an hour late pulling away from Grand Cayman. We learned later that a couple got on the wrong ship and their 17-year-old son was back on our ship by himself. Can you imagine! Fortunately, that ship was going to Cozumel the next day as we were so they could meet back up with him soon.
After grabbing a snack, we headed up to the pool deck for a while and learned they had done the belly flop contest at the same time as sailaway so we completely missed it. This is yet another example of poor scheduling of activities. The belly flop contest is always a very well attended event and usually scheduled on a sea day when people are already on the pool deck. I stopped trying to figure out the scheduling of activities on about day 2.
I was really looking forward to the after-dinner festivities because The Quest was planned for that evening. For those of you who have never been on an RCI cruise, The Quest is an adult scavenger-type game where you are given a task or item to present and the faster your team completes this the more points you’re rewarded. Our team took first place that night. Woot, woot!! It was fun, but not nearly as fun as some of the others I’ve participated in and not as well attended either. This could have been because the midnight buffet and toga party was scheduled to start too close to the same time and a lot of people were busy donning their togas and heading up to the pool deck. We went up after The Quest to check it out. The party was already in full swing. We were not particularly hungry and the music was loud and club-like (not our style) so we decided to see what Derek Lewis was doing at the Adult Daycare at Night Program at the Pig and Whistle.
Derek, as usual had a full house and was already sharing some of his adult versions of popular party songs. We found a couple of seats and joined the party. That night was the night that Derek asked Steve and I to partake in his Kamikaze karaoke. Apparently, one of the ladies that had become a permanent fixture at Derek’s shows that week had told Derek to have us come up because we didn’t appear to be enjoying ourselves. What she was really seeing was annoyance at her and her college, spring break-celebrating friends who took over the place and made the party all about them every single night. I don’t hide my true feelings very well, and she just misread what I was trying to convey to her. At any rate, Steve and I got up there and Derek, claiming it was randomly chosen by the computer gave us “Summer Nights” to sing karaoke to. We had a lot of fun and I think the crowd enjoyed it as well. We decided to turn in for the night when Derek invited one of the spring breakers up to sing a song that had more profanity in it than an HBO late night comedy special. Tonight, however, we left sporting our new Del Sol color-changing rings, and I couldn’t wait to see how they looked in the bright Mexican sun of Cozumel in the morning.
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