Carnival Cruise Lines: Two Unique Experiences While Exploring Cozumel, Mexico
Having visited Puerta Maya in Cozumel, Mexico a couple times over the past four months; I can tell you that this is a port we are growing to love. We opted to explore the port a couple different ways and we are glad we did. This gave us insight as to the great experiences you can have while visiting Cozumel, Mexico.
On our cruise over Halloween 2013, we were aboard the Carnival Dream. One of our ports of call was Puerta Maya in Cozumel.
We did not book a shore excursion, as we had decided we were going to explore the town and find an authentic Mexican restaurant. We ventured into town, San Miguel. We took a cab, which cost us around $15.00 (tip included). We felt safe and did not feel as though we were being taken.
We shopped around some of the local shops. And of course, several had great deals as they were moving “tomorrow.” Gotta love those deals! Seriously, do these people think I don’t realize they are not packing up all of those t-shirts and jewelry for a move the next day? Still shaking my head. I have to admit that I do like to see what type of a bargain I can come home with!
A couple t-shirts later (great price) and a bracelet, $10.00, just for me, because they were moving tomorrow, we were on our way. We continued a short walk to find the local restaurant that had came highly recommended, Costa Brava.
We ordered chicken tacos with rice. Chips and salsa were brought directly to our table. The food here was outstanding, we would highly recommend you go here while in port at Cozumel.
Due to the fact that we had no clue how to translate Mexican money to the American dollar, we paid about $40.00 for our meal. The food here was excellent, it may have been a little pricey; but in the grand scheme of things it was well worth it. We were able to experience authentic Mexican food in Mexico. We walked back to Puerta Maya (2+ miles) to get back on board the Carnival Dream. The walk was nice, as we had views we do not have at home in Iowa.
Fast forward three months later and we hopped on board the Carnival Ecstasy and we stopped in Cozumel. This time, we booked a shore excursion over to Passion Island. We thought it would be fun to experience Cozumel from another angle and boy, were we glad we did!
Passion Island was amazing! How’s this for a view?
We were a whopping 125 people on the whole island! Included in our excursion fee was transportation to the island (45 min. boat ride), open bar, endless buffet, beach chairs, outdoor showers, restrooms, changing rooms, kayaks, and all the fun in the sun and sand you could want.
We had a fantastic time on Passion Island. If you want to experience a nice, private beach while in Cozumel, we would highly recommend this shore excursion.
The Carnival Dream and Carnival Ecstasy both offered great accommodations to get us to Cozumel, Mexico. Cruising with Carnival Cruise Lines is a fantastic way to explore new ports of call and travel. Families of all sizes will appreciate what cruising has to offer. From childcare to swimming pools, a Carnival Cruise is sure to please your whole family. Oh yeah, and don’t forget if you have growing boys along, they can have all the pizza and ice cream they want! Cruising is a growing boys dream come true.
*Thank you to Carnival Cruise Lines for providing Internet service for 300 minutes while on board.
SaraB
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