We signed up for this cruise because it went to the Western Caribbean and we have not visited several of the ports on the cruise- Cozumel, Panama City, Puerto Limon Costa Rica and Grand Cayman.
We have been to Cartagena before but will explore on our own on this visit.
It also included 4 sea days which gave us time to rest since we just returned from a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land several days ago which left us exhausted.
Today we visit Cozumel and it is port where the ship will dock at a pier near town. Most of the excursions/ activities were water related ie snorkeling, swimming, boating etc and this was my impression of Cozumel- great place for these activities with nice resort hotels.
The other options were to visit the Mayan ruins but that involved taking a 45 min. ferry ride from the island to the mainland and we were not that interested in taking a ferry to and from the mainland.
Turns out the weather was bad and the water rough and the cruisers on the ferry got sick.
We signed up for a tour of the Discover Mexico museum, Mayan Cacao Co., a small traditional village and tequila tasting with the option to stay in town for shopping.
The Discover Mexico Museum was compact- had a short video, art museum, models of ancient pyramids and a dance of the flyers;. There was also a cafe and bar but the prices were exorbitant not that we had time to eat or drink anything.
The dance of the flyers was the most interesting part of the tour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danza_de_los_Voladores. After the performance some cruisers posed with the performers and gave them a tip.
Next stop was the Mayan Cacao co. where we walked the scenic garden, visited a traditional Mayan hut and saw a demonstration on how Cacao is made. After the demo., we went into the gift shop to see all the cacao items for sale and we bought some cacao bars for home.
Next stop was the traditional village which consisted of an old Church, souvenir stores, temple replica and the Tequila factory store. We had 10 mins. free time before we gathered to hear the history of tequila and sample some of the flavored and unflavored tequilas.
For some reason we were running late and our guide gave us the option to stay in town for 45 mins or go back to the ship. We opted to stay and have lunch at one of the recommended restaurants and barely finished our meal before it was time to get on the shuttle and to back to the ship.
I don't know if the restaurant Americanized the food or it was authentic but it was good.
On the way back to the ship we saw the downtown stores and they looked run down. The big jewelry store had armed guards outside of it. Not too reassuring for being safe downtown.
By the port there were stores and fast food restaurants as well as a Hard Rock Cafe.
I think one visit here is enough and no desire to come back...
We have been to Cartagena before but will explore on our own on this visit.
It also included 4 sea days which gave us time to rest since we just returned from a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land several days ago which left us exhausted.
Today we visit Cozumel and it is port where the ship will dock at a pier near town. Most of the excursions/ activities were water related ie snorkeling, swimming, boating etc and this was my impression of Cozumel- great place for these activities with nice resort hotels.
The other options were to visit the Mayan ruins but that involved taking a 45 min. ferry ride from the island to the mainland and we were not that interested in taking a ferry to and from the mainland.
Turns out the weather was bad and the water rough and the cruisers on the ferry got sick.
We signed up for a tour of the Discover Mexico museum, Mayan Cacao Co., a small traditional village and tequila tasting with the option to stay in town for shopping.
The Discover Mexico Museum was compact- had a short video, art museum, models of ancient pyramids and a dance of the flyers;. There was also a cafe and bar but the prices were exorbitant not that we had time to eat or drink anything.
The dance of the flyers was the most interesting part of the tour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danza_de_los_Voladores. After the performance some cruisers posed with the performers and gave them a tip.
Next stop was the Mayan Cacao co. where we walked the scenic garden, visited a traditional Mayan hut and saw a demonstration on how Cacao is made. After the demo., we went into the gift shop to see all the cacao items for sale and we bought some cacao bars for home.
Next stop was the traditional village which consisted of an old Church, souvenir stores, temple replica and the Tequila factory store. We had 10 mins. free time before we gathered to hear the history of tequila and sample some of the flavored and unflavored tequilas.
For some reason we were running late and our guide gave us the option to stay in town for 45 mins or go back to the ship. We opted to stay and have lunch at one of the recommended restaurants and barely finished our meal before it was time to get on the shuttle and to back to the ship.
I don't know if the restaurant Americanized the food or it was authentic but it was good.
On the way back to the ship we saw the downtown stores and they looked run down. The big jewelry store had armed guards outside of it. Not too reassuring for being safe downtown.
By the port there were stores and fast food restaurants as well as a Hard Rock Cafe.
I think one visit here is enough and no desire to come back...
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