Need a quick reply - Best beach/activity for us?

[Archaegeo]

Myself and my sister are going on the Oasis on Friday. She is 43, and I am 44. We are in good shape, and enjoy activities.

 

So far we have a sea day, then on labadee we are doing the zipline and have a cabana, so some snorkeling there for the fun of it, but mostly just a nice day.

 

Off to Jamaica where we are doing the combo ships excursion of Bobsled and climbing Dunns River falls.

 

Then a sea day followed by cozumel and another sea day.

 

Here is our dilema which we would love some input from you folks...

 

In cozumel currently we have the seatrek from 8-10:45am and then Fly High adventure & Beach Resort snorkel from 12:00-3:30. The ship is in port from 8am to 7pm. The total cost of the excursions is 189.

 

After reading this forum, I realized that maybe we arent using our time to our best advantage in Cozumel, that it is a pretty safe port, and that a taxi and one of the all inclusives or something might be a better option...

 

Since we are already zip-lining in labadee (admittedly a different one) and the El Cid Beach Resort doesnt sound like it is quite to the standards of Sanchos or others, we are considering cancelling the ships excursions.

 

Price isnt the issue, but why pay 380.00 when it seems we could do a lot more and better for the same price?

 

So given that we like to be active, any suggestions?

 

It seems like Mr Sanchos might be best, on the AI package, since they also have (at extra cost I know) horseback riding, parasailing, and jet skis if we want to do them, along with snorkeling, but not sure how good that might be there.

 

We are also considering taxi out to Chankanaab since it is supposed to be fantastic as well.

 

Thoughts? And quickly if you can :) We fly Friday !

[Archaegeo]

Aww, I know this board is less frequented, but 30 views and no thoughts at all? :)

[JohninDC]

Mr. Sanchos sounds like a good fit for what you are looking for. Good luck! :)

[Laughing Angel]

I think the excursions you have currently booked will be fun and keep you busy and active, but if you are having second thoughts, then yes--Mr. Sanchos might be best suited for your needs.

 

Question: Are you married to the idea of an AI?

 

If not, you might want to investigate Paradise Beach. Good food, lounge chairs, great water toys (if you like being active, try climbing the iceberg), a new large pool...I was last there before the pool was built, but enjoyed it very much.

 

Have fun, whatever you decide!

[mousecrazy]

Are you looking for a quiet, relaxing beach day? Or something more active and fun? For the latter, I suggest Nachi as they limit to 100 cruisers. I thought the food was good, although it is somewhat limited as you order from the menu once. For the former, I would suggest Mr. Sanchos as there are more people around...I might even say it's fairly crowded, but in a good way; more festive, I guess. The drinks were weak and non-descript and you could order as much food (pretty good) as you liked. The hammocks were a nice place to hang out. We had a fun day at both locations. They were just different, so it depends on what type of atmosphere you're looking for. No snorkeling from shore at either location, but both have a nice sandy beach. You can get a boat to take you to snorkeling at both places.

 

Both are a $16 (1-4 passengers) taxi ride from downtown and takes about 20 minutes. Both cost around $50 pp.

[nursebubba]

Try Bucannos. Someone just did a review of it. There is some sand and steps down into the water and great snorkeling. Seems like great chairs of all kinds and many tables

[crewsweeper]

For you two, this late in the game, Mr. Sanchos AI would work very well. Snorkeling will be less than ideal, but there's a swim up bar for the AI-ers. And the waiters will take very good care of you. http://www.mrsanchos.com/mr_sanchos/home.htm

[Archaegeo]

yeah, i did the prereservation for 5.00 each at the beach site, and its fully refundable if we change our mind.

 

So looks like Sanchos, though Chankanaab seems so tempting for the better snorkeling.

 

But a swim up bar...

[crewsweeper]

Remember, you're cruising at peak spring break time. I don't know how many other ships are in port with you. Chank could be crowded. Mr Sanchos' open beach could be crowded as well, but the AI portion is separated. The Money Bar, another popular snorkeling spot will probably be crowded. Playa Corona, another good snorkeling beach just past Chank might be, but may get passed by a bit, as it's smaller and the entrance isn't easy to spot. So skip snorkeling and get pampered:)

[xplor97]

yeah, i did the prereservation for 5.00 each at the beach site, and its fully refundable if we change our mind.

 

So looks like Sanchos, though Chankanaab seems so tempting for the better snorkeling.

 

But a swim up bar...

 

 

Check out Mr sanchos Facebook page and the pics they have posted there...I think they will sell you...they did me...booked for April 5th.

Greg

[Archaegeo]

This is an awesome site for knowing how many people in port with you when you cruise:

http://cruisett.com/ports.php (or if that doesnt come through its cruisett dot com slash ports dot php)

 

You pick your port, and the month your sailing, and you see.

 

Ie, for my cruise and when we hit Cozumel, there will be 12595 people roughly there on 4 ships. The range is 7k - 24k normally.

[mitsugirly]

Chankanaab is a HUGE national park. Even on crowded days I'm hearing you really can't tell too much because there is so much space and things to do there.

 

We had a WONDERFUL time there 6 months ago (so wonderful that we booked another cruise that included this port and will be there again next week :D). It was by far our favorite port on the western side so far and can't wait to get back to Chank!

 

The snorkeling was great, they have a beauitful lagoon with iguanas walking around everywhere. They have a mini do-it-yourself walking tour to their mayan ruins. You can swim with the dolphins, manatees and they have a sea lion show.

 

Here is my review (with a link at the bottom of the review to my pictures there that day): http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30683350&postcount=59

 

Dolphin swim review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=30692077&postcount=65