Paradise review for 5/28-6/1 coming soon....

[LUVMYGSDOG]

I'll try to get more in tonight, Cozumel's up next, it was absolutely gorgeous!

 

 

 

Happy Sailing,

 

 

Looking forward to these pics! I loved Cozumel and I been thinking about returning almost non-stop since we got home!

 

 

 

Kim

[sunshineonmymind]

Oh....yeah!! Thanks for that pertinent info!!! :)

[sjn911]

So glad the food looked great on Cruise elegant night...On the Spirit on a 5 day this past Easter it really lacked...prettier dining room..but not nearly as good for food as 2009 on Paradise..my lobster and shrimp were just awful..much smaller..cold and dried out.....will always love my first Carnival Cruise and cool 1A on Empress deck...sigh..Sarah

Edited June 6, 2012 by sjn911

[keystonemama]

Thursday, Cozumel!

 

We woke up fairly early for Coz, even though we didn't have to meet our guide until 12:15. Excitement! We were all really looking forward to this port. Reason #1, the eastside of Coz looks gorgeous, #2 Tequila:p That is my drink of choice, margaritas, shots, you name it and I drink it. I can hold my tequila better than most so a chance to drink real mexican margarita's was at the top of my list!

 

We had read about the Cozumel Bar Hop ahead of time and it has great reviews on CC and Tripadvisor. We tried to book but were told we had to wait because they needed 6 people minimum. So after about 6 wks of emails back & forth with Tom, he let me schedule even though there was only 3 of us that day, it's $49 pp and well worth it.

 

We again decided to get some breakfast before debarking, it was lightly raining again this morning, so by the time we entered the market area, the rain had almost subsided and it turned out to be a beautiful day. After walking the pier you enter the market area only after being herded through the shops! We did buy some cool cigarette's here though. We saw Three Amigos, on your right, Fat Tuesdays, on your left, Ron Jon Surf Shop and then all the little shops, we spyed some cool ashtrays and sombrero's we would purchase when we returned. One guy approached my son and asked if wanted to purchase Cubans', my son said yes I am going too and he said well I have some, just around the corner in my car.:eek: DS politely declined. The Elation was anchored beside us and the RCCL Oasis was at the opposite piers, gosh that ships is humongous.

 

 

 

The Herd

 

[keystonemama]

 

 

 

 

[keystonemama]

I'm in Heaven!

 

 

 

 

Looking for a bargain!

 

 

 

We went thru the market and around to your right, there is a jewelry store there, I can't remember the name, but as you exit the ship they put a sticker of this store on your shirt, you walk in there and get a free gift, it was a small gem, mine was purple, you will have to have it made into a piece of jewelry yourself. We walked around to where the big Puerta Maya letters where and this is where you can catch a cab. It's 7 dollars for up to 4 people, they took us around to where we were to meet up with our guides Colleen and Carlos at Starbucks, very easy to find. We loaded up on a big Mercedes bus, just the 3 of us we were informed, so guess what, it was like a private tour! We could stop and go as we pleased!

 

Colleen was great, she's a transplant from Canada and has been there about 17 years. The ride to the other side took maybe 15 minutes? She told us alot about the island and even spoke a little of the Mayan language, she said some on the island still speak it. We passed one, yes one, propane truck on the way to our destination, there are no homes on this side of the island, no electricity, everything is done by generators, windmills and propane, at night the bars shut down at dark and police block entrance to this side. There is one hotel on the beach there, seriousously, if you are looking for a quiet week on an almost private island, stay here!

[keystonemama]

We arrive at our first stop, Punta Morena. Included in our excursion is a free shot of a special drink for each place, they all tasted good, some had something call mayan iguana juice? Those Mayan's knew how to party!;) We immediately ordered my first of many margarita's, it was excellent and the boys had mex beer, we also order chicken nachos. OMG, best every chicken flavor, the cheese was so thick and creamy! It also had a few habaneros, spicy but good, it didn't linger on the pallet. The place has a nice little pool to dip in, chairs, tiki tables, and massages are available for a good price. We thought is funny that our waiter's name was Arnold, lol, didn't know that was mexican. He was very nice and we had a mariachi band come play a nice song for us. We took a few pics and headed out to the next stop, we had about 45 minutes each stop.

 

 

 

 

[keystonemama]

 

[keystonemama]

Next up, Coconuts! This is a unique bar, tshirts, panties and bras on the ceiling, animals, birds walking on the counter and its the highest point on the island. You do have to walk up some stone steps so if you are disabled or wheelchair bound, this wouldn't be be a place for you.

 

 

 

Ok, now we are 2 shots in and a margarita.

Ceiling

 

[Gemynii]

I'm not much of a liquor person, but if I have any, it's tequila and it's in a margarita. I loooove margaritas! Now I want one.

[keystonemama]

 

 

 

Our guide, Colleen.

 

[keystonemama]

Next up is Wilma, the croc. She was named after the hurricane that hit Coz a few years ago. Now my son is a nature person, raised in the country and in FL he himself is not afraid of animals and has even caught a 4 ft gator in a pond. I tell you this because Colleen was explaining Wilma and as she is starting to tell us, "She is real, because she never moves in the pond of water alot of people I show her too think she is fake." As she is finishing this sentence, my son walks up to her gate and Wilma immediatly comes out of the water and places her chin up on a rock and stares into Derek's eyes, like she wanted him to pet her.:eek: She was so close, he could have put his finger in the fence and touched her nose. Colleen just stood there, her mouth open, she states, "OMG, I have NEVER seen her do that with anyone!" Derek replies, "I'm not scared of her and she knows that." lol I said, hey we are Gators! She knows she's family!:p So of course I had to take pics of her and Albert!

 

[keystonemama]

 

 

Edited June 6, 2012 by keystonemama

[keystonemama]

Albert & Wilma! Go Gators!

 

After Wilma, we walked up to the highest point and took some pics.

 

 

[keystonemama]

 

 

After all those margaritas a bathroom break is badly needed...

 

 

More water pics...

[keystonemama]

 

 

[keystonemama]

Right about now me and Albert are gettin' thirsty, blue margarita's please!!!

 

 

 

 

[keystonemama]

As we are leaving Coconuts there is a man in the parking area that makes grasshoppers out of palm leaves, I purchased one after he showed me he could make it in 2 minutes! I wore it in my hair after we got back on the ship and people thought I had a real one in my hair! They kept stopping me and pointing,lol.

 

[keystonemama]

Next up, Playa Bonita. Here we consumed yet another shot and I drank the largest margarita yet on my Cozumel adventure. :p There was a gentleman here who made bracelets/necklaces, he made some to order for us while we had our libations and chips/salsa.

 

 

 

 

[keystonemama]

Yeah, mama!

 

 

 

 

[Crusin Karen]

Holy Moly! If I had HALF of that last martini I would fall off the bar stool!:o LOVE Tequila but it goes RIGHT to my brain! :eek: That picture of you and Albert in post #92 with the blue margarita, I swear you could be brother and sister! :D I am having so much fun reading about YOUR fun! I'd love to cruise with you someday!

[Crusin Karen]

I meant you and your SON could be brother and sister. :p SORRY! :o Can't remember if you ever mentioned his name.

[keystonemama]

These are stairs right to the water, Colleen said you used to be able to walk down them to the beach and out to the water.

 

 

 

Now since I was being such a good girl and had drank all my mega margarita, Colleen said we had an extra 15 min to make a stop at a small place, not on the excursion, it was cool, there is a rock shaped like a jaguar in the water, a couple of locals told me when the water recedes you see the legs and that the Mayans used to travel to this spot to pay homage to the "Jaguar." We bought some trinkets here too.

 

 

 

Jaguar

[keystonemama]

One of my favorite pics...

 

 

 

[keystonemama]

Oh, I forgot about this one, my only rated R pic of the trip, apparently when mom takes a trip to the bathroom, said son is talked into taking a pic with mom's camera! I didn't find it till I got back on ship! Boys!!!!!:eek:

 

Hope I don't kicked off CC for this! Really, its just a piece of driftwood people!