7 ships in port on Jan 31st?? Seriously?

[Timmay77]

I WAS looking forward to Cozumel until I saw the port schedule.......

[blue_water]

That really is a shame…Is it your first cruise stop there? What are your port times?

[crewsweeper]

Sounds like middle of summer type schedule.  But unless you're planning on hitting extremely popular beaches,  Cozumel has a tendency to absorb the crowds.

[c-leg5]

Quite common during usual peak cruising times and not unheard of to have one or two more tendering. Cozumel can dock 8 ships.
 

What has changed in recent times is that many of the  ships are much bigger than previously so it depends which other cruise ships are in port with you. 
 

As @crewsweeper says unless you want to go to the popular beach clubs there are other options. Paradise and Sanchos seem to be struggling with crowds on the best of days, for some reason that I don’t understand given that they have hone almost exclusively AI. In the summer I thought perhaps it was due to sargassum on the mainland - not sure if they are still filling to capacity and overcrowded. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by c-leg5

[clackey]

Book Nachi Cocom and skip the crowds.  Quite beach club that limits guest to 130.  Food, drinks, massage, pool, and nice beach.  No good snorkeling from shore, but they can take you to a reef. I think that taxis are $18 each way.

[blue_water]

The Riviera Maya was still dealing with sargassum when we were last there in early December so Coz and IM were popular day excursions.

The beach clubs on Coz do get very busy of course, even our old favorite Playa Palancar. That’s why I asked for more info. But if a typical 8-hour day or shorter and a beach isn’t important the Bar Hop Tour is popular…

 

[bguppies]

On 12/26/2022 at 11:53 PM, Timmay77 said:

I WAS looking forward to Cozumel until I saw the port schedule.......

7 ships is a pretty average day. 

Cozumel can dock 8 and tender a couple more ships in.

 

Like somebody already stated, the amount of ships doesn't matter as much as the amount of passengers. (too many 6,00 + ships in the fleets now versus the old days of 2,000-4,000 pax ships)

 

It would take 3+ of Carnival's Fantasy or Spirit class ships, to equal the Passenger count on 1 of Royal Caribbean's Wonder or Allure size ships. (or the new Mardi Gras sized Carnival or larger Princess or NCL ships.)

 

Just check WHICH ships are in port with you and then make an assesment on how crowded the island will be that day.

 

Wonder of the seas - 6,988 pax

Symphony ots - 6,680 pax

Harmony ots - 6,687 px

Oasis ots - 6,771 pax

Allure ots - 6,780 pax

MSC World Europa - 6,762 pax

 

I'll skip the multitude of P&O, Aida and Costa ships that don't frequent Cozumel

 

Carnival Celebration - 6,631

Carnival Mardi Gras - 6,631

 

MSC Grandiosa - 6,761

MSC Virtuosa - 6,334

MSC Meraviglia, Bellisima, Seashore and Seascape - 5,632-5,877

Odyssey ots - 5,510

Spectrum ots - 5,622

Quantum ots - 4,905

Anthem ots - 4,905

Ovation ots - 6,905

Norweigien Encore,  Bliss, Joy, Escape and Epic - 4,200 - 5,200 pax

 

Most ships above are all 10-12 years old...

 

Freedom, Liberty and Independance ots - 4,375 - 4,560 pax

MSC Seaview and Seaside - 5,336

Majestic Princess - 5,660

Sky, Enchanted and Discovery Princess - 4,610

Royal and Regal Princess - 4,310

 

plus these 2,000 - 4,000 pax ships

 

Disney Wish, Norweigien Prima, Celebrity Beyond, Navigator, Mariner, Explorer, Voyager and Adventure ots, MSC Divina and Preziosa, Fantasia and Splendida, 

 

and thats just from the list of the 60 biggest ships.

 

Most of the Carnival ships are 2,000- 4,000, (Vista, Dream, Conquest, Spirit, Fantasy classes) lots of smaller Celebrity, Disney, HAL etc. too.

 

So as you can see, when the Carnival Pride and Paradise were docked next door to just the Allure of the Sea earlier this month, she had almost  double the pax that the two Carnival ships had.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2022 by bguppies

[KroozFoolz]

And yet on Monday, January 23, 2023, only one ship scheduled for Cozumel.

[bguppies]

On 12/29/2022 at 9:59 PM, KroozFoolz said:

And yet on Monday, January 23, 2023, only one ship scheduled for Cozumel.

Great day for the folks on that ship.

 

Only gotten lucky in one of the usually packed ports, when there was only two ships in Nassau. Great day.

[blue_water]

Yes we’re lucky living in the Riviera Maya as we can visit Coz when there are no or few ships in port. Otherwise it is crazy…

[c-leg5]

10 minutes ago, blue_water said:

Yes we’re lucky living in the Riviera Maya as we can visit Coz when there are no or few ships in port. Otherwise it is crazy…

Even better if you stay on the island and are there after the ships leave!

 

Actually unless you are insistent on being in town on Melgar,  or at the major tourist beach clubs during ship days the day the ships are of little concern to us but I agree Sanchos and Paradise Beach do sound like they have become crazy since cruising resumed.

Edited January 1, 2023 by c-leg5

[blue_water]

16 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Even better if you stay on the island and are there after the ships leave!

 

Actually unless you are insistent on being in town on Melgar,  or at the major tourist beach clubs during ship days the day the ships are of little concern to us but I agree Sanchos and Paradise Beach do sound like they have become crazy since cruising resumed.

Actually even our old favorite from 20+ years ago, Playa Palancar, is crazy busy when ships are in, and that’s ~18 km from the Ultramar ferry…The island continues to get smaller and smaller, just like the 2 or 3 other busy Carib cruise ports.

That was our oasis before the huge jump in cruise ship arrivals years ago…

You can probably still get away from the crowds at places like the Bob Marley Bar, which is another favorite of ours, but instead of a gorgeous beach it’s a rocky shore. But still beautiful!

Edited January 1, 2023 by blue_water

[c-leg5]

26 minutes ago, blue_water said:

Actually even our old favorite from 20+ years ago, Playa Palancar, is crazy busy when ships are in, and that’s ~18 km from the Ultramar ferry…The island continues to get smaller and smaller, just like the 2 or 3 other busy Carib cruise ports.

That was our oasis before the huge jump in cruise ship arrivals years ago…

You can probably still get away from the crowds at places like the Bob Marley Bar, which is another favorite of ours, but instead of a gorgeous beach it’s a rocky shore. But still beautiful!

Yes Palancar was one of our early favorites but was disappointed last time with crowds and food so haven’t been in a long time.
 

Bob Marley and much of the east side is good so long as there isn’t sargassum, which can be a deal breaker. 
 

i think the huge increase in ship size and increased capacity is the biggest factor in overcrowding although i hear so many cruisers say they don’t leave the ship or the port these days so it makes you wonder how many actually make it past the port gates!

Edited January 1, 2023 by c-leg5

[blue_water]

Yes I don’t know where Coz ranks with the other major ports like STT, SXM, and SJU, but it is certainly a contender for #1!

 

If a nice beach is desired the west coast is it for sure…
 

There was a private home years ago if I remember that offered a nice, all-inclusive experience without the crowds. Do you remember that, and is it still an option?

[c-leg5]

37 minutes ago, blue_water said:

Yes I don’t know where Coz ranks with the other major ports like STT, SXM, and SJU, but it is certainly a contender for #1!

 

If a nice beach is desired the west coast is it for sure…
 

There was a private home years ago if I remember that offered a nice, all-inclusive experience without the crowds. Do you remember that, and is it still an option?

If I am thinking of the same excursion thst was a Carnival exclusive excursion which changed locations several times depending on who the contracted with. The first place was certainly close to Palancar.  I don’t usually sail Carnival and i haven’t seen it mentioned in a long time. 

[cruisekrazykaze]

We have 7 ships (total of 16k passengers) in Coz when we port over spring break. That is what drove me to book Nachi Cocum. Our family doesn't enjoy crowds. 

[blue_water]

19 hours ago, cruisekrazykaze said:

Our family doesn't enjoy crowds. 

I understand, and you may want to consider land vacations to less busy islands for that reason since you are part of that crowd…If you have not yet tried that?

We cruised for years and then started taking land vacations, then spending our time in Mexico for 8 years in a home we built for retirement. We do not miss being part of that horde coming off the ship, but we do miss cruising and going off on our own. So we’re looking at some that are smaller and avoid the busiest cruise ports.
But some of these destinations like Coz have just become so overrun…
 

[bguppies]

23 hours ago, cruisekrazykaze said:

We have 7 ships (total of 16k passengers) in Coz when we port over spring break. That is what drove me to book Nachi Cocum. Our family doesn't enjoy crowds. 

We have been to Cozumel 7 times now and been to Nachi 7 times and have yet to have a bad crowd experience. (only once did it seem like 125 people there and once we went and it was just us and a group of six German tourists from a RCCL ship.)

 

Plus we never get our money's worth in liquor  (as we aren't huge drinkers) but love the meals we get each time.

 

Hope you have a great day at Nachi.