hiring a driver for the day

[6pack]

Thanks Dave & Brenda. How far in advance do you think we should book? Want to make sure we can secure this.

 

I wouldn't wait! Once you have booked your cruise I would make a reservation. We provided $100 deposit

[newbiecruiser09]

Just booked this morning!!!:D I hope my long list of things we want to see doesn't freak them out too much!!:eek: Thanks for all the help.

 

One more question: Does anyone know the current status of whether Jewel will be on Eastern time or local time? We are scheduled to dock 8am-6pm. So is that 8-6 local time or 7-5 local time?

[hal2008]

Ship usually keep the time of port from where it started. So Jewel will be on Florida time.

Time difference between local time and Florida time depends on which week you are traveling. Starting next week time difference is 2 hours. In April, it wil be one hour.

 

What time are you arranging pickup?

[bajathree]

With all the great reviews here I decided to go ahead and use the link provided (thanks for that:)) and reserve a driver for early April.....filled out the form with exactly what i want to do and sent it in...had a response for deposit payment in less than 5 minutes...made the deposit and had an e-mail confirmation from Eduardo in about 10 minutes...I had to respond back due to that he had the pick-up time as ship time...so it was an hour earlier than I had wanted....Eduardo responded back in less than 5 minutes and in another 5 I had a brand new corrected confirmation...Alberto is assigned as my driver.

[mclaire]

just returned from allure and used eduardo for our day in cozumel. we had jose who was wonderful. the van was clean and a/c. jose stopped for ice and beer and showed us the highlights. drove away from the NINE ships. did a little shopping and he took us to senor iguana's on the beach. that was so much fun. i highly recommend doing this!

[jabberjaw070596]

We hired Eduardo for the day in Cozumel and it was perfect. We were able to see exactly what we wanted. We went to the ruins, saw the island, and went a nice little restaurant for lunch!! Would definitely recommend hiring him for the day!!

[kcgalsr]

We returned a week ago from the Conquest. We hired Driver for a Day in Cozumel, and our van driver was Cantaro who was very friendly and knowledgeable. Cantaro picked us up promptly, was easy to find and dropped us off at the pier afterwards. Eduardo was prompt and efficient in emailing advance info. We saw the Discover Mexico museum quickly, then he drove us on a circuit down the island road to the southern tip and up the eastern, wild beach shore with a quick stop for lunch and a drink at Playa Bonita. We made a stop at a tequila factory where we sampled tequilas and then were returned to the pier area. It took about 4 hours but we had time to get out and leisurely walk on the beach, snap photos, have a lunch break and see all the historic Mayan ruins in miniature at the museum. It was a wonderful day for us; Cozumel is beautiful! I highly recommend using Driver for a day to anyone considering it. It is convenient, dependable and good value.

[mousecrazy]

Just booked this morning!!!:D I hope my long list of things we want to see doesn't freak them out too much!!:eek: Thanks for all the help.

 

One more question: Does anyone know the current status of whether Jewel will be on Eastern time or local time? We are scheduled to dock 8am-6pm. So is that 8-6 local time or 7-5 local time?

 

 

Our NCL ship (Star) changed clocks back one hour (to coincide with local time zone) on the 2nd night. I think all NCL ships do this. The clocks are adjusted back (to Eastern time) on night 6 (of a 7 night cruise).

[newbiecruiser09]

Our NCL ship (Star) changed clocks back one hour (to coincide with local time zone) on the 2nd night. I think all NCL ships do this. The clocks are adjusted back (to Eastern time) on night 6 (of a 7 night cruise).

 

Thanks. We are on RCI. I just saw a Compass from the Jewel 4 nighter and it also says they are changing clocks to coincide with local time in Coz. Makes life easier for me!

[CRUISIN CAT]

We hired a driver for the day through Eduardo and it worked out great. There were 6 of us and we had Cantaro as our van driver. He showed us various monuments, we went to the Kaokao Chocolates factory, San Gervasio ruins and then to Hacienda Antigua tequila museum. After going there we needed someone to drive us! :p Then over to the east side of the island, which is beautiful, where we had lunch at a beachside restaurant. Cantaro even went and picked up beer and ice for us while we were in the chocolate factory. We got to do just what we wanted to do for as long as we wanted to. It was so much better than being part of a big tour. I would definitely recommend it. :)

[Host Faith]

Hello All! We hired a driver for our day in Cozumel last week on a girls' trip and had a fantastic time. We were with Alberto, and he was fantastic! We did four hours with him (8:30-12:30), going to San Gervasio, the Tequila Factory (Hacienda Antigua), and driving for some scenic stops. He dropped us off at Mr. Sancho's for the rest of the day until 4:30. I wish we had more time with him, so my husband and I are planning to sail the Allure sometime this year, and we're going to book Alberto again.

 

I have a detailed review with tons of photos from our day. I did a full review of our cruise on the Liberty of the Seas, however our day in Cozumel starts here (see post 256). I went hour-by-hour, so it's a very thorough review of our entire day. This thread has been so helpful to me, so please do ask me any questions you may have :)

Edited March 16, 2012 by Host Faith

[hal2008]

what time did you reach San Gervasio ruins? with no crowds, was it safe?

How about mosquitoes?

 

we have to be back at ship for other activities. so were thinking about taking early start but were worried about being the only ones at ruins from safety point of view.

 

Did you go to coconuts?

Edited March 16, 2012 by hal2008

[Host Faith]

what time did you reach San Gervasio ruins? with no crowds, was it safe?

How about mosquitoes?

 

we have to be back at ship for other activities. so were thinking about taking early start but were worried about being the only ones at ruins from safety point of view.

 

Did you go to coconuts?

 

I think we reached the ruins around 9:30 AM. In my photos you'll see that there were no crowds when we got there. It started to get crowded a bit when we left around 11 or so. No mosquitoes in our experience there.

 

There is a whole staff there when they open. If you have sturdy shoes you should be all set to visit them on your own.

 

We didn't go to coconuts, you can see by the photos that we went to Mr. Sancho's at the end of our tour with Alberto :)

[Brooke_743]

Hello All! We hired a driver for our day in Cozumel last week on a girls' trip and had a fantastic time. We were with Alberto, and he was fantastic! We did four hours with him (8:30-12:30), going to San Gervasio, the Tequila Factory (Hacienda Antigua), and driving for some scenic stops. He dropped us off at Mr. Sancho's for the rest of the day until 4:30. I wish we had more time with him, so my husband and I are planning to sail the Allure sometime this year, and we're going to book Alberto again.

 

I have a detailed review with tons of photos from our day. I did a full review of our cruise on the Liberty of the Seas, however our day in Cozumel starts here (see post 256). I went hour-by-hour, so it's a very thorough review of our entire day. This thread has been so helpful to me, so please do ask me any questions you may have :)

 

Approx. how long did it take you to do the Tequilla tour? We are planning on doing that along with the Chocolate factory tour and stopping by the local Red Cross to meet some of our fellow EMT's and trade patches before being dropped off at Mr. Sancho's. Just wondering if we will have enough time for it all. Thanks :)

[Host Faith]

Approx. how long did it take you to do the Tequilla tour? We are planning on doing that along with the Chocolate factory tour and stopping by the local Red Cross to meet some of our fellow EMT's and trade patches before being dropped off at Mr. Sancho's. Just wondering if we will have enough time for it all. Thanks :)

 

I think it was about 45 minutes long from start to finish :)

Edited March 19, 2012 by Host Faith

[lynncarol]

We contacted Crescencio Lopez (after reading an earlier post) for our early March tour of Cozumel and couldn't have been more pleased. He was at the dock waiting for us when our ship arrived and whisked us off in his pristine air-conditioned van. At my request, we concentrated on scenic, off-the-beaten track, natural beauty....primarily on the southern/eastern shores. Mr. Lopez is a native Mayan who has lived in Cozumel for 27 years and speaks excellent English. He delivered a perfect tour for a very reasonable price and we were so pleased. He can be reached at creslopez41955@hotmail.com

[krhpee]

After reading all these wonderful reviews, we hired through Edaurdo. Talk about timely. He got back with my email almost immediately. Made arrangements and sent deposit. Alberto was our driver. We were doing a back to back on the Carnival Elation therefore having two days in Cozumel. We hired ALberto for both days- three hours each. First of all, what a nice man. Well educated, very polite and spoke English quite well. More than I can say for me- I speak English and that's it. He did try to teach me some Spanish but I will need a few more lessons. I would not hesitate to hired him again when we visit Cozumel. He will take you where you want to go, or we let him take us on what he thought we should see. He explained so much to us. When we went shopping, he pushed the cart, lifted the heavy bags. What a jewel of a guy.

[hal2008]

Any idea how long it will take to go from Ruins back to INtl Pier via eastern/southern loop? (assuming no stops)

 

thnx

[Kletina]

Any idea how long it will take to go from Ruins back to INtl Pier via eastern/southern loop? (assuming no stops)

 

thnx

 

if your speed drive is about 80 kms per hour (sorry dont know in miles x hour), about an hour & 15 or 30 minutes, no more than that

[gallain]

Used this service in Cozumel March 2012 while in port on a cruise. Cantaro was our driver. Excellent English, comfortable vehicle, knew the island well & took us to exactly the types of historical/scenic attractions we requested. He was terrific and we would definitely use this service & recommend it to anyone wanting to see more of Cozumel than just the port area. Our 17 year old also thought Cantaro was great & we all thoroughly enjoyed seeing the island & hearing all about it. :):):)

[trainnut]

After reading all these wonderful reviews, we hired through Edaurdo. Talk about timely. He got back with my email almost immediately. Made arrangements and sent deposit. Alberto was our driver. We were doing a back to back on the Carnival Elation therefore having two days in Cozumel. We hired ALberto for both days- three hours each. First of all, what a nice man. Well educated, very polite and spoke English quite well. More than I can say for me- I speak English and that's it. He did try to teach me some Spanish but I will need a few more lessons. I would not hesitate to hired him again when we visit Cozumel. He will take you where you want to go, or we let him take us on what he thought we should see. He explained so much to us. When we went shopping, he pushed the cart, lifted the heavy bags. What a jewel of a guy.

 

We totally agree! We also went with Eduardo on our trip last week, and had Alberto as our driver. The booking process was very simple - we did need to make an advance deposit ($50, through PayPal), but all communications were fast and accurate. They even warned us about the fact that Mexico hadn't changed to Daylight Savings Time yet, so there was an hour difference in ship's time and Cozumel time. They adjusted our meeting time to remain on the ship's time.

 

Alberto was waiting literally right outside the exit from the pier, with a sign with my name. He took us to see the Mayan ruins on the island, stop at the Tequila factory, and do some shopping. As stated above, he was polite, knowledgeable, and spoke good English. We had a great time, learned a lot, and would hire them it again tomorrow if we could.

 

The ONLY caveat I have is that they use Nissan station wagons if you have 4 or fewer folks. Hate to say it, but that back seat is VERY tight with 3 adults in it ! Other than that, though, I give them an A+!

[trainnut]

if your speed drive is about 80 kms per hour (sorry dont know in miles x hour), about an hour & 15 or 30 minutes, no more than that

 

80 KM is about 50 MPH. To get a rough estimate, multiply KM by .6 - that gets you pretty close.

[rjscott]

The ONLY caveat I have is that they use Nissan station wagons if you have 4 or fewer folks. Hate to say it, but that back seat is VERY tight with 3 adults in it ! Other than that, though, I give them an A+!

 

We only had 4 in our group, but because my husband is 6'4", I specifically asked for a van and was promised one. We did pay a bit more, but it was worth it, as we spent about 5 hrs with our driver. It wasn't a van, but a big "land-cruiser" station wagon, and we were all very comfortable.

[hal2008]

Used this service in Cozumel March 2012 while in port on a cruise. Cantaro was our driver. Excellent English, comfortable vehicle, knew the island well & took us to exactly the types of historical/scenic attractions we requested. He was terrific and we would definitely use this service & recommend it to anyone wanting to see more of Cozumel than just the port area. Our 17 year old also thought Cantaro was great & we all thoroughly enjoyed seeing the island & hearing all about it. :):):)

 

what are the places you visited? how long it took?

[JKSarasota]

We went to Cozumel on the Jewel of the Seas out of Tampa. We travelled with a large group of friends and family and some of us had been to Cozumel several times before and were bored with the "downtown" routine. I found Hiring a Driver for the Day on Trip Advisor and contacted them by email.

 

Eduardo responded to my email within an hour and with a few emails back and forth and a small deposit, our Driver For A Day was set up.

 

When we got off of the ship and made our way to the Taxi area, our driver "Leo" was waiting with a sign with my name. When we got to the van, he asked if we wanted to go to the market and pick up some refreshments to put in his large cooler in the back of the van. You didn't need to ask us twice.

The "market" is a must see in itself. Picture a luxury big box store with groceries. Leo was our guide, as well as the pilot of the shopping cart as we selected our refreshing adult beverages for the day.

 

First stop, the Tequila factory tour in the old mission. I do not want to go into great detail so as not to ruin the experience but our group had a BLAST. The admission is free, the tour guide is hilarious, the tequila samples put us all in a party spirit.

 

The rest of the day was spent exploring the far side of the island and taking in the breath taking views and enjoying some of the tastiest Ceviche on the beach I have ever tasted.

 

We had Leo for the entire day and he got us back to the ship in plenty of time. We had no worries about drinking and having a good time and there was no time constraint. We stayed at each stop as long or as little as we wanted and we felt like we got VIP treatment at each location because Leo knew everyone.

 

If you are open for an "R" rated experience, make sure to check out the "special" menu at Coconuts. Who knows, someone in your group might add their "recipe" to the many tasty dishes you will find in this special menu.

 

You either investigate ahead of time and tell Leo where you want to go or let him guide you to a side of Cozumel we had never seen. One thing is for certain, no one in our group will ever go back to Cozumel and do it any other way. Hiring a driver for the day is a great value and the customer service from the booking to telling Leo "Goodbye" was Excellent.

 

Thanks to Eduardo and Leo for a great time in Cozumel.