This is not your Grandaddy's Cruise... Oh wait, It Is- Cozumel

Anniversary Cruise 2016- Caribbean Princess

Been There, Done That 

Cozumel, Mexico 

Tuesday, March 15, 2016 

Cozumel is our most visited port but one that we like and appreciate. We knew we would not be doing an excursion and we were not even sure if we would get off this ship. Cozumel is a MAJOR mega-hub for Western Caribbean itineraries and as we approached the pier we saw many ships. Oddly enough the Caribbean Princess pulled up between the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH and the CARNIVAL MAGIC, the two most recent cruise ships we have sailed on. This was unique and funny to us as we had the mind set of “Been there, done that”.

Morning

Chris and I were both longing for sleep and were able to really rest on this cruise and get a good night’s sleep. The bed was hard to me but not near as hard as the plywood we slept on while on the Navigator of the Seas in 2014. In fact, we did not wake up until nearly 8AM on this day. Of course, Chris went jogging for 3 miles on the promenade deck while I got ready and went and filled our Yeti cups with orange juice for the day.

The mainland Mexico and Cancun as we approached Cozumel about 2-3 hours before we finally docked. 

One of the things that Chris and I like to do while cruising is look at the other ships while in port. In fact, we have seen quite a few ships. A few years ago, this turned into a guessing game of “Will we be on that ship at some point?” and “What ship will we be on next?” Our next 2 cruises are on ships that we saw in port on previous cruises. We are sailing on the Carnival Legend (Alaska 2016) and Carnival Liberty (Christmas with the kids 2016). This is now a fun game of DESTINY.

After Chris showered from his jog we went to the very forward of the ship on deck 8 to watch the approach of our ship in Cozumel. I could see 3-4 ships in the far distance but I was not sure what they were. As we continued to pull into Cozumel (VERY slowly) I noticed there was 1 ship at the “downtown” Punta Lagosta Pier which turned out to be the NCL Dawn out of Houston.

I saw these 3 ships in the distance and the guess game began. 

The NCL Dawn, sailing out of New Orleans, docked at the "downtown" pier of Punta Langosta. 

The pilot boat coming to help guide us in. 

Then as we continued to pull into our pier at the Puerto Maya pier I noticed not 3 but 4 others ships. One of the ships was just massive and Chris and I thought it had to be an Oasis class ship from Royal Caribbean. But as we continued we discovered it was the Anthem of the Seas (A smaller Quantum Class ship of Royal Caribbean's) out of New Jersey. This was the ship that most recently got caught in a bad winter storm in the Atlantic and is currently the 4^th largest ship in the world at 167,800 gross tons and can carry nearly 5,000 passengers. It is a marvel of a cruise ship and Chris and I have followed it since we heard about it on the Navigator in 2014. This was a true thrill for us and we were delighted to see it in port in Cozumel. The Anthem of the Seas was on a 10 day Caribbean island journey from New Jersey and stopped in Cozumel for an extended stay. This ship was a real beauty with iFly by Ripcord, an indoor skydiving experience, and the NorthStar that offers a glass capsule type of ride that leaves guests hanging over the ocean. This may be our new destiny… When we will be sailing on the Anthem of the Seas?

Not 3 but FOUR cruise ships at the International/ Puerto Maya piers. 

A close-up of the Anthem of the Seas. 

The NorthStar on the Anthem of the Seas. 

The aft of the Anthem of the Seas. The lower glass area is 270* and the upper glass area are 2 deck suites. And the very top blue section is iFly. This is like a true floating city! One of these days... But when? 

The other ships at the Puerto Maya pier were the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas, the Carnival Triumph and the Carnival Magic. In fact, the Caribbean Princess pulled in right between the Triumph and the Magic. This was really neat because within the past 9 months we have sailed on all 3 of these beautiful ships. A true “Been there, done that” type of moment!

The Carnival Triumph and the Carnival Magic. We would be parking in the middle! 

The Carnival Magic- an incredible ship, especially for families!

The Carnival Triumph- a great ship full of fun activities and perfect for a 4-5 day cruise. 
CARNIVAL TRIUMPH- Click Link to get GREAT tips and tricks for the Carnival Triumph!

"Been there, done that" 

After we watched us pull into our final parking spot we went down to the breakfast buffet as the approach took so long we were not able to make in time to the Coral Dining Room before they closed. It turns out that the breakfast buffet had more choices to order and the food was just as good if not better than the MDR. We were highly impressed!

While we were eating the Captain actually parked our ship and this was an experience to say the least. As he was moving from side to side to Parallel Park the entire aft of the ship was shaking and vibrating. It was weird and a little scary too. Eventually we got parked and settled and went on with our day.

We went back to the room to change into our bathing suits and enjoy time by the pool and hot tubs since they should be empty. This was the case as we came to the MUTS pool first and it was completely empty. We were able to get deck chairs and enjoy the hot tub all to ourselves. Unfortunately the hot tub was not as hot as we would have liked so we picked up our stuff and went to the shaded pool and hot tub of the Spa Pool. This is where we spent the rest of our morning just enjoying the serenity of this pool and its hot tubs. If you are planning on not getting off at any port this is the perfect time to get some sun time with lots of available chairs and hot tubs/ pools. 

Time for some pool time... with an empty ship! 

We are LOVING this!

Hot tub time! 

Selfie from my Spa Deck chair!

Afternoon

We had worked up somewhat of an appetite just lounging around so we decided to go to the Trident Grill on Deck 15 since the Main Dining Room was not open on port days. The Trident Grill was a quick serve restaurant serving hamburgers, hot dogs, bratwursts and other outdoor grilling specialties. This was a MAJOR letdown for me as the cook simply placed a frozen burger patty onto the flat-grill and cooked it. It was basically tasteless and I did not enjoy it at all. Of course, it is hard to compare to Guy’s Burger Joint on Carnival 2.0 ships but this was not even as good as Wendy’s. I ended up only having a few bites and then I went and got some pizza as it truly is the best pizza at sea. This did not disappoint and I even tried the specialty of the day “Mexican Pizza” since we were in Mexico. It was delicious and if you like spicy foods be sure to check this out when docking in Cozumel.

While we were eating Chris noticed he did not have his magic card and he had to go and get a new one from the Guest Services. I decided to try out the Scoops Ice Cream Parlor while I was waiting for him to get his new card. Once he got his new card we went straight back to our shaded and padded spa deck chairs and spent even more time laying out and enjoying the hot tub. We even took a nap under the shade and in the coolness of the breeze. This Spa Pool area only has 12 chairs and they are much nicer and softer than the regular deck chairs. However, they do fill up fast! 

Around 2PM we decided if we wanted to get off, the time was now. We went and changed clothes and decided to get off the ship and try to send some pictures and messages to our kids via Wi-Fi. We got off the ship at 2:15PM and took some pictures of the ships in port and then went to Fat Tuesday to try to get their free Wi-Fi. This was a spring break cruise and spring break season so Fat Tuesday was LOADED with people and craziness but it was FUN! We got some drinks and tried to do FaceTime with our kids but it just didn’t work so we sent some pictures and videos instead.

Hola from beautiful Cozumel, Mexico! 

The Carnival Magic in spot #3 at the Puerta Maya pier.
Looking back, I LOVED this ship! 

The Caribbean Princess and the Carnival Triumph at the Puerta Maya pier. 

Fat Tuesday in Cozumel... Great place for drinks and FREE Wi-Fi!

The Anthem of the Seas and the Brilliance of the Seas taken from Fat Tuesday. 

It's kinda hard to believe we have been on ALL THREE... this is getting sad!
I told y'all... we are ADDICTED!

I am enjoying my Spring Break in Mexico!

I love this one! 

Central Square the Puerta Maya pier! 

We finished our drinks and went looking for a Hawaiian style shirt for Chris that said “Cozumel” or “Mexico” but we did not have any luck. So we went back to the main shopping port near the ship and got some souvenirs and some goodies for our kids and family. We were back on the ship at 3:30PM and enjoying another afternoon of the delicious Princess Tea Time. In fact, we were the last ones there and the service was still unbelievable and the treats were even better than the previous day.

The assortment of sandwiches and desserts I had! Yummy stuff!
You HAVE to check out Princess Tea Time, it is the very best! 

Evening

We went back to our cabin to change clothes and ended up falling asleep and taking a short nap only to be woke up by the Carnival Magic and Triumph horns announcing their leaving the port. Since we were already in our room we just got ready for dinner and went to eat early at 5:30PM. Dinner was great and the service was exceptional. We have found that typical night #3 menus are lacking but this one was just as good as the previous 2 nights and we enjoyed it very much.

Dinner in the Coral Dining Room! 

After dinner we went up to the Movie Under the Stars (MUTS) area to watch the movie of the evening “Creed” but we were late for the opening 10-15 minutes. We stayed and watched what we could until 8:30PM when we had to go to one last practice for the Mardi Gras party. When we arrived in Club Fusion for the last rehearsal we were the only ones there from yesterday’s lesson. We got our refresher then headed to the Piazza for the Mardi Gras party. We watched a comedian featuring juggling and then it was time for us to show off our new dancing skills. Yeah…we are SO BAD! And luckily I did NOT ask a stranger to video us dancing! But it was fun nonetheless.

Princess did decorate the ship for this occasion and I think that added a nice touch to the evening! I was impressed with the upkeep of the ship and the theme decorations put up. 

We went back to MUTS to try to catch “Creed” from the beginning. We grabbed some pizza and ice cream and had a wonderful evening under the stars. I would highly recommend guests spend at least one night watching a movie under the stars. They offer nightly showings at 7PM and 10PM and show a variety of movies each week. It is one of our favorite things to do while cruising. Be sure to check it out.

We finished the movie and decided to call it a night and go back to our room and retire for the evening. It was already 12:30AM and tomorrow today we would be in Roatan and we were planning a morning of snorkeling so we needed our rest. Despite being to Cozumel over 5 times we really enjoyed our day and are looking forward to Mahogany Bay!

Stay tuned for Roatan and “Feel the Burn”!

Thanks for following!

God is good… all the time!