Ecstacy to Cozumel trip report

Old Dec 25th, 2000, 07:42 AM
  #1  
MikeW
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Ecstacy to Cozumel trip report

Hey! Just got back from the Carnival 4 night trip to Cozumel and it was wonderful. The food was great - better than the last Carnival ship we went on two years ago. Service was fantastic and both my wife and I and our 3 kids (ages 10-13) had a wonderful time. The price was incredible - we paid $250 per person (includes the $107 port charges) and we had 2 separate rooms. They were interior at the lowest level (R) but got upgraded to interior next level (M), would have been fine either way. The one thing we did want and we got it, was mid-ship as there is some tendency toward sea-sickness for my wife and daughter.

The second day, the ship stopped for several hours in Key West. We took the Old Towne Trolley and would recommend it over the conch train for a couple of reasons 1) much less crowded than the conch train 2) you are facing forward and can see everything well (1/2 the people on the conch train face backwards) 3) price is the same 4) If it's hot,cold, raining, you are more comfortable 5) they go the same places 6) you can get off and on the conch train at any stop. Then we shopped a bit and got back on the boat for lunch. The days at sea were great fun. Our kids feel they are too old for the kids' program (it goes up to 18) which they are not, but we allowed the three of them to stay together and explore the ship/get pizza etc. They are well-behaved and all above 10 so it worked out fine.

We pulled into Cozumel about 1pm. and were off the ship by 2. Took a taxi ($8-$12 for 5 folks) to the small beach at Playa Corona (should be about the same for going to Chankanaab Lagoon) for snorkeling. We stayed there until 5p.m. then took a taxi straight into town ($8) to look around and shop. We found the open air stores further off the main road had better prices and were more amenable to negotiating. Very nice folks and alot of fun for both us and the kids as we all speak a little Spanish. (Most merchants also speak English) Found lots of nice memorabilia and gifts for friends and family at good prices. Then we caught a taxi back to the ship ($8) in time for the buffet dinner on the Lido deck. There was NEVER a problem finding a taxi and I would recommend this rather than taking a ship tour as it give you the freedom to come and go as you wish.

Had one rough day at sea- for about 8 hours the ship was rolling, but that was very unusual. Even some of the crew was sick. My family all took Bonine (important to take it BEFORE you start getting sick!) so we all felt fine after taking the medicine. Bonine is like Dramamine but doesn't make you tired - it's available over the counter. 2 folks in our family easily get seasick and the other 3 are usually okay but had to take Bonine when we hit the storm.


We had a 12:00 noon flight out of Miami, which worked fine. The ship allows people in the most costly cabins AND those with flights out on or before noon get off first, so we JUST made the cut off and went to the nice lounge. We were off by 10:15 or so. Very easy. Time wouldn't have been a problem to be dismissed by our cabin either as we saw some of our cabin neighbors at the airport shortly after we got there. Great cruise! Any questions? Please post 'em and I'll answer 'em.
 
Old Dec 27th, 2000, 04:08 AM
  #2  
Suzanne H
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Hi! We are going on the Ecstasy to Cozumel, leaving Monday. I am a little worried about the type of clothes I should bring. Did you attend the Gala dinner? What places are must sees in Cozumel and Key West? As you can tell, I'm excited, but a little anxious. Thanks for your help.
 
Old Dec 27th, 2000, 06:58 AM
  #3  
MikeW
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Hi Suzanne - this is Mike's wife. He deferred to me on the clothes question! For both us and the kids I packed very casual clothes for the day - shorts and tee shirts for everyone. We did need long pants and sweatshirts on one breezy day.

For regular non-formal dinners, my husband wore khaki pants and a shirt with a collar, I wore black pants with a decent shirt, our boys wore jeans with shirts with collar and our daughter wore dresses, because she likes to wear them. Everyone fit in very well with what the other passengers had on. There were a couple of women on the cruise who wore sequined dresses every night to dinner and I did hear people comment on how strange that was - but they should probably mind their own business!

On formal night, the clothes ran the gamut for very formal (long sequined dress for women and tuxedo for the men) to quite casual ( casual dress for women and collared shirt and khakis for the men) We went in between, I wore a silky pants suit and my husband wore a dark suit and tie. We felt perfectly attired.

To do in Key West - I would highly recommend taking a tour to see everything there - it was fascinating! As you can read above, we liked the Trolley tour the best. DON'T arrange the tour through the boat- they charge extra money for absolutely nothing. When you arrive in Key West, they will have trolley right there to efficiently whisk you into the heart of Key West. You will be let off RIGHT at the trolley ticket place. The conch train ticket place is less than one block away. You should do ONE of these. When you get back you will have about 2 hours to look around - most folks from the ship shopped around on Duval street- one street over. There's a number of museum that charge a fee but none of them appealed to us. You will then catch the ship's trolley back to the ship. I believe the last trolley leaves at 1:15 p.m. so you don't have a whole lot of time in Key West.

In Cozumel, don't take a ship's tour. Once you get off the boat, you can catch a taxi to absolutely whereever you want to go. The two main places people on our ship went were (1) Into town (taxi should be $6-$8 dollars plus tip) for shopping, which is really fun there. (2) to Chankanaab lagoon for swimming, snorkeling and sunning (taxi should be about $8 plus tip. Entrance fee is $10 per adult) As mentioned above we went to Playa Corona, a much smaller beach for snorkeling. However, unless you are a snorkeling fanatic (we are) I'd recommend Chankanaab because there is more to see in the way of landscaping, it's a much prettier and larger beach and the snorkeling is easier there.

You have plenty of time to do both - go to a beach AND go into town. We were off the boat about 2 p.m. and went to the beach until 5 p.m. then took a taxi directly into town until 7:30 or 8 p.m. then took a taxi directly back to the boat and ate dinner at the Lido deck buffet.You don't have to be back on the ship until 10 or 11 p.m. So don't rush - enjoy this beautiful place.

By the way, I read on this forum something about the Ecstacy not being a terribly clean boat. We've been on 4 cruises and I think it was wonderful - immaculate with a fun decor. Great ship. Have a wonderful time!!
 
Old Dec 31st, 2000, 05:00 AM
  #4  
Suzanne H
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Thanks so much Mrs. Mike. I really appreciate your advice, thanks for taking the time.
 
Old Jun 23rd, 2001, 08:21 PM
  #5  
Tony
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Mike your advice is wonderful. I do have one question. Where did you rent the snorkling gear? Or did you bring your own? Thanks Tony
 
Old Jun 26th, 2001, 05:05 PM
  #6  
T Harris
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Mike: How is the snorkeling at Playa Corona? This will be our first cruise and trip to Cozumel, as well as first time snorkeling. I would like to see the tropical fish, but also want to see live and colorful coral. I have heard that the coral at Chankannab is dead. What other services/activities does Playa Corona offer?
 
Old Jun 27th, 2001, 10:14 AM
  #7  
Cathy
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I too would like to know about Playa Corona, sounds nice! And Mike, you are absolutely right about doing it on your own if you can, it often works out cheaper and you get a better tour and do what you want to do.

T Harris, As far a Chacannab, I just snorkled there about two weeks ago when sailing on the Voyager. The park was very clean. I really enjoyed the coral and where I snorkled it was not crowded and the coral was not dead. I have snorkled in Hawaii, Austrialia, Grand Cayman - several sites and not just Stingray City - as well as other islands in the Caribbean and I can tell dead coral. The visibility was excellent due to a nice little current running. I snorkled near the dolphin encounter pens. I followed the rope line and stayed on the outside of them since inside is being protected, and I saw nice coral. Lots of yellow fins, lots of sergent majors all looking to be fed!! They swam up to your face!!! If you swim up to the dolphin encounter pens you will swim in schools of fish! Farther along the ropes is not a great number of fish, but nice diversity of fish including beautiful parrot fish, Queen Angel fish, and I even saw two good sized baracuda!
I swam as far as where the underwater Mayan statue was.
I think many people who go to Chacanab snorkle off the main beach and further down, there could be some dead coral, but I did not see any. It is critical as snorklers NOT TO EVER touch or stand on coral, because that is what kills it. I know when I snorkled there, I was pleased at the condition of the park and the condition of the reef.
 

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