Shopping in Mexico/Cruise ship stop in Cozumel
 

Here I am again, getting ready to go on my second Caribbean cruise from Ft. Lauderdale--one week with stops in Roatan, Belize City and Cozumel.
I'm not sure what we will do during the Cozumel stop (love to get some ideas here..).
But I will want to have a good lunch and, maybe, do some shopping.

My questions are:

1. Are there any products from pharmacies that are great bargains? I could bring a script from my doctor but won't do that unless some medicines are incredible bargains as compared to US prices.

2. What food products are either much cheaper, or better, than those I can find at home. Example, on my last trip (Michoacan) I bought a huge beg of chia seeds at the market for a fraction of the price of those pre-packaged bags back home. These were sold by weight. Also bought a few large blue enameled spoons for cooking---each one was way less than 1$USD.
Like these:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/9403302...spoons-made-in

I definitely will stock up on Ibarra (or other) Mexican chocolate; I eat this straight and love the grainy texture.
And some cheeses.
And jars of cajeta.

So those types of things, and the medicines, are what I would be interested in.

I'd love to read about your favorite buys; does not have to be specific to Cozumel...the things I mentioned can be found at any Mexican food market.

Muchas gracias y Feliz Ano Nuevo a todos!!

No advice, but I think my sister-in-law is on the same cruise.

Be careful with pharmacies in Mexico. There are legit ones where you need a prescription. And there are 'fly by night' advertisting things that really are not what they say they are.

in Cozumel on a cruise you can simply take a taxi into the downtown central area and walk around. I helped my sister plan this (but too long ago I don't have notes). They had lunch, I think there was a museum, I'm sure there is shopping.

Honestly I go to Mexico twice a year but have never bought any of the things you are asking about :-)

FraD: No way!!?? To be clear, this cruise was not my idea!! It's the Star Princess, leaving Ft. Lauderdale Saturday the 10th. (??). Is this the one??

Suze, thanks! Food-related things are the most interesting to me; at this stage, I do not need any more silver earrings or pottery!! But I do cook a lot.


But about the taxis...I guess just walk away from the pier and find one in the street?/. I can always ask a local (if I find one!)) when I get off the ship....

If I find anything interesting, I will report back...

I do not need any more silver earrings or pottery!!

No I don't buy those things -lol :-)

Food-ish stuff I bring home include: Mexican honey, toffee glazed nuts, vanilla, chocolate. I also really like some of the locally made body lotions or soaps, so usually grab a few of those. And each trip find one arts & crafts something. I collect shadow boxes. Like milagros. And have bought small framed paintings or collages. OK I did buy a few handblown glass hummingbirds last trip but gave those away as Christmas gifts. I also often buy fabric and ribbons.

How long is layover?
 

If sufficient time, how about considering some cultural enrichment?
From mainland Playa del Carmen, take a taxi down to see the wonderful ruins at Tulum. Then do your shopping on your return to Cozumel, or Playa, where you'll have a much better selection. Think about it.

As far as farmacias go, unless you're looking to buy pain killers w/o a scrip, the bigger chains are just fine. So don't be worried about scare-mongering reports about fake drugs. Chains such as Ahorro, Guadalajara & Similares are perfectly safe. Ahorro & Similares often have a consultorio on site for super cheap if you need an antibiotic scrip. Personally, I buy Losartan for BP, wife on occasion generic Prozac (fluoxetina) for depression, both w/o a scrip for pennies on the dollar compared to US prices. Pain killers & antibiotics are pretty much the only meds you need a scrip for.
​​​​​​

Thanks to you both!!

That's very helpful about the meds. Do we know anything about Ozempic in farmacias? I'm not worried about fake medicines.

I don't know that much about Ozempic and costs in the states. But both Guadalajara's & Ahorro's websites show it available. Seems Guadalajara is a bit cheaper? When I'm drug shopping, I usually have to put in the código postal to see if it's in stock and at which store. Ahorro says no scrip necessary, Guadalajara says you do. Similares website shows an oral dose; again I don't know how effective that is.
http://www.farmaciasguadalajara.com/...&storeId=10151
https://www.fahorro.com/search/result/?q=ozempic

So don't be worried about scare-mongering reports about fake drugs.

I am not "scare mongering". I speak from experience about the fakey chain pharmacy store-fronts for things like a benzodiazapam.

Also not true. You don't need a prescription for antibiotics. I bought Amoxillan over the counter (from a legit pharmacy) on my last trip in Puerto Vallarta.

This article offers a good summary of prescription drug laws in Mexico, and antibiotics are classified as a schedule IV drug, for which you do indeed need a prescription to legally buy them. The law was enacted, ironically, to prevent the sale of fake drugs containing fentanyl or other controlled substances. This was copied from the second bullet point in the article: 'Buying antibiotics without a prescription from an illicit source puts you at risk of receiving counterfeit medications that may be ineffective or laced with dangerous substances like fentanyl.' So if a farmacia is selling prescription drugs w/o a scrip, they are breaking the law and may not be legitimate.
https://medx.it.com/are-antibiotics-...ions-and-risks

My cousin from DF is a dentist and he used to write us scripts for popular "recreational" drugs that we'd fill at some out of the way farmacia in out of the way places (out of the way back then, that is). I'm talking the late 1970s here!!

Clearly prescriptions are required for antibiotics but it seems enforcement is lax in Mexico. Very concerning as the overuse of antibiotics is a massive problem worldwide. Many "super bugs" are now impervious to antibiotic treatment making some infections effectively untreatable. Too many are popping antibiotics like sweeties for minor conditions like travellers diarrhoea, minor colds, sinusitis where the reality is that they have little to no effect.

It was not from an "illicit source". It was at a regular legit pharmacy that has been around 'forever' and is well-regarded. I took them for brochitis that developed during my last trip. Not "popping antibiotics like sweeties". I was quite sick, knew what I needed, they worked, and no I did not have a prescription or see a doctor to obtain them.

ek~ It's not the 70's anymore -hahaha :-)

“knew what I needed" where did you complete your medical training?

ek~ It's not the 70's anymore -hahaha :-)[/QUOTE]

Yes, my back knows that!!!

Not going to argue with you catch23. I know my body and I know what my doctors in Seattle prescribe when the same thing has happened in the past. I was fortunately able to repeat that course of medication in Mexico and fixed the problem without having to be hospitalized. I am sharing what happened and how I dealt with it. Isn't that the point of these forums?

ek ~ no kidding THAT!

I get what you're trying to say. But just the same, if they're selling schedule IV drugs to you w/o a prescription, they are very likely selling them to others. And that's illegal. One definition of illicit would be, 'not legally permitted or authorized, unlawful'. Whether it was a legit pharmacy or not, if they're engaging in illegal (illicit) activity, that sends up a huge red flag, especially given your concern about buying fake drugs. So far, there's been 306 views of this post so other readers need to know that buying antibiotics in Mexico w/o a prescription is illegal regardless of what your experience may have been.

I was trying to reply to: "Do we know anything about Ozempic in farmacias? I'm not worried about fake medicines."

And that I would not trust the sidewalk "pharmacies" that may have a sign out saying they offer Ozempic because it may or may not actually be that.

I'm not going to buy anything I am not sure about....

I remembered something I want to find, and buy, maybe at the main market in Cozumel; I have a few of these woven plastic bags and they are pretty great--I hope I can find some like this one:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...483998d3d.jpeg
Woven plastic bag, bought in Merida main food market

I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding another of those bags. Here in Oaxaca they're everywhere, in markets & shops & on arms. I bought one on my last trip 8 years ago & now they're more plentiful than ever. I bought myself a different kind this trip, hand-woven with a leather strap, a newer specialty from a nearby weaving village. You might ask around about what's made locally.

Oh my gosh. Guess I can't guarantee it for the port of Cozumel, but agree generally they are *everywhere*. I'm too tech-challenged to post photos, but I have a dozen+ of all different kinds of woven baskets similar to those. Very cute and super useful. If you can't find them, I'll eat my sombrero :-)

Thanks, all...I have to figure out where they are made, just to satisfy my curiosity. I've bought some in Oaxaca city and in Merida so I imagine I'll find a few in Cozumel...I'm leaving this morning!! Should be getting ready instead of writing this!!

¡Buen viaje!

Thanks, Suze! We dock tomorrow at 7am, so I hope to get taxi to market and then hope to go to the beach to go swimming. I read that Playa Palancar is good; you pay to get in so I guess I can leave my stuff on a lounge...don't know what else to do with it if I go alone...

Have to be back early because ship leaves at 4pm..

Back from the Mercado Municipal in Cozumel, where I spent an hour this morning, taking a taxi from the cruise pier ($12USD)
I was surprised because this is not at all a tourist-oriented market and in fact, there is almost nothing for sale that would interest most tourists. Very little fruit--all imported from the mainland); no stands brimming with dried chiles or dried Jamaica bins, kitchen things mostly imported from Asia apart from a few wooden spoons and the wooden molineros for whipping hot chocolate.... Very few tourists. And NO WOVEN BASKETS!!! Only the Mexican version of those utilitarian "Ghana must go" type bags that are not what I was looking for...

Very interesting if you have not visited a local Mexican market, but not so interesting if you've been to the larger, more well-stocked ones.....

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7c89936ec.jpeg
Cozumel municipal market
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9b31cf7d0.jpeg
Food stand inside market....there were also a few stands selling jugos y aquas....
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...573eaa3e0.jpeg
Market scene..Cozumel
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4561246e7.jpeg
Vendors were very friendly and did not mind me snapping a few pics
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c7df6f76b.jpeg
I wish I had sampled a fruit juice....
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...264d9f737.jpeg
Market restaurant
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1c8807d7f.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cedb853a2.jpeg
One stand sold some basic kitchen items...

Nice photos! Thanks so much for posting!

I only spent about 45 minutes in the market, so I decided to go to the beach after that. I found a taxi driver to take me to PLAYA PALANCAR, which I had read was one of the nicest beaches on the west side of the island.

I liked this driver a lot; his English was perfect and we had some fascinating discussion about immigration on the ride to the beach..I was sorry the ride (about 25 minutes) was so short since I liked chatting with him. If you are looking for a driver in Cozumel, I'd recommend him. He drives a nice new van and he is the owner of the van, unlike many of the drivers in Cozumel, who rent their taxis. ($30USD for 8 hours, plus gasoline, which is much more expensive than in the US. So a driver can hope to bring home about $40-$50US in a day of driving if he rents his vehicle..Ii got this info from the next driver who returned me to the port)

The driver I liked, with the nice van, is ISRAEL SUAREZ
His e-mail is:
[email protected]

Phone/What's App;
987 2977647

Perfect English and very interesting and kind.

PLAYA PALANCAR looked lovely--not a wide beach but clean white sand and beautiful, clear seas. There is a $20 admission charge which gets you a lounge and an umbrella.
Since the day was cloudy and windy, I asked if I could skip the fee and just take a look and snap a few photos. That was fine; I really wanted to swim but the water was a little rough and not one person was in the water, although there were about two dozen people (maybe) lounging on chairs. I bet this is a great place in good weather. They have a little snack area with drinks and food and it looked very homey and local...nothing spiffed up for cruisers (although I'm not sure any locals pay the entry fee; one driver told me locals get in free but I can't confirm that..)

Here are some photos:


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e1ef7e5a3.jpeg
Cozumel's Playa Palancar on a cloudy, windy weekday in January
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3148dee6a.jpeg
No one swimming that morning..but the water was beautiful!!
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e7398a3d5.jpeg
Food and drinks at the entrance to the beach
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fe41aa1c5.jpeg
Taxis waiting at the cruise port, Puerta Maya. The guys who rent their taxis seem to stick to the official rates, which are posted here and at the beaches...I walked away from this area and got a taxi on the street...


For the return from Playa Palancar to the cruise port, I didi my best to get a good price but had to pay the official rate of $30 because none of the drivers hanging out at the lot would take me for less. Now that I understand that these guys rent their cars and pay for gas, I understand why I got such a good price from the market to the beach, but had to pay much more for the much shorter drive from the beach back to the cruise port....

The cruise port, PUERTA MAYA, has the usual collection of tourist shops. Prices for alcohol did not seem too be all that lower than those in the US, but I'm not sure about that.


Some people recommend a store called LOS CINCO SOLES, which seems to offer the most "upscale" variety of merchandise in that shopping center. I did see some good quality pottery from Michoacan, some fair quality black pottery from Oaxaca, and some of those very pretty patient wood and ceramic figures from Guerrero--all at prices much higher than you'd pay at their origin. There was a very small selection of the colored glasses made in Jalisco for decent prices.

Other than that, the array seemed pretty junky..lots of t-shirts, wind chimes, and the ubiquitous vanilla. The vanilla!! So many people are so pumped about buying vanilla in Cozumel.
​​​​​​​But I took a look at the ingredients on the bottle here and was not very tempted. I'm not a baker, though. And I thought Papantla (Veracruz) was the capital of Mexican vanilla production, so why are so many people buying it here??? Well, yes, they are not going to make a trip to Papantla to buy vanilla, but I'm not so sure the vanilla in this store was a huge bargain as compared to the quality brands sold on Amazon. It's cheaper, but is the quality as good as Nielsen Massey, etc?? It's not like it's pure vanilla in liquid form...The bottles here had alcohol, vanillin, and cane sugar listed before vanilla....

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​I really don't know and I did rub someone my arm and it smelled nice for about five minutes, but I ended up passing.... If you know about this, let me know, for next time....
The only thing I use vanilla for is to make vanilla sugar and (attempt to make) vanilla salt, and I buy the whole beans in Costco.

So did I make a big mistake in passing up the vanilla in Cozumel???

​​​​​​​I did buy one thing..a cute little cosmetic bag printed with Mexican tarot designs....$17US, lined with rubber. I like it but am under no impression that I got any kind of great buy...that's the only thing I bought the entire week so I will have a sweet little memory of the trip!! The funny thing was that after I paid (credit card) I waited for the young salesgirl girl to put it into a bag, but when she made no sign of doing this, I asked for a bag and she told me paper bags cost $1. Ok, so how about wrapping it up in the coarse brown paper that is stacked behind you?? That's also $1 for a sheet.
​​​​​​​Really?. I guess she did not want to deal with another disgruntled tourist so she finally wrapped it halfheartedly and handed it over!! Not even worth noting but I was a little amused...remember I am a novice at cruise port shopping!!

I'm now waiting to go for our farewell dinner.....tomorrow we return to Ft. Lauderdale after a fun and relaxing week....

remember I am a novice at cruise port shopping!!

Bingo - haha. I only know Puerto Vallarta but for sure shopping around where the cruiseships dock or even in town on days vendors know the ship(s) are in... prices are higher then when you're away from that port area, in 'normal' downtown or old town.