Cozumel experts---Information about Cruise ships

[old gaffer]

I would be curious to know which benefits the Cozumel economy to the greatest extent cruise ship passengers or dive vacationers?

Cruising is more about the journey than the destination due to limited time in port. If a person enjoys excellent service in a beautiful moving hotel with entertainment I think we are remiss in judging them as zombies because they are on a tight schedule and generally just go out for a look around or an organized tour.

On my last cruise I was able to do a two tank dive with a reputable dive op on a small fast boat (which was great!) and still was able to stop for lunch on the way back. Meanwhile my spouse (non-diver) did a Mexican cuisine cooking class which she said was a blast.

As a diver I would much rather go and stay for a week with daily diving over a cruise but a cruise is a great vacation as well.

Gaffer

 

[ggunn]

I would be curious to know which benefits the Cozumel economy to the greatest extent cruise ship passengers or dive vacationers?

It depends on which facet of the Cozumel economy you are talking about. Certainly there are businesses on the island which benefit greatly from the cruseros, but there are also many which do not get any business from them at all. Cruisers don't spend as much on Cozumel as folks who are staying on the island, but there are lots of them.

Also, there are large numbers of visitors to the island who are neither divers nor cruisers; when the hotels are full, none of those folks are cruising and there's no way that all of them (or even nearly so) are diving, either.

I don't think that there is an easy answer to your question.

 

[tedgarner]

I agree hard question to answer I seems as if many of the people on the ship are not buy much anymore same old stuff attitude. The ships pay large fees to dock or tender passengers in I do not know where that money goes but not to my friends working in the sliver shops and tee shirt shops ect. Dive eat drink and sleep on the island. I long for more divers less ships but cozumel has been rebuilt for ships. Let's just keep them on Melgar

 

[old gaffer]

I agree hard question to answer I seems as if many of the people on the ship are not buy much anymore same old stuff attitude. The ships pay large fees to dock or tender passengers in I do not know where that money goes but not to my friends working in the sliver shops and tee shirt shops ect. Dive eat drink and sleep on the island. I long for more divers less ships but cozumel has been rebuilt for ships. Let's just keep them on Melgar

I am surprised by the lack of jewelry purchases as it seems that cruise ship passengers I have met are often buying jewelry in port. As a matter of fact one of my favorite stories was a cruise stop in Aruba where some passengers came running down the pier as the ship was pulling away and people were cheering them on as they were obviously going to miss the ship. One lady shook her fist at the hecklers and declared "We got diamonds!" and a guy on the ship yelled back at her "you should have bought a watch!"

Gaffer

 

[karmadive]

you can check the schedule of the cruise ships if you log on their web page, normally the people from the ships are only there during the day but sometimes there is only one ship in or maybe 2,3,4,5,6 in one day ...so choose carefully

 

[jmps]

Try Cruise Ship Calendar for a pretty accurate schedule of ships.

I was just in Cozumel this week and came back Friday. Thursday night I walked into town and ate at Casa Denis. I had a wonderul meal of lime soup and red snapper with almonds with a Margarita. After that I walked around in the warm breeze. Everyone was really having a good time with the Carnival tents up. I was drinking water out of bottle as I walked. The crowed was mostly local with a few tourists like me. People jokingly said I should be drinking beer instead, given it was Carnival time. Everyone was just having a great evening. It was a really really wonderful time. This side of Cozumel is there; don't be scared off by the cruise ships.

 

[BetterLateThannever]

Well, a few days ago there were 11 ships here. In Cozumel odds are you will not have a day without cruise ships. The only thing you can do is go places where they don't go, that is, anywhere off Melgar and definitely away from either of the cruise ship piers.

Hey, don't throw things at me, but I don't get all the angst about cruise ship passengers. I like to dive and I like to cruise. I've been to Cozumel several times on different cruises, but never thought it was all that crowded, or anything to be avoided.

 

[Natasha]

I'll be cruising and in Cozumel in 2 weeks..or less. I've done it both ways..stayed on the island for a week at a time, and came in from the mother ship.
Either way Cozumel is the best! Don't worry they have enough food on the mother ship, so that the passangers won't bite you. :winky:
Have fun!

Warm Regards,
Just another fun loving Pod person

 

[rje634]

We were in Coz a few weeks ago and yes there are a lot of ships but if you know when and more importantly where to go in town you can avoid the crowds. Just keep in mind that the cruise ship people rarely will venture further than a block from the waterfront. There are some great shops and restaurant from avienda 10 and back. Another thing to remember is that they mostly dock between 7 AM and 9 AM and leave between 4PM and 7 PM. Occasionally you'll get the odd ship that stays till 8 or 9.

 

[1KWIK_69]

One of my favorite afternoons ever in Cozumel was because of the cruisers.
There's a big Topez (speed bump) near Casa Del Mar. We found that just
kicking back with a margarita and watching the cruisers in their just rented
bugs or jeeps almost tossing their passengers because they couldn't read
a Topez sign was good entertainment!