I am currently trying to plan my honeymoon which appears to be more difficult than the wedding its self. My wife and I are both divers but not very experienced when it comes to ocean diving. We have been looking at many places like Grand Cayman, Aruba, Cancun, etc. We like Cozumel do to its diving and other activities. We would really like to do an all-inclusive resort so we would not have to worry about much and still have the ability to go out into town if we wanted. I am currently looking at the resort Fiesta Americana. Could some people give some input on this resort please. Also, I am sure I will get a ton, a good dive company to work with for beginning ocean divers as we are Public Safety Rescue divers primarily. Thanx in advance.
New Guy looking for advice
- Thread starter Chutton47
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
If you're budget allows it I believe Cozumel Palace would be the best choice. Very nice place and many dive ops will pick up there. Walking distance to many things in town.
You only get one shot, hopefully, at a honeymoon so do it right!
You only get one shot, hopefully, at a honeymoon so do it right!
- Messages
- 53,686
- Reaction score
- 7,865
- # of dives
- 500 - 999
Your life just got so much easier. You can pick and choose from the best in Coz, depending on what you want <-< that being the question.
njones259
Contributor
Cozumel Palace is a great choice and if your budget is less I would recommend Hotel Cozumel,short walk to town and nice hotel.Food is OK for breakfast and lunch and cheap enough to skip dinner and walk into town at night for a great meal.
00wabbit
Contributor
+1 for Coz Palace. I've been there 3 times. Close enough to walk to town. Nice little coral behind the hotel for snorkeling. No real beach though because it drops straight to 18ft behind the hotel. They have a very nice pool there. They have a sandy area with umbrellas too. Also if you stay at the palace resorts you can visit and use the other palace facilities. So if you take the ferry to the mainland you can use the hotel right by the ferry terminal to freshen up or eat lunch at for free since it's part of your all inclusive package. If you go to the mainland and take a cab ride south you can go to Aventura Spa Palace and get a lot of spa treatments there.
Don't bother with the "sales presentation"
Don't bother with the "sales presentation"
sharky60
Contributor
Yeah, I agree with BT...if it's in your budget, the Palace would be perfect for you.
From what I've seen lately, the Fiesta Americana has gotten mixed reviews, some love it, some not so much.
And if you are thinking about taking advantage of eating in town some, the money you save on cab fares running back and forth might make up a good part of the difference in hotel prices.
It's something like $5 now just to go from Blue Angel to downtown, and they are only about a mile south of town. I would imagine the cab fare from FA to be nearly double that....each way.
Best wishes to the both of you, hope you have a wonderful honeymoon regardless of where you end up going.
From what I've seen lately, the Fiesta Americana has gotten mixed reviews, some love it, some not so much.
And if you are thinking about taking advantage of eating in town some, the money you save on cab fares running back and forth might make up a good part of the difference in hotel prices.
It's something like $5 now just to go from Blue Angel to downtown, and they are only about a mile south of town. I would imagine the cab fare from FA to be nearly double that....each way.
Best wishes to the both of you, hope you have a wonderful honeymoon regardless of where you end up going.
divingpyrate
Contributor
- Messages
- 306
- Reaction score
- 61
We were Married in Coz last year. Spend the money and go Palace
Close enough to town without being too close. Good snorkeling right off the deck, no beach. Food and Service were great. Rooms great and the view is awesome
Close enough to town without being too close. Good snorkeling right off the deck, no beach. Food and Service were great. Rooms great and the view is awesome
I'm going to recommend against the Palace for a honeymoon. I love the Palace, but it's not romantic. Too many kids during the day, too much noise at night (both from the outside entertainment and the loud people in the hallways). Please understand that all-inclusives include "free" alcohol. That fact tends to make people drink more than they otherwise would. People who drink more than they otherwise would tend to get drunk. Drunk people tend to be noisy (I should know!) and noisy people do not make for a romantic honeymoon experience IMO.
A great getaway for a couple, but you can do better for a honeymoon. As another poster said, you only get one shot, so do right.
Then again, ideas of honeymoon romance may surely differ. For me, it would lean toward seclusion, where you feel like you're the only couple around. No distracting crowds, drunks, kids, just the sound of the ocean. Good luck finding that at the Palace even if you stay in your room (the entertainment sounds carry far at night).
Cozumel is great for a dive trip. There may be more secluded hotels that offer a more romantic experience. But also understand that it's a populated island, a major cruise ship and dive destination. Personally I'd look elsewhere.
A great getaway for a couple, but you can do better for a honeymoon. As another poster said, you only get one shot, so do right.
Then again, ideas of honeymoon romance may surely differ. For me, it would lean toward seclusion, where you feel like you're the only couple around. No distracting crowds, drunks, kids, just the sound of the ocean. Good luck finding that at the Palace even if you stay in your room (the entertainment sounds carry far at night).
Cozumel is great for a dive trip. There may be more secluded hotels that offer a more romantic experience. But also understand that it's a populated island, a major cruise ship and dive destination. Personally I'd look elsewhere.
I would agree on the Palace for your honeymoon, if you choose Cozumel.
Where will you be flying from?
Where will you be flying from?
Okie Mike
Contributor
I have stayed at FA twice. The last time was August, 2011. I really like the place, but it may not be honeymoon caliber. My trips were short (3 nights each), so the food never got old and I really liked it. The snorkeling is pretty good (and a quarter mile north at the Money Bar), but it still had not really recovered from the hurricane. There is a nice sand area at the beach with a very small walk in access, but otherwise the shore is rocky and inaccessible other than off the pier and up the ladder. The onsite SCUBA operator (Dive House) is okay, but sort of a cattle boat operation with relatively short dives and surface intervals floating in the ocean (head on board). Their dive masters were very personable and did fine leading the dives. I used them for my morning dives and had another operator (now Opal's Dream) pick me up for afternoon dives (too much diving for a honeymoon) and I preferred Opal's Dream's style of diving (fast boat, 6 divers max, surface interval at a beach club).
FA is a mix between the 2 Cozumel extremes: (1) places in or near town (and the dining, hustle and bustle that goes along with that) with no beach, possibly decent shore snorkeling and long boat rides to the dive sites; and (2) resorts down south that are a long way from town but with sandy beaches (and therefore, bad snorkeling) and a short boat ride to the dive sites, often with surface intervals back at the resort. FA is in between, although a little closer to town than the southern resorts. The boat ride to the southern reefs is a little shorter and the snorkeling is decent. For a honeymoon where diving is a must, I would check out the resorts to the south (Occidental Grand, Allegro, Iberostar, a few others). If it is in the budget (insurance is the main expense and necessary), a rental car gives you great freedom to go into town and explore the east side of the island--definitely do this at least one day.
If diving is not essential and can wait until after the honeymoon, I highly recommend the Couples resorts in Jamaica. They have SCUBA, but it is very disappointing compared to Cozumel. Although, if you have not dived the Caribbean, it would seem okay and you would be at an awesome resort and your next SCUBA trip to a better location would blow you away by comparison.
---------- Post added February 12th, 2013 at 10:43 AM ----------
Check out this site for dive packages to FA and a few other resorts and hotels. Cozumel Mexico Scuba Diving Vacations Cozumel Scuba Travel Adventures
FA is a mix between the 2 Cozumel extremes: (1) places in or near town (and the dining, hustle and bustle that goes along with that) with no beach, possibly decent shore snorkeling and long boat rides to the dive sites; and (2) resorts down south that are a long way from town but with sandy beaches (and therefore, bad snorkeling) and a short boat ride to the dive sites, often with surface intervals back at the resort. FA is in between, although a little closer to town than the southern resorts. The boat ride to the southern reefs is a little shorter and the snorkeling is decent. For a honeymoon where diving is a must, I would check out the resorts to the south (Occidental Grand, Allegro, Iberostar, a few others). If it is in the budget (insurance is the main expense and necessary), a rental car gives you great freedom to go into town and explore the east side of the island--definitely do this at least one day.
If diving is not essential and can wait until after the honeymoon, I highly recommend the Couples resorts in Jamaica. They have SCUBA, but it is very disappointing compared to Cozumel. Although, if you have not dived the Caribbean, it would seem okay and you would be at an awesome resort and your next SCUBA trip to a better location would blow you away by comparison.
---------- Post added February 12th, 2013 at 10:43 AM ----------
Check out this site for dive packages to FA and a few other resorts and hotels. Cozumel Mexico Scuba Diving Vacations Cozumel Scuba Travel Adventures
Similar threads
