Day 5: Cozumel, Mexico

Our last port stop on our six day Western Caribbean Cruise was Cozumel, Mexico! 

We woke up Friday for our day in Cozumel, a little before we were pulling into port. 

Besides disembarkation, this was the only time our side of the boat didn't have a view of the port. But, Cozumel is on an island, and a lot of people had excursions on the mainland, which was about a 45 minute ferry ride away, and the ferry's all had to pass by our windows, so it was kind of fun to watch the boats all day. 

Peyton, Asa, and I had our Sting Ray Encounter and Snorkel in Cozumel. We decided we would be back in time for lunch, and then all of us could go into the shops and things together. 

We ordered room service breakfast, and as a Suite perk, you could get room service from any restaurant on the ship, so of course we picked Cagneys. 

Because who doesn't want crab cakes eggs benedict.... 

...and challah bread french toast delivered to their room? 

Of course room service breakfast isn't complete without the biggest plate of bacon you've ever seen. 

Hayden loved it! 

After breakfast, we headed out. 

Our excursion wasn't as close to the boat as it was last time. We met up at the end of the pier, and then we were guided through the shopping center... 

...and into a taxi for a five minute ride. 

When we arrived, they got us all hooked up with all our gear we would need. 

He explained a little about the Rays, the anatomy, and how their barbs are trimmed, so we don't have to worry about them. It was really nice we had such a small group, it was just us and a father/son duo. 

Some sting ray facts for you... 

You head out onto dock, about halfway down are a set of steps to take for the first part of the experience. 

There are tons of sting rays swimming around, and although they are shy animals, once you offer them some food, they are all over you. 

We got to feed them, and pet them. Apparently, there are usually way more Rays wanting to come up to you than we had. I guess they were having a little bit off an off day, which happens, I get, so I didn't hold that against anyone. Plus, the four or so that came up to us for food were pretty pushy about it, so I'm not sure I would have wanted too many more. 

Our guide, Alejandro, was awesome. He explained the Rays were having a bit off an off day, and apologized a whole lot. Instead of getting one of the biggest ones for us to hold, we ended up with Pamela, one of the smaller females. But, it was still pretty awesome. 

Peyton even got a kiss from Pamela. She was pretty excited to get the pets, even if her friends weren't. 

We did end up buying our pictures. But, it was nice that you paid one price and got them all. (Remember that time I paid a ridiculous amount for ONE picture with a dolphin? This wasn't NEARLY as much!) 

After feeding, petting, and holding the sting rays, we got to go snorkeling with them and a whole slew of fish. Off the end of the dock is a fenced in area for all the Rays to swim, and Alejandro took us out to snorkel around and swim. 

It was probably about 15- 20 feet deep, and it was awesome. He was feeding the Rays and the fish, and they'd swim right past you. I stayed mostly at the top, but Peyton and Asa were more adventurous and would swim down nearly to the bottom and got right in with schools of fish and sting rays. It was so much fun to watch them. It's one of those things where you know your kid is having the time of his life, and you just want to file it away. Like the Peyton Manning trip on a smaller scale.  

After our snorkeling, you could go back out to the area with the fish and use the water trampoline. 

Asa and Peyton were the only ones who took them up on the offer. 

I went out to the end of the dock to watch. There was also a bar and a restaurant at the complex.

 Along with our tour came a coupon for a free drink, so we sat at the tables and had a drink. 

They also have a couple of Iguanas on hand, that they are more than happy to get out and have you hold and pet. This guy was a rescue who lost his hand somewhere along the way. 

We had a cloudy day, but that as probably a good thing, because when the sun came out, it was pretty intense. But man, it was humid. Like, summer at home humid. And we did get a few sprinkles. 

We rinsed off and changed... 

...and took one last look around... 

...before we got in a taxi and headed back. (The taxi, by the way, was included, so we didn't have to worry about our transportation which was nice). 

We headed back to the boat for lunch at O'Sheehans, and another drink for Asa. 

We got seated right by the window, so we had a really nice view. (The water was so blue here!) 

And we got to watch all the little boats coming and going. 

The boys got some spicy wings to split, but they were really spicy this go around. Asa swore off spicy foods the rest of the trip after this one. 

I got to pick out Asa's drink for the next one, and I went with Honey Lemonade, because it sounded so good. But, apparently, that was deceiving. Blah. 

We finally got our desert order at O'Sheehans. This pub was awesome, and included for anyone, it wasn't a specialty dining location or anything. The food was good, and they did have the Monday Night Football Game on earlier in the week (although they totally whiffed on college football on Saturday). But, the service here was not great. They'd get you your drinks and food really quicly, but they never came back to check on you. We ordered dessert with our normal orders three times on that trip, but we only stayed around long enough to get them once. The other two times, after sitting there forever, we finally gave up and left. 

But the brownie, apple cake, and strawberry cheesecake (although really strawberry-ish) was really good. 

We finished up with some after lunch coffee in our room. 

Peyton was exhausted. (Swimming with flippers is hard work, guys!) He relaxed while we waited for everyone else to come back to the room. 

Oh, and here's Teddy in Mexico. International traveler, that one. 

Made had also brought us more snacks while we were out. The pineapple was awesome, but that's about the only thing I had. I felt bad he brought us so many snacks, and we hardly ate them. 

We have a rare Calib on the boat sighting here.... 

...and then we all headed out for some shopping in Cozumel. 

When Asa, Peyton, and I had first gone on our excursions, there was security, and dogs sniffing your bags. (The one dog really liked Asa and our bag, and the lady was all "you must have dogs at home")., but when we came back out, it was just these guys. 

Like every port before Cozumel, there was a shopping center just off the boat. 

The boys were itching to spend their money they had left, so we picked up quite a few things in this port. I also bought them all ornaments for Christmas. Usually I pick them out, and they're a surprise, but I thought it'd be fun to have gotten some in Mexico. 

And while there was lots of trying on of Sombrero's of all sizes, nobody actually bought one to bring home. 

We picked up some dishes, and blankets, and a couple of t-shirts too. 

Oh, and Hayden got some Bongos. 

That was it for Cozumel, and we were headed back to the boat. 

When we got back, guess what Made had left for us... more snacks! 

Asa got a drink, and we headed up to the top of the ship to check out the view. 

If you look WAY down there, you can kind of see where our sting ray encounter was... 

...see the trampoline? 

Gorgeous water here too. The pictures don't do it justice. 

(See how Calib has ditched us already? It was a common theme.) 

At 6 o'clock that night, there was family balloon twisting the atrium. 

Mom, Asa, and Hayden all made swords... 

...and then balloon dogs! 

Success! 

And then Shenanigans. 

We were done just in time to see the ship leave port.

Bye, Cozumel! 

Hayden wasn't too interested in going to dinner with us, because we had reservations right in the middle of kids club's nightly event (It was Secret Agent night, and he didn't want to miss it!). So Asa took him down to the Market Cafe for Mexican night before dropping him off. 

Calib met back up with us for sword fighting... and dinner. 

We had to wait forever for our dinner reservations. They told us 8, when it was actually 8:30, and then it took awhile after that to seat us. The problem was the rough seas, and my stomach was feeling it. I did alright most of the trip, and my new motion sickness wrist bands really helped. But, they were so tight, my wrist was bruised (they have to be pretty tight to work, and I was wearing them constantly), so I figured I would go one night without them. Bad mistake. 

By the time we sat down for dinner, the boat was rocking a lot, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it through the meal. The room, which only seats 12 people, was really warm, and I wasn't feeling good at all. 

After they brought out the first little bit of food, it became apparent to me, I wasn't going to be able to stay. I was really bummed too, I had been looking forward to it all trip, and it was supposed to be dinner the first night (which would have been great since the boat wasn't even moving yet!), but because of our dining package screw up, we had to reschedule it. 

Everyone else stayed though, and I left mom my camera. So the next few pictures are all thanks to her. 

When they got back to the room, I was feeling a little better. A cool room, some ice water, and laying down helped. Plus, we had a frog towel animal! 

I had placed my order before I got up to leave, and the chef's felt bad for me, and made my food for me anyway, and everyone brought it back for me. They even brought me dessert. How great is that? 

That was it for our day in Cozumel. I didn't have high hopes for the last full day on the ship, because the Captain told us the seas would be more of the same (rough and windy!) until we got back to Tampa. Luckily, my wrists felt better, and I could wear my bands again. 

Next Up: Heading Home