Cruise Day 4: Cozumel

The seas were a bit rough going into Mexico, at least in my opinion.  I was relieved when we dropped anchor in Cozumel at around 10:15AM.  Since it was a late port call, we got up at our usual time (7:30ish) and headed to breakfast, again going to Cabanas.  We had a leisurely breakfast and then just wandered around until our meeting time of 1045.  We had signed up to do a beach day at Playa Mia Grand Beach and Water Park.  It was a popular option, with 5 buses full of people.  We met at 10:45 and then walked down the pier and through a little street vendor fair to our buses (strategic, I'm sure).  The walk was about 15 minutes and then the ride to the beach was another 25.  Thomas and I were a bit nervous about the day. We thought that 4 hours was a lot to be at a beach.  But, we figured if we got bored, we would just catch a taxi back to the pier.

However, there was no need to worry.  We could have easily spent twice as long there.  It was absolutely amazing!  They had a kids water park area with lots of fun little slides and things to occupy little kids.  There was a second, more grown-up pool and then a third area with 2 large water slides.  Beyond that was the beach.  There was absolutely no way anyone could be bored there.

We went to the beach first and headed straight for the "floating park," which had a trampoline, climbing structure and other obstacles; it was anchored about 75 yards out in the crystal clear water.  Everyone had to wear life-jackets and I had a ton of trouble climbing onto the structure (I blamed it on my pregnant belly and the over-sized jacket).  At one point, I fell off and Thomas had to literally pull me back on, with no help from me. After that, I was afraid to move.  Anna also was not a fan, so she and I swam back to the beach. Thomas, Jack and Kara stayed and played there for about 25 minutes.

The floating park was massive, I am not sure this picture does it justice.

In the meantime, Anna and I made our way to shore and decided to try the paddle boats (they also had kayaks).  We had a grand time, paddling around.  By the time we were done, the others were back and we all just played in the ocean together.  At some point, Thomas took Kara out in a paddle boat.  The park even provided sand toys, so the kids had shovels and buckets and other items that they used to build sandcastles and collect shells. Even with 5 buses from the Disney cruise alone, the place did not feel at all crowded (although the floating park did get pretty full).

I thought we took a ton of pictures at the beach, but alas, we did not.  I guess we were too busy having fun!  This is the only one that has the water as the background.

After a couple of hours, I was ready for lunch, so we pulled the kids out of the water and made our way to the buffet.  It was pretty good, there were some traditional Mexican options and then some more American fare.  After lunch, it was back to the beach.  Thomas and I loved swimming out and looking at the bottom of the ocean floor, the water was so amazingly clear.  We stayed for another 45 minutes or so and then decided to try the water park area.  We could have easily stayed at the beach, but when the kids first saw the water slides, they were very excited, so we knew we should at least give it a little time.  We spent our last hour playing in the pool.  No one was ready to leave when our 4-hours were up.  It was a fantastic experience.

Not sure what happened here, that girl was a little too close to Jack for comfort.

The buses dropped us off at some mall that we had to walk through to get to the pier.  The only thing that bothered me was that the aggressive salespeople targeted the kids.  They would call to Anna or Kara (I guess Jack didn't look like a shopper) and ask them to try on a hat, or find their name on a bracelet.  I thought it was an awkward position to put little kids in.  But, we made it through!  By the time we got back on the ship, it was close to dinner time.  Everyone took a shower and got dressed.  It was pirate night, so we dressed the kids in their pirate outfits.

Dinner was really good.  All the restaurants served the same menu and it was fantastic, which was surprising, because I had read bad things on the message board about the Pirate menu.  I had a crab cake appetizer, which was the best crab cake I've ever had.  Then, I think I had some sort of watermelon soup--also great. The main course was a pecan-crusted tilapia.  I had raved so much about the crab cake, that our waiter brought me two more with my fish.  It was way too hard to decide what to eat.  Definitely the best food I had on board.  I can't remember dessert, I probably had to skip it.

On Pirate night, they do a pirate party at 9:45pm, which is followed by fireworks and a buffet.  I was pretty exhausted and willing to miss it, but we didn't want to deprive the kids.  However, Anna mentioned she felt her body needed the rest and that it would be better for her to just go to sleep.  Then, Kara made the same decision.  So, after dinner, Thomas took Jack to the kids club and the girls and I went back to the room.  It was around 7:30, so we got ready for bed and then watched t.v. in bed for a little while.  The girls both fell asleep quickly and easily.

That nights entertainment was a magic show.  Jack didn't want to lose computer time, so he stayed in the kids club and Thomas went alone.  He said it was okay, but he was sitting in the way back of the theater, so it was hard to see.  Unfortunately, by the time 9:45 rolled around, it was raining, so they ended up just coming back to the room.

It was by far my favorite day of the cruise!

A monkey for the kids

and swans for us