The Intentional Travelers

The Cruise Port, Cozumel Mexico

Port of Call The Island Of Cozumel

This port of call is often referred to as Cozumel, but it is actually island on the southeast coast of Mexico and the actual port city is San Miguel de Cozumel. Located off the Yucatan peninsula it is part of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo and a very popular cruise stop on most western Caribbean itineraries. Its real claim to fame are the beaches and the diving sites but it is also a good place for bargain shopping.

Where Your Ship Docks

Terminal de Cruceros or Cruise Ship Terminal is the major location for cruise ships but there is another major terminal located in downtown proper. With this destination being so popular there is a possibility that your ship could dock at either location.

The Terminal de Cruceros is a well developed area with excellent facilities, two shopping villages, a number of bars (the infamous Mini Senor Frog’s and Three Amigos) and a number of good restaurants. It is about two and a half miles into downtown San Miguel. It is right next to a remarkably good snorkeling area right at the terminal “beach”.

The other cruise docking pier is central to San Miguel and an easy walk to the main shops, restaurants and the actual original Senor Frog’s.

Wheelchair Accessibility

Disembarking – This port has a several developed cruise ship piers but the ease of disembarking varies by the individual ships gangway designs. For passengers using wheelchairs there can be a moderate ramp incline to deal with.

Port Characteristics – This port has a good wheelchair infrastructure. Outside the port area you may experience moderate to narrow sidewalks. Intersection crosswalks may have curbs or other wheelchair obstacles.

Transportation

If you are looking to get to locations within a few miles of the pier the best choice is a taxi. They are plentiful and moderately priced. Just make sure you settle on a fare before heading out. If your goal is to do some diving or serious snorkeling the recommendation is to book with a tour operator of which there are a number right at the pier and they usually include transportation. Taxi drivers also will offer a fixed price tour of the island and most people we have spoken with have been happy having taken this option. There are also numerous tours you can book with your ship.

Money

The local currency is the Mexican peso ($1 about 2 pesos) but U.S. Dollars are commonly accepted. One word of caution – this is a port where liberating tourists from their money is a popular past time. Be cautious of ATM’s, money changers and especially pay phones that accept credit cards cannot be trusted. ATM fees can also be unuaually high.

Attractions

Shopping –

Both at the cruise terminal and in the town there are a number of bargains to be found. Mexico is famous for silver, onyx and pottery and often the prices are too good to pass up. For the best savings pay attention and for:

Mexican Handicrafts especially Talavera Pottery – Talavera is a Mexican tradition founded on the art of the Spanish colonial period rich with old world design and a colorful heritage. While the intricate polychrome and more typical blue and white designs show their Old World legacy, native floral and animal motifs claim these colorful ceramics as classically Mexican.
Hand-loomed wool blankets
Leather boots, purses and bags – Pay attention to the leather for its quality. Pay attention to the way that it smells. Faux leather smells similar to plastic. Low-quality leather is often thinner and will smell like the chemicals that were used to treat it. High-quality leather has a true leather, earthy smell.
Handmade Hammocks
Silver, gold, coral, onyx, and amber jewelry
Quality Tequila and Vanilla Extract – In shopping for vanilla don’t be tempted by those large, cheap bottles of vanilla available in many gift shops. They may not contain real vanilla extract, and sometimes may contain something that could hurt you. That “something” is coumarin, an extract of the tonka bean that imparts an intense vanilla aroma and thus makes it smell like the real thing. Coumarin was banned as food additive in the U.S. in 1940 because of toxicity. Pay attention and make sure you know what you are getting.
Fine Cigars and specialty liqueurs

The two items that are always a good deal are vanilla and tequila.

Beaches – One good recommendation is a visit to a beach and one popular choice is Chankanaab. The cruise ships will offer tours including beach trips and snorkeling but if you are looking for a day at the beach our recommendation is to take a taxi to Chankanaab Beach Park and pay the park admission. You’ll save a lot of money over the tour cost and can go and return when you want. It’s not far and there are usually taxis waiting at the park to take you back to the ship. There is a beach bar, a couple of food options, snorkeling and beach chair rentals and the water is great. To get out to the better reefs it’s a bit of a swim though.

Looking for some history? Cozumel has San Gervasio, Mayan ruins centered on the sanctuary of the goddess Ixchel, the island´s ancient deity.

For the more adventurous there are usually tours available that will take you two hours south along the coast to Tulum, the pre-Columbian Mayan walled city. The ruins are situated atop 12-meter tall cliffs above the Caribbean Sea. Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya between the 13th and 15th centuries.

For a price many cruise ships also offer tours to Chichen Itza some two hundred miles inland (by plane of course). This Mayan city is on everyone’s list of the seven ancient wonders of the Americas with the central city covering almost two square miles of temples, stadiums, courtyards and palaces.

A Cautionary Note: Cozumel has a reputation as a party town and there are no age restrictions on drinking alcohol. It almost seems to be a sport for bars to work at getting teen visitors drunk. So pay real close attention to you children if you go ashore. The problem has been bad enough that many cruise ships no longer stay in the port in the evening because of issues with drunk teens.

Our Florida Keys

Places And Restaurants in the Keys

When coming to the Florida Keys most new visitors have expectations of Sun, sand and crystal clear water along with great fresh seafood. The reality can often be somewhat different. First, the Keys are a collection of small islets and islands (keys) with many surrounded by thick mangroves. Running down the center is a chain of bigger keys technically starting in Miami and running down to Key West. The road that connects those bigger islands is the Overseas Highway, U.S. Route 1. If you’re looking for beaches the Keys may fall a bit short. Most Key beaches are small pockets of sand associated with hotels or tucked away between those mangroves. There is only a handful of larger beaches.

What you will find however is a non-stop celebration of water. Lots of boating, fishing, both deep sea and on the salt flats, water sports and diving, both skin diving and scuba. If your idea of fun is a day on the water the Keys are the place to go. You’ll also discover a laid back lifestyle, that includes tiki bars, great seafood and incredible sunsets.

If you’re looking for excitement and night life in the Keys it’s called Key West. This eclectic town, as the joke goes, puts crazy on the front porch and celebrates it. Every evening a collection of jugglers, musicians, tightrope walkers, and the iconic bagpiper show up at Mallory Square to celebrate the setting Sun. The town is famous for its festivals and parades from Tennessee Williams Birthday Celebration to Hemingway Days to Celebrate another literary resident. In October it’s the towns biggest part of the year called Fantasy Fest Parade, a flamboyant moving party with floats, wild marching groups and exotic costumes. Visit Key West Calendar HERE for complete information.

The Keys Best Beaches

Besides numerous pocket beaches there are a few larger beaches in the Keys. The largest beach can be found at Key Colony east of Marathon. There’s also a nice beach at the State Park at Bahia Honda south of the Seven Mile Bridge and the main public beach in Key West.

The Best Food In The Keys

Our suggestion is to approach Keys seafood with a simple rule – “the simpler, the better”. Florida’s waters are famous for Florida lobsters (also called spiny lobster or Caribbean lobster) crab, shrimp, grouper and dolphin, and on and on. No it is not the Flipper kind of dolphin but a name for a popular fish. Because of the name issue you will probably find it more often referred to by the Hawaiian name mahi-mahi but whatever you call it, it is a beautiful mild-flavored white meat fish. Most locals have favorite hangouts often with picnic tables on docks or decks, cold beer and fresh-caught fish on the grill. Maybe they’ll throw a lobster on the grill or serve up a bucket of peel-n-eat shrimp.

One problem is you will find a lot of good places to eat but unfortunately there are probably more mediocre to bad restaurants around the Keys than there should be. In the past we had come to believe that one of the problems is the tourist character of this chain of islands. With an estimated number of visitors to just Key West exceeding 2.5 million and a local population of under twenty-five thousand it isn’t hard to see where the foundation of the economy is. Too many restaurants in the Keys are over priced with little dependence on return customers and that’s a terrible combination. Over the years we had developed our list of favorites with the majority being local places and a few with long histories and reputations.

On returning after over a decade we were hopeful that the internet had helped to fix this restaurant problem. In this modern age it is very difficult for even small restaurants to escape the comments of thousands of online reviewers. After a week of reading reviews and eating around the Keys we decided that, unfortunately, not much has changed. While you can find great seafood, still you really need to know where to look, read reviews and ask locals for advice.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Lorilei’s in Islamorada is another institution in the Keys and a favorite for watching sunsets.

Sid & Roxy’s Green Turtle Inn located in Islamorada has been a Keys institution forever. Sid and Roxy bought the place in 1947 and the current owners work hard at keeping up the reputation. The originator of Key Lime pie.

Herbie’s in Marathon has been in business forever and is a favorite with locals. There have been new owners for a few years but everyone says they’re doing a good job of keeping up the reputation. And don’t get put off by the outside appearance.

Hurricane Hole is just north across the bridge going out of Key West on Stock Island. This is a typical Keys place on a marina with lots of outdoor tables. The food is fresh and good and the prices very friendly.

Ship Wreck Bar & Grill in Key Largo is a little off the beaten path but worth the look. Again this place is a solid favorite with locals and while a little unrefined, it serves good, fresh Keys seafood and cold beer. Enough said.

In Marathon is Sweet Savannah’s a bakery and ice cream shop. If you are looking for a great slice of Key Lime pie – this is the place. An award winner for five years. 8919 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, FL 33050

Island Fish Company in Marathon was just an open-air Tiki Hut on the water a decade or so ago. Even then they grilled up some good, fresh seafood at reasonable prices and featured live music in the evenings. We were amazed how they had grown since our last visit. You can’t do that unless you’re doing something right.

Islamorada Fish Company, like the Island Fish Company it started out by just open-air grilling fresh seafood out on the docks. A while ago it got a new neighbor, Outdoor World, that started bringing in traffic and their business exploded. Now they are all grown-up, have been taken over by Outdoor World and have over a dozen locations around the country connected to the stores. They still serve solid seafood but expect a wait.

Key West is ground zero for good restaurants in the Keys and you could spend a couple of weeks eating out and still have more to try. Like the Keys in general, some of the best food in Key West is served thru a window and enjoyed at a picnic table, so keep that in mind as you decide where to eat.

Conch Republic Seafood Company in Key West is a good choice for seafood and at a good price. While it is a favorite with the tourists and the waterfront location offers good scenery it is still a solid choice. Tip: The happy hour buy one get one beer tokens don’t have to be used on the same day.

When staying in the Keys there are lots of choices from major chains to small motels. A couple of our favorite upscale hotels in the Keys are Hawks Cay on Duck Key featuring two good restaurants, Sixty-One Prime and Angler and Ale. In Key West it’s the iconic Pier House Resort, Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo and Islamorada’s famous Cheeca Lodge

Selected Images • A Garden Minion

Sometimes you just have to take the shot. A really clever use of pots as sculpture and a planted pot. This one was discovered in the Sunken Gardens in Tampa, Florida.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against backdrops that are endlessly changing and visually magnificent. Celebrate a world of travel experiences with these decorating accessories that are perfect for framing.

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Selected Images • Inbound At Sunset

A sailboat returning to the Dunedin marina in Florida at sunset. Up and down the Keys and the Florida west coast, Floridians make a celebration of the setting Sun. In Key West it’s a daily carnival at Mallory Square while around Tampa Bay crowds begin gathering on beaches and piers leading up to sunset.

A Movable Feast • Cruise Life

Food And Cruising

From the beginning of the great steamship era to todays amazing floating resorts, one thing that has remained a major part of cruising is great food. Today most cruise ships typically offer a main dining room and some more than one, along with a buffet style venue serving breakfast, lunch and dinner along with smaller food options like burgers and pizza.

The main dining rooms serve sit-down dinner from daily featured menus. On many ships, you will be assigned to a main dining room, while other ships, like Norwegian Cruise Line, will offer a couple of dining room options you can select from on any evening. Celebrity’s newer ships offer several dining rooms each with a different culinary theme.

The buffet option will usually offer many themed cuisine stations (salad bar, carvery, ethnic offerings, pasta, stir fry, desserts). Once you have a full plate, you find your own table, either indoors or sometimes outside and you can go back as often as you want. Many ships also offer poolside grills serving burgers and hot dogs. Some will have casual cafes like a 24 hour pizza station.

Some cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Holland America have separate dining rooms for suite guests, frequent cruisers or concierge passengers. These dining venues are also included in the cruise cost for those passenger groups.

“Specialty Dining” is the cruise name for onboard pay restaurants and it’s a growing trend. Charges can range from a flat charge, usually from $30 to as high as $100 per guest while some price meals a la carte.

Before you cruise it is possible to visit some cruise line websites and look at typical menus along with exploring speciality dining restaurants. Below you’ll find recent sample menus from main dining rooms on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Celebrity.

For a larger collection in one place a cruise blog called ProfCruise regularly updates its cruise menu collection HERE.