Cozumel Plan for Critique

[5615mike]

Wait.......hold the phone. You mean that big tub in the center of the room at the Cozumel Palace is a Jacuzzi?!?! Dang, I had it ALL wrong. I'm such a

ROFLMAO

For a Honeymoon I think I would agree with the Presidente suggestions. Stayed there on our anniversary a number of years ago.......actually it was 2 weeks after 911. Strange trip. DFW had absolutely no one there other than our flight folks. They had to open a rest. for us to get stomething to drink.......I mean there was no one there. Very weird. Anyway, hotel had 4% occupancy and they upgraded us to a Reef Room. Dont know if they call them that today but they are on the north/east side of pool and Scuba Du's hut. They open to the courtyard/pool area. Great rooms and great service. Due to expense we now stay at FA or a condo further south since we prefer to dive the southern most dive sites. We are not much on AI because there are so many great places to eat on Coz. You might check out Christi's Rest. List, she has a decent variety.

Have a great time.

 

[scubawife]

OK, not to make everyone laugh, but if it were my honeymoon again (20 years agao) then I'd prefer the jacuzzi tub to be INSIDE my room not outside on a balcony where everyone on the floors above us could see what we were doing in that jacuzzi... just my 2cents worth.

The jacuzzi on the balcony at El Cantil was not in view of anyone else (at least in the condo we stayed in). The bedroom had a sliding glass door straight out to the jacuzzi,which was in the corner with a solid partition behind it (not open to the neighboring balcony). We had a norte while there it was a nice to have the jacuzzi...

I guess if you're on the first few floors and there's anyone out by the pool, they may be able to see you. Not an issue though on the higher floors.

 

[Christi]

As for the on-site dive op, Dive Palancar ... we looked into using a smaller dive op but decided it was more convenient to use DP. We had no significant complaints. Our daughter had very good instruction for her open water referral the first 2 days - we were on the same boat but headed different directions in the water. After that, we dove together which worked out just fine for her even though she was new - of course, I kept a pretty close eye on her! I was worried about being on a cattle boat but mostly it was just fine. Our last day was a bit crowded and we dove in one large group but even then it was OK. Other times if there were several people on the boat we split the groups up. We also enjoy meeting various people on the boats. We dove with several DM's over 6 days of diving but I liked them all. We almost always were asked "where do you want to go?" and then it was discussed among the group. We did repeat some sites because I do think they were reluctant to go too far but I think that is reasonable. Their schedule also worked well for us because you can pick and choose between the 4 daily dives they offer - most of the time we dove the 2nd morning dive then the afternoon which allowed us to spend more morning time with our 4 year old.

Congrats and have fun!

Lucia!

I'm so glad you had a good time and that it worked out for you! I had a great vacation also

 

[Lucia]

Lucia!

I'm so glad you had a good time and that it worked out for you! I had a great vacation also

Thanks! I just told my husband I'm ready for vacation again! I sure wish we could go more often so I need to work on figuring out a way to do that.

One last note on diving with Dive Palancar ... they do operate on a schedule or people reaching 700 psi - not sure that ever happened. So, while they do not maximize the length of the dive for everyone, we were not disappointed. I can understand their need to operate on a schedule so even though I usually had tons of air left, I was OK with that. Oh, just thought of one negative thing - one day we picked up people from the other occidental hotel (Allegro?) and there was a group of 4 students with an instructor. That's not the problem ... problem was that instructor, who we never saw again, was not very nice to others on the boat. For example, he made a big show of making an example of something my daughter did "wrong" on the boat - where she had left her gear - he could have handled differently rather than embarrassing her and generally he just seemed somewhat arrogant. Don't know his name but hopefully he was just having a bad day.

 

[ScottNY]

Wait.......hold the phone. You mean that big tub in the center of the room at the Cozumel Palace is a Jacuzzi?!?! Dang, I had it ALL wrong. I'm such a

Wow. You know what? That actually is a major selling point! Great place to rinse and dry gear prior to heading home! There's been a couple times my normal weight bag ended up with an extra charge 'cause stuff was still wet.

I'll just have to work out a good way to explain, "Yes, honey, I know we wanted to have a nice candlelit Jacuzzi tonight, but... I mean... my wetsuit and BCD are still soaking. You understand, right?"

Scott

 

[Noboundaries]

Wow. You know what? That actually is a major selling point! Great place to rinse and dry gear prior to heading home! There's been a couple times my normal weight bag ended up with an extra charge 'cause stuff was still wet.

I'll just have to work out a good way to explain, "Yes, honey, I know we wanted to have a nice candlelit Jacuzzi tonight, but... I mean... my wetsuit and BCD are still soaking. You understand, right?"

Scott

Well you know, we divers seem to have a twisted sense of romance because I didn't stop with just the gear......I threw my dive buddy wife in too! She didn't seem to mind. She and our gear dried nicely for the flight home.

 

[ScottNY]

ok. Thanks all. It's looking like the Palace. I'm not saying with all our research that this is the best place in Cozumel; just that it seems the best based on what we're planning for us. It'll be some time from now, but I'll be sure and get some pics and do the ole' trip report thing.

(First, we're off to Galapagos! Not sure if I'll get to do much diving there. Can't wait to taste the Sea Turtle. I want to get some of that soup before they're all gone! Yes, yes, twisted joke. We of course intend to be as zero impact as possible and if I see anyone doing any damage, I'll grab a spear gun for them.)

Scott

 

[ggunn]

ok. Thanks all. It's looking like the Palace. I'm not saying with all our research that this is the best place in Cozumel; just that it seems the best based on what we're planning for us.

There is no "best place in Cozumel", there is only what is closest to your wants and needs. The Palace is a great place; I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

 

[mississippidiver]

Since you have made the right decision to stay at Cozumel Palace, if you also choose to dive with Aqua Safari, they have their own rinse tank downstairs so you can use your in-room jacuzzi for its intended purpose...

I might also suggest that you check out ScubaTony, if you like a very personalized dive experience.

 

[Hutchel]

If you want to play golf, how many rounds are you wanting to play? If you want to play every afternoon, stay at the Melia or Playa Azul. I know Playa Azul has a contract with the Cozumel Country Club that allows for free greens fees (you have to pay $25 or so for the cart). The Melia, I believe, has reduced greens fees. Otherwise, you will be paying about $100-$125 for twilight golf per round.

If you want to play one round. Stay at you hotel of choice (we prefer Cozumel Palace) and just eat the high cost. If you want multiple rounds, stay somewhere that offers a discount.

If you want to play a couple of full days, you might consider the Cozumel Palace and playing the Palace courses on the mainland. They are notch better than the Cozumel Country Club (IMO). You can find a member to sell you an unlimited golf week and you will save a little money over two rounds at the Coz Country Club (trust me, I have run the numbers a hundred times). However, you do have the hassle of ferries, etc. I have never done this, but I think they will let you get an early tee time and then play the course again during twilight. Food for thought, anyway.

Staying at Playa Azul will require a cab ride to town (or the Celeta in some circumstances) to meet your op. That is certainly a consideration as well.

Good luck! The planning can drive you batty if you let it.

Thanks,
Jeff

Let's see a Palace Resorts member with Golf Weeks - that would be me. Send me an e-mail and we'll chat. hutchinsel@yahoo.com. We use Coz Palace when we go to Coz for diving. We use BlueXTSea - Christy (the owner) frequents this forum - they pick up at the the resort's dock and she and her staff will take great care of you. We are going the 3rd week of Sep for our next trip.

Lee