Cozumel

March 2^nd – Cozumel

Our sixth visit to Cozumel…and the fourth time going to the Dzul Ha…or as it is known now…the Money Bar. Maybe we should try someplace new, but this place has all of the ingredients for an easy, fun day.

It is interesting to see how the location has evolved in the ten years since our first visit in 2005. Here is what it looked like then. Although already showing some hurricane damage in this photo, the whole structure was wiped away a month later when Hurricane Wilma hit Cozumel.

Our next visit was in 2009 after the Money Bar had been built. Our ship, the Carnival Freedom, was the first cruise ship docking in Cozumel after the swine flu scare kept ships away for an extended time period. We pretty much had the place to ourselves that day.

The third visit was in 2010. Still not busy and we saw the high rise condos being built across the street.

Word has gotten out about the Money Bar. With multiple ships in port, the place was hopping. The few shaded lounge chairs under the trees were already claimed by the time we got there this time.

Being one of the closer beaches to Puerta Maya (Carnival’s dock), the cab ride was short and only cost $9 for all four of us. Once settled into our spots for the day, we carefully maneuvered our way through the rocky coastline and into the water to snorkel. With the wind and choppy water, I was glad I had my noodle!

The snorkeling isn't necessarily the best at the Money Bar, but it is convenient and cheap...meaning FREE. I had done a lot of underwater photography on past visits, so this time I just enjoyed. I was a bit sorry I didn't have my camera when I spotted a starfish! Just for those of you who are curious...here are a couple of photos from our last visit.

All four of us took advantage of one of the day packages offered by the Money Bar…a 30 minute massage, regular beverage, cocktail and lunch for $45 each. The perfect way to begin a vacation!

The burrito I ordered for lunch was massive! (Bob ordered tacos.) And I highly recommend the slushy, mint lemonade as well.

On the way back to the ship, the only stops we made as we walked through the shopping area around the pier were to take some silly photos. The heavy bags of snorkel gear made us anxious to get back onboard quickly.

Our next door neighbor for the day was the Carnival Magic...bigger and newer than the Glory.

Just as Dzul Ha has changed since our first visit, so has the pier. When Hurricane Wilma hit in 2005, the dock was TOTALLY destroyed...along with the shops. Now the shops have been rebuilt and the dock is being extended into a "Y" shape to make room for more ships.

Back on the Glory, our dining problems seemed to be resolved, but a new issue popped up…the cards we were using to open the cabin safe quit working. It happened twice and both times it required calling maintenance to come to our cabin to open the safe. Bob finally figured out the issue…the purse I was using had a magnetic clasp and it was “demagnetizing” the strip on the card. Now that we have that figured out we decided to just hide the card in the cabin instead of putting it in my purse (which sort of defeats the purpose of having a safe). Princess has a better system…number pads on their safes.

The only entertainment scheduled in the theater was the Hasbro game show so instead we roamed around the ship enjoying the full moon. A deck party was scheduled, but our old, tired bodies opted for bed instead.

Having a cabin at the back of the ship often required a REALLY long walk.