20251226 Friday December 26, 2025 Cozumel- Tulum

20251226 Friday December 26, 2025 Cozumel- Tulum

The ship pulled up to Cozumel’s Puerto Maya cruise ship port which is quite the facility.  There were at least 6 other cruise ships in the immediate vicinity with two Carnival cruise ships on the next slip, and two Royal Caribbean cruise ships on the next one over.  There were at least two other ships moored a little further off.   We arrived alongside at 10am. 

We booked an  excursion to visit the Mayan ruins at Tulum, which is on the mainland about a half hour’s drive further south.  This meant we had to take a high speed catamaran from Cozumel to Playa del Carmen on the mainland.  This was a pretty lumpy crossing that took about 40 minutes.

Once on the mainland we loaded up onto a bus with a couple other families for a total group size of 24.  This took us to Tulum while our guide “Julio” explained some ground rules at Tulum.  Mostly, he advised everyone to leave any back packs, plastic water bottles, binoculars and camera gear other than smart phones because no plastic water bottles or wrapped food are allowed.  The authorities are mostly concerned with littering, but also will charge extra fees for “professional” photography or videography usage. 

 
Julio then launched into a series of sales pitches starting with water containers sold at the entrance which are prefilled with ice water, and obsidian bracelets and cartouches.  He handed out forms for people to fill out so that custom bracelets and cartouches can be made during today’s visit, and picked up at the end of our visit.  It seemed a bit tacky to be hard selling souvenirs  up front.  

Once we got to Tulum, Julio was most concerned for everyone to know exactly where to pick up their obsidian bracelets and cartouches, and which store to purchase other obsidian items and the water bottles from. The water bottles weren’t even water bottles, but simply snap top souvenir plastic water cups with attached straws.  When we asked if we could use the bathroom, we had to use one inside a store and he made sure we spent at least 10 minutes in the store before we could go to the Tulum archeological park site. 

There was a cue for electric transport carts and not many carts running so we could have spent a half hour standing in line, or seven minutes walking, so we walked to the site.  The road and path was well paved and shaded so that was not an issue at all. 

 
When we got into the site, there are a few structures that are recognizable as buildings, while most are little more than foundations.  There is one larger structure with an observatory that aligns with the sun on the summer solstice.  It is a bit asymmetric and looks a bit like a Picasso take on the Flintstone house. 

The structures at Chichen Itza are certainly more impressive and better restored.  We got a brief introduction to some Mayan cultural practices including dental chiseling and skull molding, as well as human sacrificing, but it was a pretty cursory introduction to the Mayans. 

We walked past 3 of the best preserved or restored structures and had 5 minutes to take photos on the bluff side overlooking the ocean.   Julio then took us back out to the shops at the front of the complex for another 10 minutes of shopping before getting us back onto the bus.  Between the archeological site and the shops, Price spotted an agouti in a small clearing in the woods along the pathway.  This was a large rodent that looks like a cross between a squirrel’s head and rat’s behind. 

It was good to have seen the ruins at Tulum because we had not seen them when we went to Chichen Itza and several other sites in the central Yucatan with Ben’s mom in the early 2000’s.  It was an interesting thing to do off a cruise ship in Cozumel, but I wouldn’t have recommended it as a primary trip objective.

The excursion continued a little way back towards Playa del Carmen at the Azul Cenote.  This cenote is attached to a fairly long surface opening that forms a very short surface river.  After we got off the bus, we walked a short distance to a landing on the cenote where a bunch of yellow plastic canoes were tied up.  As you walked down the stairs, you had to watch out for zip line riders who were landing on the same dock.  Janet nearly missed getting in a collision with an inbound zip liner.

The short surface section of the cenote that we paddled canoes down was very scenic, both above and below the water’s surface.  You did have to be careful to avoid some shallow rock formations. 

After getting off the canoes, we walked a short distance to the actual Azul Cenote, which was a fairly large pool with a deep part adjacent to a cliff that was probably 10’ high.  Ciara was the first of our family to jump off the cliff.  Janet, Price, Tom, Sam and Ben also all jumped.  However, the path from changing pavilion and entry deck for the cenote was paved with gravel which was painful to walk on, and most of the jumpers left their sandals at the top of the cliff and didn’t want to repeat that walk.  

There were a few small fish swimming around the cenote that looked like large aquarium guppies, and Price and Ciara did manage to spot a small turtle swimming around as well. 

 
After our Cenote swim, we had a late lunch at the same venue where they served chicken and pork dishes with rice, beans, tortillas, salsa, guacamole and salads.  Soft drinks, beer and churros were extra.  The food tasted pretty good, but not particularly memorable.  

The drive back to Playa del Carmen and the ferry back from there to the cruise ship terminal on Cozumel was smoother and we discovered some much nicer first class seats at the front of the ferry which we got to sit in.  

We mostly scavenged around the buffet and pool deck venues for dinner.  Ben and Janet watched a production show Viva la Música which featured Latin-American music like Gloria Estafon , as well as other more unusual Latin Americanized versions of Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus and Kiss by Prince, which were interesting.  

It was a very high energy show and it ended with the audience being invited onto the center floor to join the dancers and singers.  A lot of audience members were dressed all in white from an earlier deck party event, and they didn’t seem to hesitate to join in on the dancing.  

Ben wandered around the ship’s venues and discovered a movie playing in the dome like a second Movies under the Stars, and also found the ship’s main pool to be busy even at 10pm with kids during the Movies under the stars.  It is unfortunate that there is no late night pizza aside from room service which is $9 extra.    Ben did try some of the room service menu items just to see how they turn out.  There is a chicken vegetable soup, chicken fingers and quesadillas that are complimentary.  

It didn’t take too long at 10pm for the room service to arrive.  The wait was probably less than 10 minutes.  The chicken noodle soup did arrive hot and on a plate covered with a saucer.  Some had spilled onto the plate but the soup was good.  It had a clear well seasoned chicken broth with a few shreds of napa cabbage, a couple of peas and some diced roasted chicken pieces.  

The chicken fingers were breaded in light krispy batter, lightly seasoned and with your choice of sauces.  The honey mustard and ranch were pretty much just like what you’d get at Dairy Queen.  The BBQ sauce was thin and probably closer to HP Brown sauce than Kansas CIty BBQ sauce. Despite being room service, the fries were also decent, at least initially.  

The Chicken quesadillas looked appetizing with toasted and slightly crispy flower tortilla shells.  The filling was surprisingly light on cheese, and heavy on cilantro and jalapenos.  The salsa it came with was very bland and more diced tomatos and onions with bits of cilantro and no peppers.  They did come with round tortilla chips like what they serve in the downstairs buffet, but somehow they managed not to be stale.  

If the ship offered a rotating selection of soups via room service, that would satisfy Ben’s particular late night craving for a bowl of soup.  The chicken noodle was certainly satisfactory, at least this time around.  

Tomorrow our last day at sea as the ship sprints back towards Fort Lauderdale and the end of our Christmas Cruise.  We did receive our disembarkation luggage tags today.  So Sad!