Day 20 Cozumel

12/31/2024

We wanted to begin with a couple of items. First, is a photo of a luncheon salad that Keith had yesterday from Waterside. Love the colors and the salad was delicious.

We began last evening attending the Captain's welcome Reception and Crystal Society Party. We were recognized for achieving another special Crystal Society Milestone.

These are the Waterside Dinner menus where we dined following the Reception & Party.

We returned to Waterside for the first of three consecutive evenings. Unlike the last cruise guests seem to be spreading out more in terms of where they are dining and the times of dining. We arrived about 15 minutes after opening.

We enjoyed dinner and I will let the photos speak for the food we had other than dessert since I didn’t take a photo of it. LOL. On most voyages the Sommelier’s in Waterside rotate stations. Our Sommelier is Mila who we have known for several years since she started on Serenity. When Endeavor was launched she was one of the crew members who went over there and she was our Sommelier on our cruise circumnavigating Iceland in August of 2021. When Crystal restarted, she was assigned Symphony and now is back over at Serenity. She swings between being a Sommelier to a Head Waiter in Waterside.

This is the Daily Reflections

We were clear to go ashore at 8:20 am to visit Cozumel.

Cozumel has changed quite a bit since our first visit in the early 1990’s and when friends visited this island. Back then it was sort of a sleepy place. Friends would fly from where we lived to Cozumel to go diving. They would stay at dives where they would pay $20.00 or so a night and a low price to go diving. Food and drink were cheap.

On our first arrival we remember taking a taxi over to the town from where we were docked and a buggy ride back to where the ship was docked. The shopping area was totally different than today as it had one-of-a-kind shops not like today with those jewelry stores that you see across the Caribbean. Often one ship was in port. On one of our recent visits there were nine ships in port including some that were tendered.

Like today, we were docked at the location within a short walk from the downtown area.

Today, Cozumel is the largest inhabited island in Mexico. While it has gone through a transformation in the downtown area there are still parts of the island that include untouched jungle and shoreline.

The ships tours give an idea of the types of activities that tourists do when they visit. This includes visits to the ruins, snorkeling and beach time (diving is still popular but not practical to offer as a ships tour), or going for a fish cookout.

We believe about six ships in port. One docked by us; three at the other terminal and one anchored.

Keith went off on his own as Anne Marie walked on the Promenade Deck. He enjoyed the walk along the water into town and then revisited some places we had been to on each visit including years ago with our family. One year we sailed with another family from home and we all went into the Señor Frogs and we remember that visit as if it was yesterday.

We are enjoying the rest of the day on Crystal Serenity.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith