Our third port stop took us to Cozumel, Mexico and if my math is correct, it marks my sixth time to the island in 2018.
After waking up, we grabbed a very quick breakfast and headed off the ship right at 9am. The weather was perfect today, with low humidity and plenty of sun.
Prior to the cruise, we had booked Mr. Sanchos Beach to try out one of the most popular all-inclusive beach break spots in Cozumel.
The taxi ride down to the beach was perhaps 10 minutes and then we checked-in with the staff. The cost is $55 per adult, and it includes unlimited food, drink and beach and pool access. There’s a few add-ons available, such as an aquatic park pass for $12, beach beds, massages and more.
Mr. Sanchos is significantly larger than I was expecting in terms of its footprint. There are at least three large pool areas, a couple of buffet restaurants, multi-story spa, shopping plaza, and more.
The advantage Mr. Sanchos offers is a ton to do. You have swim up bars, the aquatic park, snorkeling, swimming in the beach and pools, and more.
Without a doubt, the service offered by the Mr. Sanchos staff is quite impressive. They are not just attentive, they approach the point of almost being annoying in their consistent dedication to ensuring you have enough to eat and drink.
My kids had a great time swimming in the pool and beach, although I think they found the bar swings particularly fun.
The food was good, but nothing special. The guacamole almost certainly came out of a bag, but their chips were good and I enjoyed my ceviche and fish taco meals. You will not go hungry at Mr. Sanchos, but I feel the food quality was better at other Cozumel all-inclusives.
By the afternoon, we decided to pack it up and head back a little early today to give the kids time to nap today. We headed back to the ship and my wife took the kids back onboard. I grabbed a cab and headed to run “an errand” and go to La Mega supermarket with Billy and Larissa from CruiseHabit.com.
Something I have come to really enjoy in Cozumel is stopping by a supermarket to pick up a few items that are either unavailable in the United States, or significantly cheaper.
On this occasion, I picked up a few bags of tortilla chips because the type of tortilla chips offered in Cozumel are not really sold in the US, plus they cost less than one dollar.
Back onboard the ship, I enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the aft of the ship and then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner.
Our evening routine was in full-force today, with taking the kids up to the Windjammer for dinner, dropping them off at Adventure Ocean at 7, and then enjoying a pre-diner drink or two. We even found the stowaway pinao player!
Dinner this evening was at the main dining room. One observation about the main dining room menu is that Symphony has been offering a somewhat augmented menu compared to other ships in the fleet. Essentially, there are some items missing, added or swapped across each day’s menu from what we are accustomed to. Nothing bad, just different.
After dinner we headed to the AquaTheater to catch the HiRo show. Unfortunately, the show was canceled due to motion in the ocean.
Instead, we enjoyed music in the pub, followed by some late night fun at a few different spots before finally calling it a night.
Tomorrow is a sea day.
